Electronic invoicing via the federal government's e-invoicing platforms
Description
If your company provides services to contracting authorities, you will need to submit your invoices electronically via the e-invoicing platforms. This applies to invoices to the following contracting authorities:
- all institutions of the direct federal administration
- Institutions of the indirect federal administration
- grant recipients (bodies outside the federal administration that receive federal benefits, for example some museums) and
- Cooperating federal states: Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony (as of June 2021)
You can use the following transmission channels to submit the electronic invoice:
- Web capture,
- Upload
- E-mail and
- Peppol
Your invoices are automatically checked for formal correctness and completeness. Subsequently, they are made available to the public invoice recipient on the basis of the routing ID (authority-specific addressing). You will receive the Leitweg ID from your client, it must be stated in the electronic invoice.
You can check the status of your electronic invoice at any time via your access account. In order for you to submit your invoices electronically, they must meet certain requirements:
- be machine-readable, and
- be in a structured electronic format (PDF or image file is not sufficient).
Since 27.11.2020, you are obliged to issue your invoices electronically when providing services to public administration at the federal level.
The only exceptions to this are invoices that
- after fulfillment of a direct order up to an amount of EUR 1,000 net,
- Invoice data, matters relating to the Foreign Service, other procurements abroad or
- are to be issued in organ lending proceedings against restraints of competition.
Please note that as an invoice issuer, you must archive electronic invoices digitally and audit-proof for 10 years.
The obligation to accept and process e-invoices came into force for the federal states on 18.04.2020 (if necessary beforehand in accordance with the respective e-invoicing ordinance at the state level).
- They provide services for:
- institutions of the Federal Administration,
- beneficiaries or
- cooperating federal states
- The electronic invoice must be available in a structured electronic format (XML) that enables automatic and electronic processing (PDF document or image file is not sufficient).
- The invoice must meet the following requirements:
- CEN standard "Electronic invoicing"
- Requirements of the Federal E-Invoicing Ordinance and
- Requirements of the respective terms of use of the invoice receipt platform used
- Invoice senders must register with the respective e-invoice receipt platform for invoicing.
Documents substantiating invoices
• Basically free of charge
• However, if you commission a service provider to send invoices, you may incur costs for this service provider.
The invoice deadlines agreed with your client apply.
It usually takes a few seconds to receive, formally check and provide an electronic invoice to the addressed authority.
The processing and technical verification depend on the invoice recipient.
Forms: none
Online procedure possible: yes
Written form required: yes
Personal appearance required: no
- Central Invoice Receipt Platform (ZRE) of the authorities of the direct federal administration
- Online access law-compliant invoice receipt platform (OZG-RE) of the authorities of the indirect federal administration and cooperating federal states
- Deutsche Bahn
- Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG)
- Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)
- Foundation of the Federal Chancellor Adenauer House
- DFS (German Air Traffic Control)
Remark: E-mail to: RG-Eingang_X-RG@dfs.de
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
- DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
- Joint portal network for employers' liability insurance associations and accident insurance companies
Remark: 1. DGUV German Social Accident Insurance 2. BG RCI Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Raw Materials and Chemical Industry 3. BGHM Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Wood and Metal 4. BG ETEM Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Energy, Textiles, Electrical and Media Products 5. BG BAU Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft 6. BGN Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Food and Hospitality 7. BGHW Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Trade and Logistics 8. BG Verkehr Berufsgenossenschaft Verkehrswirtschaft, Post-Logistik, Telekommunikation 9. VBG Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft 10th BGW Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Health Services and Welfare 11. UVB Accident Insurance Federal and Railway 12. KSK Artists' Social Security Fund 13. UK Bremen Unfallkasse Freie Hansestadt Bremen 14. UK NRW Unfallkasse Nordrhein-Westfalen 15. UKH Unfallkasse Hessen 16. UK BERLIN Unfallkasse Berlin 17. UKBB Unfallkasse Brandenburg 18. UKT Unfallkasse Thüringen 19. KUVB Municipal Accident Insurance Bavaria 20. BAYERLUK Bayerische Landesunfallkasse 21st HFUK Nord Hanseatic Fire Brigade Accident Fund North 22. FUK Mitte Feuerwehr-Unfallkasse Mitte 23rd FUK Brandenburg Fire Brigade Accident Insurance Fund Brandenburg
- GIZ- Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit
- KBV National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians
You can use your e-bills to:
- send by e-mail,
- upload directly,
- create manually via web capture or
- by means of Peppol.
Peppol eDelivery Network is a European transport network for the exchange of documents with the public administration (Pan-European Public Procurement OnLine). In any case, you must first register with the respective e-invoice receipt platform.
- For invoices to authorities of the direct federal administration, the Central Invoice Receipt Platform (ZRE) is available.
- For invoices to authorities of the indirect federal administration and cooperating federal states, the Online Access Act-compliant Invoice Receipt Platform (OZG-RE) is available.
When registering, you must enter the following data:
- First and last name
- Password
- E-mail address
If you want to submit your invoices via the e-invoice receipt platforms:
- Call up the link of the respective e-invoice receipt platform.
- Register and log in.
- Use the user administration to select an optimal transmission channel for your e-bills.
- Always enter the routing ID that you received from your client.
- Your invoice is automatically checked for formal correctness and completeness by the respective e-invoice receipt platform.
- Subsequently, your verified electronic invoice will be made available to the invoice recipient based on the routing ID assigned to him.
- Your invoice shall be deemed to have been delivered to the invoice recipient when it has been received by the respective e-invoice receipt platform.
The following formats are permitted for attachments that justify invoices:
- PDF documents
- Images (PNG, JPG, JPEG)
- Text files (CSV)
- Excel spreadsheets (XLSX)
- OpenDocument Spreadsheets (ODS)
- XML when using the extension
If you create your invoice manually via the e-invoice receipt platforms, you may attach a maximum of 200 invoice-justifying attachments (maximum 15 MB in total).
One standard for electronic invoicing is the XRechnung standard. The standard was issued by the Coordination Office for IT Standards (KoSIT). Furthermore, KoSIT coordinates the further development of the XRechnung with the involvement of experts from the federal, state and local governments. XRechnung is a specification ("Core Invoice Usage Specification", CIUS for short) of the European standard for electronic invoicing and does not compete with the European standard.
Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
