E-invoicing at the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt
The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) is able to receive and process electronic invoices (e-invoices). Everything you need to know to exchange invoices electronically with us is described below. New orders will also be provided with the appropriate information material with immediate effect.
As of November 27, 2020, electronic invoicing will be mandatory for billers. Exceptions to the obligation (for example, in the case of direct orders up to € 1,000 without VAT) are governed by Section 3 (3) of the E-Invoicing Ordinance (E-RechV).
We ask you to make use of the possibilities of electronic invoicing. As an invoicing party, you will also benefit from the advantages even before the upcoming obligation:
- More efficient workflows, shorter processing times, faster invoice payment.
- Quicker and easier access to invoice data
- Enabling digital, audit-proof archiving
- Cost savings for paper, printing and postage
For questions regarding electronic billing of your existing order with the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, please contact:
Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt- Rechnungsbearbeitung -
Telephone number: +49 461-316 1227
E-mail address: Rechnungen@kba.de
The KBA receives electronic invoices via the Central Invoice Receipt Platform of the Federal Government (ZRE). You can reach the ZRE at xrechnung.bund.de.
According to § 5 E-RechV, an electronic invoice must contain at least the following information in addition to the invoice components required by VAT law (cf. § 14 UStG):
- Routing identification number - You will be informed of the routing ID when you place the order.
- Terms of payment or alternatively the due date
- Bank details of the payee
- De-Mail or e-mail address of the biller
Please note the following information when exchanging invoices electronically with the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt:
Invoice component | Specification of the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt for suppliers |
---|---|
Routing identification number (Routing ID) | This is a mandatory information on every invoice. 991-02512-84. You can also find the routing ID on the order document. |
- For the issuance of electronic invoices to the federal administration, the XRechnung standard in the currently valid version is to be used as a matter of principle. In addition, any other standard (e.g. ZUGFeRD from version 2.1.1 in the XBILLING profile) can be used if it meets the requirements of the European standard for electronic invoicing (EN-16931), the E-RechV and the terms of use of the federal invoice receipt platforms.
- Invoice formats that do not meet the requirements of the European standard cannot be considered.
- Invoice supporting documents or attachments must be embedded in the invoice record and may not be sent as an attachment to an e-mail or De-Mail.
- The maximum permissible size of an invoice depends on the selected transmission channel (e.g. 10 MB for e-mail attachments or 11 MB for attachments in the web entry). Please refer to the platform's terms of use. The maximum number of embedded invoice supporting documents is limited to 200. Permitted file types of the embedded documents are: "png", "pdf", "jpg", "jpeg", "xlsx", "ods" and "csv". Attachments may not contain active content (e.g. macros). Changes to these restrictions will be announced via the invoice receipt platform.
Invoice documents with attachments that require a paper-based method of dispatch according to other legal regulations (export certificates, customs documents or similar) remain unaffected by the above regulations.
Further information on the XInvoice standard can be found at the Coordination Office for IT Standards (KoSIT) at https://www.xoev.de/xrechnung-16828
- For the transmission of electronic invoices, only the Central Invoice Receipt Platform of the Confederation (ZRE) is to be used, which can be accessed at https://xrechnung.bund.de/. This requires prior registration and activation of the desired transmission channels in the user account. This requires prior registration and activation of the desired transmission channels in the user account.
- Further details can be found in the terms of use (only in German) of the ZRE.
For questions regarding the transmission of electronic invoices via the ZRE, you can contact the responsible support:
- Support Hotline: Available from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the telephone number: +49 228 99681-10101.
- Support mailbox: For written enquiries, ZRE users can contact sendersupport-xrechnung@bdr.de
Billers and bill senders can contact the support hotline set up for this purpose if they have questions about the ZRE.
The hotline can be reached from Monday to Friday between 8:00 and 16:00 on the telephone number: +49 228 99681-10101.
You can find further information on the ZRE in the brochure for billers and in the FAQ section on e-billing on the BMI website at https://www.e-rechnung-bund.de/.
The E-RechV of the Federal Government obliges the public administration to receive electronic invoices and the suppliers and service providers of the Federal Government to send electronic invoices within the scope of public contracts. The E-RechV regulates the deadlines, transmission methods, data standards and exceptions to the electronic exchange of invoices.
In principle, the obligation to send invoices electronically to the federal government applies from 27.11.2020. The exceptions are regulated in the ordinance and are described as follows:
- Invoices issued after the fulfilment of a direct order up to an amount of 1,000 euros.
- Invoices subject to the exceptions under § 8 or § 9 of the E-RechV (invoice data subject to secrecy as well as foreign service matters and other procurement abroad)
- Invoices to be issued in organ lending procedures under section 159(1)(5) of the Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen).
Irrespective of the legal obligation, an obligation to submit e-invoices may also arise from the respective underlying order or contractual relationship.