Change of the due date of the import 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.

With the coronavirus economic stimulus package, the due date for import VAT was postponed in the summer to the 26th day of the second month following the import. This postponement of the due date by around six weeks not only leads to a liquidity effect for all importing companies. It also allows the large number of companies that use a permanent extension for submitting their advance VAT return to directly offset import VAT and input VAT credits. This will level the playing field with other EU countries where direct offsetting has been possible for some time.

However, the exact date from which the new due date regulation will apply has not yet been determined because the tax authorities first had to create the necessary IT requirements. The Federal Ministry of Finance has now announced that this will soon be the case and that the regulation will therefore be implemented for the period beginning on December 1, 2020. Specifically, the due date for imports in December will therefore be postponed from January 16, 2021 to February 26, 2021. The due dates for subsequent periods will be postponed accordingly.