The Zentralverband der Deutschen Seehafenbetriebe (ZDS), The Association of Terminal Operators and Seaport Operators welcomed last Thursday's resolution of the Conference of Finance Ministers of the Länder which approves the introduction of a VAT compensation model to import. Highlighting that the current system, based on the which companies are required to pay import VAT being able to subsequently deduct it as VAT credit, The association has denounced that this leads to an unnecessary liquidity absorption and a cost that undermines the competitiveness of German ports compared to competitors where import VAT is offset directly with the tax credit.

The mechanism currently applied in Germany provides that when a company imports goods from a non-EU country, VAT on importation is paid to the customs authority. The company that is entitled to the deduction can subsequently recover this amount through your VAT return. From an economic point of view, when the company has full right to deduction, the tax therefore normally represents a cost tax neutral, but it is not necessarily neutral from the point of view from a financial point of view: between payment to customs and the subsequent tax recovery may take a period of time during which the company's capital remains immobilized. È This is precisely the problem that we want to eliminate with the VAT compensation model on imports: with the new system, import VAT should be indicated in the VAT return and at the same time deducted as input tax. In the presence of the full right to deduct, it would therefore be necessary to make the previous disbursement financial to customs.

Recalling that in 2024 the Conference of Finance Ministers had already recognised the need to proceed towards a compensation model, the Director-General of the association, Florian Keisinger, highlighted that "the decision of the Conference of Finance Ministers represents a a long-awaited step. The current legislation - he explained - penalizes German companies compared to European competitors and deprives the German Treasury of revenue from tariffs, taxes on productive activities, taxes on income from work and VAT, as logistics centres become more and more often abroad. The compensation model eliminates this competitive disadvantage and, at the same time, reduces bureaucracy superfluous. This strengthens our logistics hubs and, more in general, Germany as an industrial location. Now - he added Keisinger - it is essential to move on to the implementation phase: after years of discussions, the federal government has the opportunity to concretely demonstrate one's ability to act and reform. The federal state and the Länder must therefore not waste further time and must create the conditions as soon as possible regulatory and technical requirements. The target set for 2030 does not must become an excuse for postponing implementation in time open-ended. Other European countries have been demonstrating for some time that a procedure of this type works".

The decision of the Conference of Finance Ministers is was taken on the initiative of the Länder of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg, Hesse, Bremen and Bavaria, which include some of the major seaports and inland ports in Germany. With the provision the federal government is asked to prepare the legislative changes necessary, while at the same time it will have to the adaptation of IT systems of the tax administration. The objective indicated by the authorities is to make the new system available from the first January 2030.

The Ministry of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia, where it is located the port of Duisburg, which is the main river port highlighted that the current system determines a liquidity disadvantage for German importers, and that other EU Member States have systems in which VAT is is directly offset in the import declaration and underlined that the consequence is that it leads to and German logistics platforms may lose flows of goods to advantage of European competitors. The most important reference significant is represented by the Netherlands and the port of Rotterdam. The Netherlands legislation allows, through the so-called Article 23 authorization, not to pay VAT directly to customs. The company shall indicate it in the VAT return and, if you have the right to deduct, can deduct the same amount at the same time as VAT to upstream. In this case, the import does not involve an outlay financial for VAT. The system is also accessible to companies not established in the Netherlands through a representative tax authorities. The Netherlands tax authority itself explains that, in this case, the representative declares the import VAT and deducts it in the same declaration, avoiding payment advanced to customs. For this reason, the Dutch model is considered for years an element of competitiveness of ports and of the country's logistics platforms. IHK Nord, Representation of the German Chambers of Commerce found that import through Rotterdam benefits from direct VAT compensation on importation, while the German system involves a need for pre-financing.