E-invoicing compliance and regulatory updates - Germany

Electronic Invoicing Germany

Germany has adopted a post-audit invoicing model, but it is currently moving towards implementing e-invoicing.

For Business-to-Government (B2G) invoicing, Germany imposed electronic invoicing on the federal level from 27 November 2020 with the introduction of the Central Federal Invoice Receiving Platform (Zentrales Rechnungseingangsportal - ZRE).

The implementation of this mandate varies across different federal states, each issuing its own legal decrees to outline the specific requirements governing communication systems, formats, and entry points for e-invoices.

As the national adaption of EU Directive 2014/55/EU, XRechnung is the B2G invoice standard. Other formats that follow this directive are also accepted.

The Main drivers for e-invoicing in Germany are the automotive and retail industries, which have developed industry-specific e-invoice formats, e.g. ViDA format.

For Business-to-Business (B2B) invoicing, true electronic invoicing is not mandatory.

However, the European Commission has officially approved the derogation of the EU VAT Directive allowing to apply B2B e-invoicing as of 1st January 2025.

On 22nd March 2024, the Bundesrat Federal Council gave the green light to implement the B2B e-invoicing mandate in Germany in a phased rollout from 2025, and 2028.

 According to the  law of the German e-invoicing obligation, accepting electronic invoicing in a structured format will be mandatory starting on on 1st January 2025 for all German businesses, from 1st January 2027 companies with turnover equal or more to 800K Euros must issue e-invoices that comply with the EN-16931; and from 1st January 2028 full implementation. All other companies must be able to issue their invoices electronically in compliance with EN-16931.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Want to learn more about e-Invoicing compliance?

Download our Global e-invoicing and Tax Compliance fact sheet here for more information.

Archiving

Digital invoice archiving is allowed in Germany. The default retention period is 10 years. The readability, integrity and authenticity need to be guaranteed for stored invoices. Basware provides compliant invoice archiving in Germany through the Basware Vault service.

Since 30 March 2017, all paper invoices issued or received can be destroyed after being scanned and stored digitally, provided regulations are followed. Basware supports these rules through the combination of the Basware Scan & Capture and Basware Vault services.

Want to know more about Basware’s archiving services?

Download our Basware Vault fact sheet here to learn more about our flexible and scalable solution.

Basware Services

Basware supports all methods to receive invoices, including paper, portal, PDF, and true e-invoicing. We operate local scan centres to scan and capture (OCR) data from paper invoices. To support electronic invoicing for suppliers that are not suitable for e-Invoicing connections, Basware has established native PDF services that are not based on OCR.

All methods are available to send invoices, including the delivery to the ZRE (B2G) platform and Peppol. We can deliver invoices as true invoices via email with attached PDF, on our portal, or printed locally.

We can capture data from German-language invoices, provide supplier and buyer portals in German, and can support you in German.

Want to find out how we can help in your specific case?

Speak to a member of our team to learn more.

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Interoperability

At Basware, we are passionate about delivering the benefits of open interoperability to our customers. So, we have partnered with more than 220 e-invoicing networks around the world to ensure that the Basware Network remains the largest open commerce network of buyers and suppliers.

In Germany, we have developed connections with major organisations, including:

• B4Value
• Comarch
• Crossgate
• Crossinx
• Datev
• DIG - Digitalinformation gate
• D-Trust – Bundesdruckerei/B4Value
• e-Integration
• Esker
• HBS Health Business Solutions
• Inposia Systems
• IO-Market
• Logata Digital
• Neopost
• nMedia
• SGH Service
• Softshare Network
• Softzoll
• StratEDI
• Taulia
• Ximantix

These connections, among others, allow us to deliver invoices over the Basware Network to customers across the globe.

Our advice

Germany allows various invoicing methods, including paper, PDF, electronic, and portal key-in invoices. High levels of true electronic invoices can be obtained with adequate enablement campaigns.

We advise both invoice receivers and invoice senders to reach out to their customer/supplier base and discuss the possibility to deliver invoices electronically. This will drive cost reduction, increased automation, and improved collaboration.

The Basware Network provides access to a large existing buyer/supplier base in Germany. Our experts are here to support you in your e-invoicing transformation.

Want to understand how we can help in your case?

Get in touch with our experts.

Contact us