Calculate and pay energy tax

When handling energy products such as petrol or heating oil, you must pay energy tax. To do this, you submit a tax return to the relevant main customs office, in which you calculate the tax yourself. This is referred to as a tax declaration.

The energy tax is an excise tax. It is levied on energy products.

Energy products are for example

• Gasoline
• heating oil
• Liquefied petroleum gas
• Natural gas
• Coal

The amount of the tax depends on the type and quantity of the energy products, as the subject of the tax. In addition, the calculation of the tax depends on the characteristics of the energy products and how you use them.

The energy tax is a self-assessed tax. This means: If you are required to pay the tax as the tax debtor, you must submit a tax return to the competent main customs office without being prompted to do so and calculate the energy tax yourself. This is referred to as a tax return.

You may manufacture, process, transform, store, receive or dispatch energy products in a so-called tax warehouse without taxes initially being incurred. A tax warehouse is a manufacturing plant or warehouse and must be approved by the main customs office.

The tax generally arises as soon as the energy product is removed from the tax warehouse or taken for consumption within the tax warehouse.

Special features:

You must also pay the tax if you

• using energy products for motor purposes contrary to their originally intended purpose (for example: using heating oil as fuel) or using them as heating fuel,
• produce energy products outside a tax warehouse without a subsequent tax exemption, or
• keep, supply, carry, or use marked energy products (heating oil) as fuel.

Your

• Energy tax return excluding heating fuels, natural gas, and coal,
• Energy tax return for heating fuels excluding natural gas and coal,
• Energy tax return natural gas or
• Energy tax return coal

You can do this online in the „Energy and Electricity Tax (IVVA)“ service on the Customs Portal. Alternatively, you can also submit the required documents in writing.

Online Registration:

Go to the website www.zoll-portal.de.

• Register once for the „Energy and Electricity Tax (IVVA)“ service using a user or corporate account.
• Verify your identity with an ELSTER account or digital ID card.
• Fill out the form and submit it directly.
• Your competent principal customs office is reviewing the information you provided.
• If no objections are found, you must pay the tax calculated in the tax return yourself by the due date without any further request.
• If discrepancies are found, you will generally receive a tax assessment with a payment deadline.

Written registration:

• Fill out the form digitally, print it out, and send it by mail to your locally competent main customs office.
• The further steps proceed just like with the online registration

Depending on when you submit the energy tax return, you must observe different deadlines:

• upon removal from a tax warehouse: by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the tax arises.
• if the tax arose between December 1 and 18, by December 22. Does not apply to companies that paid less than 60 million euros in energy tax in the previous calendar year.
• if the tax arose between December 19 and 31, by January 15 of the following year.
• upon production outside the tax warehouse: immediately.
• in other cases: as a rule, immediately.

There are no costs for you.

• Objection
• Action before the finance court