Germany will implement mandatory B2G electronic invoicing starting from 27 November 2020. E-invoicing to Federal Government entities will be obligatory for all suppliers. Among the German States, only Bremen and Lower Saxony made such a decision along with the federal government.
Xrechnung or any EU-compatible format such as Zugferd could be used. X-Rechnung is only available as XML. It enables the transfer of e-invoice through Peppol. A certified Peppol access provider is used as an intermediary. On the other hand, Zugferd is a hybrid e-invoice model which includes both electronic XML and visual PDF versions of the invoice. Currently, Zugferd is the most common format in Germany. New Zugferd version 2.1.1 now contains the Xrechnung profile as XML part. As a result, Zugferd has become compliant with the EU law and German public administration.
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