Description
The permit entitles you to handle beer that has not yet been taxed, for example as a producer or importer from European Union (EU) states.
Before granting a permit, the tax authorities generally check whether certain requirements are met, for example with regard to
- tax reliability
- accounting and
- the spatial and technical set-up of your business.
The check can relate to you personally - for example, as a managing director - or to other persons in your business who are relevant to the tax.
Depending on the constellation, you may need one of the following permits:
- Permit for a tax warehouse: you operate a tax warehouse for untaxed goods. A tax warehouse is a place approved by the main customs office where beer may be produced, processed, stored, received or dispatched.
- Permit as a "registered consignor": you ship goods from the place of importation for which beer tax is suspended.
- Permit for tax-free use: you use beer tax-free for commercial purposes.
- Permit as "registered consignee", one-time or permanent: You receive beer from abroad for which beer tax is suspended.
- Permission as an agent of a mail order company
Prerequisites
Permission to handle untaxed beer products is usually only granted to traders. For all permits, you must be fiscally reliable. In addition, you must meet the following requirements:
For a tax warehouse permit:
- To the extent you are required to do so, keep proper commercial books and prepare timely financial statements.
- You may be required to deposit a security.
- If the tax warehouse is to be used exclusively for storage, you must
- the annual stock turnover is expected to exceed 5,000 hectolitres, or
- the storage period exceeds 1.5 months on an annual average.
For permission as a registered consignor:
- To the extent that you are required to do so and are not a body governed by public law, keep proper commercial accounts and prepare annual accounts in a timely manner.
- For transport to or via other member states: you provide a security, which depends on the amount of tax incurred.
For permission to use tax-free:
- The expected annual requirement must be more than 75 hectolitres of beer.
- Do you want to
- Goods from a tax warehouse in another EU member state or
- received from the place of importation in another member state under tax suspension,
you need a permit as a tax warehouse keeper or registered consignee.
For permission as a registered consignee for not only occasional receipt:
- To the extent that you are required to do so and are not a body governed by public law, keep proper commercial accounts and prepare financial statements in a timely manner.
- For permission to receive under suspension of excise duty: you provide a security in the amount of the tax incurred during one month.
For permission as a registered recipient to receive once:
- To the extent you are required to do so and are not a public law entity, you keep proper commercial books and prepare timely financial statements.
- You provide security, which is dependent on the amount of tax incurred.
For permission to act as an agent of a mail order company:
- To the extent that you are required to do so and are not a body governed by public law, you keep proper commercial books of account and prepare timely financial statements.
- You provide a security that is dependent on the amount of tax incurred.
Procedure
You must apply for the permit in writing:
- Download the appropriate form for you from the website of the Generalzolldirektion:
- "Application - tax warehouse keeper for beer" (Form 2000).
- "Application - registered consignor" (Form 2736)
- "Application - registered user" (Form 2740)
- "Application - Registered Consignee, Permanent Permit" (Form 2745)
- "Application - registered consignee in individual case" (Form 2728)
- "Application - Agent of a Mail Order Merchant" (Form 2753).
- Complete the forms in full and send them by post to your local main customs office.
- The main customs office will examine your application.
- You will receive a decision in the form of a permit or a refusal.
The main customs office responsible is the one from whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, the one in whose district you are resident. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you do not have a place of residence in Germany, the main customs office in whose district you first appear for tax purposes is locally responsible.
Processing time
If all information and documents are complete, the main customs office responsible for you will decide on a permit within 1 to 2 weeks of receiving your application. Longer processing times are possible in individual cases, in particular if further checks - possibly also on site - are required before a decision is made.