Delivery to Germany
If you intend to move excise goods from an EU Member State to Germany for commercial purposes, you have the option to deliver such
- tax and duty paid, that is, they have already been released for free circulation in that other EU Member State, or
- duty-free under a duty suspension arrangement.
Delivering tax/duty paid goods
Where excise goods that have already been entered into free circulation in other Member States are moved into the German tax territory for commercial purposes, the country-of-destination principle applies. It means that excise duty will be levied in the German tax territory. Therefore, the commercial movement of excise goods into the German tax territory is subject to taxation even if tax/duty has already been paid on these goods in another EU Member State.
Excise goods are considered as being in free circulation in another EU Member State, if they are not subject to a duty suspension arrangement (for example, if they are held in a customs warehouse) or if they are in duty-free use.
Basically, goods are in the free circulation of an EU Member State if duty has been paid for them. This is normally the case if they can be purchased freely and through the customary channels.
Whether relief is possible for duty that has been paid in another EU Member State depends on the excise legislation of the other EU Member State concerned.
The movement of tobacco products from the free circulation of other member states into German tax territory for commercial purposes is not permitted because tobacco products may only circulate in German tax territory with fiscal markings attached.
If you deliver excise goods which are in free circulation in the Member State where your business is established to a commercial recipient in the German tax territory, German excise duty will principally arise. The German recipient shall declare such incoming delivery in advance to his competent main customs office on the official form (forms 2755, 1833 and 1156) drawn up for this purpose, and deposit a security for the excise duty. In addition, he shall observe further obligations under the applicable German customs legislation. Regularly, it is the designated recipient who owes the tax/duty once the delivery has been declared. If the recipient fails to declare the delivery, however, tax is owed by the first person to take possession of the goods in the German tax territory, which could be you as the consignor.
German excise duty will also arise if you move excise goods (with the exception of energy products) from free circulation to the German tax territory for other commercial purposes (such as selling at a market). In this case you are required to declare the movement in advance to the competent main customs office on the official form (forms 2755 and 1156) and deposit a security for the excise duty. Normally it will be you who owes the excise duty in this case. The competent main customs office can provide you with more information about your tax obligations.
If you supply excise goods from free circulation in the Member State where your business is established to a private individual domiciled in the German tax territory and if you ship the excisable merchandise, or have it shipped, to the recipient yourself, then you are considered a mail-order or distance trader.
If you want to deliver to the German tax territory as a mail-order company (there are special regulations for coffee), you have to notify this in advance and appoint a person resident in the German tax territory as an agent. This shall be done by filling the official form (forms 2752 and 1153) provided for this purpose and submitting it to that agent’s competent main customs office. The German excise duty arises with delivery of the excisable goods to the private individual in the German tax territory. The agent becomes the person liable to pay the tax/duty levied on the excisable goods delivered by you into the German tax territory. The agent must hold a relevant authorisation from the competent main customs office, which he/she must have applied for prior to commencing the agency. Such application shall be made on the official form (forms 2753 and 2754), and its approval is subject to certain conditions. Furthermore, the agent must perform other tax obligations. The competent main customs office will provide your agent with more information about the authorisation requirements and the obligations to be fulfilled.
If the above procedure is not respected, you as the distance trader will become liable to pay the tax/duty.
If you want to deliver coffee or goods containing coffee into the tax territory as a mail-order company, you must first apply for a permit using the officially prescribed form (forms 1848 and 1849) at the locally competent main customs office in whose district you first appear for tax purposes. You become liable for the tax on the coffee delivered to the German tax terri-tory. In the case of the optional appointment of a tax representative, the tax representative shall apply for a permit. Then you do not need to apply for a separate permit as a mail order company. The tax representative must apply for the permit at the main customs office re-sponsible for the representative using the officially prescribed form (forms 2753 and 2754). The tax representative then becomes the tax debtor for the deliveries. You and your tax rep-resentative should obtain further information in advance from the competent main customs office on the permit requirements and the obligations to be fulfilled.
Under German excise legislation, however, there is what is known as tax/duty suspension; that is the possibility to supply excise goods for which no duty has been paid yet.
Delivering duty-unpaid goods
The movement of goods, where the excise duty has not been paid, from other EU Member States is, in principle, possible under a duty suspension arrangement if you are
- the owner of a customs warehouse, or
- a registered consignee, or
- a particular beneficiary (for example, foreign armed forces or diplomatic missions)
within German tax territory, and you are dispatching the excise goods
- as the owner of a customs warehouse, from this warehouse, or
- as a registered consignor from the place of import
to other EU Member States.
To do so you require an authorisation of your national customs authority.
Contact and assistance
Your competent German main customs office or the Central Information Unit of the German customs administration (Zentrale Auskunft Zoll) is there to give you further assistance, and will answer your questions by telephone, post, or e-mail.
The locally competent main customs office for businesses that are operated from a place outside German tax territory or for individuals who are not resident in German tax territory is the principal customs office in whose district they first appear for taxation purposes.
Central Information Unit
