# Belgium: examples

Submit a standard Belgian B2B tax invoice and a credit note in sandbox and read each response. Onboard a source and confirm both Peppol participant IDs before you begin.

This GETS example is a single standard-rated `tax_invoice` with no modifiers. All names, numbers, addresses and amounts are illustrative; replace them with your own company, buyer and source details. The participant IDs are checksum-valid examples, **not** proof of a registered Peppol recipient. Use sandbox for testing.

## Before you send

[Onboard your Belgian company](https://docs.complyance.io/countries/be/onboarding/) and keep its source name and version. Get the buyer’s registered Peppol participant ID and scheme. For Belgian enterprise-number IDs, scheme `0208` uses ten digits without the `BE` VAT prefix. See the [Belgium fields](https://docs.complyance.io/countries/be/fields/) for other document types or VAT treatments.

## Submit the request

Save this body as `invoice.json`. The `source` is an example: replace it with your onboarded `name:version`.

```json title="invoice.json — Belgian tax invoice"
{
  "country": "BE",
  "environment": "sandbox",
  "purpose": "invoicing",
  "source": "acme-erp:1.0.0",
  "documentType": { "base": "tax_invoice", "modifiers": [] },
  "payload": {
    "header": {
      "documentType": { "base": "tax_invoice" },
      "documentNumber": "INV-2026-BE-001",
      "issueDate": "2026-09-18",
      "dueDate": "2026-10-18",
      "currency": "EUR"
    },
    "parties": {
      "seller": {
        "name": "Meridian Logistics BV",
        "address": {
          "country": "BE",
          "city": "Brussels",
          "addressLine1": "12 Harbour Road",
          "postalCode": "1000"
        },
        "taxIds": [{ "type": "VAT", "value": "BE0123456749" }],
        "registrationNumbers": [{ "type": "CRN", "value": "0123456749" }],
        "peppolId": "0123456749"
      },
      "buyer": {
        "name": "Atelier Dupont BV",
        "address": {
          "country": "BE",
          "city": "Brussels",
          "addressLine1": "48 Market Street",
          "postalCode": "1000"
        },
        "taxIds": [{ "type": "VAT", "value": "BE0123456056" }],
        "registrationNumbers": [{ "type": "CRN", "value": "0123456056" }],
        "peppolId": "0123456056"
      }
    },
    "lineItems": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "name": "Cloud subscription",
        "quantity": 20,
        "unitCode": "C62",
        "price": { "amount": 100 },
        "lineTaxableValue": 2000,
        "lineTotal": 2000,
        "taxCategory": "S",
        "taxRate": 21,
        "taxAmount": 420
      }
    ],
    "taxTotals": [
      {
        "taxAmount": 420,
        "taxSubtotals": [
          {
            "taxableAmount": 2000,
            "taxAmount": 420,
            "taxCategory": "S",
            "percent": 21
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "totals": {
      "totalLineTaxableAmount": 2000,
      "totalAmountExcludingTax": 2000,
      "totalTaxAmount": 420,
      "totalAmountIncludingTax": 2420,
      "amountDue": 2420
    },
    "extensions": {
      "peppol_seller_peppolIdScheme": "0208",
      "peppol_buyer_peppolIdScheme": "0208",
      "peppol_buyerAccountingReference": "PO-88213"
    }
  }
}
```

Send it using a sandbox API key:

Sandbox and production use the same host, `https://prod.gets.complyance.io`. The `"environment": "sandbox"` field in the request body is what sends this invoice to sandbox.

```bash title="Submit the Belgian invoice"
curl --request POST 'https://prod.gets.complyance.io/api/v3/unify' \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${COMPLYANCE_API_KEY}" \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Accept: application/json' \
  --header 'new-api: true' \
  --data @invoice.json
```

The `new-api: true` header selects this GETS request format. The sample has a €2,000 taxable total plus €420 VAT, for €2,420 due. Use the actual rate and tax category for your transaction.

A few values need care:

- **Document type.** The envelope’s `documentType` decides which rules apply. Complyance copies it into `payload.header.documentType`, replacing any value there.
- **Line amounts.** `lineTotal` is the line’s net amount, before VAT: quantity times price, plus line charges, minus line allowances. It becomes the invoice line net amount (BT-131) checked by [PEPPOL-EN16931-R120](https://docs.peppol.eu/poacc/billing/3.0/rules/ubl-peppol/PEPPOL-EN16931-R120/).
- **VAT breakdown.** Send one `taxTotals` entry with a `taxSubtotals` line for each VAT category and rate. An invoice needs at least one ([BR-CO-18](https://docs.peppol.eu/poacc/billing/3.0/rules/ubl-tc434/BR-CO-18/)).
- **Units.** `unitCode` is a UN/ECE Recommendation 20 code, such as `C62` for one unit or `HUR` for an hour.

## Read the response

A `200` response confirms that validation passed and the document was stored. It includes `documentId`, `documentNumber`, `message` and `Base64XML` (the generated invoice XML encoded as Base64). The XML is not reproduced here: its value depends on your invoice. An **illustrative response shape** is:

```json title="Validated document — HTTP 200"
{
  "documentId": "01K5EXAMPLE00000000000142",
  "documentNumber": "INV-2026-BE-001",
  "message": "Your invoice was validated and is ready for submission.",
  "Base64XML": "PEludm9pY2U+PElEPklOVi0yMDI2LUJFLTAwMTwvSUQ+PC9JbnZvaWNlPg=="
}
```

The `Base64XML` above encodes a **short illustrative XML fragment**, not a complete Peppol invoice. Your actual response contains the generated document; do not send the illustrative value to a buyer. Save `documentId` and follow the document: `200` is not proof of delivery.

## If something goes wrong

- `422` means validation failed. Read `errors[].getsPath`, `errors[].payloadPath` and `errors[].message`, correct the fields, then send again. Check the [Belgium validation rules](https://docs.complyance.io/countries/be/validation-rules/).
- `401` means the API key is missing or invalid. Check the bearer token. `403` can mean your key does not match the requested environment; use a sandbox key for `sandbox`.
- `404` for an unknown source means the name or version does not match an onboarded source. Check `source` against the company’s source details.

## Follow delivery

Follow the document by `documentId`, as described in [Submit and retrieve](https://docs.complyance.io/api-reference/unify/submit-and-retrieve/#follow-the-document). For Belgium, the last step Complyance takes is delivering the invoice to the buyer’s Peppol access point. The Invoice Portal then shows the document as **Submitted**, with delivery **Delivered**. There is no tax authority step after that, and the API does not report `final_valid` for a Belgian invoice: `isTerminal` stays `false` once it is delivered. Stop checking when `state` is `delivery_success` or `delivery_failed`. Confirm with the buyer that the invoice arrived.

## Credit note

A credit note uses `documentType.base` `credit_note` and positive amounts for the value credited. This one credits five of the twenty subscriptions on the invoice above.

```json title="credit-note.json — Belgian credit note"
{
  "country": "BE",
  "environment": "sandbox",
  "purpose": "invoicing",
  "source": "acme-erp:1.0.0",
  "documentType": { "base": "credit_note", "modifiers": [] },
  "payload": {
    "header": {
      "documentType": { "base": "credit_note" },
      "documentNumber": "CN-2026-BE-004",
      "issueDate": "2026-09-25",
      "currency": "EUR"
    },
    "parties": {
      "seller": {
        "name": "Meridian Logistics BV",
        "address": {
          "country": "BE",
          "city": "Brussels",
          "addressLine1": "12 Harbour Road",
          "postalCode": "1000"
        },
        "taxIds": [{ "type": "VAT", "value": "BE0123456749" }],
        "registrationNumbers": [{ "type": "CRN", "value": "0123456749" }],
        "peppolId": "0123456749"
      },
      "buyer": {
        "name": "Atelier Dupont BV",
        "address": {
          "country": "BE",
          "city": "Brussels",
          "addressLine1": "48 Market Street",
          "postalCode": "1000"
        },
        "taxIds": [{ "type": "VAT", "value": "BE0123456056" }],
        "registrationNumbers": [{ "type": "CRN", "value": "0123456056" }],
        "peppolId": "0123456056"
      }
    },
    "lineItems": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "name": "Cloud subscription",
        "quantity": 5,
        "unitCode": "C62",
        "price": { "amount": 100 },
        "lineTaxableValue": 500,
        "lineTotal": 500,
        "taxCategory": "S",
        "taxRate": 21,
        "taxAmount": 105
      }
    ],
    "taxTotals": [
      {
        "taxAmount": 105,
        "taxSubtotals": [
          {
            "taxableAmount": 500,
            "taxAmount": 105,
            "taxCategory": "S",
            "percent": 21
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "totals": {
      "totalLineTaxableAmount": 500,
      "totalAmountExcludingTax": 500,
      "totalTaxAmount": 105,
      "totalAmountIncludingTax": 605,
      "amountDue": 605
    },
    "extensions": {
      "peppol_seller_peppolIdScheme": "0208",
      "peppol_buyer_peppolIdScheme": "0208",
      "peppol_buyerAccountingReference": "PO-88213"
    }
  }
}
```

This request passes Unify’s validation as written. Send it the same way as the invoice.

Last updated 16 October 2026

Source: https://docs.complyance.io/countries/be/examples/