Status: The Qualified Invoice System has applied since 1 October 2023. Peppol e-invoicing remains voluntary and is not a nationwide B2B clearance mandate. JP PINT 1.1.2 is currently the mandatory production release; version 1.1.3 was published on 8 June 2026 and becomes mandatory on 7 September 2026. Last updated: 15 July 2026.
These are related digitalisation topics, but they are not the same obligation. The National Tax Agency’s Qualified Invoice System governs the evidence needed for Japanese consumption-tax purchase credits. The Digital Agency’s JP PINT governs a standard structured exchange format and Peppol ecosystem. A company can need compliant qualified invoices even when it does not exchange them through Peppol.
What the Qualified Invoice System requires
In principle, a buyer claiming input consumption-tax credit retains a ledger with prescribed information and a qualified invoice or other permitted evidence issued by a registered qualified-invoice issuer. A supplier must be registered before it can issue qualified invoices. Registration information is published by the National Tax Agency.
- Name of the qualified-invoice issuer and its registration number.
- Transaction date and transaction details, including identification of items subject to the reduced rate.
- Total consideration separated by tax rate, excluding or including tax, and the applicable tax rate.
- Consumption-tax amount separated by tax rate, stated in Japanese yen.
- Name of the business operator receiving the invoice, except where the simplified qualified-invoice rules apply.
Retail, restaurant, taxi and other specified businesses selling to many unspecified customers may issue simplified qualified invoices. The NTA also publishes transitional purchase-credit measures for purchases from non-registered suppliers. Its guide revised in April 2026 shows the deduction changing from 80% through 30 September 2026 to 70% from 1 October 2026 through 30 September 2028, followed by later reductions. For the 70%, 50% and 30% transition periods, tax-inclusive purchases from a single non-registered supplier above JPY 100 million in a year or fiscal year are excluded above that threshold; the revised limit applies to tax periods beginning on or after 1 October 2026. This is tax determination logic, not an electronic transmission status.
What JP PINT does—and does not do
The Digital Agency acts as Japan Peppol Authority and manages JP PINT, a Japanese specification compliant with Peppol PINT BIS Billing. Version 1.1.3 was published on 8 June 2026 for the Standard Invoice, Self-Billing Invoice and invoices from non-tax-registered businesses. It is the upcoming Peppol release and becomes mandatory on 7 September 2026; until then, version 1.1.2 remains the mandatory production release.
The Digital Agency materials establish the standard and the accreditation framework for certified service providers. They do not create a universal real-time tax-authority clearance step for every Japanese B2B invoice. Treat Peppol/JP PINT as an exchange-channel and interoperability decision unless a specific customer, supplier, service provider or procurement arrangement makes that channel contractually necessary.
- Qualified invoice: tax-document content, issuer registration and retention evidence.
- JP PINT: structured data rules for interoperable digital invoice exchange.
- Peppol service provider: the access route used to send and receive through the Peppol network.
- Not present: a DIAN-style tax-authority validation response that clears every invoice before issue.
Lifecycle, corrections and continuity
SAP should first produce correct tax and registration content. If JP PINT is selected, a separate mapping creates the structured message and the certified service-provider route returns transport or delivery evidence. Those network messages must not be labelled as National Tax Agency approval. Corrections, returns and cancellations should follow the company’s Japanese accounting and tax process, retain the link to the original document and, when exchanged electronically, use the applicable current JP PINT business process.
There is no central tax-clearance contingency queue to imitate. Continuity planning instead covers SAP output, the chosen service provider, customer delivery and evidence retention. If structured exchange is unavailable, apply the agreed channel fallback and preserve a single accounting document identity so that later retransmission does not duplicate the invoice.
What this means for SAP
- Maintain supplier registration numbers and effective dates, with a controlled validation process against NTA data.
- Configure standard and reduced rates, tax-category presentation, yen tax amounts and rounding consistently across billing, forms and accounting.
- Distinguish qualified, simplified qualified and non-qualified supplier scenarios in purchasing and retention controls.
- Introduce JP PINT mapping only for the business partners and channels that need structured exchange.
- Keep invoice compliance, Peppol transport status and accounting posting as related but separate states.
SAP documents Japan as a relevant country for Peppol Exchange connectivity and provides Japan-specific Peppol setup guidance for SAP Business Network. Scope still differs by product and business direction: inbound supplier invoice, outbound customer invoice, mapping ownership and supported JP PINT release must be confirmed for the exact SAP edition and release. Generic Peppol connectivity documentation should not be treated as proof of end-to-end Japan support for every landscape. S4FN delivery classification: S4FN implementation service for Qualified Invoice System readiness and, where selected, a JP PINT integration workstream. Existing SAP Japan functions, forms, partner requirements and service-provider capabilities are assessed before changes are proposed. This page does not describe JP PINT as a nationwide clearance mandate.
Primary sources
- National Tax Agency — Japan Invoice System Instructions, revised April 2026
- National Tax Agency — FY2026 Invoice System tax reform changes
- Digital Agency — JP PINT specifications and Japan Peppol Authority
- OpenPeppol — publishing and mandatory dates for JP PINT releases
- SAP Help — Integrating Peppol Exchange with SAP S/4HANA
- SAP Help — Peppol connectivity with SAP Business Network for Japan
Review note: NTA transitional rules, registration status, JP PINT releases and service-provider requirements can change. Confirm the transaction’s tax treatment with the National Tax Agency guidance and Japanese tax counsel, and confirm the current JP PINT package with the Digital Agency and selected provider before go-live. This page is implementation guidance, not legal or tax advice.