Germany converts EU Tax Directive into national Law - signatures and EDI remain the only standardized procedures for eInvoicing
German Federal Ministry of Finance confirms the security and acceptance of existing procedures and opens a third way with specific requirements
Düsseldorf, Sept. 30, 2011 - The German Federal Cabinet and the German Federal Council approved the “German Tax Simplification Law” on Sept. 23, 2011. With this law, the federal government converts the new EU-directive (2010/45/EU from July 13, 2010) for changing the previous EU-Value Added Tax Directive (2006/112/EC) into national law. The changes for the value added tax law will become into effect after publication and make it possible for companies to choose between three procedures for securing the pre-tax deduction with electronic invoices.
The Federal Ministry of Finance now accepts the following procedures for electronic invoicing:
- electronic signatures based on a qualified certificate
- use of standardized EDI-procedures
- “internal controls”, ensuring authenticity of the origin and integrity of the contents
Unified EU-wide acceptance and compliance of electronic invoices, without country-specific tax risks, is still only guaranteed by using qualified signatures or EDI procedures. The German Federal Ministry pointed out this in the explanation of the Tax Simplification Law (see explanation of Article 5, Number 1, Letter b).
In the Tax Simplification Law, the German Federal Ministry of Finance provides for the use of “internal controls” as a new, third way and thereby complies with the requirements of the European Union. The ministry did not specify – like the current EU Council Directive (2010/45/EU) – how the new “internal controls” shall be designed in order to guarantee the authenticity and origin of electronic invoices. As a result, the taxpayer will have to bear the full risk for the acceptance of his “self-defined” internal controls over multiple years.
In spite of the existing risks, the new third way with “internal controls” may represent an alternative for smaller, not internationally active companies. However, the integrity and authenticity of the invoices must also be ensured here.
AuthentiDate is happy to efficiently advise companies during the implementation of “internal controls” and contributes experience from numerous eInvoicing projects to designing of the processes.
Signatures remaining the most economic method in international eInvoicing
For internationally working companies in particular, the qualified signature (in addition to EDI) is usually the most economic and effective method exchanging electronic invoices completely automatically and with full compliance to laws and regulations.
The reason for this is the fact that there are major differences in opinions country by country regarding how “internal controls” shall be designed within the EU. EU-wide harmonization of “internal controls” is not foreseeable and individual consideration and implementation is therefore necessary for each country.
In addition, the use of electronic signatures is mandatory for electronic invoicing in other countries, such as in Switzerland, Israel, or Latin America. The use of alternative procedures, such as “internal controls” is not permitted in these countries.
The electronic signature (in addition to EDI) therefore remains the only way for international and global active companies to exchange electronic invoices internationally, legally, and economically.
Audit-proof archiving of electronic invoices remains mandatory
Regardless of the procedures used, invoice senders and recipients must save electronic invoices for at least 10 years in an audit-proof manner, in the means of an unalterable storage. A paper printout is not allowed. The Federal Ministry of Finance also clarified this in its FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
Audit-Proof storage may be provided by each company himself, using suitable audit-proof storage media, or by an archive service provider, e.g. via online archive. With the Cloudservice SIGNAMUS (www.signamus.com), AuthentiDate offers a professional online archive, fully compliant to existing requirements and which is optimally suited for large, medium, and small invoice volumes.
Additional information regarding international electronic invoicing and audit-proof archiving can be found at www.authentidate.de/en and www.signamus.com.
You may also download the Tax Simplification Law and the EU-directives here.
About AuthentiDate
AuthentiDate (www.authentidate.de), a member of exceet Group AG (www.exceet.ch), is one of the leading vendors throughout the business segments of "Secure Data Exchange" and "Secure eHealth“.
As the inventor of the central mass signature, AuthentiDate offers innovative eInvoicing business process solutions, software, cloudservices (SaaS) and consulting services using electronic signatures and timestamps. Leading global companies, such as Air Products, Alcatel-Lucent, Bosch, Deutsche Bahn, Dow Chemical, E.ON, EnBW, Honda, John Deere, JP Morgan, METRO Group, Roche, SABIC, Solvay, TÜV, Deutsche Telekom, United Internet have benefited from AuthentiDate products and Cloudservices for years. In the AuthentiDate eInvoicing network, millions of electronic invoices are processed every day.
AuthentiDate International AG is a certification service provider accredited by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and runs a trust center according to the strict regulations of the German Signature Law and EU Signature Directive.
Contact:
AuthentiDate International AG
Rethelstraße 47
40237 Düsseldorf / Germany
Phone +49 211 – 43 69 89 0
Judith Balfanz, VP Marketing & Business Development
