When using Peppol to send electronic invoices to recipients outside Germany, you will need to either appoint a service provider or set up your own access point.

Invoice issuers from inside and outside Germany may use Peppol to transmit e-invoices to the federal invoice submission portal.

However, please note the following:

• In order to send e-invoices via Peppol, invoice issuers need a Peppol sender ID. While you are free to choose your own Peppol sender ID, its structure must comply with a schema defined by Peppol; for invoice issuers in Germany, the sender ID is normally based on their VAT ID number.
• In order to submit an electronic invoice via Peppol from outside Germany to an organisation in the German federal administration, the schema of the sender ID must be included in an approved code list defined by Peppol.
• Foreign VAT IDs are often based on a schema which is not suitable for transmitting e-invoices via Peppol and are thus not approved. Code lists are available here: https://docs.Peppol.eu/edelivery/codelists/
• Invoice issuers from outside Germany choose from the schemas on this list to create their own Peppol sender ID.

More information on Peppol is available on the website of Peppol on the website of the KoSIT.

Currently, in order to ensure transmission, e-invoices should not exceed 100 MB.

To check whether the invoice transmission to the OZG-RE portal works, it is advisable to register with the OZG-RE test environment and to test the invoicing process. Make sure that you never send test invoices to the live OZG-RE portal (production environment) or real invoices to the test environment!

Please use the following IDs for sending your test invoices to the OZG-RE test environment:

• Peppol receiver ID: 0204:99661-WEBSERVICEOZG-28
• Buyer reference ( Leitweg-ID): 99661-WEBSERVICEOZG-28

If you are already in contact with an invoice recipient and wish to run a test with them, you may also use their buyer reference.

Once the transmission via Peppol works in the OZG-RE test environment, you may send real invoices to the live OZG-RE portal (production environment). When sending invoices via the OZG-RE production environment, please note the following:

• Peppol receiver ID = 0204:buyer reference of your customer
• Your customer will provide you with the buyer reference ( Leitweg-ID).

In the four-corner model, there are two options for invoice senders (corner 1) to access the Peppol network via an access point (corner 2).

1. Connecting to a Peppol service provider

If you do not wish to set up an access point of your own, you may select a Peppol service provider, who will make a Peppol access point available to you. A list of certified service providers across Europe is available here: Certified Peppol Access Points (APs).

If you send your invoices via a service provider, this will involve costs that vary, depending on the terms and conditions of the provider concerned.

2. Setting up and operating your own access point

You may also set up your own access point (from scratch or by using existing access point software) so that you can submit your own invoices or offer your access point to other customers.

If you choose to set up an access point of your own, you will have to pay the development costs involved and the membership fees. If you plan to go for this option, you should clarify beforehand to what extent your corporate IT system landscape is already prepared and how much effort will be required to implement this solution.

More information on how to set up your own access point is available here:

Download document: How to set up a (Post-Award) Peppol Access Point

You should bear in mind the following before you choose either of these options:

• How many invoices do I submit in a year?
  If your annual invoice volume is such that setting up an access point of your own is a worthwhile investment, it is advisable to do so. If your annual invoice volume is not sufficient to justify such an investment, we recommend that you opt for a connection via a Peppol service provider.

• How do the costs for connecting via a service provider compare to those for setting up your own Peppol access point?
  Peppol service providers charge fees in line with standard systems depending on the number or volume of the invoices submitted.