E-invoicing in Finland: the buyer’s right, Finvoice vs Peppol and the 0216 identifier

Finland regulates e-invoicing differently from its neighbours: there is no general B2B mandate and none is planned before the EU ViDA rules (intra-EU transactions from July 2030). Instead, Act 241/2019 gives buyers the right to demand a structured EN 16931 e-invoice – and the market runs far ahead of the law, with roughly 90% of Finnish invoices already electronic. For a foreign supplier the practical question is not “must I?” but “will my invoice be accepted?”. Here is how the Finnish system works and how to make sure your files pass.

The legal situation: a right, not a mandate

Since 2019: public sector bodies must accept EN 16931 e-invoices (Act 241/2019).
Since April 2020: any buyer with turnover above €10,000 has the right to demand an EN 16931 e-invoice from its suppliers.
The sanction is practical, not administrative: a non-compliant invoice can be rejected – there are no fines.
No domestic B2B mandate is planned before the EU ViDA rules (intra-EU transactions from July 2030).

A 2026 consultation on going further drew a lukewarm private-sector response – the market already runs on e-invoices, so the pressure comes from buyers, not from the law.

A market ahead of the law

Roughly 90% of invoices in Finland are already electronic. The domestic infrastructure is built on the Finvoice 3.0 format (distributed through banks) and TEAPPSXML (operator networks); Peppol use is growing, with the State Treasury (Valtiokonttori) acting as the Finnish Peppol Authority.

For a foreign supplier this means a Finnish buyer almost certainly can receive an e-invoice – the open questions are only the channel and the address.

Addressing: OVT codes and the Peppol 0216 identifier

Finnish e-invoicing addresses are listed in the public registry verkkolaskuosoite.fi. The traditional domestic address is an OVT code – 0037 followed by the Business ID. In the Peppol network the valid Finnish party identifier is schemeID 0216 (OVT code): older references to schemes 0037 or 0212 are outdated, the current Peppol code lists keep only 0216 for Finland.

Both seller and buyer electronic addresses (EndpointID) are mandatory in a Peppol BIS invoice.

Errors that most often block invoices

Missing seller or buyer electronic address (PEPPOL-EN16931-R020 / R010).
Missing buyer reference or order reference (PEPPOL-EN16931-R003).
VAT identifier without the country prefix – FI12345671, not 12345671 (BR-CO-09).
Totals that do not add up to the cent – round each line first, then sum (BR-CO-10, BR-CO-13, BR-CO-15).
Empty XML elements, which the Peppol profile forbids (PEPPOL-EN16931-R008).

How to prepare

Look up your Finnish buyer’s e-invoicing address at verkkolaskuosoite.fi and confirm the Peppol route (EndpointID with schemeID 0216).
Agree with the buyer on the reference they expect in BuyerReference.
Verify that your software exports UBL 2.1 with the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 profile.
Test your files in the validator – every error is explained in plain language.