Apply for refund, remission or reimbursement of tax on sparkling wine and intermediate products

You can apply for the tax relief declaration by mail or online at the appropriate main customs office:

Submitting the declaration by mail:

• If you have placed self-taxed sparkling wine or intermediate products into your tax warehouse, apply for a tax waiver or refund as part of your monthly tax return. Complete the tax relief application and the attachments listed therein:
  
  • Download the form “Monthly Tax Return/Tax Relief Declaration for Sparkling Wine” (Form 2401) or “Monthly Tax Return/Tax Relief Declaration for Intermediate Products” (Form 2451) from the Customs Administration’s website.
  • Record the transactions eligible for tax relief on the form and complete the attachments in full.
  • Send the credit application by mail to your local main customs office.
  • The main customs office will review the credit. You will receive a notice with the outcome of your application.
• If you receive sparkling wine or intermediate products into your tax warehouse that have been taxed by someone else and you wish to receive a tax refund, you must also include a tax payment confirmation with your monthly tax return/refund application:
  
  • Download the “Tax Payment Confirmation” form (Form 2735) from the Customs Administration’s website.
  • Fill out the forms completely, attach the tax payment confirmation, and send them by mail to your local main customs office.
  • The main customs office will review the information and send you a notice.
• If you wish to ship taxed sparkling wine or intermediate products to other Member States and claim a tax exemption for this, you need authorization as a certified consignor.
  
  • You must apply for this in advance at your local main customs office.
  • If you have already been granted authorization as a tax warehouse operator or registered consignor, you simply need to file a notification with your local main customs office before shipping.

With your authorization, you will receive an excise tax number as a certified consignor. The shipment must be made using a simplified electronic administrative document (v-e-VD) via the EMCS IT system. The EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System) is a computer-based transport and control system for goods subject to excise tax. For this, you will need your excise tax number as a certified consignor. Proceed as follows:

• Download the following forms from the Customs Administration’s website:
  
  • "Certified Consignor – Application for a Permit or Notification of a Tax Warehouse Holder/Registered Consignor" (Form 2742) and
  • "List of Goods – Certified Consignor (excluding energy products) (Appendix to Form 2742)" (Form 2743)
• Fill out the form and the annex completely and send them by mail to your local Main Customs Office.
• The main customs office will review the information, grant the authorization as a certified consignor in writing or electronically, and assign an excise tax number for your shipments to other Member States using v-e-VD.
• You can then apply for the corresponding tax relief using the following forms:
  
  • Download the forms “Monthly Tax Return/Refund Application for Sparkling Wine” (Form 2401) or “Monthly Tax Return/Exemption Application for Intermediate Products” (Form 2451), including the attachments, from the Customs Administration’s website.
  • On the tax relief application forms, select the second option in each case: “Application for Relief from Sparkling Wine Tax (Tax Relief Application)” or “Application for Relief from Intermediate Product Tax (Tax Relief Application).”
• If you have not paid the tax on the sparkling wine or intermediate products yourself, also include a tax payment confirmation with your application:
  
  • Download the “Confirmation of Tax Payment” form (Form 2735) from the Customs Administration’s website.
  • Fill out the forms completely, attach the tax payment confirmation (if necessary) as well as the other required documents—for example, as a certified shipper, a printout of the v-e-VD arrival notification—and send them by mail to your local Main Customs Office.
  • The main customs office will review the information and send you a notice.

Submit the declaration online:

• You can also fill out and submit the forms for exemption from sparkling wine tax or intermediate product tax online.
  Access the online application on the Customs Portal. It will guide you step by step through the necessary information, which you can enter electronically.
• Upload the required documents as files and submit the application.
• The Main Customs Office will review your information and documents.
• You will receive a tax assessment notice.

The Main Customs Office responsible is the one in whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you reside. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you are not a resident of Germany, the Main Customs Office with local jurisdiction is the one in whose district you first become subject to taxation.

More information

Appeal

• Objection. Detailed information on how to file an objection can be found in your tax assessment notice.
• Lawsuit before the tax court

• When delivering taxed sparkling wine or taxed intermediate products to European Union member states, you must provide the following additional documentation:
  
  • the third copy of the simplified accompanying document, as required by the so-called System Directive, confirmed by the recipient.
  • the proof of taxation from the other Member State.
  • If another person has paid the tax on sparkling wine or an intermediate product: additionally, that person’s tax payment confirmation
• When including sparkling wine already taxed in Germany or taxed intermediate products in your tax warehouse, you need the following proofs:
  
  • If you place sparkling wine or intermediate products that you have already paid tax on (returned goods) into your tax warehouse, it is sufficient to record them in your warehouse records.
  • If you place sparkling wine or intermediate products into your tax warehouse that another person has already paid tax on, you will also need that person’s tax payment confirmation.

• Monthly Tax Return/Credit Claim for Sparkling Wine
  As the holder of a permanent permit, you can use the online form “Monthly Tax Return/Exemption Application for Sparkling Wine” to submit your tax returns and exemption applications for the sparkling wine tax to the relevant main customs office.

• Monthly Tax Return/Credit Claim for Intermediate Products
  You can use the online form “Monthly Tax Return/Credit Claim for Intermediate Products” to submit your tax returns and credit claims for the tax on intermediate products to the competent main customs office.

• Submit a tax certification online
  The Customs Portal allows you to submit your tax payment confirmation online.

• List of Goods - Certified Shipper - Application for a Permit/Notification
  The Customs Portal allows you to attach a list of goods to your application for certification as a certified shipper and submit it online.

• Certified Shipper - Application for a Permit/Notification
  The Customs Portal allows you to submit an online application to your local main customs office to obtain authorization as a certified shipper.

gebührenfrei

What deadlines must be paid attention to?

You do not have to observe any deadlines.

How long does it take to process

3 days bis 10 days The duration generally depends on the complexity of the case.

• §§ 24 bis 25 Schaumwein- und Zwischenerzeugnissteuergesetz (SchaumwZwStG)
• § 29 Absatz 3 Schaumwein- und Zwischenerzeugnissteuergesetz (SchaumwZwStG)
• § 39 bis 40 Schaumwein- und Zwischenerzeugnissteuerverordnung (SchaumwZwStV)
• § 43 Schaumwein- und Zwischenerzeugnissteuerverordnung (SchaumwZwStV)

• Informationen zur Steuerentlastung für Alkoholerzeugnisse auf der Internetseite der Zollverwaltung