Supplies via consignment stocks are deemed to be direct supplies to the customer and any interim storage will remain unconsidered if the recipient is already known at the beginning of the transport. This is the decision of the Federal Fiscal Court (V R 31/15) published yesterday. The Court came to the same conclusion as that reached by the lower tax courts in their decisions of the past two years. The Federal Fiscal Court thereby opposes the current undifferentiated opinion of the fiscal authorities. This will be welcome news for some foreign suppliers who will therefore be able to avoid registration in Germany. However, practical difficulties might arise, e.g. the time difference between the beginning of the dispatch and the invoicing or the interaction with commercial law and income tax law. In any case, consignment stock agreements and their handling now need to be checked.