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from 1 January 2025
The Federal Council of Germany has approved the Growth Opportunities Act by a clear majority, thereby paving the way for the gradual introduction of mandatory electronic invoicing in Germany. In particular, this means that from January 2025, invoice recipients will be obliged to be able to receive e-invoices.
The digitisation of invoice exchange between B2B business partners is a step for Germany of enormous significance.
In Germany in particular, as things stand today, alongside the widespread introduction of electronic invoicing and shorter invoicing deadlines, there are also reporting obligations to the tax authorities at extremely short notice. In addition to the tax authorities, the majority of businesses are also affected by the need for significant changes.
Companies should therefore promptly assess the extent to which their business model is affected by these measures, in order to evaluate the necessary action and the implementation costs.
In brief
- Introduction of electronic invoicing, with certain exceptions, mandatory from 1 January 2025
- Domestic (Germany) invoice exchange
- Transitional arrangements are in place until 31 December 2027
- Approved formats: the syntax specified in the Act & all formats that ensure interoperability with the formats specified in the Act (CEN standards, bilaterally agreed standards) and which contain the elements required for an invoice under Section 14 of the German Value Added Tax Act (UStG)
- EDI procedures are permitted provided they ensure interoperability