Section 7: Implementation, regulations regarding fines, penal provisions, transitional regulations and final provisions
§ 27 General transitional regulations
(1) Unless otherwise stated, amendments to this Act are to be applied to transactions within the meaning of § 1 paragraph 1 numbers 1 and 5, executed from the effective date of the respective amended regulation. This shall also apply to supplies of goods and services to the extent that the tax attributable to them has arisen according to § 13 paragraph 1 number 1 lit. a sentence 4, lit. b or § 13b paragraph 4 sentence 2, prior to the effective date of the amended regulation. The calculation of this tax is to be adjusted for the preliminary VAT return period in which the supply of goods or services is made.
(1a) Upon request, § 4 number 14 is to be applied accordingly to transactions relating to activities performed as a speech therapist executed prior to 1 January 2000, provided that, pursuant to § 124 paragraph 2 of the Social Code, Volume 5, the speech therapist is authorised by the competent entities of the statutory health insurance funds to prescribe speech therapeutic drugs and the conditions stipulated in § 4 number 14 are met, at the latest, by 1 January 2000. Definitive tax assessments may be revoked or amended.
(2) § 9 paragraph 2 is not to be applied if a building erected on immovable property is used or is designated to be used for
residential purposes and was built prior to ,
other non-commercial purposes and was built prior to 1 January 1986;
purposes other than those referred to in numbers 1 and 2 and was built prior to 1 January 1998;
and if construction of the building, in the cases referred to in numbers 1 and 2, commenced prior to 1 June 1984, and in the cases referred to in number 3, prior to .
(3) § 14 paragraph 1a, in the version applicable up to 31 December 2003, is to be applied to invoices issued after 30 June 2002, provided that the underlying transactions were executed by 31 December 2003.
(4) §§ 13b, 14 paragraph 1, § 14a paragraph 4 and 5 sentence 3 number 3, § 15 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 4 and paragraph 4b, § 17 paragraph 1 sentence 1, § 18 paragraph 4a sentence 1, § 19 paragraph 1 sentence 3, § 22 paragraph 1 sentence 2 and paragraph 2 number 8, § 25a paragraph 5 sentence 3 in the respective version applicable up to 31 December 2003 are also to be applied to transactions executed prior to 1 January 2002, if the consideration for these transactions was paid after 31 December 2001. If the deduction procedures in accordance with § 18 paragraph 8 of the version valid up to 31 December 2001 were applied to the consideration or partial consideration, the amount of tax owed by the recipient of the supply according to § 13b is reduced by the tax owed by the taxable person performing the supply under the previous deduction procedures.
(5) § 3 paragraph 9a sentence 2, § 15 paragraph 1b, § 15a paragraph 3 number 2, § 15a paragraph 4 sentence 2 of the respective version applicable up to 31 December 2003, are to be applied to vehicles procured or manufactured, acquired as intra-Community goods, imported or leased after 31 March 1999 and prior to 1 January 2004 and for which the input VAT is deducted in accordance with § 15 paragraph 1b. This shall not apply to input VAT amounts arising after 1 January 2004 that relate to the leasing or operating of these vehicles.
(6) Transactions arising on the transfer of the use of sporting facilities may be split up until 31 December 2004 into a VAT exempt transfer of immovable property and a taxable transfer of the operating facilities.
(7) § 13c is to be applied to claims assigned, pledged or garnished after .
(8) § 15a paragraph 1 sentence 1 and paragraph 4 sentence 1, in the version of the Act dated 20 December 2001 (BGBI I p. 3794), is also to be applied to the periods prior to 1 January 2002, if the taxable person claimed the input VAT deduction at the time the supply was carried out, based on the intended use declared by him and the use, from the date of the initial use, is not in line with the relationships decisive for the deduction.
(9) § 18 paragraph 1 sentence 1 is to be applied for the first time to preliminary VAT return periods that expire after 31 December 2004.
(10) Upon request, § 4 number 21a in the version valid up to 31 December 2003 is to be applied to transactions carried out prior to 1 January 2005 by state universities for research activities, if the supplies relate to a contract that was concluded prior to .
(11) § 15a, in the amended version of Article 5 of the Act dated 9 December 2004 (BGBI I p. 3310), is to be applied to input VAT deductions, where the underlying transactions, within the meaning of § 1 paragraph 1, are executed after 31 December 2004.
(12) § 15a paragraphs 3 and 4, in the version valid as at 1 January 2007, is to be applied to input VAT amounts, where the underlying transactions, within the meaning of § 1 paragraph 1, were executed after 31 December 2006.
(13) § 18a paragraph 1 sentences 1, 4 and 5, in the version of Article 7 of the Act dated 13 December 2006 (BGBI I p. 2878), is to be applied for the first time to reporting periods that expire after 31 December 2006.
(14) § 18 paragraph 9 in the amended version of Article 7 of the Act dated 19 December 2008 (BGBI I p. 2794) and § 18g are to be applied to all applications for an input VAT refund, which are submitted after 31 December 2009.
(15) § 14 paragraph 2 sentence 1 number 2 and § 14 paragraph 3 number 2, in the version valid from 1 January 2009, are to be applied to all invoices for transactions executed after 31 December 2008.
(16) § 3 paragraph 9a number 1, § 15 paragraph 1b, § 15a paragraph 6a and paragraph 8 sentence 2, in the amended version of Article 4 of the Act of 8 December 2010 (BGBl I p. 1768), shall not be applicable to assets within the meaning of § 15 paragraph 1b, which were procured prior to 1 January 2011, on the basis of legal compulsory agreement or an equivalent legal act or the production of which commenced prior to 1 January 2011. The decisive date determining commencement of the construction of buildings, for which a building permit is required, shall be the date on which the building application was submitted; for buildings not requiring a building permit, for which construction documents must be submitted, this date shall be the day on which the said construction documents were submitted.
(17) § 18 paragraph 3, in the amended version of Article 4 of the Act of 8 December 2010 (BGBI I p. 1768), is to be applied for the first time to reporting periods that expire after 31 December 2010.
(18) § 14 paragraphs 1 and 3 is to be applied, in the version valid as from 1 July 2011, for all invoices concerning transactions which are carried out after 30 June 2011.
(19) If a taxable person and the recipient have assumed that the recipient is liable for the VAT in accordance with § 13b for a taxable supply provided prior to 15 February 2014 and this assumption proves to be incorrect, the tax assessment applicable to the taxable person providing the supply must be amended if the recipient is demanding reimbursement of the VAT he has paid on the assumption that he was the taxable person. § 176 of the Fiscal Code is not opposed to the amendment in accordance with sentence 1. The tax office responsible for the supplying taxable person may, upon request, grant approval for the supplying taxable person to assign to the tax office his claim against the recipient for payment of the legally owed VAT if the assumption of VAT liability for the recipient was based on reliance on an administrative order and the supplying taxable person cooperates in the enforcement of the assigned claim. Assignment shall be effective in terms of payment, provided that
the supplying taxable person issues the recipient with an original or amended invoice on which the VAT is clearly shown,
the assignment to the tax office remains effective,
the recipient is notified of this assignment without delay and informed that any payment to the supplying taxable person will no longer discharge him of his liability, and
the supplying taxable person complies with his obligation to cooperate.
(20) § 18h paragraph 3 and 4, as amended by Article 8 of the Act dated 25 July 2014 (BGBl I p. 1266), is to be applied for the first time to taxation periods that expire after 31 December 2014.
(21) § 18 paragraph 2, as amended on 1 January 2015, is to be applied for the first time to preliminary VAT return periods that expire after 31 December 2014.
(22) § 2 paragraph 3, as amended on 31 December 2015, is still to be applied to transactions carried out after 31 December 2015 and before 1 January 2017. § 2b, as amended on 01 January 2016, is to be applied to transactions carried out after 31 December 2016. The body governed by public law may provide the tax office with a single declaration that it will continue to apply § 2 paragraph 3, as amended on 31 December 2015, to all transactions carried out after 31 December 2016 and before 1 January 2021. It is not permitted to restrict the declaration to individual areas of activity or supplies. The deadline for submission of the declaration is 31 December 2016. It may only be cancelled with effect from the beginning of a calendar year following submission. § 18 paragraphs 4f and 4g shall be applied for the first time for the tax periods, which do not underly the declaration as mentioned in sentence 3.
(22a) In cases where a body governed by public law has declared vis-á-vis the tax office, according to paragraph 22 sentence 3, that it will apply § 2 paragraph 3, as amended on 31 December 2015, to all transactions carried out after 31 December 2016 and before 1 January 2021 and has not waived the declaration for the time periods that end prior to 1 January 2023, the declaration shall also apply for all transactions which are carried out after 31 December 2020 and before 1 January 2025. Also for time periods after 31 December 2020, the declaration as mentioned in sentence 1 can only be waived with effect as of the beginning of a calendar year following the submission of the declaration. It is not permitted to limit the waiver to single areas of operation or supplies.
(23) § 3 paragraphs 13 to 15 and § 10 paragraph 1 sentence 6, as amended by Article 9 of the Act of 11 December 2018 (BGBl I p. 2338), shall be applied for the first time to vouchers issued after 31 December 2018.
(24) § 3a paragraph 5 sentences 3 to 5 and § 14 paragraph 7 sentence 3, as amended by Article 9 of the Act of 11 December 2018 (BGBl I p. 2338), shall be applied to transactions carried out after 31 December 2018. § 18 paragraph 4c sentence 1 and paragraph 4d, as amended by Article 9 of the Act of 11 December 2018 (BGBl I p. 2338), shall be applied to tax periods expiring after 31 December 2018.
(25) The Federal Ministry of Finance shall announce the commencement from which date forward the data according to § 22f paragraph 5 shall be submitted upon request, by way of a letter to be published in the Federal Tax Gazette. The same shall apply to the determination of the calendar year from which data, according to § 22f paragraph 3, shall be transmitted upon request. § 25e paragraphs 1 to 4, as amended by Article 9 of the Act of 11 December 2018 (BGBl I p. 2338), shall be applied to the taxable persons mentioned in § 22f paragraph 1 sentence 4, in the version applicable on 1 January 2019, as from 1 March 2019 and to taxable persons other than those mentioned in § 22f paragraph 1 sentence 4, in the version applicable on 1 January 2019, as from 1 October 2019.
(26) § 25 paragraph 3, in the version of Article 11 of the Act of 12 December 2019 (BGBl I p. 2451), shall be applied for the first time to transactions which are carried out after 31 December 2021.
(27) § 4 number 15a, in the version valid up to 31 December 2019, shall continue to be applicable up to the point in time specified in § 412 paragraph 1 sentence 4 of the Fifth Book of the Social Security Code, as well as § 412 paragraph 5 sentence 9 in connection with § 412 paragraph 1 sentence 4 of the Fifth Book of the Social Security Code.
(28) § 15 paragraph 4b, § 16 paragraph 2 sentence 1 and § 18 paragraph 9, in the version of Article 12 of the Act of 12 December 2019 (BGBl I p. 2451), shall be applied for the first time to preliminary VAT reporting periods, taxation periods and VAT refund periods that expire after 31 December 2019.
(29) § 22b paragraphs 2 and 2a, in the version of Article 12 of the Act of 12 December 2019 (BGBl I p. 2451), shall be applied for the first time to preliminary VAT reporting periods, taxation periods and reporting periods that expire after 31 December 2019.
(30) § 25f, in the version of Article 12 of the Act of 12 December 2019 (BGBl I p. 2451), shall be applied for the first time to preliminary VAT reporting periods and taxation periods that expire after 31 December 2019.
(31) The date when § 21 paragraph 3a, in the version of Article 3 of the Act of 29 July 2020 (BGBl I p. 1512), shall be applied for the first time will be announced with a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
(32) § 24 paragraph 1 in the version of Article 11 of the Act of 21 December 2020 (BGBl I p. 3096) shall be applied for the first time to transactions which are carried out after 31 December 2021.
(33) § 18i paragraphs 3 and 6, § 18j paragraphs 4 and 7, § 18k paragraphs 4 and 7 in the version of Article 13 of the Act of 21 December 2020 (BGBl I p. 3096) shall be applied for the first time to transactions which are carried out after 30 June 2021. The references mentioned in §§ 18i, 18j and 18k to §§ 3, 3a, 3c, 16, 18i, 18j, 18k and 22 refer to the version of Article 13 and 14 of the aforementioned Act.
(34) §§ 3 and 3a paragraph 5, §§ 3c, 4, 5, 11, 13 paragraph 1 number 1 lit. f to i, § 14a paragraph 2, § 16 paragraphs 1c to 1e, § 18 paragraphs 1, 3 and 9, §§ 21a, 22, 22f and 25e in the version of Article 14 of the Act of 21 December 2020 (BGBl I p. 3096) shall be applied for the first time to transactions and importation which are carried out after 30 June 2021. § 13 paragraph 1 number 1 lit. d and e, § 16 paragraphs 1a and 1b, § 18 paragraphs 4c to 4e and § 18h shall be applied for the last time to transactions which are carried out before 1 July 2021.
(35) § 4c in the version of Article 1 of the Act of 21 December 2021 (BGBl I S. 5250) shall be applied to supplies which are purchased after 31 December 2020. § 5 paragraph 1 number 8 and 9 in the version of Article 1 of the Act of 21 December 2021 (BGBl I S. 5250) shall be applied to imports after 31 December 2020.
(36) § 18 paragraph 5a in the version of Article 16 of the Act of 16 December 2022 (BGBl I S. 2294) shall be applied for the first time to reporting periods which end after 31 December 2022.
(37) § 18g in the version of Article 16 of the Act of 16 December 2022 (BGBl I S. 2294) shall be applied for the first time to the transmission of data after 31 December 2022.
(38) By way of derogation from § 14 paragraph 1 and 2 an invoice may be submitted
until 31 December 2026 for a transaction carried out after 31 December 2024 and before 1 January 2027 on paper or, subject to the recipient’s consent, in an electronic format that does not comply with § 14 paragraph 1 sentence 6;
until 31 December 2027 for a transaction carried out after 31 December 2026 and before 1 January 2028 on paper or, subject to the recipient’s consent, in an electronic format that does not comply with § 14 paragraph 1 sentence 6, if the total turnover (§ 19 paragraph 3) of the taxable person issuing the invoice does not exceed EUR 800,000 in the previous calendar year;
until 31 December 2027 for a transaction carried out after 31 December 2025 and before 1 January 2028 subject to the recipient’s consent, in an electronic format that does not comply with § 14 paragraph 1 sentence 6, if it is transmitted by means of electronic data interchange (EDI) in accordance with Article 2 of the Commission Recommendation 94/820/EG of 19 October 1994 on the legal aspects of electronic data interchange (OJ L 338, 28 December 1994, p. 98).
Paragraphs 15 and 18 shall remain unaffected.
(39) § 18 paragraph 3 sentence 1 and § 19 paragraph 1 sentence 4 as well as paragraph 2 in the version of Article 23 of the Act of 27 March 2024 (BGBl 2024 I no. 108) shall be applied for the first time to reporting periods which end after 31 December 2023.
Fundstelle(n):
zur Änderungsdokumentation
ZAAAH-50183