Distinguish self-billing, invoice adjustments and cancellations
A “Gutschrift” under §14(2) UStG is an invoice issued by the recipient for the supplier’s work under a prior agreement. For example, a client may self-bill an agreed commission payable to a service provider. This is not a refund.
When a seller refunds money for a return, discount or error, the document normally adjusts or cancels the original invoice. Software sometimes calls this a “Gutschrift” or credit note too. The underlying transaction and document contents matter; avoid wording on the customer document that confuses a refund with statutory self-billing.
Start with the original transaction
Match the order, invoice and payment. If no invoice exists and no supply took place, you cannot assume there is an existing invoice to cancel. Advance payments or already invoiced supplies may still need tax adjustments.
Once an invoice has been issued, do not delete or overwrite it. Create a traceable adjustment and match the payment, refund and both documents. A refund in Shopify Admin does not replace this documentation.
Details needed on the adjustment document
The document must identify the original invoice and the amounts being changed. Use a unique document number, issue date, correct parties and an explicit reference to the original invoice. Show the affected items, consideration and VAT under the original tax treatment.
A full cancellation reverses the whole amount. A partial return adjusts only the relevant portion, including refunded shipping or allocated discounts where applicable. Whether amounts use negative signs or positive credit-note totals depends on the document format. Check the output instead of requiring negative values in every format.
A full and partial refund example
A German invoice contains €100.00 net and €19.00 VAT, totalling €119.00. If the entire transaction is reversed and fully refunded, the adjustment matches those original amounts.
If exactly half of a uniformly taxed supply is refunded, the partial adjustment is €50.00 net plus €9.50 VAT, totalling €59.50. The other half remains. Different VAT rates, discounts and shipping require allocation to the actual affected items.
§17 and §14c UStG cover different situations
When consideration for a taxable transaction changes, §17 UStG generally requires adjustment of output VAT and, where applicable, input VAT. The adjustment belongs in the legally relevant tax period. The adjustment document’s date alone does not determine every case.
§14c UStG concerns incorrectly or improperly stated VAT and has separate correction requirements. Do not confuse an ordinary return with that procedure. Discuss timing and special cases with your tax adviser.
OSS, EU B2B and small businesses
An EU consumer supply reported through OSS is normally taxed in the destination country, not simply exempt. A return must follow the original destination and VAT rate, and the OSS reporting adjustment must follow the applicable correction rules.
For an exempt intra-community supply, export or §19 transaction, the adjustment follows the original treatment if that treatment was correct. Intra-community goods supplies and reverse-charge services are legally distinct cases. A refund does not make them interchangeable.
Retention and structured e-invoices
Keep the original invoice, adjustment and associated payment records so the transaction remains traceable. Cancelling an invoice does not remove it from the archive.
Where the e-invoice obligation applies without transitional relief or another exception, relevant invoice corrections must also use the required structured format. An extra PDF printout does not replace retention of the structured original.
How zrapp handles refunds
zrapp processes Shopify refund events for the connected accounting system. The current implementation credits or cancels the original document in full. This is an important limit of the automation.
For a partial refund, that full reversal is not automatically the correct final document. Check the transaction and record the appropriate partial adjustment or remaining sale in sevdesk or Lexware Office. Test both full and partial refunds before enabling the workflow. See the integration guides for sevdesk and Lexware Office.
