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Spotlight PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 The EU e-invoicing mandate is here — France Sept 2026, Belgium Jan 2026, Germany 2025.

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Foundations

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Standards

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Flagship messages

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Tools

Austria — ebInterface, USP and B2B watch

Austria was one of the first EU countries to mandate e-invoicing for government suppliers: since 1 January 2014, every supplier of the Federal Administration must submit invoices via the USP portal in ebInterface or PEPPOL BIS format. There is no generalised B2B mandate to date, but ViDA transposition is expected for 2027-2028.

Regulatory timeline

  • 1 January 2009 — UStG § 11. Revised Austrian VAT Act authorising the electronic invoice without prior signature, in anticipation of Directive 2010/45/EU.
  • 1 May 2012 — IKT-Konsolidierungsgesetz. Federal ICT consolidation act, legal basis for B2G e-invoicing obligation and centralisation through USP.
  • 1 January 2014 — Mandatory B2G e-Rechnung. Every supplier of the Federal Administration must transmit invoices via USP. Accepted formats: ebInterface 4.0 then 4.1, plus signed PDF (deprecated since 2019).
  • 18 April 2019 — Transposition of Directive 2014/55/EU. BGBl. I Nr. 32/2019 transposes the B2G e-invoicing directive: ebInterface 5.0 and PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 certified compliant with EN 16931.
  • 1 January 2021 — ebInterface 6.0. New Austrian schema version aligned with EN 16931, enriched UN/CEFACT code management, CIUS-AT and VAT-DE support.
  • 15 March 2024 — ebInterface 6.2. Update with fine management of staggered payments, credit notes, and post-Brexit third-country codes (GB, CH).
  • 11 March 2025 — ViDA adoption. ViDA Directive adopted by the EU Council on 11 March 2025; Austria plans its transposition for 2027-2028 with no bill published to date.
  • 2026 — BMF B2B e-invoice consultation. The BMF announced in March 2026 a public consultation on the opportunity of a national B2B mandate anticipating ViDA, schedule not fixed.

Deep dives — 10 dedicated pages

Ten dedicated pages drill into every dimension of the Austrian e-invoicing landscape — the 2014 IKTKonG B2G mandate and VAT regimes (USP, BMF, ViDA, Umsatzsteuer), technical specs (ebInterface, RKSV, FinanzOnline), and real-world B2B usage that pre-dates and coexists with the federal B2G mandate (EDIFACT retail/industrial, STUZZA banking).

IKTKonG & VAT

  • IKTKonG — federal B2G mandate since 2014 · Statute BGBl I 2013/175 (IT Consolidation Act) mandating e-invoicing for federal Bund suppliers since 1 January 2014. Second EU national B2G mandate after Denmark, first in continental civil-law tradition.
  • USP — Unternehmensserviceportal · Single business window operated by BMF since 2009, became the central B2G e-invoice channel in 2014. FinanzOnline / Bürgerkarte / ID Austria authentication, PEPPOL integration since 2018, ~5 million federal invoices per year.
  • BMF — ViDA roadmap, no B2B mandate announced · BMF position: no domestic B2B mandate before EU ViDA milestones (2027 SVR, 2028 platforms, 2030 intra-EU DRR). 2025 public consultation on Real-Time Economy alignment. No Austrian RTIR on the horizon.
  • Umsatzsteuer — Austrian VAT regimes · Standard 20 %, reduced 13 % (culture, hospitality, art), super-reduced 10 % (food, books, pharma), 0 % (intra-EU, exports). Kleinunternehmer scheme €35K (€42K from 2025). Extensive UStG § 19 reverse charge (construction, gold, scrap, mobile devices).

Technical specs

  • ebInterface 6.1 — national XML format · Austrian XML standard maintained by AUSTRIAPRO since 2003, current version 6.1 (2024) EN 16931 aligned. USP default format, coexistence with PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0, bidirectional UBL ↔ ebInterface mapping, ~3M B2G invoices/year.
  • RKSV — certified cash registers and Belegerteilungspflicht · Cash register regulation (BGBl II 2015/410) in force since April 2017: tamper-resistant Sicherheitsmodul, ECDSA P-256 signed QR code, FinanzOnline registration, Belegcheck-validated Jahresbeleg. €15K turnover + €7.5K cash threshold. Finanzpolizei fines up to €5K.
  • FinanzOnline — BMF tax portal · BMF tax portal since February 2003: UVA, U30, ZM, K1, L16, RKSV, OSS/IOSS, FATCA returns. SOAP + REST APIs, ~3M user entities, peak 200K sessions/day. USP bridge, prefill perspective for UVA from USP B2G flows.

Real-world B2B usage

  • Austrian retail EDIFACT · Spar Österreich, Hofer (Aldi Süd), Billa, Penny, Lidl Österreich, MPreis (Tyrol), Sutterlüty (Vorarlberg), Unimarkt, Adeg — GS1 Austria EANCOM 2002 subset, ~180M messages/year, SEEBURGER + Comarch + EDITEL + T-Systems Austria VANs.
  • Austrian industrial EDI · BMW Steyr (BMW's #1 engine plant worldwide), Magna Steyr Graz (Mercedes G, BMW Z4, Toyota Supra), KTM, AVL List, voestalpine, Andritz, Plansee, AT&S. VDA + Galia + Odette, OFTP2 over ENX, RosettaNet PIP for high-tech, ~250M messages/year.
  • STUZZA — Austrian banking · Interbank consortium founded 1992, RKSZ standards, ISO 20022 dominant (pain.001, camt.052/053/054), EBICS + MBS, SEPA Instant mandatory November 2025, EDIFACT FINSTA/FINPAY as backup. Erste, RBI, BAWAG, Bank Austria, Hypo Group.

Technical schema

The BMF maintains two pivot schemas for B2G e-invoicing: ebInterface (historic Austrian XML) and PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 (European UBL). Both are accessible via USP.

  • ebInterface 6.2: Austrian XML, namespace http://www.ebinterface.at/schema/6p2/, native UStG TaxScheme anchors, DVR and UID-Nummer support.
  • PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0: UBL 2.1 with CIUS-AT (Customization ID: urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0).
  • UID-Nummer: format ATU followed by 8 digits, the last being a modified Luhn check digit; VIES validation mandatory for intra-EU.
  • VAT rates: 20 % standard, 13 % reduced (animals, timber, hospitality), 10 % super-reduced (food, books, medicines), 0 % exempt (exports, certain medical services).
  • Lieferantennummer: supplier number assigned by the Administration at USP onboarding, mandatory in the InvoiceRecipient/OrderReference field.

Structure of an ebInterface 6.2 invoice to the BMF:

xmlebinterface-6p2.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Invoice xmlns="http://www.ebinterface.at/schema/6p2/"
         GeneratingSystem="Ediverse-ERP/2026.5"
         DocumentType="Invoice"
         InvoiceCurrency="EUR"
         Language="de">
  <InvoiceNumber>AT-2026-00000142</InvoiceNumber>
  <InvoiceDate>2026-04-15</InvoiceDate>
  <Biller>
    <VATIdentificationNumber>ATU12345678</VATIdentificationNumber>
    <FurtherIdentification IdentificationType="DVR">1234567</FurtherIdentification>
    <Address>
      <Name>Ediverse Demo Austria GmbH</Name>
      <Street>Mariahilfer Straße 1</Street>
      <Town>Wien</Town>
      <ZIP>1060</ZIP>
      <Country CountryCode="AT">Österreich</Country>
    </Address>
  </Biller>
  <InvoiceRecipient>
    <VATIdentificationNumber>ATU87654321</VATIdentificationNumber>
    <OrderReference><OrderID>BMF-2026-PO-00789</OrderID></OrderReference>
    <Address>
      <Name>Bundesministerium für Finanzen</Name>
      <Street>Johannesgasse 5</Street>
      <Town>Wien</Town>
      <ZIP>1010</ZIP>
      <Country CountryCode="AT">Österreich</Country>
    </Address>
  </InvoiceRecipient>
  <Details>
    <ItemList>
      <ListLineItem>
        <PositionNumber>1</PositionNumber>
        <Description>ZUGFeRD integration consulting</Description>
        <Quantity Unit="HUR">10</Quantity>
        <UnitPrice>120.00</UnitPrice>
        <VATRate VATCategoryCode="S">20</VATRate>
        <LineItemAmount>1200.00</LineItemAmount>
      </ListLineItem>
    </ItemList>
  </Details>
  <Tax>
    <VAT>
      <VATItem>
        <TaxedAmount>1200.00</TaxedAmount>
        <VATRate VATCategoryCode="S">20</VATRate>
        <Amount>240.00</Amount>
      </VATItem>
    </VAT>
  </Tax>
  <TotalGrossAmount>1440.00</TotalGrossAmount>
  <PayableAmount>1440.00</PayableAmount>
  <PaymentMethod>
    <UniversalBankTransaction>
      <BeneficiaryAccount>
        <IBAN>AT611904300234573201</IBAN>
        <BIC>BKAUATWW</BIC>
      </BeneficiaryAccount>
    </UniversalBankTransaction>
  </PaymentMethod>
</Invoice>

Submission flow

The supplier transmits the invoice via USP either by web interface, XML upload, or REST API. The BRZ validates the ebInterface or PEPPOL schema, then routes to the accounting centre of the destination unit (federal SAP HCM/FI). An acknowledgement of receipt is automatically generated.

textusp-flow.txt
┌──────────────┐    ┌────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│ Supplier     │───>│ USP — Unternehmens-│───>│ BRZ — Bundes-│
│ (ERP, ebInt. │    │ ServicePortal      │    │ rechenzentrum│
│  or PEPPOL)  │    │ (BMF portal)       │    │ (Federal SAP)│
└──────────────┘    └─────────┬──────────┘    └──────┬───────┘
                              │                       │
                              ▼                       ▼
                  ┌────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
                  │ Validation         │    │ Accounting   │
                  │ ebInterface 6.2 or │    │ centre at    │
                  │ PEPPOL BIS 3.0     │    │ destination  │
                  └────────────────────┘    └──────────────┘

Beyond the federation, Länder and municipalities (Gemeinden) have their own rules: the City of Vienna accepts ebInterface, Salzburg favours PEPPOL. Check each contracting entity's documentation before submission.

Validation

  • BMF — e-Rechnung portal: e-rechnung.gv.at — BMF documentation, ebInterface schemas, online validator, FAQ.
  • USP — Unternehmensserviceportal: usp.gv.at — unified business portal for B2G submission.
  • BMF — Official site: bmf.gv.at — Federal Ministry of Finance, laws, ordinances, fiscal resources.
  • ebInterface — AUSTRIAPRO specifications: ebinterface.at — official AUSTRIAPRO site maintaining the schema, examples, mappings.
  • FinanzOnline: finanzonline.bmf.gv.at — VAT and taxpayer returns portal (UVA, U1, U30).

Common pitfalls

  1. Mandatory Lieferantennummer. Every B2G invoice sent via USP must reference the Lieferantennummer (supplier number assigned by the Administration). Without this number in the Order Reference field, routing fails and the invoice is silently rejected. Request the number from each new federal client entity at onboarding.
  2. ebInterface 6.x vs older versions. Versions 4.x and 5.x are deprecated since 2024 and accepted in migration only until end of 2026. Migrate to 6.2 as soon as possible. USP validators reject too-old versions sometimes without an explicit message.
  3. UID-Nummer ATU VIES validation required. For intra-EU operations, verify the customer's ATU UID-Nummer via VIES (VAT Information Exchange System). An obsolete UID triggers rejection and forces re-invoicing with Austrian VAT instead of reverse charge.
  4. DE/EN bilingual by destination administration. Some federal administrations (Außenministerium, BMEIA, BMBWF for research) accept English descriptions. The majority require German. Verify the expected nomenclature in the purchase order (Bestellung) or call for tender (Ausschreibung).
  5. 7-year archiving § 132 BAO. The Bundesabgabenordnung (BAO) § 132 imposes 7-year retention for fiscal documents. Archiving must guarantee origin authenticity, content integrity and legibility. Favour a ZUGFeRD/Factur-X PDF/A-3 format for long-term retention, more practical than a pure ebInterface XML.