Taxable persons are only those who carry out an economic activity in the sense of a sustainable activity for the purpose of generating revenue pursuant to sec. 2 para. 1 German VAT Act. By judgment of 15 December 2016, V R 44/15, the German Federal Fiscal Court found that the status as a taxable person is not present where an asymmetry between the operating costs and the revenue exists. In this case, according to ECJ case law Borsele, there is no remuneration and therefore no economic activity. This judgment has implications not only for the public sector but also for private economy entrepreneurs.

Since the Union Customs Code entered into force on 01.05.2016, the requirements for customs authorizations have changed. Continuous authorizations, which were granted prior to 01.05.2016, must now be adapted to the new legal situation within a transitional period, that is, prior to 01.05.2019. For a long time it was unclear how the customs administration would manage this issue. In the meantime, it has published more detailed information on its website as regards the procedure for the reassessment of so-called existing authorizations.

A Federal Fiscal Court decision which has recently been published on the elimination of the tax liability in accordance with sec 14c para 1 sentence 2 of the German VAT Act (decision of 12.10.2016 – XI R 43/14) should result in simplifications for some taxable persons. Rather than an invoice correction, it is now sufficient to issue a written assignment vis-à-vis the tax office. The Federal Fiscal Court left unanswered the question as to whether the elimination of the tax liability further requires that the supplier has actually refunded the collected tax amount to the recipient. Even after the ECJ decision in the legal case Senatex – C-518/14 the court is of the opinion that the correction has no retroactive effect.