Peppol e-invoicing for Official Use, now available on your Diplomatic Card account.
Peppol is a secure network through which your suppliers send invoices electronically. For Official Use accounts, invoices are validated for VAT exemption before their due date, so in most cases you pay VAT-Free and the reimbursement process disappears.
Your supplier issues an invoice with VAT.
You pay the full amount, VAT included.
You submit the invoice to us as your accredited company.
We verify it and submit it for approval via the FPS Finance VATVEE platform, which produces an E-certificate for your supplier.
Your supplier repays the VAT to us, and reclaims it from the Treasury via a credit note.
We transfer the VAT back to you.
Your supplier sends the invoice electronically, via Peppol. A copy is sent to us automatically.
It is validated, and your supplier issues a credit note and a new VAT-exempt invoice.
You pay that invoice VAT-Free.
This also removes a persistent problem in VAT recovery: suppliers who are slow to repay or do not repay at all. If the VAT is never charged, it never has to be recovered.
Take the paper or PDF invoice, make a copy of it, and send it to us by email for processing, one by one, for every supplier.
A copy of the electronic invoice is automatically sent to our platform for processing the moment your supplier issues it. No more copying, no more emailing.
When eligible, we process it for an E-certificate. If it needs to go through a C151 instead, we fill in the C151 automatically: you simply download the prefilled form, print it, sign it and send it to the FPS Finance.
The use of e-invoicing is not mandatory for missions and embassies. It remains a choice, made voluntarily by each official user. As an accredited company, we simply make this option available to our Official Use clients.
It is not all-or-nothing. You decide which suppliers to start with and how gradually you test the service. Other suppliers continue to be handled as today.
The invoice must show VAT so that it can be validated by the FPS Finance. Once validated, the supplier issues a credit note and a new VAT-exempt invoice, which you pay directly without VAT.
Through Peppol, or just a copy to info@diplomaticcard.be. We filter all invoices for you, so you never miss an eligible one. Knowing which of the 28 expenditure categories qualify is our job.
Ask your supplier for a VAT-inclusive invoice via Peppol, using the Mission's organisational number.
The invoice arrives in your Peppol inbox and is forwarded for validation. If internal approval is enabled, only after an authorised user has approved it.
The FPS Finance returns a validation code, which produces the E-certificate for your supplier.
We immediately request the supplier to issue a credit note and a new invoice without VAT.
No pre-financing, no reimbursement procedure, no chasing.
Peppol e-invoicing is offered to our clients under their current contract. No extra fees are charged for the service, and your Mission's existing conditions simply continue to apply.
A minimum VAT threshold can be set, below which invoices are not submitted to the FPS Finance at all.
Automatic submission can be switched off, so nothing goes to the FPS Finance until an authorised user has clicked “Approve to send”.
Several authorised staff members can each have their own access, with specific restrictions configured on request.
For invoices with a payment term longer than 5 business days (14 or 30 days, for example), validation can be completed within the term, so the VAT is never charged in the first place.
Because the exemption is applied up front, the recovery risk with slow-paying or unreachable suppliers largely disappears.
Receiving VAT-Free invoices does not require your suppliers to be affiliated with our platform.
For invoices that require it, the system generates the C151 form at no cost. You print, sign and stamp it, and submit it to the FPS Finance. Return the approved C151s to us and we reclaim that VAT as well.
Every invoice is followed digitally from receipt through validation to settlement: continuous track-and-trace, visible in your online account.
Confirm by email that your Mission would like its Peppol Inbox activated, to use or simply test the service. Tell us your minimum VAT threshold and whether internal approval is needed. We then walk you through the screens in a short call.
One email to info@diplomaticcard.be with your VAT threshold and approval preference. We activate the Peppol Inbox on your Official Use account.
The enterprise number of your Mission is your official Peppol identification number, which you communicate to suppliers. It can be verified on the official KBO/BCE website.
We provide a ready-to-use letter you can adjust freely. Keep us in copy if you like, so we can follow up together on which suppliers have been contacted.
Save the Mission's organisation number in their e-invoicing system and, in addition to their usual invoice, also send it via Peppol to that same number. Nothing else changes in their process.
Alongside e-invoicing, our network of over 600 affiliated stores in Belgium allows you to purchase VAT-Free directly, without needing to reclaim VAT afterwards. The network includes major brands such as MediaMarkt, Krëfel, Inno, Chanel, Dior and Tiffany.
Click on Official Use
Enter the mobile number linked to an active diplomatic card on the account
Enter the card number of that active card
Enter the 4-digit code sent to you by SMS. You are logged in.
Several cards and mobile numbers can be linked to one Mission account, so several authorised staff members have their own access. The account stays registered to the Mission as an institution.
No. An organisation may designate only one Peppol operator at a time, so activating our service means no second operator can be appointed simultaneously. We can, however, forward incoming documents to another system if your Mission needs this.
Yes. To apply the exemption, the value of the goods per invoice must be at least €125 excluding VAT. This applies to both official and personal use. Separately, you can set your own minimum VAT threshold below which invoices are not submitted at all.
No. The exemption is subject to the usual reciprocity in diplomatic, consular and international relations, and certain categories are excluded. We filter every invoice you send us and identify which ones are eligible.
No. You choose which suppliers to start with, and at what pace. Everything else continues as it does today.
Nothing extra. Peppol e-invoicing is offered under your current Diplomatic Card contract and no additional fees are charged. Generation of the C151 form is also free of charge.
Yes. The VAT exemption is based on Article 42, §3 of the Belgian VAT Code, and validation runs through the FPS Finance VATVEE platform. Diplomatic Card Services Belgium is an accredited company authorised by the FPS Finance.
We are happy to explain the service in more detail, entirely without obligation, at your Mission or by call. And if you would prefer to simply test it with a few suppliers first, that works too.
