- Germany’s Ministry of Finance updated the GoBD for e-invoice archiving.
- Businesses must retain the XML file or structured XML part of hybrid invoices.
- PDF components are optional unless they contain additional tax-relevant information.
- Human-readable copies must be regenerable without content loss.
- Original invoice formats must be preserved; format conversions are allowed for internal use.
- E-invoices must be archived for ten years with integrity, authenticity, and readability ensured.
- Tax authorities must have access to stored data through a read-only interface or structured export.
- Hybrid formats like ZUGFeRD require XML as the legally binding record; PDFs with extra tax info must be archived.
- Conversion or deletion of the XML part is prohibited.
- Some payment service documents do not require archiving.
Source: rtcsuite.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
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