Request for information on the existence of a platform or relevant activity (section 10 PStTG)

In order to clarify legal questions regarding the existence of a platform (sec 3 para. 1 PStTG) or a relevant activity (sec. 5 para. 1 PStTG), it is possible to request information from the Federal Central Tax Office. The information provided by the Federal Central Tax Office is in principle binding for the question of whether obligations exist under the PStTG.

The application must be made in writing or electronically and must contain the following information:

• the exact designation of the applicant
• a comprehensive and complete description of the circumstances;
• a description of the applicant’s particular interest;
• a detailed description of the applicant’s own legal viewpoint;
• the formulation of specific legal questions;
• a declaration regarding whether and, if appropriate, in which other Member States of the European Union the applicant has requested corresponding information in accordance with the legal provisions applicable there and, if appropriate, the content of the information that has been provided to the applicant;
• the affirmation that all the information needed to provide the information and to assess the circumstances has been provided and is true.

The Federal Central Tax Office charges a fee of 5,000 euros for processing the request, which is to be set before the information is provided. The fee is to be paid by the applicant within one month following notification that the fee has been set. The fee may be waived in full or in part where ist collection would be unreasonable in individual cases. This shall apply in particular in the event of withdrawal of the application.

Application for determination of an exempted platform operator (section 11 PStTG)

A platform operator may file an application to have it determined that he is excluded from the reporting obligation. The Federal Central Tax Office determines with effect for a certain reporting period that he is an exempt platform operator if proof has been provided that the platform operated cannot be used by sellers subject to the reporting obligation.

An extension of the determination to a subsequent notification period is possible if evidence has been provided that the circumstances have not changed in the meantime since the time of the original determination and are not expected to change in the course of the notification period concerned.

The first application for determination shall be submitted by 31 October of a year for the respective current reporting period and an application for extension shall be submitted by 31 October of a year for the respective following reporting period.

The application may be submitted in writing or electronically and must contain the following:

• the exact designation of the applicant and, if applicable, all other platform operators of the same platform;
• the address of the registered office and the electronic addresses, including the internet addresses, of the applicant and, if applicable, all other platform operators of the same platform;
• every tax identification number and identification number for VAT purposes that have been issued to the platform operator;
• the reasons why the applicant is generally obliged to report to the Federal Central Tax Office;
• a declaration regarding whether and, if appropriate, in which other Member States of the European Union the applicant or another operator of the same platform is obliged to report in accordance with the legal provisions applicable there;
• a specification of the reportable period for which the determination or the extension of a determination is being requested;
• a declaration regarding whether and, if appropriate, in relation to which competent authorities of other Member States of the European Union, the applicant or another operator of the same platform in accordance with the legal provisions applicable there has provided proof, or intends to provide proof, for the reportable period specified pursuant to number 6, that the platform it operates cannot be used by reportable sellers;
• a description of the circumstances, including the contractual, technical and administrative safeguards, that reliably prevent the platform that is the subject of the request from actually being used by reportable sellers.

The Federal Central Tax Office charges fees of 5,000 euros for processing the initial application and 2,500 euros for each renewal application, each of which is assessed before the determination is issued or renewed.

Registration of a platform operator (section 12 PStTG)

A registration obligation applies to non-European reporting platform operators. In detail, a platform operator must fulfil the following requirements (cf. section 3 para. 4 no. 2 PStTG) in order to be subject to registration:

• he is not an excluded platform operator (sec. 11 PStTG)
• he is not a qualified platform operator (sec. 7 para. 1 PStTG)
• he is not resident for tax purposes in any other EU Member State in accordance with the legal provisions applicable in that Member State
• he has no registered office or place of management in any EU Member State
• he is not registered in any EU Member State under the law applicable in that State
• he does not have a permanent establishment in any EU Member State

• he operates a platform which
  - enables the provision of relevant activities by sellers subject to the reporting obligation, or

  - allows the temporary granting of usage and other rights of any kind to immovable property, if the immovable property is located in an EU Member State.

Provided you meet these conditions, you must register once with a competent authority of an EU Member State immediately after the conditions have been met.

If you decide to register with the Federal Central Tax Office, the following information must be transmitted electronically to the Federal Central Tax Office:

1. the exact designation of the reporting platform operator;
2. the address of its registered office;
3. the electronic addresses, including the internet addresses, of the reporting platform operator;
4. any tax identification number that has been issued to the reporting platform operator;
5. a declaration with information about the identification of the reporting platform operator for VAT purposes pursuant to sections 18i and 18j of the VAT Act or pursuant to a comparable provision of another Member State of the European Union pursuant to Title XII Chapter 6 Sections 2 and 3 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC;
6. all Member States of the European Union in which
7. the reportable sellers pursuant to section 4 (6) are deemed to be resident, or
8. the immovable property is located in relation to which the reportable sellers have carried out, via the platform, relevant activities pursuant to section 5 (1) sentence 1 no 1.

The Federal Central Tax Office allocates a registration number to the reporting platform operator after verifying that the above requirements are met.

Contact options for applications and registration

Applications and, if applicable, enclosed documents sent by post should be addressed as follows:

Federal Central Tax Office
Attn: Division St I A 2 - Department DPI/DAC7
An der Küppe 1
53225 Bonn

You can also contact us using the contact form.