Going rent and leasehold interest in the production costs of current assets and is removed from the business assets before the balance sheet date, this does not constitute a reduction in profit. This means that the Interest not for trade tax added become.
Practical example:
An agricultural cooperative that produces and sells plant and animal products determined its profit by comparing its inventories. The dispute concerned the addition of rental and lease payments for the use of third-party movable and immovable assets. These were assets in the form of arable land and green areas as well as a harvesting machine, which were leased or rented by the plaintiff. The plaintiff itself initially added the rental and leasing interest to the profit on a pro rata basis when determining the trade tax. The notices on the determination of the trade tax assessment amount were issued subject to review. A tax audit did not change this addition. The reservations were lifted. The plaintiff lodged an appeal against this.
In its objection, the plaintiff referred to the BFH ruling of 30.7.2020, III R 24/18, according to which interest is not to be added if it is to be included in the production costs of current assets. This must also apply if they have already been removed from the business assets in the current financial year. The tax office also assumed that an addition should be made because the interest had reduced the profit. It was not apparent that they had been included in the production costs of current assets. This applied both to assets still existing on the balance sheet date and to assets already retired.
The tax court upheld the claim. In the opinion of the tax court, the rental and lease interest was not "deducted" within the meaning of the introductory sentence of Section 8 GewStG. The prerequisite for the addition of interest was its deductibility in the form of operating expenses. This is not the case if the interest is included in the production costs of a current asset. This applies regardless of whether the corresponding asset still exists or has already been disposed of (sold). The interest is also included in the assets that were no longer available on the balance sheet date. This is because, from a purely hypothetical point of view, they would also have been included in the production costs if the corresponding current assets had still existed at the end of the financial year.
When capitalizing assets, the production costs must be recognized, even if they are classified as current assets. In addition to the costs of materials and production, the term "production costs" also includes overheads. This also includes the rent and lease payments made for arable land and green areas as well as the use of harvesting machinery. The tax court focuses solely on the legal situation. It is therefore irrelevant whether the taxpayer has prepared the accounts correctly.
Conclusion: Production costs therefore also include rental and lease payments for assets used to manufacture agricultural products, generally as material and production overheads.