After almost ten years, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has finally addressed, in a letter dated 20 January 2026, the question of what happens when a permanently loss-making activity is offered on the market. In the case of a very low-cost recovery ratio, the BMF assumes that the status as taxable person is to be denied and thus the input VAT deduction is to be refused. However, the taxable person can refute this assumption in individual cases. Practitioners should be aware, however, that while the ‘hobby principles’ apply to income tax, different rules apply to determining status as a taxable person for VAT purposes.

At the end of December 2025, the EU Commission announced that it would be discussing export duties and tariff quotas for aluminium scrap. A concrete proposal is to be announced in the second quarter of 2026. Export duties are payable by the person identified as the declarant of the export declaration. As long as tariff quotas have sufficient capacity, export duties can be avoided.

The e-commerce business involving goods shipments from third countries has been booming for years and continues to grow steadily. Many non-EU suppliers take advantage of the high volume of consignments to engage in what can only be described as tax evasion. In response, both the EU and individual Member States have adopted measures in recent months to counter this trend. These regulations, however, affect all e-commerce businesses that deliver goods from third countries to customers in the EU – regardless of whether they are established, within or outside the EU.