We present spatially and spectrally resolved Br gamma emission around the planet-hosting, transitional Herbig Ae/Be star HD 100546. Aiming to gain insight into the physical origin of the line in possible relation to accretion processes, we carried out Br. spectro-interferometry using AMBER/VLTI from three different baselines achieving spatial and spectral resolutions of 2-4 mas and 12 000. The Br. visibility is larger than that of the continuum for all baselines. Differential phases reveal a shift between the photocentre of the Br gamma line -displaced similar to 0.6mas (0.06 au at 100 pc) NE from the star -and that of the K-band continuum emission -displaced similar to 0.3 mas NE from the star. The photocentres of the redshifted and blueshifted components of the Br. line are located NW and SE from the photocentre of the peak line emission, respectively. Moreover, the photocentre of the fastest velocity bins within the spectral line tends to be closer to that of the peak emission than the photocentre of the slowest velocity bins. Our results are consistent with a Br gamma-emitting region inside the dust inner rim (less than or similar to 0.25 au) and extending very close to the central star, with a Keplerian, disc-like structure rotating counter-clockwise, and most probably flared (similar to 25 degrees). Even though the main contribution to the Br gamma line does not come from gas magnetically channelled on to the star, accretion on to HD 100546 could be magnetospheric, implying a mass accretion rate of a few 10(-7) M-circle dot yr(-1). This value indicates that the observed gas has to be replenished on time-scales of a few months to years, perhaps by planet-induced flows from the outer to the inner disc as has been reported for similar systems.