ediverse

Type to search across standards, messages, tools and glossary.

ediverse Explore the platform

Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

— 01

Foundations

— 02

Standards

— 03

Flagship messages

— 04

Tools

Iceland — Skatturinn, rafræn reikningur, B2G PEPPOL, EEA

Iceland has been a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1994 without joining the Union: it adopts the internal-market acquis, including Directive 2014/55/EU on e-invoicing in public procurement. Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs, the 2020 merger of the former RSK and Tollstjóri) administers VSK (virðisaukaskattur, VAT) and the business register. The B2G rafræn reikningur (electronic invoice) travels over the PEPPOL network. No B2B mandate is in force. The real Icelandic EDI economy revolves around fish (export traceability) and aluminium (Rio Tinto ISAL, Century Norðurál, Alcoa Fjarðaál).

Regulatory timeline

  • 1988 — Act No. 50/1988 on VAT. Iceland introduces VSK (virðisaukaskattur, VAT) on 1 January 1990, replacing the old söluskattur. The standard rate rose to 24.5% then was reduced to 24% in 2015, with a 11% reduced rate.
  • 1 January 1994 — EEA accession. Iceland joins the European Economic Area via EFTA: it adopts the internal-market acquis (free movement, public procurement) without joining the Union or the customs union. Surveillance is by the ESA (EFTA Surveillance Authority), not the Commission.
  • 2008-2009 — rafræn reikningur. The Icelandic State (Fjársýsla ríkisins, Financial Management Authority) rolls out structured electronic invoicing for public accounting, in a national UN/CEFACT-based format later aligned with European profiles.
  • 2018 — PEPPOL membership. Iceland joins OpenPEPPOL; the public sector progressively adopts PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 as the target format for B2G rafræn reikningur, consistent with Directive 2014/55/EU taken up under the EEA.
  • 2020 — Creation of Skatturinn. Merger of Ríkisskattstjóri (RSK, tax administration) and Tollstjóri (customs) into a single authority: Skatturinn (Iceland Revenue and Customs). A one-stop shop for VSK, corporate tax, the kennitala and export customs (fish, aluminium).
  • 2023-2025 — B2G consolidated, no B2B mandate. PEPPOL reception is generalised on the public-buyer side. No B2B e-invoicing mandate is in force or officially planned; B2B issuance stays voluntary.
  • ViDA horizon. As an EEA state, Iceland is not directly bound by the "VAT in the Digital Age" package (VAT competence falls outside the EEA), but will likely align its cross-border B2B practices with EU requirements to preserve internal-market interoperability.

Technical schema

The Icelandic technical landscape combines the European PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 profile for B2G, the national kennitala identifier, and heavy EDIFACT use in the export sectors (fish, aluminium).

  • PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 2.1) — target format of the B2G rafræn reikningur, EN 16931 compliant. Iceland has access points run by providers (InExchange, Unimaze, Wise, Origo) connected to the PEPPOL eDelivery network.
  • kennitala — national and company 10-digit identifier, format DDMMYY-NNNC (date + serial + check digit + century digit). Serves as a unique identifier for natural AND legal persons. PEPPOL schemeID 0196 (IS:KT) for the kennitala.
  • VSK number — 5 or 6-digit VAT registration number, distinct from the kennitala, assigned to taxable persons.
  • EDIFACT EANCOM / GS1 — backbone of retail (Hagar group: Bónus, Krónan, Hagkaup) and food exports. INVOIC, ORDERS, DESADV in D.96A / D.01B.
  • Fish traceability — seafood exports (cod, herring, capelin) move with GS1 codes and health messages; Marel (food-processing technology) supplies the instrumentation and production-data flows.
xmlis-peppol-snippet.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2">
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
  <cbc:ID>2026-0142</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:IssueDate>2026-06-16</cbc:IssueDate>
  <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>ISK</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
  <cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
    <cac:Party>
      <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0196">5902697199</cbc:EndpointID>
      <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
        <cbc:CompanyID>IS59026</cbc:CompanyID>
        <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
      <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        <cbc:RegistrationName>Ediverse Demo Reykjavík ehf.</cbc:RegistrationName>
        <cbc:CompanyID schemeID="0196">5902697199</cbc:CompanyID>
      </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
    </cac:Party>
  </cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
</Invoice>

Submission flow

No centralised clearance flow applies in Iceland. The taxpayer issues the invoice (PEPPOL, PDF or EDIFACT) then reports VSK on an aggregated basis, usually in bi-monthly periods, through Skatturinn's skattur.is portal.

textis-b2g-flow.txt
┌───────────────┐    ┌────────────────────┐    ┌────────────────┐
│ Seller IS     │──> │ PEPPOL BIS 3.0     │──> │ Public buyer   │
│ (ERP)         │    │ (rafræn reikningur)│    │ (opinber)      │
└──────┬────────┘    └─────────┬──────────┘    └───────┬────────┘
       │                       │ (PEPPOL Access Point) │
       │                       v                       │
       │             ┌────────────────────┐            │
       │             │ Fjársýsla ríkisins │            │
       │             │ (public accounting)│            │
       │             └────────────────────┘            │
       │ (bi-monthly aggregated VSK return)            │
       └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              v
                  ┌──────────────────────────┐
                  │ Skatturinn (skattur.is)  │
                  │ post-fact VSK return     │
                  └──────────────────────────┘

On the aluminium side, the three Icelandic smelters — Rio Tinto ISAL (Straumsvík), Century Aluminum Norðurál (Grundartangi) and Alcoa Fjarðaál (Reyðarfjörður) — run heavy EDI with their parent companies and international buyers (LME, traders), via EDIFACT and ASN/INVOIC flows, and declare their duty-free exports through Skatturinn's customs branch.

On the retail side, the Hagar group (Bónus, Krónan, Hagkaup) requires EDIFACT EANCOM from its suppliers for orders, dispatch advices and invoices, with GS1 mapping.

Validation

  • Skatturinn — Iceland Revenue and Customs: skatturinn.is — tax and customs authority, VSK, kennitala, returns.
  • Fjársýsla ríkisins (Financial Management Authority): fjs.is — public accounting, reception of B2G rafræn reikningur.
  • Stjórnarráðið (Government of Iceland): stjornarradid.is — government portal, ministries, legal basis.
  • helger PEPPOL validator: peppol.helger.com — PEPPOL BIS 3.0 + EN 16931 Schematron for B2G UBL.
  • PEPPOL Directory: directory.peppol.eu — IS participant lookup by kennitala (schemeID 0196).
  • Act No. 50/1988 on VAT: althingi.is — VSK Act, legal basis for invoices (Alþingi, Icelandic parliament).

Common pitfalls

  1. kennitala is NOT a VAT number. The 10-digit kennitala identifies the entity (person or company); the 5-6 digit VAT registration number (VSK number) is separate. Mapping the kennitala into the VAT field of a PEPPOL invoice triggers a rejection: use the kennitala in EndpointID (schemeID 0196) and the IS-prefixed VSK number in PartyTaxScheme.
  2. ISK currency without decimals. The Icelandic króna (ISK) has no subdivision in circulation: amounts are rounded to the integer. An ISK DocumentCurrencyCode with two decimals and non-zero cents triggers Schematron rounding warnings; round lines to the unit.
  3. VSK 24 / 11 / 0%. Standard 24%, reduced 11% (food, books-periodicals, hospitality, electricity-heating, car rental), exempt 0% (exports, international services). Do not confuse the Icelandic 11% with neighbouring Swedish/Norwegian reduced rates.
  4. Characters þ / ð / æ / ö. Icelandic letters þ (thorn), ð (eth), æ, ö do not pass in EDIFACT UNOA. Use UNOY/UTF-8 (ISO-8859-1 UNOC does not cover þ/ð) or supplier names get corrupted (Þórshöfn, Reyðarfjörður).
  5. EEA ≠ EU for customs. Iceland is in the internal market (EEA) but OUTSIDE the customs union: fish and aluminium exports go through a customs declaration with Skatturinn (former Tollstjóri branch). Do not treat an IS flow as an intra-EU flow without customs formalities.
  • Norway — another EEA/EFTA member, very close PEPPOL B2G and SAF-T model.
  • Sweden — Nordic neighbour, mandatory PEPPOL B2G, trajectory comparison.
  • Denmark — NemHandel/PEPPOL pioneer, reference for Iceland.
  • Switzerland — another non-EU country with its own tax regime, contrast with Iceland's EEA.
  • PEPPOL — Iceland is an OpenPEPPOL member (access points Unimaze, Wise, Origo).
  • Official sources: skatturinn.is, fjs.is, stjornarradid.is, Act No. 50/1988 on VAT.