What you need to know about e-invoicing as a biller
By 27 November 2020, you must be capable of generating and submitting electronic invoices (in short: e-invoicing) and of storing these securely for the required retention period. It is also likely that your outgoing invoicing system will need changing, internal processes will need adapting, and employees will need training. This also means: After 27 November 2020, you will no longer be able to send any paper invoices or PDF invoices, still customary at the moment, to the Federal Government’s public contracting authorities.
General informations on e-invoicing
What is an e-invoice?
An e-invoice is invoice information that is transmitted electronically and automatically received and processed. An e-invoice facilitates consistent, automated transmission and processing of invoice information from the invoice submission to payment.
An e-invoice provides invoice content in a structured, machine-readable data set instead of on paper or in an image file such as a PDF. This ensures that information provided in this form by the invoice issuer can be:
a) transmitted electronically
b) received electronically
c) as well as processed and approved for payment automatically and seamlessly.
What is a buyer reference?
In order for the invoice issuer or sender to be able to send an electronic invoice to the correct address, the invoice recipient must be uniquely identified and addressable. The buyer reference is called “Leitweg-ID” in German.
The buyer reference enables electronic addressing and forwarding of the e-invoice by the Federal Central Invoice Submission Portals of the Federal Government to the connected ERP or release systems of the authorities of the Federal Administration.
The buyer reference is specified in the standard XRechnung invoice in the field ‘Buyer reference’ (BT-10) and must be transmitted as mandatory information on every e-invoice.
Electronic invoices are to be sent to which parties?
The following applies to the Federal Administration: The Regulation on Electronic Invoicing (E-RechV) essentially stipulates that electronic invoices must be sent to all invoice recipients who are authorities as defined by Section 159 (1)(1-5) of the Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) from 27 November 2020. This therefore concerns the highest federal authorities, the Federal Government’s constitutional bodies, and the direct and indirect Federal Administration authorities (so-called sub-central public contracting authorities). You will usually receive relevant information for the exchange of electronic invoices from your contracting authority.
The list below also provides an overview of the Federal Administration authorities and companies that are accepting electronic invoices via the Federal Government’s platforms. The same requirements for the transmission of invoices apply to all of these invoice recipients. The overview below distinguishes between the ZRE and OZG-RE invoice submission platforms and the recipient Federal Administration authorities and institutions. The lists will be expanded on a continual basis. At the moment the documents are only available in German language.
Download ZRE connection list (DE)
Download OZG-RE connection list (DE)
If you are unsure, contact your contracting authority and ask for more information about electronic invoicing.
For high invoice volumes, the transmission channels web service via Peppol, email and in future De-Mail are suitable. If you submit few electronic invoices, you can upload pre-generated electronic invoices to the invoice receipt platform. If you do not have software for creating electronic invoices, you can enter your invoice data directly via the web entry and submit it as an electronic invoice. The invoice receipt platform then generates the electronic invoice for you and provides you with your electronic outgoing invoice so that you can store it securely. Not sure which transmission channel is right for you? Our decision template will help you: At the moment the document is only available in German language. The Federal Government provides two invoice receipt platforms for the transmission of e-invoices to federal public-sector customers: ZRE for electronic invoices to direct Federal Administration institutions (e.g. ministries and higher federal authorities). OZG-RE for electronic invoices to entities of the indirect Federal Administration (e.g. independent entities that have taken over federal tasks). The invoice recipients will let you know via which invoice receipt platform they can be reached. In order to use an invoice receipt platform, you must register there (create a user account) and have the desired transmission channels activated. An e-invoice must contain at least the following information in accordance with the E-RechV : ✓ Buyer reference *if this number has already been transmitted to the invoice issuer at the time of commissioning. The ZRE and OZG-RE invoice submission platforms provide invoice senders with various transmission channels for sending e-invoices to invoice recipients. There are some aspects to bear in mind when using the email transmission channel on both invoice submission platforms: Important information about using the email transmission channel The Federal Government’s E-Invoicing Act and the Federal Government’s Regulation on Electronic Invoicing govern the exchange of invoices between the direct and indirect Federal Administration and its suppliers. The individual federal states have the authority to implement EU Directive 2014/55/EU. From 27 November 2020, apart from a few exceptions, the Federal Government will require its suppliers to submit e-invoices. The electronic invoicing requirements applicable to you, as a supplier to federal state authorities and companies, will be regulated in the respective statutory provisions of the states. At federal state level, the ZRE (direct Federal Administration) and OZG-RE (indirect Federal Administration) invoice submission portals are provided for the exchange of invoices. The federal states can also connect to the OZG-RE but provide their own invoice submission solutions as well. The table below lists websites providing information about e-invoicing within the respective federal states, and is therefore an initial aid to obtaining an overview of the local implementation. For more information, see the KoSIT Country Comparison. If you have doubts about the legal situation, we recommend addressing your questions to your contracting authority within the state administration directly.
What you should to consider by invoice submission
Download decision template for choosing a transmission channel (DE)
✓ Bank details
✓ Terms of payment
✓ An email or De-Mail address of the invoice issuer
✓ Supplier number*
✓ Purchase order number*List of information websites about e-invoicing in the states
Federal state Information site (incl. link) Baden-Württemberg service-bw.de Bavaria e-rechnung.bayern.de Berlin berlin.de/e-rechnung Brandenburg mdfe.brandenburg.de Bremen e-rechnung.bremen.de Hamburg Further information to follow Hessen verwaltungsportal.hessen.de Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania mv-serviceportal.de Lower Saxony rechnung.niedersachsen.de North Rhine-Westphalia vergabe.nrw.de Rhineland-Palatinate e-rechnung.rlp.de Saarland e-rechnung.saarland
For information about the user account and terms of use: e-rechnung.service.rlp.deSaxony egovernment.sachsen.de Saxony-Anhalt Further information to follow Schleswig-Holstein Further information to follow Thuringia finanzen.thueringen.de
Documents to download for billers
Brochure for billers
This brochure provides a comprehensive overview of the introduction of e-invoicing in the Federal Administration and the ways in which billers can introduce e-invoicing.
Download broschure for billersSupplier information
This information letter provides billers with a brief overview of the introduction of e-invoicing within the Federal Administration and answers to frequently asked questions.
Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine (Peppol) Guidelines
This document provides information about using the Peppol input channel for the Central Invoice Submission Portal (CISP/ZRE). At the moment the document is only available in German language.
ZRE web interface user guide
The aim of this guide is to introduce the ZRE web interface to suppliers and service providers. The individual steps to create an electronic invoice are clearly explained using screenshots from the ZRE web interface.
OZG-RE web interface user guide
The aim of this guide is to introduce the OZG-RE web interface to suppliers and service providers. The individual steps to create an electronic invoice are clearly explained using screenshots from the OZG-RE web interface. At the moment the document is only available in German language.
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