Transfer or sale of goods by members of the armed forces and other beneficiaries
Where goods that have been acquired free of tax and duty by a member of the armed forces are to be transferred or sold to a non-beneficiary, they must be cleared by a customs office.
This requires the prior approval of the armed forces. Usually this approval is granted using American armed forces AE Form 550-175 B (Veräußerungsgenehmigung/Permit to transfer, formerly AE Form 2074), British forces BFG Form 38 (Application for permission to sell surplus goods) or similar documents of the armed forces of other states. These forms are available in the military customs offices.
Once stamped by the military customs office, the form is submitted, together with the goods, to the competent customs office for approval. The competent customs office is the customs office in whose district the transaction or transfer is to take place. If the goods are being sold, the bill of sale must also be submitted and an electronic customs declaration must be lodged for the goods. The customs office then charges the duty and the import VAT for non-Union goods, or only the import VAT for Union-goods. The duties must be paid in cash.
The sale or transfer of the goods to a non-beneficiary without clearance constitutes tax evasion. This is punishable with a fine or imprisonment of up to five years (ten years in particularly serious cases).
Some minor exceptions are made in the case of gifts.
Transfer of motor vehicles
If a vehicle is sold by a member of the armed forces to an acquirer who is not a duty beneficiary, the vehicle must be shown, together with the approval of sale (see above) and the bill of sale, to the competent customs office. In addition to that, an electronic customs declaration has to be lodged. The customs office then charges the duty and the import VAT. If the vehicle had been in free circulation in the Community immediately before having been acquired, only the import VAT will be charged.
This fact can be proved on the basis of the following documents:
- a statement of the manufacturer that the vehicle had been in free circulation in the European Union at the time of its delivery,
- a German vehicle registration document; in such a case, if appropriate, no duties or taxes will be charged if the documents submitted show without any doubt that turnover tax (VAT) has already been paid.
After payment of duties in cash, the customs office issues a clearance certificate that must be submitted to the vehicle registration office. At present the following duties apply:
| Type of vehicle | Duty |
|---|
| Motor cars and trucks (including trucks and pickups of up to 2.5 litres capacity) | 10 % |
| Trucks (including trucks and pickups of more than 2.5 litres capacity) | 22 % |
| Motor caravans | 10 % |
| Motorcycles | 6-8 % (according to capacity) |
The import VAT is at the standard rate of 19 %, calculated on the value of goods inclusive of duty chargeable.
