Skip to main content
Are you e-Invoice ready? Get your free compliance assessment score in 5 minutes -Are you e-Invoice ready?Take the test now
e-Invoice.app
  1. Dashboard
  3. Burundi

Burundi e-Invoicing

Last reviewed 6 October 2026

Exclusive Sponsor Slot Available

Be the featured e-invoicing solution for Burundi

Become a Sponsor
  • Key facts
  • Timeline
  • Tax & Compliance
  • Formats
  • Penalties
  • Exemptions
  • FAQ

Burundi requires VAT-registered taxpayers, and anyone obliged to keep accounts, to invoice through an electronic billing machine (MFE) approved by the Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR). Each invoice reaches the OBR's EBMS platform in real time. The OBR has told State buyers to demand an MFE invoice, and since July 2026 importers must hold an approved e-invoicing system.

Previous
8 April 2026
Nationwide verification campaign
Latest
4 August 2026
Importers must show a registered e-invoicing system at customs

Burundi e-Invoicing Overview

B2B
mandatory
since 29 September 2022
Article 47 of VAT Law No. 1/10 of 16 November 2020 obliges every VAT-registered taxpayer to use an electronic billing machine approved by the tax administration. Article 40 of Income Tax Law No. 1/14 of 24 December 2020 and article 146 of the 2022/2023 budget law extend the duty to any person obliged to keep simplified or full accounts, as the OBR's summary of the legal provisions sets out. Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/1457 of 29 September 2022 requires users to buy an approved MFE, show the buyer's tax number where there is one and transmit invoicing data in real time; in-house software must be adapted to OBR specifications. The OBR calls on taxpayers with turnover above BIF 25 million to acquire one . Under the 2026/2027 budget law , input VAT is deductible only if it appears on an invoice sent to EBMS when issued (article 99).
B2G
mandatory
since 29 September 2022
Suppliers to the State are bound by the same machine obligation, because Ordinance No. 540/1457 requires an MFE invoice for every customer who buys goods or services. Relying on article 234 of the 2025/2026 budget law, which required every purchase to be supported by an invoice in the tax administration's model, an OBR communiqué of 3 September 2025 told every State service managing public funds to demand an invoice from an OBR-approved machine, whatever the amount. It added that, under article 2(2) of Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/207 of 30 July 2025, a non-electronic invoice presented to the paying services draws a fine of 20% of its amount. Article 200 of the 2026/2027 budget law also requires defence and security bodies, the prison administration and other public services with commercial, industrial or agricultural income to register and use an approved system.
B2C
mandatory
since 29 September 2022
Consumer sales fall under the same rule. Article 16 of Ordinance No. 540/1457 requires users to deliver an MFE-generated invoice to each client buying a good or a service and to place the machine where customers can see it. Buyers are targeted too: article 269 of the 2026/2027 budget law requires every purchase to be supported by an invoice in the model set by the tax administration. Goods bought without one are confiscated and returned only against a fine of 20% of the purchase price, a rate that also applies to services paid for without an invoice; Ordinance No. 540/272 of 4 August 2026 sets the implementing rules.

Exclusive Sponsor Slot Available

Be the featured e-invoicing solution for Burundi

Become a Sponsor
Premium Sponsor

Available Slot

Become a sponsor
Premium Sponsor

Available Slot

Become a sponsor

Implementation Timeline(8 events)

Key mandate dates. Select a date for detail, or show all updates below.

VAT law makes electronic billing machines compulsory
16 November 2020
Legislative
Article 47 of Law No. 1/10 of 16 November 2020, amending the VAT law, requires every VAT-registered taxpayer to use an electronic billing machine that prints invoices showing VAT, approved beforehand by the tax administration. Articles 55 to 58 add the fines, as listed in the OBR's legal summary .
Budget law extends the duty to all bookkeeping taxpayers
4 July 2022
Legislative
Article 146 of Law No. 1/22 of 30 June 2022 on the 2022/2023 budget requires any person obliged to keep simplified or full accounts to use an approved machine. Ordinance No. 540/678 of 4 July 2022 set its implementing rules, according to the OBR's legal summary .
Ordinance on obtaining and using the MFE
29 September 2022
All
The Minister of Finance signed Ordinance No. 540/1457 , in force on signature. It defines the MFE as any device or virtual system that generates, stores securely and automatically transfers sales data to the OBR server, and sets supplier approval, user obligations and machine registration rules.
Machines distributed to large and medium taxpayers
3 April 2023
All
The OBR began a week of machine distribution and training for large and medium taxpayers in Bujumbura, after more than 500 machines had gone out since early March 2023. Taxpayers whose own software already sends invoices to the OBR were not concerned, the OBR reported .
Ordinance on electronic invoices for public contracts
30 July 2025
B2G
Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/207 of 30 July 2025, on the obligation to require an electronic invoice from public contract holders, fines a non-electronic invoice presented to the paying services 20% of its amount, as the OBR's communiqué recalls.
OBR reminds public fund managers of the rule
3 September 2025
B2G
The OBR Commissioner General told every State service managing public funds that it must demand an invoice from an OBR-approved electronic machine for all purchases, whatever the amount, in a communiqué dated 3 September 2025 .
Nationwide verification campaign
8 April 2026
All
The Minister of Finance and the OBR Commissioner General inspected shopping districts in Bujumbura and found machine use very low, with deliberate understatement of quantities and prices. The OBR reported that a nationwide verification campaign was under way.
Deadline to update in-house billing systems
31 July 2026
Technical
In a communiqué of 30 June 2026 , the OBR said that taxpayers running their own e-invoicing software had only partly updated their stock-management module for the link between the customs system (ASYCUDA) and EBMS. It issued new technical specifications for that module and set 31 July 2026 as the deadline to apply them.

Premium Sponsors

AvailableBecome a sponsor AvailableBecome a sponsor

Compliance Regime

Tax Authority
Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR)
CTC Model
Real-time reporting
EBMS, the OBR's Electronic Billing Management System, went into production in April 2022 and receives invoice data from taxpayers' own systems and from approved machines, as the OBR explained . Under version 0.7 of the EBMS interface specification , dated 4 December 2025, the taxpayer's system sends a copy of each invoice to the OBR through REST web services at the moment it is issued for printing, retrying until receipt is confirmed. It prints on each invoice an identifier it generates itself, and stores the electronic signature that EBMS returns as proof of receipt. Stock movements must also be sent, and importers must enter imported goods in the system before selling them. A cancelled invoice is either replaced by a new one that references it or cancelled through a dedicated method. Article 15 of Ordinance No. 540/1457 leaves the invoice format and mandatory mentions to the OBR Commissioner General.
Standards
OBR EBMS interface specification v0.7 (REST web services)

Record-keeping & Reporting

SAF-T
Not required
N/A

Technical Formats

JSON

Penalties

No electronic invoice
A taxpayer bound to use the machine who sells without issuing an electronic invoice is fined 100% of the VAT evaded, rising to 200% on repeat, under article 55 of the VAT law as listed in the OBR's legal summary .
Understated invoices
Issuing an electronic invoice that understates the value or quantity sold draws a fine of 100% of the VAT evaded, or 200% on repeat, under article 56 of the VAT law in the OBR's legal summary .
Invoice from another source
A taxpayer who issues an invoice other than one from the recognised electronic machine is fined 100% of the invoice amount under article 57 of the VAT law, according to the OBR's legal summary .
Tampering or unreported faults
Deliberately altering the machine, or failing to report a malfunction to the tax administration within three working days, draws a fine of BIF 3,000,000 under article 58 of the VAT law, as the OBR's legal summary sets out.
Non-electronic invoices in public procurement
Presenting a non-electronic invoice to public paying services is fined 20% of the invoice amount under article 2(2) of Ordinance No. 540/207 of 30 July 2025, recalled in the OBR communiqué to public fund managers .
Buying without an invoice
A buyer found with goods bought without an invoice in the tax administration's model has them confiscated until a fine of 20% of the purchase price is paid, and a 20% fine applies to services paid for without such an invoice, under article 269 of the 2026/2027 budget law and Ordinance No. 540/272 of 4 August 2026 .

Exemptions

Micro-taxpayers
The OBR spokesperson stated in September 2025 that machine use is a tax obligation for small, medium and large taxpayers but not for micro-taxpayers, as reported by the OBR .
Latest Update
New Mandate
4 Aug 2026

Importers must show a registered e-invoicing system at customs

Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/280 of 4 August 2026 requires importers of goods for resale or industrial use to present, with the customs declaration, the identifier of an e-invoicing system or machine registered in their name. Cross-border traders and small parcels worth up to USD 500 per shipment per week are excluded for six months from 1 July 2026. Ordinance No. 540/269 of the same date requires messes, hotels and businesses run by defence, security, prison and other public services to register and use an approved system.

View full details on News page

Official Sources

  • OBROffice Burundais des RecettesTax authority
  • EBMSSystème de facturation électronique, EBMS (Electronic Billing Management System)Mandate portal
Pro SponsorAvailable Pro SponsorAvailable Pro SponsorAvailable Pro SponsorAvailable Pro SponsorAvailable

Related Countries

  • BeninMandatory
  • Cabo VerdeMandatory
  • Democratic Republic of the CongoMandatory
  • EgyptMandatory

Frequently asked questions about e-Invoicing in Burundi

Yes, e-Invoicing is mandatory in Burundi for B2B (since 29 September 2022) and B2G (since 29 September 2022) transactions.

B2B e-Invoicing in Burundi is mandatory since 29 September 2022. Article 47 of VAT Law No. 1/10 of 16 November 2020 obliges every VAT-registered taxpayer to use an electronic billing machine approved by the tax administration. Article 40 of Income Tax Law No. 1/14 of 24 December 2020 and article 146 of the 2022/2023 budget law extend the duty to any person obliged to keep simplified or full accounts, as the OBR's summary of the legal provisions sets out. Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/1457 of 29 September 2022 requires users to buy an approved MFE, show the buyer's tax number where there is one and transmit invoicing data in real time; in-house software must be adapted to OBR specifications. The OBR calls on taxpayers with turnover above BIF 25 million to acquire one . Under the 2026/2027 budget law , input VAT is deductible only if it appears on an invoice sent to EBMS when issued (article 99).

B2G e-Invoicing in Burundi is mandatory since 29 September 2022. Suppliers to the State are bound by the same machine obligation, because Ordinance No. 540/1457 requires an MFE invoice for every customer who buys goods or services. Relying on article 234 of the 2025/2026 budget law, which required every purchase to be supported by an invoice in the tax administration's model, an OBR communiqué of 3 September 2025 told every State service managing public funds to demand an invoice from an OBR-approved machine, whatever the amount. It added that, under article 2(2) of Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/207 of 30 July 2025, a non-electronic invoice presented to the paying services draws a fine of 20% of its amount. Article 200 of the 2026/2027 budget law also requires defence and security bodies, the prison administration and other public services with commercial, industrial or agricultural income to register and use an approved system.

Burundi supports the following e-Invoice formats: JSON.

Burundi uses the following e-Invoicing standards: OBR EBMS interface specification v0.7 (REST web services).

EBMS, the OBR's Electronic Billing Management System, went into production in April 2022 and receives invoice data from taxpayers' own systems and from approved machines, as the OBR explained . Under version 0.7 of the EBMS interface specification , dated 4 December 2025, the taxpayer's system sends a copy of each invoice to the OBR through REST web services at the moment it is issued for printing, retrying until receipt is confirmed. It prints on each invoice an identifier it generates itself, and stores the electronic signature that EBMS returns as proof of receipt. Stock movements must also be sent, and importers must enter imported goods in the system before selling them. A cancelled invoice is either replaced by a new one that references it or cancelled through a dedicated method. Article 15 of Ordinance No. 540/1457 leaves the invoice format and mandatory mentions to the OBR Commissioner General.

Burundi has penalties for e-Invoicing non-compliance. No electronic invoice: A taxpayer bound to use the machine who sells without issuing an electronic invoice is fined 100% of the VAT evaded, rising to 200% on repeat, under article 55 of the VAT law as listed in the OBR's legal summary; Understated invoices: Issuing an electronic invoice that understates the value or quantity sold draws a fine of 100% of the VAT evaded, or 200% on repeat, under article 56 of the VAT law in the OBR's legal summary; Invoice from another source: A taxpayer who issues an invoice other than one from the recognised electronic machine is fined 100% of the invoice amount under article 57 of the VAT law, according to the OBR's legal summary; and 3 more.

B2C e-Invoicing in Burundi is mandatory since 29 September 2022. Consumer sales fall under the same rule. Article 16 of Ordinance No. 540/1457 requires users to deliver an MFE-generated invoice to each client buying a good or a service and to place the machine where customers can see it. Buyers are targeted too: article 269 of the 2026/2027 budget law requires every purchase to be supported by an invoice in the model set by the tax administration. Goods bought without one are confiscated and returned only against a fine of 20% of the purchase price, a rate that also applies to services paid for without an invoice; Ordinance No. 540/272 of 4 August 2026 sets the implementing rules.

Exemptions from Burundi e-Invoicing may apply to: Micro-taxpayers. Check specific criteria as exemptions vary by transaction type and business size.
    TermsPrivacyContact Us

    © 2026 e-Invoice.app