Belgium retires the Hermes platform: Why your e-invoicing strategy must change before 2026

The Belgian government has officially announced the retirement of the Hermes electronic invoicing platform. This critical development means that Hermes will be fully decommissioned on 31 December 2025. The very next day, 1 January 2026, the nationwide mandatory business-to-business (B2B) e-invoicing mandate will take full effect, requiring all Belgian VAT-registered businesses to issue and receive structured e-invoices.

Understanding Hermes: A temporary solution

To understand the significance of Hermes' retirement, it's important to recall its original role: Hermes was introduced as a government-facilitated public platform, acting as a “fail-safe” or “temporary bridge”. Its primary purpose was to assist companies not yet connected to the Peppol network, allowing them to participate in e-invoicing during the early adoption phase.

As such, Hermes served as a crucial link between businesses able to automatically process electronic invoices and those not yet equipped for it, ensuring that senders could still transmit structured electronic invoices even if the recipient's network was unknown.

Essentially, the Belgian government published details of all Belgian companies on Hermes. Once a company had registered their email address on the platform, they would receive their invoices in PDF format. Hermes received the invoice via Peppol, converted it to a PDF, and then forwarded it by email. 

Why Hermes is retiring

A July 2024 review conducted by the Business Experts Group on e-invoicing concluded that the market for private-sector e-invoicing solutions is now mature and competitive. This means Hermes has fulfilled its temporary purpose and is no longer necessary. Following the recommendations from the platform’s reassessment, the government now expects businesses to rely on market-based solutions and Peppol connectivity.

Critical deadlines to avoid disruption

To ensure a smooth transition and avoid disruption, businesses must be aware of these critical deadlines:

• 31 December 2025: Hermes will be fully decommissioned for sending and receiving documents. After this date, it will no longer be possible to use the platform.

• 1 January 2026: The mandatory B2B e-invoicing requirement begins. All Belgian VAT-registered businesses must issue and receive structured e-invoices. As discussed in our previous blog post, “Belgium’s E-Invoicing Mandate Explained by KPMG’s Stefanie Dreher”, this mandate, though separate from the EU-wide ViDA initiative, aims to modernise VAT reporting and reduce fraud.

• 31 March 2026: This is the final day to consult or download archived invoice data from the Hermes portal.

Your mandatory next step: Migrate to Peppol

The Belgian government strongly encourages the use of the Peppol Network as the default transmission channel, adhering to the EN 16931 / Peppol BIS 3.0 standard. Our blog post, “Belgium announced electronic invoicing obligation”, elaborates on the advantages of Peppol, including its interoperability and the elimination of the need for bilateral agreements between participants.

Any company still relying on Hermes must migrate to a certified Peppol Access Point immediately to ensure full compliance with the January 2026 B2B mandate. Conducting a scoping exercise is crucial to determine if your invoices fall under the mandate.

The time to act is now

Prompt system evaluation and migration to a Peppol Access Point are essential to ensure compliance before the end of Q4 2025. Failure to comply can lead to significant financial penalties, with fines up to €5,000 for repeated offences, as well as VAT recovery issues and potential payment delays.

Don't delay! Contact us now to secure a Peppol connection for seamless compliance and automation, and ensure your business is fully prepared for Belgium's e-invoicing mandate.

To stay ahead of the compliance curve and receive updated information first, follow us on LinkedIn for even more timely announcements.