Presumption of receipt does not apply for delivery-free days

If there is no scheduled delivery on several consecutive working days, then the presumption of receipt for tax assessments within a three-day period also ceases to apply.

The presumption of receipt, according to which a tax assessment notice is deemed to have been received by the recipient on the third day after posting, does not apply if the postal service provider does not regularly deliver the mail on a working day within the three-day period. In the case in dispute, the Berlin-Brandenburg Fiscal Court had been informed by the postal service provider that mail was not regularly delivered to the plaintiff's home on all working days. According to the ruling, this case differs from the constellation that repeatedly occurs for all taxpayers in the same way, where delivery is not made on individual days due to a public holiday or illness of the deliverer. Such events do not shake the presumption of receipt. However, if no delivery is made on two consecutive days within the three-day period, the presumption of receipt can no longer be upheld.