Section 7: Implementation, regulations regarding fines, penal provisions, transitional regulations and final provisions

§ 27a VAT identification number

(1) Upon application, the Federal Central Tax Office shall issue a VAT identification number to taxable persons within the meaning of § 2. The Federal Central Tax Office shall also issue a VAT identification number to a legal person, who is not a taxable person or who acquires goods which are not for the purpose of its business, if such are required for intra-Community acquisitions. In the case of a VAT group, a separate VAT identification number is issued upon request to each legal person. The application for the issuing of a VAT identification number is to be made in writing in accordance with sentences 1 to 3. The name, address and tax number must be stated on the application, under which the applicant is registered for VAT purposes.

(1a) The tax office responsible for the VAT taxation of a taxable person in accordance with § 21 of the Fiscal Code can limit the use of the VAT identification number issued in accordance with paragraph 1 sentences 1 to 3, if serious indications are given or it can be proved that the VAT identification number is used to pose a risk to the VAT revenue. This shall also apply if the VAT revenue of another Member State is at risk.

(2) The state tax authorities shall forward to the Federal Central Tax Office the information required under paragraph 1 for the issuing of a VAT identification number relating to the natural and legal persons and associations of persons registered with them for VAT purposes. This information may only be processed or used for the issuing of a VAT identification number, for the purposes of Council Regulation (EU) Number 904/2010 of 7 October 2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax (OJ L 268 of 12.10.2010, p. 1), for VAT controls, for the purposes of providing administrative assistance between authorities of other states in matters concerning VAT, as well as for forwarding to the Federal Statistical Office in accordance with § 2a of the Statistical Act and to the Federal Cartel Office for the purposes to review and complete the data in accordance with § 3 paragraph 1 number 3 of the Competition Register Act. Until completion of the initial assignment of the business identification number in accordance with § 139c of the Fiscal Code by way of derogation of sentence 2 the data mentioned in sentence 1 as well as the VAT identification number issued by the Federal Central Tax Office may also be used for the assignment of the business identification number in accordance with § 139c of the Fiscal Code and may also be submitted to the Federal Statistical Office in its function as registration authority for the Basic Register for the purposes mentioned in § 4 of the Basic Company Data Register Act and stored and processed by it in accordance with § 3 of the Basic Company Data Register Act. Furthermore, the Federal State’s tax authorities submit the required data to the Federal Central Tax Office in accordance with paragraph 1a. The Federal Central Tax Office shall forward the VAT identification numbers issued and the data required for VAT controls to the state tax authorities.