1. Procedural aspects
    1. 1. At what date does DAC6 start being implemented in your country? Did your country opt to defer the implementation of the Directive pursuant to Council Directive (EU) 2020/876 of 24 June 2020?
    2. 2. What is the form of the declaration which must be sent to the tax authorities?
    3. 3. Does your country require other information than that provided by the Directive to be declared?
    4. 4. Does your country provide for a waiver or a specific treatment for intermediaries enjoying legal privilege?
    5. 5. Have specific rules been enacted in your country to deal with cases where several intermediaries are subject to the reporting obligation?
    6. 6. What are the penalties for failure to report?
  2. Specifities regarding reportable arrangements
    1. 1. Does your domestic legislation lay down reporting obligations in purely domestic situations?
    2. 2. Does your domestic legislation extend the scope of the reporting obligation to taxes which are not contemplated by the Directive (e.g. VAT)?
    3. 3. Does your domestic legislation provide for hallmarks which do not exist in the Directive?

chapter

DAC6 in Germany

Procedural aspects

1. At what date does DAC6 start being implemented in your country? Did your country opt to defer the implementation of the Directive pursuant to Council Directive (EU) 2020/876 of 24 June 2020?

In Germany, intermediaries and users are required to report relevant cross-border tax arrangements electronically to the Federal Tax Office (BZSt), starting from 1 July 2020. Currently the German transposition law requires compliance with the following time limits when submitting these reports:

  • “Historical” cases: cross-border tax arrangements whose first step was implemented after 24 June 2018 (entry into force of DAC6) and before 1 July 2020 must be notified to the Federal Tax Office by 31 August 2020;
  • “New” cases: cross-border tax arrangements implemented from 1 July 2020 onwards must be notified to the Federal Tax Office within 30 days after the end of the “event day” within the meaning of section 138f (2) nos. 1 to 3 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung).

Germany has not opted for a deferral of the DAC6 deadlines.

2. What is the form of the declaration which must be sent to the tax authorities?

The declaration has to be transmitted exclusively electronically to the Federal Tax Office (BZSt) in accordance with the officially prescribed data set. The following three channels are available for the transmission of data:

  1. Individual data transmission via the BZSt Online portal (BOP)
  2. XML Web Upload in the BOP
  3. Electronic mass data interface (ELMA)

The declaration has to be submitted in German.

3. Does your country require other information than that provided by the Directive to be declared?

No.

Yes. In the event that the intermediary is subject to a statutory (i.e. not a contractual) obligation to maintain confidentiality and the relevant client does not release the intermediary from such obligation, intermediaries are partially exempt from disclosure requirements to the extent the client’s individual information is concerned. With regard to “abstract information” (cf. Section 138f (3) number 1 and numbers 4-9 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung)) that is only describing the arrangement without disclosing the client’s identity, the intermediary, however, always remains subject to disclosure requirements, even if under an obligation to maintain confidentiality.

Please note that the requirement to disclose the relevant “individual information” (Section 138f (3) numbers 2, 3 and 10 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung)) will pass to the user (only) if the intermediary has informed the user in advance about the possibility to release the intermediary from the obligation to maintain confidentiality and about the transfer of the disclosure requirement, and has additionally provided the user with the necessary (individual) information specified in Section 138f (3) numbers 2, 3 and 10 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) as well as the registration and disclosure number, insofar as the user is not aware of this information.

Alternatively, the intermediary’s disclosure requirement can be met by the user providing, in addition to the individual information, the abstract information on behalf of the intermediary (i.e. by submitting just one data record).

5. Have specific rules been enacted in your country to deal with cases where several intermediaries are subject to the reporting obligation?

Yes. Generally, several intermediaries of the same cross-border tax arrangement are obliged to notify in parallel. However, an intermediary shall be exempt from the obligation to notify the Federal Central Tax Office if he can prove that the necessary information has already been notified by another intermediary to the Federal Central Tax Office or the competent authority of another Member State of the European Union in accordance with the legal provisions applicable there.

6. What are the penalties for failure to report?

If a reportable cross-border arrangement is not reported, incorrectly reported, incompletely reported or reported too late, fines of up to EUR 25,000 may be imposed for each single breach (section 379 (2) and (7) of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung)).

Specifities regarding reportable arrangements

This part aims at identifying statutory rules which depart from the Directive.

1. Does your domestic legislation lay down reporting obligations in purely domestic situations?

No.

2. Does your domestic legislation extend the scope of the reporting obligation to taxes which are not contemplated by the Directive (e.g. VAT)?

No.

3. Does your domestic legislation provide for hallmarks which do not exist in the Directive?

No.