Section 22f UStG for marketplace sellers

Who has to name an authorised recipient?

Businesses outside the EU and the EEA that sell through a marketplace. The law covers businesses without residence, habitual abode, seat or management in Germany, another EU member state or an EEA state (§ 22f (1) sentence 2 UStG). According to the tax authorities, the duty applies if you intend to make supplies through an electronic interface, such as an online marketplace, that are taxable in Germany (UStAE 22f.2).

EU and EEA sellers are not covered. They can name an authorised recipient voluntarily. Without a marketplace, the tax office can still ask any business outside the EU and the EEA to name one (§ 123 AO).

When and how do you name one?

With the application for VAT registration. You enter the authorised recipient in section 1.6 of the registration questionnaire (guide to section 1.6). If the conditions only arise later, you name one without being asked, directly to your tax office (UStAE 22f.2).

It does not have to be a tax advisor. The authorised recipient does not need to be authorised to give tax advice (UStAE 22f.2). Your tax office depends on the country where your business is based (which tax office is mine?).

What does the marketplace record about you?

Your identity, your tax numbers and every sale. For sales that start or end in Germany, the marketplace records, among other things, your name and address, your German VAT ID, your tax number if known, and for each sale the shipping route, date, amount and goods (§ 22f (1) UStG). This applies as long as the marketplace does not itself count as the seller (§ 3 (3a) UStG).

The records are kept for ten years and sent to the tax office electronically on request (§ 22f (4) UStG). For sellers registered as private, the marketplace also records the date of birth (§ 22f (2) UStG).

Does the old marketplace certificate still count?

No, your German VAT ID counts. The former certificate of registration (Bescheinigung über die Erfassung als Steuerpflichtiger, applied for with form USt 1 TJ) is no longer accepted for deliveries after 30 June 2021. Since 1 July 2021 the marketplace records your German VAT ID as proof (UStAE 22f.1 (2)).

Why can a marketplace block your account?

Because it can be liable for your VAT. A marketplace is liable for unpaid VAT from sales it supports, unless it counts as the seller itself (§ 25e (1) UStG). With your valid German VAT ID at the time of the sale it is not liable, unless it knew or should have known that you do not meet your tax obligations, or not in full (§ 25e (2) UStG).

An unresolved breach can end in a block. If the marketplace learns of a breach, it asks you to fix it within at most two months; if you do not, it avoids liability only by blocking all your seller accounts (UStAE 25e.2 (3)). Your tax office can also inform the marketplace if other measures promise no immediate success (§ 25e (4) UStG), and a missing authorised recipient is one of the breaches the tax authorities list (UStAE 25e.3 (1)).