Austria: Support for ebInterface Versions 4.0 – 4.2 Withdrawn from 2022

This is an update to our article of 15th October 2018 on e-invoicing in Austria via Peppol.

The standard national XML invoicing format for Austria is ebInterface. On 17th December 2020, with a further update on 7th October 2021, it was announced that from 1st January 2022, e-Rechnung.gv.at would no longer be accepting e-invoices in ebInterface 4.0, 4.1 or 4.2. Read on for the latest developments.

It’s recommended to upgrade to version 6, the most current version.

The ebInterface format is the standard format used by the public administration in Austria for structured e-invoices. Alongisde the current version ebInterface 6.0 , you can continue to use the older versions back to ebInterface 4.0 until 31st December 2021.

However, from 1st January 2022, public administration in Austria will no longer accept electronic invoices via e-Rechnung.gv.at in ebInterface 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2, as these formats will then be obsolete.

The easiest way to update any older versions of ebInterface 4.0 to 4.2 is to upgrade to version 4.3 on 01 January 2022. There are currently no plans to stop supporting the ebInterface 4.3 format.

However, it is recommended to update directly to version 6.0, the most current version. This has been available since 15th May 2020.

What does this mean for me?

Withdrawing support for ebInterface versions 4.0 to 4.2 means that a number of functions will no longer be available in these versions.

From 1st January 2022, you can no longer use ebInterface versions 4.0 to 4.2 to

• send an invoice as an e-invoice, regardless of the invoice recipient,
• use the test upload feature
• extract invoice data for the form
• use the explain file feature,
• send a test SOAP message,
• create a preview PDF of an invoice

Various documentation and references pertaining to these versions will also be removed.

Peppol is a good alternative to ebInterface

An alternative to using ebInterface is to transmit the e-invoice in a UBL format over the Peppol network. You can find out more about this in our article on e-invoicing for Austria over Peppol (blog in German). This is also a good option if sending an e-invoice from outside of Austria, as the invoice issuer is unlikely to have an Austrian VAT ID. As you need this to register to the Austrian Business Service Portal, he would be unable to transmit invoices in ebInterface. What is Peppol? Find out all you need to know in our comprehensive guide.