A PDF may look like an invoice to a person, but it is generally not structured for automatic processing by connected systems.
The defining characteristics
An eInvoice is issued, transmitted and received in a structured electronic format. This allows systems to read fields consistently, apply validations, exchange data and process it without manual re-entry.
What is excluded from the definition
The Ministry of Finance explicitly distinguishes eInvoices from unstructured formats such as PDF, Word documents, images, scanned copies and email.
The business implication
Preparation must focus on source data, mappings, workflows, system connectivity and exception management, not only on how the invoice document looks.
