With the implementation of the new German tax law, a large number of cross-border sellers have been blocked due to the German tax certificate. So what exactly is the German tax certificate? What will happen if cross-border e-commerce sellers do not submit the tax certificate? How to unblock the account if it is frozen?
What is a German tax certificate?
The German tax certificate (22f certificate) is not the current German tax number (St.-Nr.) or tax identification number (Ust-IdNr.), but a new policy introduced by Germany in 2017 for e-commerce sellers. The main purpose of this tax certificate is to help the German Taxation Bureau more effectively supervise the tax behavior of e-commerce sellers and solve the problems of underreporting and underreporting.
The German tax certificate is valid for 3 years. If the tax bureau discovers any illegal behavior by the seller within 3 years, the certificate will be immediately revoked.
The prerequisite for applying for a German tax certificate is that the seller has a German tax number (including tax identification number) and has no previous bad tax record (such as underreporting of subsistence allowances), otherwise the tax bureau will not issue the certificate.
After the policy is officially implemented in 2018, e-commerce sellers who want to enter e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay must have both a German tax number and a tax certificate. Both are indispensable.
Which sellers need to upload a German tax certificate?
There are many business activities that may give rise to German tax registration obligations. Chinese sellers with German VAT obligations need to upload a German tax certificate on the platform, and the following types of sellers are generally obliged to register for tax:
1. Your company is established in Germany.
2. You store your stock in Germany and ship from Germany.
3. You store inventory in another EU member state and sell into Germany and your remote sales exceed EUR 100.00.
4. You ship from a non-EU country to a customer in Germany and you (or a carrier acting on your behalf) are the importer of record.
The German tax certificate plays an indispensable role in business activities. If you want to know more about the German tax certificate, please continue to pay attention!
