Croatia has launched mandatory electronic invoices for suppliers to government bodies from 1 July 2019. Like a number of other EU countires, this is likely to extend to live submissions for B2B and B2C VAT invoices within the next few years.

Croatian government bodies have been obliged to accept e-invoices as well as paper/PDF invoices since December 2018. The paper/PDF invoice option has been withdrawn for July 2019.

Suppliers to government bodies may send their e-invoices directly to the contracting pubic body. But they must contain a secure digital signature, and comply with Croatian law on e-invoice preparation and storage.

Alternatively, suppliers may use the tax authority’s special portal, Servis eRačun za držav, , operated by FINA,  to lodge e-invoices to be forwarded to public customers. These invoices do not require a secure digital signature. The FINA service enables:

• Invoice submission;
• Digital signature;
• Sending and timestamping of e-invoices to relevant public customers;
• Receipt of certificates of receiving e-invoices;
• Change of e-invoice status;
• Receipt, archiving and search of e-invoices; and
• Matching to payment orders.

The Croatian e-invoice standards are based on the EU’s second invoicing directive covering electronic invoicing, Directive 2014/55/EU. Invoice formats should be based on Oasis UBL 2.1.

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