E-invoices for online sellers: B2C and B2B

If you sell to private customers, you do not have to issue an e-invoice. If a business in Germany orders, the duty follows the transition timetable: issuing for supplies from 2027 if your total turnover last year was above 800,000 euros, otherwise from 2028. Invoices up to 250 euros gross are exempt. If you are a small business (section 19 UStG), you do not have to issue e-invoices at all (section 34a UStDV). You already have to be able to receive e-invoices now.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

B2C: no e-invoice duty, also not on Amazon and eBay.
B2B in Germany: duty on the transition timetable, except up to 250 euros gross and for small businesses.
Fee invoices from Amazon or eBay are incoming invoices; the issuer has to send them as e-invoices only if both of you are established in Germany.

Which sales are affected?

You sell on Amazon or eBay to private people and now and then to a company. For the duty, only the recipient matters:

Buyer	E-invoice duty for you
Private customer (end consumer)	no
Business in Germany, invoice above 250 euros gross	yes, on the timetable (2027 or 2028)
Business in Germany, invoice up to 250 euros gross	no (section 33 UStDV)
Business in another EU country	no, if the business has no permanent establishment in Germany involved in the supply (section 14 (2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG); you still owe an invoice under the usual invoice rules
Association or body that is not a business	no

For private customers you may issue an invoice voluntarily; for a delivery of goods you are usually not obliged to (section 14 (2) UStG). If you ship the goods from another EU country to a private person in Germany (distance sale, section 3c (1) UStG), you must issue an invoice unless you use the OSS scheme (section 14a (2) UStG); it does not have to be an e-invoice even then. The full timetable is in E-invoice obligation in Germany 2027.

What about Amazon Business and eBay business buyers?

A business customer in Germany is a B2B case for you, even if they order through a marketplace account. Amazon states on its page for sellers that all VAT-registered European sellers must provide Amazon Business customers with a valid VAT invoice for every order. Whether that invoice has to be an e-invoice in the legal sense depends on the rules above, not on the marketplace. The Amazon Business cases are covered in more detail in E-invoices for Amazon Business customers.

For eBay sellers the same principle applies: you are the supplier, you owe the invoice.

What does the marketplace issue, what do you issue?

Two streams of invoices run side by side:

Invoices to your customers for your deliveries are issued by you as the seller; they are a duty in the cases above. An invoice may be issued by a third party in the name and on behalf of the business (section 14 (2) UStG). With the Amazon VAT Calculation Service, Amazon prepares the electronic VAT invoices automatically and makes them available to customers for download. Depending on store, country of establishment, shipping destination and customer preference the service creates for Amazon Business orders what Amazon calls an "E-Rechnung" (e-invoice) or an "E-Bericht" (e-report). More: Amazon VAT Calculation Service (VCS) explained. Open such an invoice and check which format it is in.
Invoices to you for fees are issued by Amazon and eBay. These are incoming invoices. The issuer has to send them as e-invoices only if both of you are established in Germany (section 14 (2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG); you must be able to receive e-invoices in any case. How to read and keep them is in Receive and read e-invoices.

Checklist for online sellers

Clarify the buyer: private or business, Germany or abroad?
Check the amount: above 250 euros gross?
Check the date: when was the supply made, and was your total turnover last year above 800,000 euros?
Open the marketplace invoice: what format is it, and does it fit the duty?
Set up receiving: e-mail inbox, viewer, filing.
Keep it: eight years, at least the structured part.

Common mistakes

Issuing an e-invoice for every marketplace order. There is no duty for private customers.
Assuming the platform does it all. The invoice is yours, even if a third party produces it.
Forgetting the fee invoices. They are incoming invoices and belong in your files for eight years (section 14b (1) UStG).
Mixing up the date. What counts is when the supply was made.

How VAT GPT helps

For your VAT you upload the Amazon or eBay report as CSV to VAT GPT; the app breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS), and with VAT GPT Pro you send the VAT return and the OSS return on. For business customers you create invoices as ZUGFeRD PDF or XRechnung XML in the invoice editor and download the file; the app reads incoming e-invoices on upload. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, including VAT). Try for free now

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to send private customers an e-invoice? No.

Does the duty apply to Amazon Business? For business customers in Germany yes, on the timetable; the marketplace does not change that.

Do I have to be able to receive eBay fee invoices as e-invoices? You must be able to receive e-invoices; which format eBay issues you check on the invoice itself.

Does it apply to invoices to EU companies? The e-invoice duty under section 14 (2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG does not, if the company has no permanent establishment in Germany involved in the supply; you still have to issue an invoice.