Payment date for Import turnover tax deferred to 26th of month after next - Ruling valid from 1 December 2020

On Hamburg’s initiative, the procedure for levying Import turnover tax is being changed. This is an import topic for the whole of Germany’s competitiveness as a foreign trade power. The existing ruling on Import turnover tax tied up a great deal of liquidity. The tax may subsequently have been refunded later in most cases, yet by comparison with other European ports, the tax represented a temporary disadvantage on importing goods. On the decision by companies on which regions companies they should in future be investing and how logistic chains are to be financially optimized, Germany has now eliminated a crucial disadvantage. The due date for payment of Import turnover tax  is now being deferred until the 26th of the month after next. This ruling is valid from 1 December 2020.

Senator Michael Westhagemann: “I am delighted that the ruling will now be swiftly implemented and am grateful for constructive cooperation with Olaf Scholz, Federal Finance Minister. For companies, the impact on their liquidity amounts to around five billion euros, putting those based in Germany on an equal footing in competition with our European neighbours. That is an important signal for Hamburg as a port and logistics hub. At the same time, it secures jobs and tax revenues in Germany in the long term.

Finance Senator Andreas Dressel commented: “We jointly applied pressure in the conference of ministers of finance and economics. Even if the major breakthrough is still lacking with this calculation model, an important step has been achieved. Hamburg’s logistics and maritime sector will profit. The liquidity benefits for companies through the deferment of the payment date run into billions – a great help in the current corona crisis. To enable Hamburg companies to derive maximum benefit, the departments of economics and finance will be conducting large-scale briefing over the next few months.”
 
For an explanation on film of the whole subject:
German : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK__twc-lJ4
English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLOHcDhB4g4