Customs and Excise Duties
Excise Duties
Energy and electricity tax, alcohol, beer, sparkling wine and coffee tax. We apply for licences, secure reliefs and protect your company through an internal control system.
Customs and Excise Duties
Energy and electricity tax, alcohol, beer, sparkling wine and coffee tax. We apply for licences, secure reliefs and protect your company through an internal control system.
Excise duty law is underestimated in many companies. Yet the amounts at stake can quickly run into six or seven figures. Whether energy and electricity tax in manufacturing, alcohol, beer and sparkling wine tax in distilleries, breweries or trade, or coffee tax at roasters and importers: those who overlook licensing obligations, submit returns late or operate without an internal control system risk surcharges, fines and personal liability for the management.
We advise companies on all excise duties governed by federal law, from licence applications through ongoing tax returns and relief claims to establishing an internal control system (ICS) that documents compliance in an audit-proof manner.
Our advisory begins with a clear classification of your company under the relevant excise duty legislation: are you a supplier or end consumer under the Energy Tax Act and the Electricity Tax Act? A tax warehouse keeper under the Alcohol Tax Act, the Beer Tax Act or the Sparkling Wine and Intermediate Products Tax Act? A manufacturer or consignee under the Coffee Tax Act? From the answers we develop a clear strategy, from licence applications through ongoing submissions and tax returns to the ICS that protects your management from liability risks under the Act on Administrative Offences (OWiG).
Particularly in energy-intensive operations and in manufacturing tax warehouses, relief opportunities are often missed because the complexity of the evidence requirements and deadlines makes access difficult. We take this administrative burden from you and ensure that every permissible relief is claimed in full.
Your expert
CEO
Tax Consultant, Bachelor of Arts, Expert Adviser for International Taxation, Expert Adviser for Customs and Excise Duties
From licence applications to internal control systems, we advise you on all excise duties governed by federal law: energy, electricity, alcohol, beer, sparkling wine and coffee.
Advisory on energy tax for natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil and other energy products. For companies in the manufacturing sector, we assess reliefs under sections 51, 54 and 55 of the Energy Tax Act, the peak-load compensation scheme and privileges for qualifying installations under section 3 of the Energy Tax Act. From annual consumption of around 1,000 MWh of natural gas, a review is regularly worthwhile.
At a standard electricity tax rate of EUR 20.50 per megawatt hour, reliefs for the manufacturing sector are economically viable even at small consumption volumes. We assess the general relief under section 9b of the Electricity Tax Act, the peak-load compensation under section 10 of the Electricity Tax Act and special privileges, and compile the applications in full.
Distilleries, manufacturers of alcohol-containing products and holders of alcohol warehouses are subject to the Alcohol Tax Act (AlkStG). We apply for tax warehouse and duty-free use licences, support tax returns and dispatches under duty suspension (EMCS), and assess reliefs for use for qualifying purposes.
Breweries and beer traders are subject to the Beer Tax Act (BierStG). We deal with the tax warehouse keeper licence, ongoing tax returns to the principal customs office and assess the applicability of the reduced sliding scale for independent mid-sized breweries.
Manufacturers, importers and tax warehouse keepers of sparkling wine and intermediate products must comply with the Sparkling Wine and Intermediate Products Tax Act (SchaumwZwStG). We clearly demarcate sparkling wines, intermediate products and non-sparkling products, apply for licences and prepare the tax returns.
Roasters, importers and consignees of coffee and coffee-containing goods are subject to the Coffee Tax Act (KaffeeStG). We advise on the tax warehouse keeper or registered consignee licence, prepare tax returns and clarify questions relating to supplies from free circulation in other EU member states.
Whether supplier, tax warehouse keeper, registered consignee or operator of a qualifying installation under section 3 of the Energy Tax Act: we establish the licensing obligation and handle the application to the competent principal customs office. This includes organisational instructions, process planning and thorough documentation of all notification, registration and record-keeping obligations.
Errors in excise duty processing can lead to substantial surcharges, reputational damage and personal liability for the management under the Act on Administrative Offences (OWiG). We establish an internal control system with you from scratch or adapt an existing one, train your staff and document all measures in an audit-proof manner.
In addition to our focus areas, we support you at every stage of excise duty processing.
Ongoing Returns
Preparation and submission of tax returns for all excise duty types
Process Analysis
Identification of qualifying processes and tax warehouse procedures under the Energy Tax Act, Alcohol Tax Act, Beer Tax Act, Sparkling Wine Act and Coffee Tax Act
Staff Training
Raising awareness of excise duty obligations and risks
External Audits
Support during audits by the customs administration and representation before the principal customs office
Assessment Review
Review of and, where applicable, objection to notices from the principal customs office
Strategic Advisory
Assessment of excise duty implications for investments, plant planning and the restructuring of production processes
Answers to the most important questions on excise duties, tax warehouses and reliefs.
Your question is not listed? Get in touch with usWhich excise duty is relevant to you depends on the products you manufacture, process or receive. In practice, we advise primarily on energy tax (EnergieStG) and electricity tax (StromStG) in the manufacturing sector, alcohol tax (AlkStG) for distilleries and manufacturers of alcohol-containing products, beer tax (BierStG) for breweries, sparkling wine tax (SchaumwZwStG) for sparkling wine producers and manufacturers of intermediate products, and coffee tax (KaffeeStG) for roasters and importers. All excise duties are levied uniformly throughout Germany by the customs administration. The competent authority is the respective principal customs office.
A tax warehouse is a place authorised by the principal customs office where excisable goods may be produced, processed, stored, received or dispatched under a duty-suspension arrangement. For as long as the goods remain in the tax warehouse or are transported between tax warehouses under duty suspension, no duty arises. The duty arises only when goods are released for consumption. A tax warehouse licence is generally worthwhile for manufacturers and warehouse operators dealing in energy products, alcohol, beer, sparkling wine, intermediate products and coffee from appreciable production or stock volumes. We assess whether a tax warehouse licence is economically beneficial for you and handle the application process.
Relief applications under the Energy Tax Act and the Electricity Tax Act must be submitted to the competent principal customs office by 31 December of the following year. The date of receipt is decisive; late applications are generally excluded. Applications are submitted on the official form, and for certain relief provisions electronically via the citizens' and business customers' portal of the customs administration. We prepare the applications, verify the supporting documents and ensure that deadlines are met and relief entitlements are claimed in full.
Whether an application is worthwhile depends on the energy carrier, the type of use and the volume consumed. For companies in the manufacturing sector, the peak-load compensation scheme for electricity and energy tax is economically attractive from a relevant annual consumption and a sufficient tax liability. Smaller reliefs too, for example for specific processes and procedures, for transport or for qualifying installations under section 3 of the Energy Tax Act, can have a noticeable effect even at moderate volumes. We review your energy purchases, identify all applicable relief provisions and calculate the potential relief amount.
The relief rates are set by statute for each relief provision and are regularly adjusted to reflect budgetary requirements and EU requirements. The standard electricity tax rate is EUR 20.50 per megawatt hour; graduated reliefs apply for the manufacturing sector, including the general relief under section 9b of the Electricity Tax Act and the peak-load compensation under section 10 of the Electricity Tax Act. Corresponding reliefs for natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and fuel oil are available under the energy tax. Since rates are subject to change, we always check the currently applicable rates for you and calculate the actual relief on the basis of your consumption data.
Whether licence applications, ongoing tax returns, relief claims or establishing an internal control system: speak to our specialist advisers for customs and excise duties. The initial consultation is free of charge.