Apply to the customs administration for remission or reimbursement on equitable grounds

Under certain conditions, the customs administration can waive or refund all or part of your claims arising from the tax debt.

The customs administration can waive all or part of your claims arising from a tax debt. This is possible for excise duties, motor vehicle tax, air traffic tax and related ancillary tax payments, such as interest or late payment penalties.
The customs administration can waive your claims if it would be unreasonable or unjust to insist on these claims in your individual case.
The legislator calls this undue hardship. This is the case if

• you are in a financial emergency through no fault of your own and
• it is to be feared that your existence would be permanently jeopardized if the customs administration insists on payment of the taxes,

or:

• the assessment or collection of the tax can no longer be justified according to the purpose of the underlying law and runs counter to its values.

Under the same conditions, the customs administration may refund amounts already paid.

If you are only experiencing temporary economic difficulties, this is not sufficient to have taxes waived or refunded.

If your economic existence would be jeopardized in the event of a rejection, you can use the following documents to explain your income and financial circumstances and enclose them with your application, which you can submit by post, fax or e-mail:

• for citizens: information sheet to check the personal and financial circumstances of natural persons (form 3744)
• for companies: Information sheet to check the personal and financial circumstances of legal entities (form 3743)

These forms are integrated into the online application.

Forms: Yes

Written form required: No

Informal application possible: Yes

Personal appearance required: No

Online services available: Yes

Remission or reimbursement of excise duties, motor vehicle tax, air traffic tax or ancillary tax benefits on the grounds of equity is only possible under certain conditions:

• Your economic existence would be jeopardized in the event of refusal and
• you have
  • did not cause your economic hardship yourself or
  • your behavior does not clearly violate the interests of the general public.

or:

The imposition or collection of the tax can no longer be justified according to the purpose of the underlying law and runs counter to its values.

• Objection

You can apply online, by post, fax or e-mail for remission or reimbursement of excise duty, motor vehicle tax, air traffic tax or ancillary tax benefits on equitable grounds.
Online:

• Go to the customs portal.
  • To be able to use the customs portal, you must register once.
• Log in with your access data for ELSTER (electronic tax return). As a private individual, you can also use the online ID function of your ID card or your BundID to register.
  • If you do not yet have an ELSTER account or BundID account, you will need to register separately once.
• Complete the application for remission or refund on the grounds of equity in the "Services" menu item.
• Select the main customs office responsible and upload any necessary documents.
  • o The main customs office that is responsible for determining or collecting the underlying claim arising from the tax debt is responsible for processing your application. This is usually:
    • the main customs office that issued the tax assessment notice or
    • the main customs office where the tax declaration is to be submitted.
• If necessary, the main customs office will request further evidence or declarations from you. Please comply with these requests.
• The main customs office will decide on your application with an electronic decision.

By post, fax or e-mail:

• You can submit the application informally.
• If your economic existence would be jeopardized in the event of a rejection, you can download and complete forms 3743 or 3744 to explain your income and financial circumstances and compile the necessary documents.
  • Please note that knowledge of the information requested is necessary for a proper decision on your application. You have a corresponding obligation to provide information. If you do not answer the questions in full or do not provide the required evidence, you must expect your application to be rejected.
• Submit the application to the responsible main customs office and, if necessary, enclose the completed forms and the required documents.
  • The main customs office responsible for assessing or collecting the underlying claim arising from the tax debt is responsible for processing your application. This is usually:
    • the main customs office that issued the tax assessment notice or
    • the main customs office where the tax declaration is to be submitted.
• If necessary, the main customs office will request further evidence or declarations from you. Please comply with these requests.
• The main customs office will decide on your application with a decision.

The equity measures dealt with here are generally only possible up to the expiry of the assessment period.

The processing time depends on the circumstances of the individual case and the situation at the respective main customs office.

There are no costs.

The following information is available:

To apply for remission or repayment of import duties on the grounds of equity, you must submit a different application. You can find further information on the customs website.