A significant development over the past few months has been Germany’s proposal to delay their projected B2B e-invoicing mandate to 2026.

The legislative progress to definitively confirm this delay is now becoming more apparent.

The delay has been approved by the Cabinet and was passed to Parliament for approval. Germany’s Growth Opportunities Act, which communicated a delay to 2026, has now been approved by the government. You can access the approved Act here.

In further developments, Germany has also delayed mandatory e-invoicing for small businesses to 2027. The tax reform Bill is expected to confirm this delay in an official capacity.

By means of a summary, the expected timelines for the mandate will now be in line with the following:

• Jan 2025: optional e-invoicing
• Jan 2026: taxpayers with annual turnover of > €800,000
• Jan 2027: small businesses
• Jan 2028: e-invoices should be in accordance with the EU’s structured standard, EN 16931

The Bill is still pending approval in the Parliament (Bundestag). Approval of the Bill is expected by 15 December 2023.

https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Gesetzestexte/Gesetze_Gesetzesvorhaben/Abteilungen/Abteilung_IV/20_Legislaturperiode/2023-07-17-Wachstumschancengesetz/2-Regierungsentwurf.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Gesetzestexte/Gesetze_Gesetzesvorhaben/Abteilungen/Abteilung_IV/20_Legislaturperiode/2023-07-17-Wachstumschancengesetz/2-Regierungsentwurf.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2

More generally, Germany’s e-invoicing plans have become more evident since the turn of 2023. You can read more about Germany’s e-invoicing mandate on our country-dedicated page here.