Reception

What if I only receive invoices and do not issue them?

⚠ Machine-translated answer, not yet manually reviewed. For the exact wording, see the Slovak original.

Short answer

Prepare the receiving side of the process: technical receipt, validation, internal approval, accounting hand-off and compliant archiving. Not issuing invoices does not by itself remove an obligation to be able to receive e-invoice where the statutory conditions for receipt are met.

Inbox

Where will the document come from?

It must be clear who receives the XML and who sees it.

Viewer

Readable Preview

The accountant and approver need to read the invoice without XML knowledge.

Approval

Internal flow

Physical control, accounting and payment should have status.

Archive

Original XML

A PDF is not sufficient as a single evidence file.

Detailed explanation

A received e-invoice is not just a file in an email. It should have a point of receipt, access rules, validation, approval, a link to the order or payment, and an archive of the original. If you have an external accountant, you need to agree whether they will receive the XML file, a PDF preview, a report, or the entire audit package.

As set out in the Act

The law and the interpretation of obligations distinguish between issuing and receiving. The recipient must know how to handle an e-invoice if it has been delivered to them under the mandatory regime.

Practical examples

  • The company does not issue invoices, but receives supplier XML files and needs to approve them.
  • An external accountant receives a monthly package containing XML files, reports and a list of statuses.
  • The received XML files fail validation, and the company sends a specific report to the supplier.

Most common mistakes

  • “As I don’t issue invoices, e-invoice doesn’t apply to me.” Receiving invoices is a separate obligation and process.
  • “It’s enough that the postman has the XML.” The company must have its own archive and audit trail.
  • “I’ll send the accountant a screenshot.” The original data and processing status must be submitted.

Conclusion

If you only receive invoices, prepare the receipt, validation, approval and archiving workflow.

Legal basis

  • Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT, Section 76a a Section 85o
  • Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic e-invoice FAQ
  • Internal workflow model of received e-invoices

Related questions

This is not legal advice. Sources: Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on VAT, Slovak Financial Administration e-invoicing FAQ, OpenPeppol BIS Billing 3.0 and the Slovak e-Invoicing Centre’s internal validation model. Verified on 6 July 2026.