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F – Free of charge

F – Free of charge

Submitting e-invoices to the federal invoice submission portals is free of charge.

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Buyer reference

What does the ZRE/OZG-RE error message ‘buyer reference is not valid’ mean?

If the buyer reference provided by the contracting authority is not accepted by the invoice receipt platform, first contact your contracting authority directly.

If you cannot find a joint solution to the problem, the client should address the problem with the ZFB.

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.

Construction invoice

How can I submit invoices which, together with their attachments, exceed 15 megabytes?

How can I submit invoices which, together with their attachments, exceed 15 megabytes?
- It may sometimes be necessary to send supporting attachments separately. In such cases, please contact your invoice recipient to arrange an alternative transmission method for the attachments (e.g. a separate email).

Further information can be found in the terms of use of the respective submission portals:

ZRE: https://xrechnung.bund.de/prod/er_files/nutzungsbedingungen_technisch_de.jsp

OZG-RE: https://xrechnung-bdr.de/edi/assets/de/TermsAndConditions.pdf

We are currently working on a technical solution for the transmission of large attachments.

How can external auditors be involved in the auditing process before the invoice is sent to the recipient?

Involvement of an external auditor constitutes a special case when it comes to electronic invoice processing. You have the option of sending e-invoices to your auditor via email in the form of XML files. The auditor can use a viewer or other software tool to audit your e-invoices and edit them if required.

E-invoicing

Are tax-free invoices exempt from the requirement to be sent as e-invoices?

No. Tax-free invoices are not generally exempt from this requirement. They should be submitted in electronic form.

Which formal requirements must be observed for the creation of e-invoices?

The latest version of the XRechnung standard must always be used when issuing e-invoices. Another standard (e.g. ZUGFeRD 2.1.1 XRechnung profile without PDF visual format, as a purely structured XML file) can also be used if it complies with the requirements of the European standard for electronic invoicing (EN-16931), the Federal Government’s Regulation on Electronic Invoicing (E-RechV) and the Federal Government’s terms of use for the invoice submission platforms.
Invoice formats that do not comply with the requirements of the European standard cannot be taken into account.
Invoice supporting documents or attachments must be embedded in the invoice data record and may not be sent separately as an attachment to an email or De-Mail.
The maximum permissible size of an invoice depends on the transmission channel selected (e.g. for ZRE: 10 MB for email attachments or 11 MB for attachments in the web entry). Please refer to the terms of use of the platform. The maximum number of embedded documents supporting the invoice is limited to 200. Permitted file types of the embedded documents are: ‘png’, ‘pdf’, ‘jpg’, ‘jpeg’, ‘xlsx’, ‘ods’ and ‘csv’.“. Attachments may not contain active content (e.g. macros). Changes to these restrictions will be announced via the invoice receipt platforms.
Invoice documents with attachments that require paper-based submission under other legal provisions (export certificates, customs documents, etc.) remain unaffected by the above regulations.
More detailed information on the XRechnung standard can be found at KoSIT.

German e-invoicing regulation

Does a direct order constitute an exception under the electronic invoicing obligation?

In principle, the obligation for contractors to invoice the Federal Government electronically applies from 27/11/2020 in accordance with the Regulation on Electronic Invoicing (E-RechV). There are, however, a few exceptions to this obligation. These exceptions are also explained in the individual provisions of the E-RechV. According to Section 3(3)(1) E-RechV, the general electronic invoicing obligation in paragraph 1 of the ERech-V does not apply to direct orders. The direct order is specifically defined in Section 14 of the Regulation on Sub-Threshold Procurement (UVgO):

Services up to an estimated order value of EUR 1000.00 (excluding VAT) can be obtained without having to carry out a procurement procedure, taking into account the budgetary principles of efficiency and economy.

What are the benefits of e-invoicing for suppliers?

The electronic invoice becomes part of an end-to-end digital business process. Processing of electronic invoices is less error-prone and it is faster due to the digital transmission of data. In addition, costs for paper and postage are avoided. It facilitates working from anywhere – whether from home, on the road or in the office: There is full flexibility in invoice processing.

German e-invoicing standard

What is the XRechnung extension?

In order to cover sector-specific areas of application, EU member states can expand the semantic data model of European standard EN 16931 using extensions. This has been possible in Germany since 1 January 2021. The XRechnung extension makes it possible to add several sub invoice lines below a single invoice line. The extension also allows XML files to be embedded in the invoice as attachments.

How can an XRechnung data set be viewed?

The XRechnung XML data set must be viewed by the invoice recipient for further processing. Usually, the data set is viewed within the (ERP) system. KoSIT also offers a corresponding viewing component. The components to support viewing within a system are publicly available in the XRechnung GitHub.

If the invoice cannot be processed in a system-supported and automated way, the use of a viewing solution is recommended in order to better ‘detect’ potential errors.

Invoice issuers/senders also need to be able to view the original invoice – the XML data set – to complete accounting processes. The functionality can be integrated in the electronic outgoing invoice system or ensured via a dedicated viewing solution.

Glossary

T – Tutorials

Do you need help using the invoice submission portals? On our media page you will find video tutorials on how to use both the ZRE and OZG-RE portals (German only).

F – Free of charge

Submitting e-invoices to the federal invoice submission portals is free of charge.

OZG-RE

Is it possible to save a local copy of e-invoices entered in the OZG-RE?

Yes, it is possible to save a local copy of sent invoices. A manual Download option is available in the “Processing status of submitted XRechnung invoices” section.

Note: The platform does not provide any audit-proof archive for invoice issuers. The generated e-invoice must be archived in XML format by the supplier or invoice issuer.

What data is required for registration with OZG-RE?

To register a company account for the first time, at least the following data must be entered:

Company data:

Business name
Language
VAT identifier
Tax registration number

User data:

First name
Last name
Language
Email
Password

At the same time, the terms of use and Privacy Policy must be accepted.

Download the OZG-RE privacy notice

If your company is already registered for the OZG-RE and only a new user needs to be created by the administrator, the following information must be provided:

First name
Last name
Email

Peppol

What should invoice issuers outside Germany bear in mind when transmitting e-invoices via the Peppol web service?

Invoice issuers from inside and outside Germany may use the Peppol web service to transmit e-invoices to the federal invoice submission portals.

However, please note the following:

In order to send e-invoices via Peppol, invoice issuers need a Peppol sender ID. While you are free to choose your own Peppol sender ID, its structure must comply with a schema defined by Peppol; for invioce issuers in Germany, the sender ID is normally based on their VAT ID number.

In order to submit an electronic invoice via Peppol from outside Germany to an organisation in the German federal administration, the schema of the sender ID must be included in an approved code list defined by Peppol.

Foreign VAT IDs are often based on a schema which is not suitable for transmitting e-invoices via Peppol and are thus not approved.

Peppol code lists are available here: docs.peppol.eu/

Invoice issuers from outside Germany may freely choose from the schemas on this list to create their own Peppol sender ID.

More information on Peppol is available he r e and in these FAQs.

What is the Peppol Participant ID?

For a sender to be able to accurately address the correct recipient, all access points and the relevant recipients need to recognise each other.

In the Peppol network, the Peppol participant ID (Peppol ID) serves to clearly identify a given participant. A distinction is made between the sender ID (invoice issuer) and the receiver ID (invoice recipient). If you wish to send an invoice via Peppol, you may use the Global Location Number (GLN) preceded by the prefix 0088 or the VAT ID plus the prefix 9930 as an individual sender ID when setting up your Peppol account.

Invoice recipients require a receiver ID. For all public institutions that are connected to the ZRE or OZG-RE invoice submission portals, the Peppol receiver ID corresponds to the buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) preceded by the prefix 0204 (e.g. 0204:991-33333TEST-33).

In addition, recipients need to be registered with a Service Metadata Publisher (SMP) server so that they can be technically found. The SMP stores other metadata concerning each participant too, e.g. data regarding the types of documents which a given participant is able to receive and the access point to which they are connected. There is no need for invoice senders to register their participant ID with an SMP as long as they only want to send.

Examples of Peppol sender IDs (invoice senders):

9930:VAT ID

0088:Global Location Number

Example of a Peppol receiver ID (invoice recipient):

0204:buyer reference

What you should to consider by invoice submission

Which transmission channels are available within the invoice receipt platforms?

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:

Download decision template for choosing a transmission channel (DE)

At the moment the document is only available in German language.

What must be considered when sending via email?

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

ZRE

Is there ZRE support for invoice issuers?

A telephone and email support service is available to answer your questions about using the ZRE or if you are having issues:

+49 (0)30 2598 4436

(Mon – Fri 08:00 AM – 04:00 PM)

How can I change or reset the password in my user account for the ZRE?

It is possible to change the password via the ZRE web access. Users can manage passwords directly after logging in via the function ‘Start user administration’ and ‘Edit my user account’.

The password can be reset via the function ‘Forgot my password’ on the login page of the ZRE.

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Most clicked FAQs

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E-invoicing

E-Rechnung

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German e-invoicing regulation

E-RechV

Go to the XRechnung FAQ

German e-invoicing standard

XRechnung

Go to the Buyer Reference FAQ

Buyer reference

Leitweg-ID

Go to the ZRE FAQ

Central Invoice Submission Portal

ZRE

Go to the OZG-RE FAQ

Online Access Act-Compliant Invoice Submission Portal

OZG-RE

Go to the PEPPOL FAQ

Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine

Peppol

Additional information

Important e-invoicing documents for download

Simply download your desired document or scroll through it online.

Regulation on Electronic Invoicing (E-RechV)

Directive on electronic invoicing

Timeline of the e-invoicing legislation

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