Glossary

The e-invoicing glossary

Every term of mandatory electronic invoicing in Slovakia explained in plain language — from the digital postman through the Peppol ID all the way to ViDA. Each entry keeps the Slovak original in brackets, so you can match it against your paperwork. Updated 12 August 2026.

E-invoice (elektronická faktúra): An invoice issued, sent and received in a structured electronic XML format compliant with the EN 16931 standard, which software can process automatically. An ordinary PDF or a scan does not meet the definition.
Structured invoice (štruktúrovaná faktúra): An invoice in the form of data (XML fields) rather than an image. The recipient's system reads the line items, totals and VAT out of it without anyone retyping them.
Digital postman (digitálny poštár): The colloquial name for a certified e-invoice delivery service provider under Section 76a of the VAT Act. It delivers the e-invoice to the right recipient and reports the data to the Slovak Financial Administration automatically. eFaktúra is a certified digital postman with ID EFSK000028.
VPDS: The Slovak abbreviation for the official register of certified delivery service providers, maintained by the Slovak Financial Administration at vpds.financnasprava.sk.
Peppol: The European network for the secure electronic exchange of business documents between companies and public institutions. It works like a digital postal service for invoices, orders and other documents; the Slovak e-invoicing system is built on it.
Peppol Access Point (AP): The gateway into the Peppol network — a certified provider's server through which documents are sent and received. eFaktúra operates its own production Access Point.
Peppol ID (ParticipantID): The unique identifier of a participant in the Peppol network. Slovak entities use scheme 0245 with their Tax ID (DIČ) as the value — for example 0245:2122749607.
Scheme 0245 (schéma 0245): The identifier code list entry that, inside a Peppol ID, marks the Slovak Tax ID (DIČ) as the type of identifier used for the entity.
SMP (Service Metadata Publisher): The public directory of the Peppol network. For every Peppol ID it states which Access Point receives documents on its behalf and which document types are supported. Only one provider can be registered for receiving on a given ID.
Peppol Directory: The public participant search of the Peppol network — it lets you check whether a trading partner can be reached with e-invoices.
EN 16931: The European standard for the electronic invoice. It defines the semantics — which data an invoice carries (business terms such as BT-1, the invoice number) — independently of the particular XML syntax.
UBL (Universal Business Language): The XML syntax in which e-invoices following EN 16931 are written. The Slovak regime uses UBL 2.1 (the Invoice and CreditNote documents).
CII (Cross Industry Invoice): The alternative XML syntax of the EN 16931 standard (UN/CEFACT). The standard admits both UBL and CII; in practice UBL dominates the Peppol network.
Peppol BIS Billing 3.0: The Peppol billing profile built on top of EN 16931 — it adds validation rules, identifiers and the delivery method. It covers both the invoice and the credit note.
EDIFACT: The older electronic data interchange (EDI) standard. From 1 January 2027 it no longer meets the definition of an electronic invoice for domestic transactions — the data has to be converted into UBL or CII under EN 16931 (mapping CEN/TS 16931-3-4:2017).
Act No. 385/2025 Coll. (zákon č. 385/2025 Z. z.): The amendment to Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT that introduces mandatory electronic invoicing: Section 76a (the delivery service, from 1 January 2026) and Section 85o (the mandatory e-invoice for domestic supplies, from 1 January 2027).
Transition period (prechodné obdobie): The period from 1 January 2026 to 1 January 2027, during which joining the e-invoicing system is voluntary and businesses can try the delivery service out.
Reporting obligation (oznamovacia povinnosť): The duty to report invoice data to the Slovak Financial Administration: immediately when an invoice is issued, and within 5 days for an invoice received. With a certified provider it happens automatically.
Grounds for waiving a penalty (liberačné dôvody): Situations in which no fine is imposed: an obvious error corrected immediately, or a demonstrated failure of the contracted certified provider, with the data reported without delay once the outage is over.
B2B / B2G / B2C / G2G: Business-to-Business (between businesses), Business-to-Government (business to public administration), Business-to-Consumer (business to consumer), Government-to-Government (between state bodies). Mandatory e-invoicing from 2027 covers domestic B2B and B2G; it does not apply to B2C.
VAT payer (platiteľ DPH): A taxable person registered for VAT under Section 4, 4b or 4c of the VAT Act. From 1 January 2027 it must issue electronic invoices for domestic B2B and B2G supplies.
Taxable person (zdaniteľná osoba): Any person independently carrying out an economic activity — businesses, sole traders, the liberal professions and landlords alike. Every taxable person must be able to receive e-invoices.
Tax ID (DIČ): The tax identification number. Under the national rules of the Slovak Peppol Authority it is the primary identifier of an entity in e-invoicing — including for entities that are not registered for VAT and for public administration.
VAT ID (IČ DPH): The VAT identification number (with the SK prefix) assigned on registration for the tax. It is not required for Peppol identification — that role belongs to the Tax ID (DIČ).
Self-billing (samofaktúra): An invoice issued by the customer in the name and on behalf of the supplier, under a written agreement. The e-invoicing system supports it and it carries its own technical code.
Invoice for a payment received (faktúra k prijatej platbe): An invoice issued after a payment is received before the goods or services are supplied (Section 72(1) of the VAT Act). From 1 January 2027 it falls under the electronic invoice regime.
Proforma invoice (proforma faktúra): A request for payment without the particulars of a tax document. It is not an invoice under the VAT Act and it is not sent through the e-invoicing system.
Summary e-invoice (súhrnná elektronická faktúra): A single e-invoice covering several separate supplies to the same customer. From 1 January 2027 it may cover a period of no more than one calendar month (Section 85o(7)).
Credit note (dobropis, opravná faktúra): The document that corrects the taxable amount of the original invoice (returned goods, a discount, an error). In the Peppol network it travels as a CreditNote document.
VAT control statement and EC sales list (kontrolný výkaz a súhrnný výkaz): Today's VAT returns and statements, due to be abolished from 1 July 2030 — digital reporting straight from e-invoices, in near real time, takes their place.
ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age): The European initiative harmonising the rules for electronic invoicing and digital VAT reporting across the EU. Mandatory e-invoicing is expected to extend to cross-border B2B transactions from 1 July 2030.
Slovak Peppol Authority (Peppol autorita SR): The Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic — it supervises the Peppol network in the Slovak jurisdiction, accredits providers (Access Points) and maintains the national implementation rules (PASR).
PASR (Peppol Authority Specific Requirements): The national requirements of the Peppol Authority — for Slovakia they set, among other things, the Tax ID (DIČ, scheme 0245) as the primary identifier of an entity.
Four-corner model (štvorrohový model C1 – C4): The architecture of the Peppol network: C1 the supplier, C2 its provider (Access Point), C3 the recipient's provider, C4 the customer. In the Slovak regime C2 additionally reports the data to the Slovak Financial Administration (the so-called C5, a five-corner model).
Sandbox: A free test environment for integration work — with test API keys and a test Peppol ID, with no effect on production documents.
SAPI-SK: The standardised API of the Slovak Financial Administration (v1.0) for invoicing systems. eFaktúra supports it natively (OAuth2 plus the /sapi endpoints).

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