VAT in the Digital Age explained: Tax changes, e‑invoicing, digital transformation and more

VAT in the digital age (ViDA) is an EU initiative adopted in March 2025 that seeks to modernise, secure, and simplify the VAT system across Member States.

ViDA was born as a way to address challenges raised by the development of the platform economy, such as real-time digital reporting, VAT registration, and lost VAT revenues for tax administrations. The initiative aims to help EU countries collect more in VAT revenues, but how will this help your business to grow? And how can you successfully adapt to these changes?

VAT: The digital future

Traditionally, VAT has been paper and process heavy, but with the rise of ViDA and similar initiatives and regulations, that is changing fast.

Across the EU, we’re seeing a push to make VAT digital by design. Moving tax reporting towards real-time digital reporting, as well as the rise of e-invoicing, aiming to remove fraud and simplify compliance.

At the EU level, e-invoicing and digital reporting for VAT purposes is set to become mandatory for cross-border B2B and B2G transactions by July 2030 under ViDA regulations, with Member States standardising reporting systems by 2035.

For the UK, our initiative (Making Tax Digital for VAT) has been mandatory since 2022, meaning all VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and file VAT returns via MTD (Making Tax Digital) compatible software.

This trend indicates that whether you’re in the EU or the UK, VAT is becoming a digital system, and this may leave you with concerns about invoices and VAT records.

What ViDA means for working with Tax Authorities

ViDA changes both what tax authorities expect from businesses and how they interact.

First and foremost, tax authorities do not care if an invoice is paper or PDF, as long as they meet a few expectations.

1. Authenticity: Proving who issued the invoice
2. Integrity: Proving the invoice hasn’t been tampered with
3. Legibility: Proving the invoice can still be read and validated during a future audit

EU rules (and by extension, ViDA) states that e‑invoices are equivalent to paper versions as long as these three expectations are ensured through suitable controls—this is where digital signatures and eSeals come in.

Digital Signatures vs eSeals

eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services) regulations use two distinct types of electronic authenticity controls to link to relevant persons or organisations.

• Electronic signature (or digital signature): This is linked to a person. For example, a CFO approving a contract.
• Electronic seal (or eSeal): This is linked to an organisation. An eSeal is like a company stamp in digital form, proving that the invoice came from the organisation, but no specific person.

A qualified eSeal under eIDAS guarantees integrity and authenticity and is recognised across all EU Member States. Therefore, it’s a safe presumption that tax authorities are looking to use eSeals increasingly as a simplified way to process invoices.

Tax Authorities and eSeals

Organisation-level eSeals are a dream come true for tax authorities. As millions of invoices are received, finding a way to automatically verify the invoice is authentic and unaltered at scale is crucial to workflows. This is what eSeals are designed for.

When an organisation seals an invoice, the document is then cryptographically bound to their certificate, systems can instantly verify and log the sealing, and any change breaks the seal.

In aligning with VAT in the digital age (ViDA) regulations, eSeals offer proof of origin, integrity of content, and a strong audit trail with cryptographic evidence. eSeals turn an invoice into tamper-evident VAT evidence.

How ADSS Server enables eSeals at scale

So, how can organisations apply eSeals securely, consistently, and at a high volume?

That’s where Ascertia ADSS Server comes in. ADSS Server is our enterprise signing and sealing platform, using eSealing as a central signature service that allows invoices and VAT documents to be sealed centrally, according to policy, and with a complete audit trail.

ADSS Server ensures sealing happens in a controlled environment and turns your corporate eSeal into a governed signing service.

Seamless ADSS Server integration

Ascertia ADSS Server integrates cleanly into invoice-system environments like ERP, billing engines, finance automation tools and CRM platforms in two ways:

• API-based integration: Your ERP calls ADSS using REST APIs to seal an invoice from the moment of creation.
• Folder or queue-based integration: Your system outputs invoices to a monitored location where ADSS picks them up automatically.

Either way, the result is that every invoice is sealed at the point of creation within your workflow.

Automated sealing with ADSS Auto File Processor

For organisations who create hundreds or thousands of invoices a day, manual sealing takes up valuable time, effort, and money.

Thankfully, ADSS Server includes an Auto File Processor that offers zero manual effort, bulk processing at scale, a consistent application of policy, and a VAT-ready sealed archive.

Here’s how it works:

1. Your ERP generates an invoice
2. The invoice then drops into a monitored folder or endpoint
3. Auto File Processer automatically applies the correct eSeal
4. A trusted timestamp is added
5. The sealed invoice is routed onward for delivery or archiving

Remote authorised eSeals

There are still scenarios where sealing requires a real person in the loop, such as high-value invoices or regulated VAT documents requiring formal approval.

ADSS Server supports this through Remote Authorised Signatures and Seals.

This allows an authorised finance user to be notified of the requested use of the corporate eSeal, which they can then approve. The ADSS Server then applies the organisation’s eSeal using the centrally protected key.

The key never leaves the HSM, and every action is audit-logged. This provides human oversight without weakening security.

Adding Workflows & Approvals using SigningHub

SigningHub adds the business workflow layer by routing documents to approvers, supporting sequential or parallel approvals, adding reminders and escalations, and providing full evidence of who approved and when.

Then, ADSS Server provides the cryptographic sealing layer once approvals are complete.

The workflow then becomes:

1. The invoice or VAT document is generated
2. It then enters SigningHub for approval
3. Approvers review and approve digitally
4. ADSS Server applies the corporate eSeal
5. The sealed document is archived or delivered

SigningHub governs the business process, while ADSS protects the trust process. This combination delivers end-to-end VAT integrity with clear accountability.

How ADSS Server and SigningHub fit into ViDA

In the EU, VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) pushes businesses towards structured e‑invoicing, near real-time reporting, and increased scrutiny on fraud.

In the UK, Making Tax Digital (MTD) requires digital record-keeping and tighter auditability.

If your VAT process still relies on manual PDFs, insecure email attachments, and documents that can be edited without detection, then pressure from regulators and auditors is only going to rise as MTD and ViDA progress in their regulatory journey.

By embedding eSeals through ADSS Server (with automation via Auto File Processor and governance via SigningHub) you bake compliance into the workflow itself.

Starting your digital trust journey with Ascertia

ViDA is a perfect example of trust services like eSeals, timestamps, and validation coming together. VAT is evolving and eSeals are becoming a practical requirement for authenticity and integrity.

If you’re wondering where to start your digital trust journey, here’s a simple path:

1. Map your invoice creation flow
2. Seal at the end with ADSS Server
3. Choose your model:
   1. High-volume automation → Auto File Processor
   2. Approvals required → SigningHub + ADSS remote authorised sealing
   3. Mixed environment → Hybrid model
4. Decide on advanced vs qualified eSeals
5. Add timestamping for VAT retention
6. Document the policy for auditors

Invoices aren’t just accounting artefacts — they’re digital evidence, and digital evidence needs trust baked in. This pathway is simple, defensible, and scalable, and puts you in good stead for ViDA and MTD.

If you’d like to learn more about embedding these trust services into your invoicing and VAT workflows, get in touch with the team at Ascertia.