Complaint via ELSTER is inadmissible

While the tax offices also accept appeals by e-mail, a complaint requires a qualified signature and is thus not possible via the ELSTER portal.

Tax returns via ELSTER are commonplace, and tax offices accept appeals by e-mail without further ado. However, the ELSTER portal is not the right way to file a lawsuit, as the Münster Tax Court has determined. In principle, filing a lawsuit requires a handwritten signature or a qualified signature as an electronic equivalent to clearly identify the plaintiff. However, the ELSTER portal only uses a personal electronic certificate for identification, not a qualified signature. The action is thus inadmissible in this way even if it is not addressed directly to the tax court but to the tax office for forwarding to the court.