Rechnungsstellung an Selbstzahler is the practical end of Privatliquidation. The pharmacy performed a service, the person who received it is paying for it out of their own pocket, and the pharmacy hands over a document stating who did what, when, and for how much. The invoice is not a formality. It is the record that the transaction happened, it is what the bookkeeping runs on, and it is the only paper the customer holds if they want to take the matter further with anyone else.
Four things carry the document. The parties, meaning the full name and address of the pharmacy as the issuing business and of the customer as the recipient. The description of the service, specific enough that a reader who was not present can tell what was performed, which means naming the service rather than writing down a category. The date on which it was performed, kept separate from the date the invoice was issued, because the two are often not the same day. And the amount, shown as the customer will actually pay it. Ordinary German invoicing law adds the pieces every business invoice carries, a sequential invoice number, the issue date and the tax number of the pharmacy.
Whether the amount carries VAT and at which rate is the question every pharmacy asks first, and this entry does not answer it. The treatment turns on what exactly was performed and on the position the tax authorities take on that kind of service, so it depends on the service and belongs with your Steuerberater before the first invoice is written rather than after the first audit. The decision has to be made before the template is set up, because the invoice has to show it correctly.
The invoice is also the document the customer may submit to a private insurer or to an employer if they choose to. The pharmacy can say that much and should stop there. There is no assurance that anything comes back, no rate to quote and no reason to imply one. A physician billing a private patient works from the GOÄ and a pharmacy does not, so the fee schedule an insurer is used to seeing does not cover the pharmacy part. Services in the apothekenübliche Dienstleistung category are the ones normally invoiced this way, and the amount on the invoice has to match the price stated in advance under the Preisangabenverordnung.
This glossary entry is general information about German pharmacy law and practice. It is not legal advice. For binding guidance on your own pharmacy, contact your Landesapothekerkammer.
