The German Federal Ministry of Finance published a decree on 10 October to permit a VAT registration exemption for foreign companies holding call-off stock in Germany.
Call-off stock are goods held in a foreign country by a non-resident seller, but under the full control of a single customer. This includes the right for the customer to access the stock at will and take stock to be invoiced for later. Usually, the stock is held at the foreign customer’s premises.
The acknowledgement of call-off stock for VAT compliance in Germany means the non-resident company will no longer be required to be VAT registered in Germany and charge 19% German VAT on the sale of the goods. Instead, they can report a nil-rated intra-community sale at the time of the movement of the goods to Germany.
If the goods may be accessed and sold to other customers, then they will be considered consignment stock, and the seller will still have to VAT register in Germany.
