E-Invoicing Germany: Obligation, Deadlines and Formats
E-invoicing is mandatory in Germany. Since 1 January 2025, every company must be able to receive electronic invoices. Staggered deadlines apply for sending, putting many companies under time pressure. We show who is affected from when, which formats apply and how to implement e-invoicing in Germany with BESITEC.
The B2B E-Invoicing Obligation: Deadlines from 2027
Since 1 January 2025, every domestic company must be able to receive and process electronic invoices, regardless of size or turnover. A plain PDF invoice no longer qualifies as an e-invoice under German law.
Staggered deadlines apply for sending. From 1 January 2027, companies with more than 800,000 euros in prior-year revenue must issue e-invoices. From 1 January 2028, the obligation applies to all companies in B2B transactions. Existing EDI processes remain permitted as long as the VAT-relevant fields can be extracted.
- Since 1 January 2025: obligation to receive e-invoices for all companies
- From 1 January 2027: obligation to send for companies with more than 800,000 euros prior-year revenue
- From 1 January 2028: obligation to send for all companies in B2B
- Permitted formats: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD in accordance with EN 16931
E-Invoicing for Public Authorities (B2G)
Due to existing legal regulations for invoice processing in the federal administration, you are obligated to transmit invoices electronically to your client of the federal administration since November 27, 2020 and from an invoice amount of 1000€. An electronic invoice is a structured uniform XML data set, which must follow the requirements of the European standard EN-16931. The standards have been implemented with the XRechnung standard. A mere image file or PDF document is therefore not an electronic invoice. To avoid manual entry and a lot of effort via the central invoice receipt platform (ZRE), the Peppol-network is considered to be the solution for an automated invoice dispatch.
The obligation towards public authorities exists independently of the VAT-based B2B obligation. Both regulations apply alongside each other.
- Mandatory since November 27, 2020
- The new standard is called XRechnung
- Invoices by mail or as PDF are not accepted
- Sending via Peppol network is your automated solution of invoicing
E-Invoicing at Federal State Level
The federal e-invoicing regulation is not mandatory for the federal states, which implement the EU Directive 2014/55/EU on their own responsibility. As of today, some federal states have introduced the obligation to issue invoices electronically. This means that contract partners of public clients must issue e-invoices to these federal states. The development shows that more and more federal states are making the sending of electronic invoices mandatory. The new standard is also called XRechnung. The overview shows which obligations and exceptions apply in the respective federal states.
- In some federal states the eInvoice is mandatory
- Accepted standard in all states XRechnung
- Invoices by mail or as PDF are not accepted in some states
- Sending via Peppol network is your automated solution of invoicing
E-Invoicing at Federal State Level
Obligatiory: since 01.01.2022
Exceptions:
-invoices up to 1000 Euro net
-invoices to municipalities and municipal associations
Information page | www.service-bw.de/erechnung/ |
Transmission methods | E-Mail, Web-Upload, Peppol |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, EN 16931, ZUGFeRD |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | www.e-rechnung.bayern.de |
Transmission methods | E-Mail, De-Mail, Peppol |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
| Recipient identification | No routing ID necessary |
Obligation: No
Information page | xrechnung-bdr.de (OZG-RE) |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing ID / Peppol ID |
Obligation: No
-> but can be contractually agreed
Information page | xrechnung-bdr.de (OZG-RE) |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing ID / Peppol ID |
Obligatiory: since 27.11.2020
Exceptions: “Direct purchases” up to 1000 Euro net
Information page | www.e-rechnung.bremen.de |
Transmission methods | Webservice, Peppol, Email, De-Mail |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligatiory: since 01.01.2022
Exceptions:
– Invoices for deliveries and services up to 1000 Euro
– Invoices for construction services up to 3000 Euro
Information page | www.hamburg.de/kasse/13082768/e-rechnung/ |
Transmission methods | Peppol, E-Mail |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligatiory: from 17.04.2024
Information page | verwaltungsportal.hessen.de |
Transmission methods | Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, ZUGFeRD, all CEN-compliant formats |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligatory: from 01.04.2023
Information page | xrechnung-bdr.de (OZG-RE) |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | rechnung.niedersachsen.de/startseite |
Transmission methods | “ePoststelle”, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Reciepient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
-> but can be contractually agreed
Information page | www.vergabe.nrw.de/wirtschaft/e-rechnung-nrw |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, E-Mail |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligatory: from 17.04.2024
Information page | erechnung.service.rlp.de/de/informieren |
Transmission methods | Central Invoice Receipt RLP, Peppol, email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligatory: since 01.01.2022
Exceptions:
-Invoices up to 1000 Euro net
-for cash and immediate payment with debt-free effect, regardless of amount
Information page | e-rechnung.ego-saar.de |
Transmission methods | Central Invoice Receipt RLP, Peppol, email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | xrechnung-bdr.de (OZG-RE) |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identification | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | mid.sachsen-anhalt.de/digitales/e-rechnung |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identfication | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | serviceportal.schleswig-holstein.de/Verwaltungsportal/Service/Entry/XRECHNUNG |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identfication | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Obligation: No
Information page | xrechnung-bdr.de (OZG-RE) |
Transmission methods | Portal, Peppol, Email |
Valid invoice formats | XInvoice, or any standard that is compliant with the EU standard. |
Recipient identfication | Routing-ID / Peppol-ID |
Note:
All federal states can receive e-invoices. This overview shows in which states suppliers are required to actively issue e-invoices.
How to Implement E-Invoicing in Germany
Whether receiving invoices, sending to public authorities or fully automated exchange with business partners: BESITEC connects you as a certified Peppol Access Point Provider to the Peppol network. For smaller volumes via our platform web.invoice, for higher volumes directly to your ERP system.
Jannik Stamm
Head of EDI