This document summarizes VAT regulations for proper invoice writing in Germany. It provides details on the required and optional information that must be included on invoices, such as supplier and recipient information, invoice numbers, dates, tax rates, and breakdown of items. It also covers special cases like intra-Community deliveries and minimum amount invoices. Recipients are advised to check invoices for completeness to ensure VAT deductions can be claimed.

1. Client newsletter
© ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Recapitulation of accounting regulations from a VAT perspective
As a businessman, one would think that writing out
invoices for goods supplied and services rendered is
child's play. But the requirements on a proper invoice
are by now so strict that correct writing of an invoice
will soon be akin to a science. That is why we are
once again summarising all of the current compo-
nents of an invoice from a tax-law perspective here. If
the basic principles are all observed there is nothing
to be afraid of. But if a component is missing, a po-
tential prepaid VAT deduction is no longer allowed.
Checking incoming invoices by the customer must
therefore be taken seriously. In like manner, outgoing
invoices for intra-Community deliveries or other intra-
Community services have to conform to the rules of
correct invoice writing.
1. What information must invoices basically con-
tain (Sample invoice 1)?
a) The complete names and complete addresses of
the supplier and the recipient
b) The taxpayer ID or the value-added identification
number (VAT ID no) of the supplier
c) The date of issue
d) A uniquely attributed invoice number
e) The quantity and nature of the items delivered or
the scope and nature of another type of service
f) The date of delivery or service (designation of a
month suffices) or the date of collection of prepay-
ments, if the latter date is known and is not identical
with the issue date of the invoice
g) The remuneration charged (net amount), broken
down by tax rates and specific tax exemptions as well
as any price reduction agreed in advance if the latter
has not already been taken into account in the remu-
neration amount
h) The applicable tax rate as well as the tax amount
attributable to the remuneration amount or, if there is
any tax exemption, a reference to it
i) In case of work supply or other services in connection
with real estate property, a reference to the obligation of
a non-entrepreneur to save the invoice.
2. What additional information is necessary in spe-
cial cases?
a) The VAT ID numbers of the supplier and the recipient
in intra-Community deliveries or other intra-Community
services
(Sample invoice 2)
b) In case of tax exemption or shift (reversal) of the tax
obligation to the recipient a reference to this
(Sample invoices 2 and 3)
c) In case of intra-Community delivery of new motor
vehicles identification of the motor vehicle's features and
the fact that the motor vehicles are new
(Sample invoice 4)
d) In case of taxation of travel services and differential
taxation (e.g. in passenger car retail) as well as with
intra-Community triangular transactions a reference to
the application of these special regulations
(Sample invoice 5)
e) In case of taxable work supply or other services in
connection with real estate property a reference to the
recipient separate obligation to keep the invoice
(Sample invoice 6)
3. Which minimum information must a minimal
amount invoice (total amount not over € 150) contain
(Sample invoice 7)?
a) The complete name and the complete address of the
supplier
b) The issue date
c) Quantity and nature of the items delivered or scope of
another service
d) The remuneration (net amount) and the tax amount
attributable to it in one sum
e) The applicable tax rate or, in case of tax exemption, a
reference to it.

2. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
4. Must all information be included in one
invoice?
An invoice may consist of several documents from
which the required invoice information emerges as a
whole. In the document where the remuneration (net
amount) and the tax amount attributable to it are
contained all other documents must be designated
with an identification feature (e.g. name, number
and/or date of the document).
5. Indication of the invoice number
The invoice number must be unique. In accordance
with this requirement, the formation of different nu-
merical series is possible (e.g. according to periods,
geographic or organisational characteristics). For
rental leases entered into after 1 January 2004 the
property or residential unit number may be used as
an invoice number. In minimum amount invoices no
serial invoice number is required.
6. Indication of the time when the delivery or
service occurred
This information is necessary even when the issue
date of the invoice is the same as the date of delivery
or service. The date may emerge from other docu-
ments to which a reference must be made (absolute-
ly indispensable) on the invoice ("We supplied you
according to delivery ticket number ... with the follow-
ing items"). For indication of the time of delivery or
service the notation on the delivery ticket "The date
of the delivery ticket corresponds to the date of deliv-
ery" will suffice. According to the opinion of the Fed-
eral Ministry of Finance, the date of the receipt con-
firmation of the recipient on the delivery ticket should
also suffice.
The date of collection of the remuneration or a por-
tion of it for a delivery or service that has not yet oc-
curred (down payment, advance payment) must be
indicated if the date is known and is not identical with
the invoice date.
7. What is the procedure with bonuses, early
payment discounts and discount agreements?
Basically, there must be a reference to every reduc-
tion of remuneration agreed in advance unless it has
already been factored into the remuneration. In case
of bonus, early payment discounts or discount
agreements the concrete reference to the corresponding
agreements, available to the involved parties in written
form, will suffice.
8. What must be observed where there are deliveries
or services subject to different tax rates or tax ex-
emptions?
If the deliveries or services subject to different tax rates
or tax exemptions are billed in the same invoice the rel-
evant amounts must be broken down and indicated sep-
arately, indicated by tax rate and specific tax exemption
(cf. Sample invoice 1). Remuneration subject to the
same tax rate or the same tax exemption may be indi-
cated in one sum.
9. When may and when must the entrepreneur issue
an invoice?
a) For taxable work supplies or other services in connec-
tion with real estate property there is an obligation on the
entrepreneur to issue an invoice within six months of
performing the service.
b) If the entrepreneur delivers or supplies anything else
than indicated in a) to private individuals he is entitled to
issue an invoice. For deliveries or services to an entre-
preneur for the latter's business or to a legal entity there
is, by contrast, an obligation to issue an invoice within
six months of delivery or service.
Where there is an obligation to issue an invoice, tax-free
deliveries or services must mandatorily also be billed.
The same applies to deliveries or services by a small
scale entrepreneur (cf. Sample invoice 8).

3. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
10. What information is the recipient of the
invoice normally not in a position to check?
Checking to see if the taxpayer ID or the domestic
VAT ID no is correct as well as checking the invoice
number is normally not possible for the invoice recip-
ient. If the provider gives false information about this
the prepaid VAT deduction remains valid if the other
information is complete. If the other information is
also incorrect or missing prepaid VAT deduction
lapses. Mere inaccuracies (e.g. mistakes in the ad-
dress or the name) do not then make prepaid VAT
deduction inadmissible if unambiguous identification
of the parties is still possible.
A foreign VAT ID no may, however, be checked via
the Central Federal Office for taxes (www.bzst.de).
Check your incoming invoices for correctness and, if
need be, on the basis of the samples given here. Ask for
a corrected invoice if there are errors eliminating the
possibility of prepaid VAT deduction. Pay, pending cor-
rection of the invoice, only the net amount on the in-
voice.
In case of further questions, please contact our team of
advisors.
ECOVIS WWS Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH
office berlin
Frankfurter Allee 111
10247 Berlin
030/ 31 98 51 16
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Publisher: ECOVIS AG Steuerberatungsgesellschaft
Ernst-Reuter-Platz 10, 10587 Berlin,
Tel. +49 (0)30-31 00 08 55, Fax +49 (0)30-31 00 08 56
Editorial board: StB Ernst Gossert, StB Ulf Knorr
ECOVIS client newsletter is based on information which we consider relia-
ble. Any liability, however, due to the constantly changing laws will not be
accepted.

4. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Sample invoice 1
Landhandel
Mustermann AG
Musterstrasse 123
12345 Musterstadt VAT ID no: DE 123456780
to:
Gärtnerei
Moritz Mustermann
Musterweg 321
12345 Musterstadt
Invoice no: NM 2010-00120 Date: 12 August 201
Date of delivery 10/08/2010
Items Merchandise 7% Merchandise 19%
10 Topcut lawn mowers € 10,000.00
60 kg Needlegreen fir tree compost € 100.00
15 kg StampProof lawn seed € 60.00
Total merchandise 0%
Total merchandise 7% € 60.00
Total merchandise 19% € 10,100.00
Value-added tax 7% € 4.20
Value added tax 19%← € 1,019.00
Total invoice amount € 11,183.20
For payment period to 12 August 2010, early payment discount of 2%
Taxpayer ID
or
VAT ID no
Invoice number
Issue date
Date of delivery
Breakdown of
remuneration
by tax rate and
tax exemtion
Applicable tax
rates
Any remuneration
reduction
agreed in advance

5. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Sample invoice 2
Landhandel Musterstadt, 12/08/2010
Mustermann AG VAt ID no: DE 123456789
Musterstrasse 123 Invoice no.: 050815
12345 Musterstadt
to:
Tree Nursery
Ole Olsen
Long Stocking Street 1
12345 Böllerbü
Sweden
Date of pick-up: 12/08/2010
VAT ID no of recipient: SE 987654321
2 Topcut lawn mowers“ € 2.000,00
Total € 2.000,00
Tax exempt intra-Community delivery / Reverse charge
Note: With transport of the lawn mowers by the buyer, a written assurance that the lawn mowers
will be transported to the remaining Community zone must be filed with the documents.
Sample invoice 3
Fensterbau GmbH & Co. KG Hausstadt, 12/08/2010
Hausstrasse 1 VAt ID no: DE 123456789
12345 Hausstadt Invoice no: 0502001
to:
Bau AG
Baustrasse 1
12345 Baustadt
Property: Baustadt, Hauptstrasse 1
Final acceptance: 10/08/2010
For delivery and installation of
10 Thermal windows, we are billing you € 15.300,00
Recipient is liable for tax under § 13b VAT Act.

6. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Sample invoice 4
Fahrzeughandel Dieselstadt, 12.08.2010
Otto Diesel VAT ID no: DE 123456789
Dieselstrasse 1 Invoice no: 050060
12345 Dieselstadt
to:
Tree Nursery
Ole Olsen
Long Stocking Street 1
12345 Böllerbü
Sweden
Date o fpick-up: 12/08/2010
VAt ID no of recipient: SE 987654321
1 Minivan (new) € 35.000,00
Brand: Mercedes Sprinter 208 CDI
Displacement: 2148 ccm
Mileage: 12
Tax-free intra-Community delivery / Reverse charge
Note: Ensure written assurance by the buyer as in Sample invoice 3
Sample invoice 5
Fahrzeughandel Dieselstadt, 12.08.2010
Otto Diesel VAT ID no: DE 123456789
Dieselstrasse 1 Invoice no: 050060
12345 Dieselstadt
Medical Practise
Dr. Lisa Tablette
Pillenweg 1
12345 Dieselstadt
Invoice date corresponds to delivery date
1 Used car
BMW 316i € 16.500,00
Margin scheme taxation as per § 25 (1) VAT Act

7. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Sample invoice 6
Hausmeisterservice Sorgenfrei Gartenstadt, 12.08.2010
Gartenweg 1 Taxpayer ID: 123/456/78901
12345 Gartenstadt Invoice no: 50/04
to:
Ms Liesel Müller
Parkstrasse 2
12345 Gartenstadt
For the month of 2010 we are billing you for the following services:
Services provided to a private real estate property
As per contract dated 2/01/2010 € 110,00
Value-added tax 19 % € 20,90
Total € 130,90
Note: Non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs making use of these services for the non-
entrepreneurial sector must under § 14 b (1) (5) VAT Act retain the invoice, any pay-
ment receipt or any other evidentially relevant document for two years. The deadline
period begins to run as of the end of the calendar year in which the invoice is issued.
Sample invoice 7
Landhandel AG Musterstadt, 12.08.2010
Musterstraße 123
12345 Musterstadt
25 kg Richbloom flower compost 58,00 €
The invoice amount includes 19% VAT.
Note: In case of any tax exemption a reference must be made to it, e.g. "Tax exempt delivery or
service."

8. © ECOVIS 12/08/2010
Sample invoice 8
Part-time plumber Rohrstadt, 12.08.2010
Max Klein Taxpayer ID: 123/456/8901
Rohrstrasse 1 Invoice no: 1/07
12345 Rohrstadt
to:
Bauunternehmer
Karl Bau
Baustrasse 1
12345 Rohrstadt
For the following work carried out in January, I am hereby billing you
Replacement of three radiators 150,00 €
Total 150,00 €
Note: The provider is a small scale entrepreneur according to § 19 VAT Act.