The Federal Ministry of Finance has announced further clarifications and detailed regulations on the reduction of sales tax.

The postponement of the due date for import VAT decided in the summer is to apply for the first time to the period December 2020.

The European Court of Justice must now decide whether even the sale of baked goods for on-site consumption in the entrance area of a supermarket is a restaurant service that is fully subject to VAT.

Even if a boat can be used for overnight accommodation in the same way as a caravan, boat moorings are not to be equated with camping areas and are therefore subject to the full VAT rate.

When used cars or parts are traded in, hidden discounts can no longer be deducted when calculating VAT.

Although a pure letterbox address is also sufficient as the sender address of an invoice, the customer has the burden of establishing that the supplier can be contacted by post at this address at the time the invoice is issued.

The Federal Ministry of Finance has revised the criteria for the VAT treatment of a rental or leasing contract as a supply or other service.

The Federal Statistical Office estimates the costs to the German economy associated with the temporary reduction in VAT at around EUR 239 million.

Even if an invoice correction is detrimental to the recipient of the service, the correction has retroactive effect.

Corona emergency aid is completely excluded from VAT and is therefore not to be declared as tax-exempt or non-taxable turnover.