Apply to the customs administration for the transfer of electronic bookkeeping abroad
Description
Whether an application is necessary depends on the country to which you wish to transfer your electronic bookkeeping or parts thereof:
- without an application: EU member states
- with application: countries outside the EU
The application must include the following:
- Location of the data processing system abroad: full address, different company name if applicable, address of a contracted third party
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Detailed description of the data processing system to be relocated
- electronic books and
- other electronic records required
The transfer is only possible if it does not affect taxation. You must therefore ensure that you continue to fulfill all your tax obligations. These include
- the general obligations to cooperate in the taxation procedure,
- the relevant duties of order, record-keeping and retention, and
- the obligations to provide information and submit documents.
Access to your data by the main customs office must be ensured. It must be possible to make the data readable without delay.
The legislator does not provide for the relocation of "physical bookkeeping" or "paper bookkeeping".
It is the taxpayer's responsibility to organize the data to be submitted in such a way that no legally protected areas can be affected by a permissible inspection of the tax-relevant data. This could be the case, for example, for members of the legal and tax advisory professions.
Changes of location must be reported immediately.
Note: If approval of the relocation is requested for both the tax administration and the customs administration, two separate applications must be submitted: to the tax office and to the main customs office.
- Your company has fulfilled its tax obligations in the past. The tax office or main customs office must be able to assume that this will not change even after the electronic books have been moved abroad.
- Compliance with the "Principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form and for data access" (GoBD)
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Relocation possible
- within the European Union or
- to third countries with which Germany has concluded a double taxation agreement.
You do not have to submit any additional documents. However, you can do so if the documents are helpful for processing the application.
There are no costs.
There is no deadline.
- Objection
Forms available: No
Written form required: No
Informal application possible: Yes
Personal appearance necessary: No
Online services available: Yes
If you want to relocate your electronic bookkeeping within the European Union, no application is required.
If you wish to relocate your electronic bookkeeping to a third country, you can submit the application informally by e-mail, post or online.
Email and post:
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Compose the application and provide information on the following points:
- the electronic books that are to be transferred abroad and the other electronic records and documents
- the procedure chosen for the relocation
- the timetable for the relocation
- the exact location of the data processing and accounting system
- if a third party is commissioned: its name and address
- Send the application to the main customs office responsible for your company's registered office. The main customs office may request further documents or evidence from you. Comply with this.
- You will receive notification of the decision on your application.
Online:
- Go to the customs portal for citizens and business customers.
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Log in there with your access data for ELSTER (electronic tax return).
- If you do not yet have an ELSTER account, you will need to register once.
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Compose the application and provide information on the following points:
- the electronic books that are to be transferred abroad and the other electronic records and documents
- the service or service areas of accounting that are to be relocated, if these are to be relocated
- the procedure chosen for the relocation
- the date of the relocation
- the exact location of the data processing and accounting system
- if a third party is commissioned: its name and address
- Send the application to the main customs office responsible for your company's registered office. The main customs office may request further documents or evidence from you. Comply with this.
- You will receive a notification of the decision on your application.
Note: Groups of companies must submit a separate application for each company.
There are no indications or special features.
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
