Leistungen A-Z

• Forms: no
• Online procedure possible: yes
• Written form necessary: yes
• Personal appearance: no

• BZSt online portal (BOP)

The purpose of the country-by-country report is to provide tax authorities with additional information on cross-border business activities. Through the preparation of country-by-country reports for multinational enterprises and their automatic exchange, the tax authorities are to be enabled to examine them better. The country-by-country reports are also called country-by-country reports.

You must submit the country-by-country report to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) electronically via the ELMA mass data interface using the BZSt online portal (BOP).

Reporting enterprises that have to prepare and report a country-by-country report are

• companies with their registered office or management in Germany
• that prepare consolidated financial statements or are required to prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with laws other than tax laws (domestic group parent company) and
• whose consolidated financial statements include at least one foreign company or a foreign permanent establishment and
• whose consolidated sales revenues reported in the consolidated financial statements amounted to at least EUR 750 million in the previous fiscal year.

Notes

• The company's reporting obligation can also be fulfilled by an appointed domestic or foreign subsidiary.
• The reporting obligation does not apply if the domestic company is controlled by another company and included in its consolidated financial statements.
• However, if the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) has not received a country-specific report from abroad, the domestic subsidiary is obliged to prepare and transmit it. If a domestic group company included in the consolidated financial statements is unable to ensure transmission within the deadline, in particular because it is unable to procure or prepare the country-by-country report, it must notify the BZSt of this within the deadline. In doing so, it must provide all information that it has at its disposal or that it can procure.

For the country-by-country report, you must submit:

• an overview by tax jurisdiction
  • Show how your group's business activities are distributed among the tax jurisdictions in which your group operates through companies or permanent establishments. For this purpose, the overview must show certain business figures, based on the consolidated financial statements of your group, in particular the sales revenues, profits and assets per tax jurisdiction.
• A listing of certain business figures
  • the sales revenue and other income from business transactions with related companies
  • Sales revenue and other income from business transactions with external companies
  • the total of sales revenues and other income
  • income taxes paid in the fiscal year
  • income taxes paid and accrued in the fiscal year for this fiscal year
  • the profit for the financial year before taxes on income,
  • the shareholders' equity
  • the retained profit
  • the number of employees, and
  • the tangible assets
• a listing of all business units by tax jurisdiction and their principal business activities
  • You should list the entities and permanent establishments included in the jurisdictional breakdown, indicating their principal activities.
• additional information, if applicable
  • You should add information that will help you to understand the overview and listing by tax jurisdiction.

• none

You must submit the country-specific report via the electronic mass data interface ELMA using the BZStOnline-Portal (BOP) of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).

• Compile the required documents.
• Make the required entries in the format prescribed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
• Submit the country-specific report electronically via the ELMA mass data interface using the BOP.
• In the BOP, you will be informed of the approval or rejection of your report by means of an electronic file.
• The BZSt forwards the country-by-country report to the relevant Land tax authorities and the participating states concerned.
• The BZSt forwards the data received from the participating states to the competent Land tax authorities.
• The competent state tax authorities check your country-by-country report as part of the tax audit.

• Reporting by the enterprise: no later than 1 year after the end of the financial year for which the country-by-country report is to be compiled.
• Reporting by a domestic or foreign subsidiary: no later than 1 year after the end of the financial year for which the country-by-country report is to be prepared.
• Notification by a domestic subsidiary if the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) has not received a country-by-country report from abroad, the subsidiary is not at fault for this and only learns of this subsequently: 1 month
• Notification of the country-by-country report after becoming aware of an incomplete transmission: 1 month

Note
When reporting the country-by-country report for which it cannot be ensured that the report can be transmitted in full, all available information must be transmitted. In addition, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) must be informed separately.

• § Section 138a of the German Fiscal Code (AO)
• § Section 2 (10) of the EU Administrative Assistance Act (EUAHiG)
• § Section 7 (10) and (11) of the EU Administrative Assistance Act (EUAHIG)
• Act on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement of January 27, 2016 on the exchange of country-by-country reports (MCAA)

• Information on the procedure for the country-by-country report on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office
• Information on the BZSt online portal (BOP) on the ELSTER website of the Federal Central Tax Office

Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)