Invoice Requirements: India → Germany
🇮🇳India freelancers billing🇩🇪Germany clients — required fields, VAT treatment, and compliance rules.
Indian freelancers providing services to German clients benefit from the B2B reverse charge mechanism — the German client self-assesses VAT, so the Indian freelancer does not charge German VAT. On the Indian side, the service qualifies as an export under GST and is zero-rated, requiring a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) or IGST payment with refund. Invoices should include the client's German VAT number and a reverse charge statement.
Required
Include the statement "Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the recipient" and the client's German VAT number (DE...) on the invoice; the German client self-accounts for VAT.Required
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EU VAT Directive Article 196 places the VAT liability on the German business recipient when the supplier is established outside the EU. Verify your client's VAT number on the European Commission VIES portal before issuing the invoice.
Register for Indian GST if your aggregate turnover exceeds ₹20 lakh and file a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) each financial year to export services to Germany without charging IGST.Required
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Filing an LUT (Form GST RFD-11) allows you to issue zero-rated invoices to German clients without collecting IGST. If you do not file an LUT, you must charge 18% IGST on the invoice amount and later claim a refund — this ties up working capital.
Recommended
English is fully acceptable for invoices to German businesses; German is not legally required, though some clients may prefer a bilingual invoice.
Invoice in EUR for German clients; this eliminates exchange rate risk on the client's side and simplifies their VAT accounting.
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