Germany is consolidating its two federal B2G e-invoicing platforms—ZRE and OZG-RE—into a single system, with OZG-RE becoming the centralized portal for all federal invoice submissions. This long-overdue merger eliminates redundant infrastructure, reduces administrative costs, and simplifies the process for suppliers by resolving inefficiencies caused by the previous dual-platform setup.
Germany Consolidates its Federal e-Invoicing platforms.
Public
Germany
Author: Ivana Picajkić
Category:
Fiscal subject related
Views:
280
Content accuracy validation date:
02.06.2025
Content accuracy validation time:
08:52h
To improve efficiency and user experience, the German federal government is merging its two existing B2G (business-to-government) electronic invoicing platforms into a single system. The platform previously known as ZRE will now be fully integrated into OZG-RE, creating one centralized portal for federal e-invoicing.
Since 2018, Germany has operated two separate platforms for receiving electronic invoices at the federal level:
- ZRE: Served the immediate federal administration,
- OZG-RE: Served the indirect federal administration and 5 German states (Länder).
This split was due to differences in how these parts of the administration were funded. However, it created a number of issues:
- Duplicate technical infrastructure and maintenance,
- Higher administrative costs,
- Confusion for suppliers who had to distinguish between different agencies,
- Extra complexity that undermined the benefits of digital invoicing.
In November 2024, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of the Interior decided to consolidate both systems into OZG-RE. From now on, OZG-RE will serve all federal agencies, including those that previously used ZRE.
A major migration project is now underway. This involves
- Technically onboarding ZRE recipients onto OZG-RE,
- Connecting OZG-RE with existing systems and workflows,
- Communicating the transition to both public institutions and suppliers.
The migration began on May 23, 2025, with the Purchasing Office of the Bundeswehr as the first agency to switch from ZRE to OZG-RE. Other federal agencies will follow gradually. Suppliers will be informed well in advance of each switch.
Only suppliers using interactive portals or agency-specific platforms need to take action. Those sending invoices via Peppol, a standardized e-invoicing network, don’t need to do anything; the system will automatically route invoices to the correct endpoint once updated in the Peppol network using Dynamic Discovery.
This consolidation corrects a setup that was never based on technical or business needs; it existed only because of a budgetary division in Germany’s federal structure. The merger is long overdue and brings a more streamlined, logical, and cost-effective solution for public sector e-invoicing.
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