Receiving e-invoices in Germany: the obligation that already applies to you
Last updated 13 September 2026
The short answer first: this obligation is not 2027, it is already running. Since 1 January 2025 every business in Germany has had to be able to receive e-invoices, regardless of turnover, size or sector, and that expressly includes small businesses under the §19 UStG scheme. Anyone telling themselves e-invoicing is a 2027 topic has missed an obligation that has applied to them for a year and a half.
What has been compulsory since 1 January 2025
Every domestic business must be able to accept, read and retain an EN 16931 e-invoice. There is no turnover threshold and no exemption by company size. Even small businesses under §19 UStG, who do not have to issue e-invoices themselves, are not released from the receiving obligation. If your software vendor, your agency or your wholesaler sends you an XRechnung or a ZUGFeRD invoice tomorrow, you have to be able to handle it, whatever you sell yourself.
Is an email inbox enough?
Legally, yes. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance's own FAQ, an ordinary email inbox is enough to receive one, and dedicated receiving software is not prescribed. In practice the format decides how it feels: a ZUGFeRD invoice is a normal PDF you open and read. A pure XRechnung is XML with no layout, effectively unreadable for a human without help. To look at one you need a viewer that renders the fields legibly, and free online viewers are sufficient. What exactly separates the two formats is in XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD.
Can you refuse an e-invoice?
No. If a supplier sends you a formally correct EN 16931 e-invoice, there is no legal route to reject it and demand a PDF or a paper invoice instead. The receiving obligation has no exemption for preferring the old format. Worth knowing before the first supplier switches over and you discover that "just send me a normal invoice" is no longer an option.
What you have to keep
The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act shortened the retention period in §14b UStG from ten years to eight with effect from 1 January 2025, and that applies equally to invoices you receive and invoices you issue. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued: an invoice from July 2026 therefore has to be kept until the end of 2034. What must be kept is at least the structured part of the invoice, unaltered and in its original format. A printout or a screenshot is not a substitute. The Federal Ministry of Finance updated the GoBD to match in July 2025; exactly how your tax firm archives it is a question for them rather than for this page.
What this has to do with your Shopify store
This obligation reaches you first as a buyer rather than as a seller: the invoices from your software vendors, your advertising platforms, your wholesaler or your agency can arrive as e-invoices from now on, and Shopify has nothing to do with it, because that happens outside your store, in your email inbox or in your bookkeeping. Zeppol works on the other side, the selling one: a Shopify app that turns your own B2B orders into a valid e-invoice once your sending obligation starts in 2027 or 2028. The receiving side of your own bookkeeping is not covered by it.
The connection is still worth seeing: if your suppliers are already sending you e-invoices today, that is a preview of what your own business customers will soon expect from you. Understand the receiving side once and you have understood half of the sending obligation, because they are the same formats running in the other direction.
Read on
- Germany's 2027 mandate: the sending obligation, deadlines and thresholds.
- XRechnung vs ZUGFeRD: the difference between the two formats.
- XRechnung for Shopify: the pure XML format in detail.
- ZUGFeRD for Shopify: the PDF with the structured data inside it.
- Peppol for Shopify: the network e-invoices are delivered over.
Frequently asked questions
Do small businesses have to be able to receive e-invoices?
Yes. Small businesses under §19 UStG do not have to issue e-invoices, but they do have to be able to receive them, since 1 January 2025, like every other business.
Is an email inbox enough to receive an e-invoice?
Legally yes: according to the Federal Ministry of Finance's FAQ an ordinary inbox is sufficient. ZUGFeRD PDFs open directly; for pure XRechnung XML you also need a viewer.
Can I refuse an e-invoice or insist on a PDF?
No. You cannot reject a formally correct EN 16931 e-invoice and demand a PDF invoice instead.
How long do I have to keep e-invoices I receive?
Eight years under §14b UStG, since the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act shortened the period from ten years to eight with effect from 1 January 2025. At least the structured part has to survive unaltered.
Do I also have to send e-invoices from 2025?
No. The receiving obligation has applied since 2025; the sending obligation starts in 2027 for businesses above 800,000 euros of prior-year turnover and in 2028 for everyone else.
This guide is general information for Shopify merchants, not tax or legal advice. Deadlines, exemptions and requirements can change. Confirm your own obligations with a qualified tax adviser. Sources: the Federal Ministry of Finance's e-invoicing FAQ and the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act, retrieved on 20 August 2026.
E-invoices from your Shopify B2B orders
Zeppol turns every B2B order into an EN 16931 document, checks it against the EU and the German rules, and sends it over Peppol or by email. Join the list and I'll be in touch before the deadline.