Are you ready for e-invoicing?
E-invoicing will be mandatory from January 1, 2025. Affected companies must then be able to receive and process electronic invoices in accordance with the new requirements. Read our blog article to find out whether you are affected and why you are optimally prepared with NoSpamProxy.
The e-invoicing obligation is part of the Wachstumschancengesetz (Growth Opportunities Act). This aims to improve the liquidity situation of companies so that they invest more. E-invoicing can simplify processes because, for example, invoice data does not have to be entered again by the recipient.
However, the switch to e-invoicing is also part of the digital transformation process within the European Union, which aims to facilitate cross-border trade and increase the efficiency of public administrations. For Germany, this means adapting to EU directives and standardising invoicing, which should ultimately lead to faster and more secure processing of business transactions.
By making e-invoicing mandatory, Germany is following the example of other EU member states and some third countries that have already made e-invoicing the standard for invoicing in business transactions.
As part of the European Commission’s ViDA initiative, the introduction of an electronic reporting system (VAT) is also being planned, which will be fed with the data from the e-invoice. E-invoicing was initially introduced as a preparatory measure.
What is an e-invoice?
From January 1, 2025, a distinction will only be made between electronic invoices (also referred to as e-invoices in the explanatory memorandum to the law) and other invoices. But what exactly is an e-invoice?
An e-invoice presents the invoice content in a structured, machine-readable XML format. This ensures that the information issued by the invoicing party in this form can be transmitted and received electronically and processed automatically without media discontinuity.
An invoice that is transmitted as a PDF is therefore not automatically an e-invoice.
E-invoices contain all the usual information of an invoice, but must meet certain standards in order to be legally recognised. E-invoices can be created and sent in various electronic formats, with XML or PDF (with integrated XML data) being the most common formats.
When is an invoice an e-invoice?
An invoice is an e-invoice if it fulfils the requirements of the European standard EN 16931. In Germany, the XRechnung format, which is used in public procurement among other things, and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 (with the exception of the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles) are used for e-invoicing.
Other formats, such as the ‘French’ Factur-X, are permitted if they implement the technical requirements of CEN standard EN 16931. In the case of Factur-X, there is full compatibility with ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.
The format of an e-invoice can also be agreed between the invoice issuer and invoice recipient. Such an agreement requires that the format used is suitable for correctly and completely extracting the required VAT information from the e-invoice. If these requirements are met, EDI procedures such as EDIFACT can continue to be used for e-invoices.
What is the difference between XRechnung and ZUGFeRD?
While ZUGFeRD uses both PDF and XML as a hybrid format, XRechnung is based exclusively on XML. ZUGFeRD therefore has the advantage that it remains human-readable, while XRechnung is exclusively machine-readable.
In addition, ZUGFeRD allows all electronic transmission channels, while XRechnung can only be used as a web service.
E-invoicing obligation: Who does it apply to?
Receiving e-invoices
From January 1, 2025, every company in Germany must be able to receive electronic invoices.
Creating e-invoices
You are affected by the obligation to issue e-invoices if the following applies to you:
- You are self-employed or run a company based in Germany.
- You send invoices for your taxable and taxable sales to other companies based in Germany (B2B).
Retention period
In terms of retention periods, the e-bill changes very little. According to the current legal situation, a retention period of ten years remains. With regard to retention obligations, the principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form (GoBD) must also be observed. Importantly, the e-invoice must be stored in the original, structured electronic data format, and the requirements for immutability must also be met when saving.
Ready for e-invoicing with NoSpamProxy
From version 15.4 of NoSpamProxy Server and the December update for NoSpamProxy Cloud, NoSpamProxy offers support for e-invoicing. This offers customers a simple and verifiable overview of the sending and receiving of e-invoices. NoSpamProxy also offers new options for configuring the content filter.
E-invoices in message tracking
NoSpamProxy recognises e-invoices and provides a clear overview of details such as invoice number, profile and type code.
Options in the content filter
E-invoice profiles can be selected as a condition in the content filter.
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