- The German Federal Ministry of Finance released a draft circular on June 25, 2025, updating VAT e-invoicing requirements.
- Mandatory e-invoicing for domestic B2B transactions started on January 1, 2025.
- E-invoices must comply with the EN 16931 standard and use formats like XRechnung or ZUGFeRD.
- Non-compliant e-invoices are treated as other invoices and cannot be fixed by attaching unstructured documents.
- Validation software is recommended to ensure compliance before sending or accepting invoices.
- From 2027, issuing non-compliant e-invoices will be a legal violation.
- Non-compliant e-invoices prevent businesses from claiming input VAT.
- During the transitional phase, incorrect e-invoices can be treated as other invoices if they include all mandatory details.
- E-invoices must contain all required details within the structured file, including supplier and customer information, net amount, VAT amount, and service date.
- The service date must be explicitly stated.
- VAT credit notes must be clearly marked to avoid confusion.
- Recipient consent for e-invoices is not required after the transitional phase.
- PDF invoices still require recipient consent.
- Validation is crucial to ensure compliance and avoid payment issues.
- Businesses must validate invoices against XML and Schematron rules and check all mandatory fields.
Source: fiscal-requirements.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.
