Germany e-Rechnung: XRechnung and ZUGFeRD

Prepare for Germany's e-Rechnung rollout with EN 16931 Factur-X PDF and XRechnung CII XML generated from one EU invoice form.

What this covers

• Factur-X and ZUGFeRD-style hybrid PDF for trading partners that need readable plus structured output.
• XRechnung CII XML for platforms and public-sector recipients that require XML-only delivery.
• VAT breakdown aligned with EN 16931 Schematron business rules before you send.

Receive

Mandatory since Jan 2025

Issue

2027 >€800k · 2028 all

Format

XRechnung · ZUGFeRD/Factur-X

The phased German rollout

Germany's Wachstumschancengesetz made every German business able to receive structured e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions from January 2025 — there is no opt-out and no consent requirement on the buyer side. Issuance obligations phase in next: companies above EUR 800,000 turnover must issue structured e-invoices from January 2027, and all remaining businesses from January 2028. Until those dates, paper and ordinary PDF remain legal to send, but receiving capability is already mandatory.

In practice "e-invoice" means a structured XML format compliant with EN 16931 — XRechnung (pure XML), Factur-X/ZUGFeRD (hybrid PDF with embedded XML), or Peppol BIS — not a PDF attached to an email. That distinction matters: many businesses believe they already "send e-invoices" because they email PDFs, and they will be non-compliant the moment their issuance obligation starts.

XRechnung vs Factur-X vs ZUGFeRD

XRechnung is the German national standard (a CIUS of EN 16931) in pure XML — either UBL or UN/CEFACT CII syntax. It is the required format for invoicing German public-sector buyers and the safest default for domestic B2B. Factur-X and ZUGFeRD are hybrid formats: a normal-looking PDF/A-3 with the structured XML embedded, which suits mixed environments where humans still read invoices. All three carry the same EN 16931 core data model, so a clean data layer lets you emit whichever a buyer demands.

The practical difference for a small business is tooling, not legislation. Generate one compliant dataset — seller and buyer identifiers, line items, VAT categories, totals — and you can export XRechnung CII XML for strict platforms or Factur-X PDF for partners who still want something readable. Eurorix produces both from the same invoice data.

A pragmatic readiness sequence

First, verify you can receive: a structured invoice should land in a system that extracts data, not an inbox of attachments. Second, fix your data quality — the most common validation failures are missing buyer references (Leitweg-ID for public sector), incorrect VAT category codes, and totals that do not reconcile. Third, decide your delivery channel: email for hybrid formats is tolerated in transition, but larger buyers increasingly require Peppol or portal upload.

Do the validation work before your obligation date, not after. A rejected e-invoice is not just a formatting problem — under the German rules an invoice that fails the structural requirements may not count as an invoice for VAT purposes, which delays payment and creates input-VAT disputes for your buyer. Validating a sample against the EN 16931 business rules now is the cheapest insurance in the whole transition.

Last reviewed September 2026 by the Eurorix team.