The elec­tron­ic in­voice

• 1. Submitting an electronic invoice
• 2. The contents of an electronic invoice
• 3. Information for existing contracts
• 4. Buyer reference numbers

Under the ERechV, public administration is required to accept electronic invoices for public contracts, and suppliers of goods and services for the federal administration are required to submit electronic invoices. In this connection, the ERechV also sets the time limits, the transmission channels and the data standard, as well as exceptions to electronic invoicing. Apart from the legal obligation, electronic invoicing may be required under section 4a(1) sentence 3 of the E-Government Act (E-Government-Gesetz, EGovG) by the relevant order or contractual relationship

From 27 November 2020, it will be mandatory for invoice issuers to submit an electronic invoice.

Exceptions to this rule are:

• invoices for goods and services provided under a direct contract with a value of up to €1,000
• invoices that meet the conditions for exception under section 8 or section 9 ERechV (sensitive invoice data and certain matters concerning the Foreign Service or other procurement abroad)
• invoices to be issued in procedures performed by way of an official delegation of powers under section 159(1) no 5 of the Restraints of Competition Act (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, GWB)

We would please ask you use the opportunity to submit electronic invoices even where no legal obligation exists. As the invoice issuer, you have the following advantages:

• more efficient work processes, shorter processing times
• quick and easy access to invoice data
• the possibility of digital, revision-proof archiving
• cost savings in paper, printing and postage

If you have any general questions about electronic invoicing, please see the information provided by the federal administration on the website "Die E-Rechnung in der Bundesverwaltung" accessible at e-rechnung-bund.de (English and French information available to download) or contact the support for invoice issuers at the federal invoice submission portals (ZRE, OZG-RE) by telephone from Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm at +49 30 2598 4436 or by email at sendersupport-xrechnung@bdr.de.

All you need to know about submitting specific electronic invoices to the Bundesnetzagentur is set out in the following:

1. Submitting an electronic invoice
2. The contents of an electronic invoice
3. Information for existing contracts
4. Buyer reference numbers

1. Submitting an electronic invoice

You cannot send an electronic invoice via a Bundesnetzagentur email address.

The Bundesnetzagentur can only receive electronic invoices that are sent via the federal Central Invoice Submission Portal (ZRE). You can access the ZRE at XRechnung Bund. For more information on the terms and conditions of use and the contact details for user support, please visit the ZRE website.

2. The contents of an electronic invoice

In accordance with section 5 of the ERechV (and in addition to what is required by section 14 of the Value Added Tax Act (Umsatzsteuergesetz, UStG)), an electronic invoice sent to the Bundesnetzagentur must include at least the following information:

• Buyer reference ("Leitweg-ID") - The Bundesnetzagentur will inform you of the buyer reference in the order document when the contract is awarded. Please note that the Bundesnetzagentur uses several different buyer references. Therefore a buyer reference that has been issued once may not be valid for each of your contracts or subsequent contracts with the Bundesnetzagentur.
• Terms of payment or the date by which payment is due
• Bank account details of the payment recipient
• De-Mail or email address of the invoice issuer
• Purchase order number ("Bestellnummer")- as a rule, the Bundesnetzagentur provides you with a purchase order number in the contract document.
  
  If the purchase order number has been provided, it is mandatory under section 5(2) no 2 of the ERechV to include it. The purchase order number ensures that the invoice is assigned to the contract. If no purchase order number has been given in the contract document, please enter the contract number ("Auftragsnummer") from the contract document or ask the accounting office for the correct number.

• If required, further contract-specific invoicing information may be included in the relevant contract document.

3. Information for existing contracts

Please understand that due to capacity constraints we can only provide information to official contractors or invoice issuers of the Bundesnetzagentur and only on specific contracts with the Bundesnetzagentur.

In principle, you will find all the information you need in the contract documentation. This will include the accounting office, which is the Bundesnetzagentur's organisational unit responsible for processing your invoice. The introduction of electronic invoicing has no effect on the distribution of organisational responsibilities and thus it is the same organisational unit for electronic invoices as it was for paper invoices.

Older contracts do not include any information on electronic invoicing, the buyer reference or the purchase order number. If you have to issue an electronic invoice for an older contract, please ask the accounting office listed in the contract document for the buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) and the purchase order number.

If you are not sure which is the accounting office and/or the contact details are missing, please send an email to the following email address eRechnung@BNetzA.de, where we can give you the accounting office and buyer reference (Leitweg-ID) for a specific order. The email must contain the following minimum information:

• the official contractor's contact details as given in the contract document
• the contract number as given in the contract document
• the contract description as given in the contract document
• the requisitioning unit of the Bundesnetzagentur and/or the unit taking delivery if this is given in the contract document

4. Buyer reference numbers

The following list provides an overview of the buyer references (Leitweg-IDs) that are processed at each accounting office. In case of doubt, please contact the accounting office to request the correct buyer reference for your order. If you do not know the accounting office or you do not have any contact information, please send an enquiry to the email address given under "3. Information for existing contracts".