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Report transportation of untaxed tobacco products

  • Steuern und Abgaben 



    	    

		    
Procedure

            			
As a rule, you must submit the transport declaration electronically. Among other things, you can use the online procedure of the customs administration for this purpose: 


  • Call up the Customs Administration's "Internet EMCS Application" ("IEA") and follow the instructions for filing.
  • On the home page of the application, click on the "Create New Transaction" button. Add the "e-VD" (electronic administrative document) form to the operation.
  • Complete and save the "Draft e-VD" form. If necessary, follow the instructions for missing information or subforms.
  • Select the "Sign" option to submit the declaration to your responsible main customs office.
  • The EMCS application automatically verifies your declaration.
  • If the verification of your declaration was successful, you will receive a message in the Internet EMCS application with a summary of the data you submitted. Otherwise, you will receive an error message.
  • In addition, you will receive a reference number to the EMCS transaction (Administrative Reference Code, ARC) and a PDF document listing the transaction data. The printed PDF document or a commercial document showing the reference number is used to accompany your goods.
  • If, after the arrival of the goods, the consignee has confirmed the receipt in EMCS, you will receive the "notification of receipt" message, possibly together with further information, for example in case of a complaint.
  • If you do not ship the goods, but receive them, you must create such a report of receipt as a recipient. To do this, use the "report of receipt" form in the Internet EMCS application.

Alternatively, you can use certain software certified by Customs to declare a shipment under tax suspension. 

In some cases, there are exceptions to the obligation to declare the shipment electronically. In that case, submit the declaration in writing: 


  • Find out about the so-called default procedure (paper procedure) on the Customs Administration website.
  • Follow the instructions of the customs administration on the respective procedure, the prerequisites and the required forms.

The main customs office from whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you have your residence is responsible. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you do not have a place of residence in Germany, the main customs office in whose district you first appear for tax purposes is locally responsible.

			
Legal bases
			
More information
If you want to transport tobacco products under duty suspension, you must report this to the customs authorities for excise monitoring. The various transport steps are recorded in a database, the computerized Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS). If irregularities occur during the transport, the tax suspension ends and the tobacco products must be taxed. 

If you are transporting exclusively within the German tax territory to user establishments, a simplified procedure applies. 

With the corresponding approval of the main customs office, you can transport tobacco products as a tax warehouse keeper or registered consignor in a simplified procedure under tax suspension without using the electronic EMCS procedure.