What HMRC announced
HMRC has confirmed that e-invoicing will be mandatory for all VAT invoices from April 2029, and the UK government has said Peppol will be the core interoperability network. The model is decentralized: invoices travel between businesses over the network, not through a government clearance platform. The implementation milestones will be set out in a roadmap from HMRC and the Department for Business and Trade.
That is the date of the announced obligation, not a Cord delivery date.
What Cord already has
- Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, validated against the official rules, today for issuers established in the European Union.
- The UK VAT number validated with HMRC's check, and UK tax vocabulary on every document.
What blocks it
The UK's technical specifications and phasing are not yet published. The obligation also requires sending over the Peppol network, and today Cord generates and attaches e-invoices rather than transmitting them through an access point. Both pieces are needed before offering it.
How it works
HMRC publishes the roadmap and technical specifications.
Cord adapts the Peppol invoice to UK issuers and adds sending through a network access point.
The business turns on sending and each invoice travels to its customer's system.
Availability and scope
VAT-registered businesses in the United Kingdom, on their invoices to other businesses and the public sector.
Clear limits
According to HMRC, businesses not registered for VAT are out of scope. Until the rail exists, a UK business issues the Cord commercial invoice with its PDF.