What is ZUGFeRD?

ZUGFeRD is a cross-industry data format for electronic invoice data exchange that was developed by the Forum for Electronic Invoicing Germany (FeRD) - with support from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy. The ZUGFeRD data format is based on the Directive 2014/55/EU of 16 April 2014 on electronic invoicing for public contracts and on the EN16931 standard published on 28 June 2017. Also, the Cross-Industry Invoice (CII) of UN/CEFACT and the ISO standard 19005-3:2012 (PDF/A-3) are also taken into account as of ZUGFeRD 2.0.

The areas of application for this hybrid invoice format are diverse. ZUGFeRD can be used in B2B, B2G, and B2C business transactions.

Content identity

As a hybrid data format, ZUGFeRD integrates structured invoice data in XML format into a PDF document (PDF/A-3). This means that the invoice is always sent in the form of a PDF document, which represents the visual component of the invoice. At the same time, an identical multiple copy of the same invoice (XML) is also sent within the PDF, so that electronic processing of the invoice using the structured invoice data - after implementation in the company-specific software system - is possible without any problems. PDF and XML must comply with the requirements of § 14 paragraph 4 of the German Value Added Tax Act (UStG) in order to display multiple copies of the same invoice with identical content. As the tax authorities have not defined any specific verification obligations or control measures for this procedure, it is recommended that the sender and the invoicing party introduce their verification mechanisms to ensure the content identity of the two invoices. In addition to the legal regulations, the principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records, and documents in electronic form and the data access (GoBD), most recently dated November 28, 2019, must also be observed.

Retention

The VAT Act stipulates that invoices must be stored for ten years (§ 14b paragraph 1). Electronic invoices must be stored in accordance with the respectively valid principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records, and documents in electronic form and data access (GoBD). Electronic commercial or business letters and accounting documents must be stored in the format in which they are received (marginal number 131 of the GoBD dated November 28, 2019). This means that electronic invoices must be stored electronically and must be capable of being evaluated automatically (marginal number 128 GoBD dated November 28, 2019). The storage of electronic invoices in printed form is not possible.

If the electronic invoice is sent by e-mail, the e-mail itself as a pure means of transport of the invoice (= envelope of the electronic invoice) is generally not to be stored unless the e-mail contains information relating to the invoice which is subject to storage.

Invoice creation with ZUGFeRD

ZUGFeRD is a kind of translation of the European legal requirements (EU Directive 2014/55/EU, European Standard 16931) and is not application software. This translation or structural description of a data set and the associated dependencies must be implemented in the company's software.

The integration can be done, for example, via standard software systems (i.e. ERP or EDI systems) or in-house IT departments can independently integrate ZUGFeRD into their individual software.  Many accounting and ERP software systems already support ZUGFeRD.