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ASD GROUP > OUR SERVICES PER COUNTRY > SERVICES IN GERMANY > FISCAL > TAX REPRESENTATIVE IN GERMANY

Tax Representation in Germany

Tax representation doesn’t exist in Germany. Companies established outside of the European Union are subjected to the same regulations as the companies established within the European Union. In consequence, they have neither the obligation nor the possibility to appoint a tax representative. However, companies established in a different country can appoint a tax agent acting under their authority. Please, visit our Tax agent in Germany page for more information.

What is the difference between a tax representative and a tax agent?

The tax representative and the tax agent share the same objective: filing VAT-related responsibilities and obligations on their clients’ behalf – VAT registration, VAT declarations submission, VAT return procedures’ submission and tracking, communication with the local tax administration, support in the event of tax inspection, etc…

The main difference between a tax representative and a tax agent is the level of responsibility they carry. In effect, unlike a tax agent, a tax representative is usually considered as severally liable for the VAT the company he represents needs to pay. This means that if the company fails to pay the VAT it owes, the tax administrations can collect the sum directly from the tax representative. In consequence, the tax representative represents a guarantee of payment for the tax administrations.

However, this guaranty becomes unnecessary when a company’s country of establishment and the country of an activity liable for VAT have signed an international treaty of tax collection assistance. In such cases, the local tax administration can request assistance from the country of establishment to recover the money directly from the company. This is the reason why the companies established within the European Union are always exempted from appointing a tax representative in other Member-States: international tax assistance is always compulsory in the EU.

On the opposite, regarding companies established outside of the European Union, the 2006/112/CE Directive gives Member States the choice to make the appointment of a tax representative compulsory or not. If most countries have decided to make the appointment of a tax representative compulsory, other Member States such as Germany, choose not to use tax representatives, even in the absence of an international treaty of tax collection assistance. In that case, tax representation doesn’t exist.

What are the benefits of appointing a tax agent?

When tax representation doesn’t exist, the companies established outside of the European Union required to register for VAT in Germany still have the possibility to appoint a tax agent. The tax agent will manage on the company’s behalf all their VAT-related obligations in Germany: obtaining a VAT number, filing VAT declarations, submitting VAT refund claims, etc…

Intra-community VAT is a complicated subject, evolving constantly. It requires an extremely detailed expertise. Any mistake can have drastic financial consequences: tax inspections, loss of VAT refund rights, withdrawal of tax exonerations, additional taxes, fines, delayed interests, etc…

This is why appointing a tax agent specilized in German VAT is essential if you want to secure VAT-subjected operations in Germany.

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