Germany

Phased Rollout Updated 2026-10-131 change this quarter

Baseline

Obligatory B2B e-Invoicing (E-Rechnungspflicht) under the Growth Opportunities Act (Wachstumschancengesetz) and Section 14 UStG

Germany requires domestic B2B invoices between businesses established in Germany to be issued as structured e-invoices that follow EN 16931. There is no central clearance platform and no real-time reporting: invoices are exchanged directly between the parties or through any network. Since 1 Jan 2025 every business must be able to receive e-invoices. The duty to issue starts on 1 Jan 2027 for businesses with larger turnover and on 1 Jan 2028 for all others.

Key Dates

27 Nov 2020Federal public bodies must receive e-invoices in XRechnung (B2G, under the e-Invoicing Ordinance ERechV)

1 Jan 2025All businesses must be able to receive EN 16931 e-invoices in B2B; paper and other formats are still allowed for issuing during the transition

1 Jan 2027Businesses with prior-year turnover above EUR 800,000 must issue e-invoices; paper and other formats end for them

31 Dec 2027End of transition for businesses with prior-year turnover up to EUR 800,000, and for EDI transmission with recipient consent

1 Jan 2028All businesses must issue e-invoices in a format that follows EN 16931

Who is in scope

Domestic B2B supplies between businesses established in Germany, including credit notes issued as invoices. Exempt from the issuing duty: invoices up to EUR 250, invoices from small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) that do not show VAT, and travel tickets. B2C sales are not covered, and every business must still be able to receive e-invoices.

Process

ERP creates the invoice in a compliant structured format → sent by email, EDI, Peppol or a portal → recipient receives and validates the data → recipient processes the invoice and claims input VAT → both sides archive the structured file unchanged

Official Sources

European Commission - 2026 Germany e-Invoicing Country Sheet Federal Government - e-Invoicing for issuers of invoices to the federal administration (e-rechnung-bund.de)

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