Freight shipments: ADV calls for import sales tax reform
In the run-up to the conference of the finance ministers of the German state governments with the Federal Minister of Finance, which will take place on April 11, 2024, the Association of German Commercial Airports is making clear demands on politicians. Among other things, it is demanding that location disadvantages with regard to import sales tax must be corrected. Many freight shipments are formally imported into the European Union outside of Germany. This means that any customs duties and import sales taxes are paid outside the Federal Republic, because these are incurred at the location where the goods are imported into the EU. Free trade in goods then applies, so that no further fees are incurred within the customs union. Of course, large online retailers also know in which EU countries imports are particularly cheap and customs clearance is quick and unbureaucratic. However, this does not mean that controls are less strict there, but rather that it is faster and the prescribed costs may be lower. For example, Belgium and Hungary have now become popular places for Asian traders to import goods into the European Union. The more pure freight routes there are, the higher the probability that customs clearance and import will also be carried out at the EU landing point. "The German system for collecting import sales tax is a bureaucratic monster that makes imports from third countries more expensive and complicated. It damages the added value of Germany as a logistics location. Potential economic growth is being slowed down by Germany's special approach to import sales tax. Germany as a business and air freight location is becoming increasingly unattractive for new companies because companies are initially asked to pay by customs and only much later is the tax credited to the state tax offices when making advance sales tax returns.
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