Import of goods by members of the armed forces and other beneficiaries

If you belong to the beneficiary category of persons you may import duty-free into Germany goods that have been bought abroad. Similarly you can acquire duty-free a vehicle from a German customs warehouse.
For valuable items (motor vehicles, household equipment, electronic goods, furniture, bicycles) and items that do not appear to be for personal or household use, an authorisation of the foreign armed forces must be shown. Usually, form AE Form 550-175 A of the US armed forces (Application for import/export certificate/purchase permit, formerly AE Form 2075), BFG Form 80 of the British armed forces, or a similar document of the armed forces of other states, is accepted as an authorisation. The form is available in the military customs offices.

Once stamped by the military customs office, the form must be shown to the competent customs office on the border or near your base. The goods will then be released. If it is already known before travelling which goods are to be acquired, the import permit should be issued in good time. If neither this nor their dispatch by post is possible, the goods can be sent from the country of origin or the German border customs office to the nearest customs office (this requires provision of a security) where the final clearance will then take place.

Should the border customs office demand that a person pay duties because he does not have an authorisation, an application for repayment of the duties can be lodged if an import authorisation is subsequently presented to the locally competent customs office.
Here the following should be observed:

• Two original copies of the authorisation, both with original signatures, must be shown;
• The authorisation may not be transferred to suppliers, agents, hauliers, or other unauthorised persons. Representation is only possible by another member of the armed forces holding a written authorisation, or by an authority of the armed forces themselves, with the exception of the clearance of personal effects arising from a posting/move;
• The authorisation is valid for ninety days from the date of issue.