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Croatia — eRačun & HR-FISK

Croatia — eRačun and Fiscalization (Fiskalizacija)

Last Updated: 2026-02-20 Confidence Level: HIGH (Croatia is EU member with well-documented regulations)

Overview

Croatia, as an EU member state, implements a comprehensive e-invoicing and fiscalization system. Two parallel systems operate as of January 1, 2026:

  1. Fiscalization 1.0 — B2C (end consumer) transactions with real-time cash register fiscalization
  2. Fiscalization 2.0 — B2B and B2G electronic invoicing with mandatory use of the eRačun platform

Croatia Dual Fiscalization System

graph TD
    HR["Republika Hrvatska<br/>EU Member State<br/>VAT: PDV<br/>Currency: EUR (since 2023)"]

    HR --> FISC1["Fiskalizacija 1.0<br/>B2C transakcije<br/>Već na snazi (postojeći zahtjev)"]
    HR --> FISC2["Fiskalizacija 2.0<br/>B2B transakcije<br/>Obavezno od 01.01.2026"]

    FISC1 --> F1_REQ["Zahtjevi:<br/>Certificirani fiskalni uređaji<br/>Real-time veza s Poreznom upravom<br/>JIR (Jedinstveni identifikator računa)<br/>Odmah"]

    FISC2 --> F2_VAT["PDV Obveznici:<br/>Obavezno izdavati i primati<br/>e-račune od 01.01.2026<br/>Real-time reporting na eRačun"]
    FISC2 --> F2_NOVAT["Ne-PDV Obveznici:<br/>Primati e-račune od 01.01.2026<br/>Izdavati e-račune od 01.01.2027"]

    FISC2 --> FINA["FINA (Financijska agencija)<br/>Operator eRačun platforme<br/>Centralni hub za B2G i B2B<br/>www.fina.hr"]

    FISC2 --> B2G["B2G (Servis eRačun za državu)<br/>Obavezno od 01.07.2019<br/>UBL 2.1 (preporučeno)<br/>ili CII format"]

    style HR fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff
    style FISC1 fill:#fd7e14,color:#fff
    style FISC2 fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style FINA fill:#0d6efd,color:#fff
    style B2G fill:#198754,color:#fff
    style F2_VAT fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style F2_NOVAT fill:#ffc107,stroke:#e0a800

1. VAT/PDV Rate and Rules [HIGH]

Rate Structure (2026)

  • Standard Rate: 25% [HIGH] — one of the highest in the EU
  • First Reduced Rate: 13% [HIGH] — applies to:
    • Food products
    • Accommodation services
    • Utilities
  • Second Reduced Rate: 5% [HIGH] — applies to:
    • Books
    • Medicines
    • Daily newspapers
  • Zero Rate (0%): [HIGH] — applies to:
    • Intra-EU passenger transport
    • International passenger transport (excluding rail and road)

NOTE: Croatia does NOT use a super-reduced rate below 5% as of 2026.

Filing Requirements [MEDIUM]

  • Monthly VAT filing: Standard for most taxpayers [MEDIUM]
  • Annual tax return: Required [MEDIUM]

Tax Authority

  • Porezna uprava (Tax Administration) — Croatian Tax Authority [HIGH]
  • VAT compliance monitored through eRačun platform and Fiscalization 2.0 system

Croatia PDV Rate Structure

graph TD
    PDV_HR["PDV (VAT) — Hrvatska<br/>Porezna uprava"]

    PDV_HR --> STD["Osnovna stopa<br/>25%<br/>Jedna od najviših u EU<br/>Opća primjena"]
    PDV_HR --> RED1["Smanjena stopa 1<br/>13%<br/>Hrana<br/>Smještaj (hoteli)<br/>Komunalije"]
    PDV_HR --> RED2["Smanjena stopa 2<br/>5%<br/>Knjige<br/>Lijekovi<br/>Dnevne novine"]
    PDV_HR --> ZERO["Nulta stopa<br/>0%<br/>Intra-EU putnički prevoz<br/>Međunarodni prevoz"]

    PDV_HR --> CIT["Porez na dobit"]
    CIT --> CIT_SMALL["10%<br/>Prihodi &lt; 1M EUR<br/>Malo poduzetništvo"]
    CIT --> CIT_LARGE["18%<br/>Prihodi &ge; 1M EUR<br/>Veliko poduzetništvo"]

    PDV_HR --> REG["Prag PDV registracije<br/>60.000 EUR<br/>(EU 2025 usklađeno)"]

    style PDV_HR fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff
    style STD fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style RED1 fill:#fd7e14,color:#fff
    style RED2 fill:#ffc107,stroke:#e0a800
    style ZERO fill:#198754,color:#fff
    style CIT fill:#0d6efd,color:#fff

2. Electronic Invoicing — Dual System [HIGH]

A. B2G (Business-to-Government) — Mandatory Since July 1, 2019 [HIGH]

  • Law: Act on eInvoicing in Public Procurement (OJ 94/2018) [HIGH]
  • EU Directive: Transposes Directive 2014/55/EU [HIGH]
  • Mandatory since: July 1, 2019 [HIGH]

Technical Requirements [HIGH]

  • Platform: Servis eRačun za državu (eRačun Service for the State) [HIGH]
  • Format: Must comply with European Standard EN 16931 [HIGH]
  • Supported syntaxes:
    • UBL 2.1 (OASIS Universal Business Language) — recommended [HIGH]
    • CII (Cross-Industry Invoice) [HIGH]

Scope [HIGH]

  • All suppliers to public sector entities must issue structured e-invoices
  • Extended beyond EU requirements to include:
    • Procurement below EU thresholds (goods/services < €26,540, works < €66,360)
    • Direct award procedures (purchase orders)
  • Paper or non-compliant digital invoices are NOT accepted since July 1, 2019 [HIGH]

B. B2B (Business-to-Business) — Mandatory Since January 1, 2026 [HIGH]

  • Law: New Fiscalization Act 2026 (Fiscalization 2.0) [HIGH]
  • Effective Date: January 1, 2026 [HIGH]

Mandatory Requirements [HIGH]

  • All VAT-registered taxpayers MUST issue and receive structured e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions
  • Real-time reporting to tax authorities through national platform
  • Non-VAT registered taxpayers:
    • MUST receive electronic invoices from January 1, 2026 [HIGH]
    • MUST issue and fiscalize e-invoices from January 1, 2027 [HIGH]

Technical Format [HIGH]

  • Standard: EN 16931 compliance mandatory [HIGH]
  • Format: UBL 2.1 or CII [HIGH]
  • Platform: National eRačun monitoring system [HIGH]

Real-Time Reporting [HIGH]

  • All B2B e-invoices must be transmitted to Croatian Tax Authorities in real time
  • Centralized monitoring via eRačun platform (operated by FINA)

eRačun B2B Flow — Fiscalization 2.0

sequenceDiagram
    participant BILKO as Bilko
    participant CA as Certifikat<br/>(Croatian CA)
    participant ERACUN as eRačun platforma<br/>(FINA)
    participant BUYER as Kupac<br/>(B2B primatelj)
    participant POREZNA as Porezna uprava<br/>(Tax Authority)

    Note over BILKO,POREZNA: B2B obavezno od 01.01.2026<br/>Real-time reporting na Poreznu upravu

    BILKO->>BILKO: Kreirati e-Račun<br/>UBL 2.1 ili CII format<br/>EN 16931 validacija
    BILKO->>BILKO: Dodati PDV<br/>(25% / 13% / 5% / 0%)
    BILKO->>CA: Potpisati digitalno<br/>(kvalificirani certifikat)
    CA-->>BILKO: Potpisani račun

    BILKO->>ERACUN: POST e-račun<br/>(FINA API)
    ERACUN->>ERACUN: Validacija<br/>EN 16931 usklađenost<br/>Format i potpis

    alt Uspješna validacija
        ERACUN-->>BILKO: 200 OK + račun ID
        ERACUN->>POREZNA: Real-time reporting<br/>(porezni podaci odmah)
        ERACUN->>BUYER: Notifikacija: novi račun
        BUYER->>ERACUN: Preuzimanje e-računa
        ERACUN-->>BUYER: UBL 2.1 XML
        BUYER->>BUYER: Procesiranje i knjiženje
    else Neuspješna validacija
        ERACUN-->>BILKO: Greška validacije<br/>(EN 16931 kršenje)
        BILKO->>BILKO: Ispraviti i ponovo poslati
    end

    Note over BILKO: B2G (servis eRačun za državu):<br/>Isti tok, obavezno od 01.07.2019<br/>Svi dobavljači javnog sektora

3. FINA (Financijska agencija) [HIGH]

Role in E-Invoicing

  • FINA is Croatia's national financial agency [HIGH]
  • Operator: Manages the eRačun platform for B2G invoices [HIGH]
  • Function: Central hub for invoice transmission, validation, and tax reporting
  • Website: www.fina.hr

Croatia HR-FISK 2.0 Integration Architecture

graph TD
    subgraph BILKO_STACK["Bilko Internal Stack"]
        INV_ENGINE["Invoice Engine<br/>UBL 2.1 / CII Generator"]
        VAT_CALC["PDV Calculator<br/>25% / 13% / 5% / 0%"]
        CHART_HR["Računski plan (RRiF)<br/>HR Chart of Accounts"]
        CERT_MGR["Certifikat Manager<br/>Qualified CA Croatia"]
        EN16931["EN 16931 Validator<br/>EU standard compliance"]
    end

    subgraph FINA_PLATFORM["FINA eRačun Platform"]
        B2B_API["B2B API<br/>(Fiscalization 2.0)<br/>od 01.01.2026"]
        B2G_API["B2G API<br/>(Servis eRačun za državu)<br/>od 01.07.2019"]
        MONITOR["Monitoring sustav<br/>(Porezna uprava)"]
    end

    INV_ENGINE --> EN16931
    VAT_CALC --> INV_ENGINE
    CHART_HR --> INV_ENGINE
    CERT_MGR --> INV_ENGINE
    EN16931 --> B2B_API
    EN16931 --> B2G_API
    B2B_API --> MONITOR
    B2G_API --> MONITOR

    subgraph FUTURE["Fiskalizacija 1.0 — B2C (Buduće)"]
        CASH_REG["Fiskalni uređaji<br/>Certificirani cash register<br/>JIR identifikator"]
    end

    BILKO_STACK -.->|"Phase 2 if retail"| FUTURE

    style BILKO_STACK fill:#f8f9fa,stroke:#dee2e6
    style FINA_PLATFORM fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff,stroke:#c0392b
    style FUTURE fill:#adb5bd,color:#fff,stroke:#6c757d
    style B2B_API fill:#dc3545,color:#fff
    style B2G_API fill:#198754,color:#fff

4. Chart of Accounts Standard [MEDIUM]

Governing Framework [MEDIUM]

  • Primary Source: RRiF (Računovodstvo i financije) — Croatian accounting association [MEDIUM]
  • Document: RRiF's Chart of Accounts for Entrepreneurs (Računski plan za poduzetnike) [MEDIUM]
  • Multiple editions published: 18th (2014), 25th (2021), 26th (2023) [MEDIUM]

Accounting Standards [HIGH]

Croatia, as an EU member, follows:

  • EU Regulation 1606/2002: Application of International Accounting Standards [HIGH]
  • IFRS Standards (EU-adopted): Mandatory for:
    • Consolidated financial statements of publicly traded companies
    • Companies whose securities trade on a regulated market
  • SMEs: May use simplified standards [MEDIUM]

Chart Structure [MEDIUM]

The Croatian Chart of Accounts (Računski plan) follows traditional structure:

  • Class 0: Long-term assets (Stalna imovina)
  • Class 1: Current assets (Obrtna imovina)
  • Class 2: Short-term liabilities (Kratkoročne obaveze)
  • Class 3: Capital/Equity (Kapital)
  • Class 4: Long-term liabilities (Dugoročne obaveze)
  • Class 5: Expenses (Rashodi)
  • Class 6: Revenue (Prihodi)
  • Class 7: Cost (Troškovi)
  • Class 8: Off-balance sheet (Vanbilansna evidencija)
  • Class 9: Internal accounting

Industry Bodies [MEDIUM]

  • HGK (Hrvatska gospodarska komora): Croatian Chamber of Commerce — account codes for receivables [MEDIUM]
  • RRiF: Professional accounting guidance and chart publication [MEDIUM]
  • Ministry of Finance: Sets official accounting standards [HIGH]

5. Record Keeping Requirements [MEDIUM]

Retention Period [MEDIUM]

  • UNVERIFIED — needs confirmation from Croatian Accounting Law
  • Likely 5-10 years based on EU standards and neighboring country practices
  • RECOMMENDATION: Consult Croatian accounting advisor for exact retention periods per document type

Electronic Storage [MEDIUM]

  • Allowed: Yes, electronic storage permitted in Croatia [MEDIUM]
  • EU Compliance: Must follow EU standards for electronic archiving
  • Requirements:
    • Original format preservation
    • Integrity and authenticity guarantees
    • Audit trail maintenance

6. Fiscalization 1.0 (B2C) [HIGH]

Real-Time Cash Register Fiscalization [HIGH]

  • Applies to: All B2C (end consumer) transactions [HIGH]
  • Requirement: Tax receipt (or electronic equivalent) must be transmitted to Croatian Tax Authorities in real-time [HIGH]
  • Effective: Existing requirement, continues alongside Fiscalization 2.0

Technical Requirements [MEDIUM]

  • Certified fiscal devices (cash registers)
  • Real-time connection to Tax Authority servers
  • Unique receipt identifier (JIR — Jedinstveni identifikator računa)

7. MVP Impact Assessment

MVP-CRITICAL (Must Have for Legal Operation in Croatia)

  1. eRačun B2B Integration (Fiscalization 2.0) [HIGHEST PRIORITY]

    • UBL 2.1 or CII XML invoice generation
    • EN 16931 standard compliance
    • Real-time transmission to eRačun platform API
    • FINA platform integration
    • WITHOUT THIS: B2B invoicing is ILLEGAL in Croatia as of Jan 1, 2026
  2. PDV (VAT) Calculation [HIGH PRIORITY]

    • Support for 25% / 13% / 5% / 0% rates
    • Automatic rate selection based on product/service type
    • VAT report generation for monthly filing
  3. Croatian Chart of Accounts [HIGH PRIORITY]

    • RRiF-compliant account structure
    • Croatian language support for account names
    • IFRS-aligned for publicly traded clients (if targeting them)
  4. eRačun B2G Integration (if targeting public sector clients) [HIGH PRIORITY]

    • Servis eRačun za državu platform API
    • UBL 2.1 format (recommended)
    • EN 16931 compliance
    • Mandatory since 2019 — mature system

FUTURE (v2 or Later)

  1. Fiscalization 1.0 (B2C Cash Registers) [MEDIUM PRIORITY]

    • Only needed if Bilko targets retail/POS segment
    • Most B2B SaaS accounting software does NOT need this
    • Fiscal device certification required
  2. Advanced IFRS Features [LOW PRIORITY]

    • Full IFRS reporting for PIEs (Public Interest Entities)
    • Consolidated financial statements
    • Multi-entity accounting
  3. Multi-Currency Support [LOW PRIORITY]

    • Croatia uses Euro (€) since January 1, 2023 [HIGH]
    • Initial MVP: Euro only
    • Foreign currency: Phase 2

Implementation Notes for Bilko

Critical Path for Croatia

  1. eRačun API Integration

    • Priority #1 — B2B invoicing is MANDATORY since Jan 1, 2026
    • Study FINA eRačun API documentation
    • Sandbox testing environment available
    • FINA Documentation: www.fina.hr (Croatian language)
  2. UBL 2.1 Generator

    • Same engine can serve B2G and B2B
    • EN 16931 validation library required
    • Consider open-source UBL libraries (Java, PHP, Python)
  3. Digital Certificates

    • Qualified certificates required for invoice signing
    • Croatian CA (Certification Authority) needed
    • May require Croatian company registration
  4. Language Localization

    • Croatian language MANDATORY for:
      • Chart of accounts
      • Invoice templates
      • Tax reports
      • User interface (if targeting Croatian SMBs)

Risks

  • Mature Market: Croatia has had B2G e-invoicing since 2019 — competitors exist
  • Complexity: Dual system (1.0 + 2.0) adds overhead
  • EU Compliance: Stricter standards than Serbia/BiH
  • FINA Dependency: Single national platform — downtime = business stoppage

Competitive Advantage

  • EU Standards: Croatia's EN 16931 compliance means Bilko could expand to other EU markets more easily
  • First-Mover (Balkan SaaS): Few Balkan-region SaaS products support Croatian Fiscalization 2.0
  • Cross-Border: Croatian companies doing business in Serbia/BiH could use Bilko for all three markets

UNVERIFIED ITEMS — NEEDS LOCAL ADVISOR REVIEW

  1. Exact record retention period per document type: Likely 5-10 years, needs confirmation
  2. Non-VAT registered taxpayer e-invoicing delay: Confirmed Jan 1, 2027 — verify this is still valid
  3. FINA API technical specifications: Requires registration and Croatian company status?
  4. Digital certificate requirements: Type, issuing CA, cost
  5. Penalties for non-compliance: Fine amounts for missing/late B2B e-invoices

Sources