In future, the tax identification number will be requested in the questionnaire for customs authorisations. This is based on the authorisation criterion set out in Article 39(a) of the Union Customs Code (UCC). According to this provision, the applicant must not have committed any serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax regulations in the course of their economic activity.
Targeted enquiries to tax offices
To verify this, the main customs offices must make enquiries with the tax offices. Only data necessary for assessing tax reliability will be requested. Private tax matters, as well as salary and income data, are not relevant. Furthermore, only infringements in a business context will be taken into account.
Tax ID becomes mandatory
With the revised questionnaire for customs authorisations, the provision of the tax ID and the relevant tax office becomes mandatory. This allows the individuals concerned to be clearly identified. This is intended to speed up processing whilst improving data protection. Without a tax ID, more sensitive data such as ID card numbers would have to be collected as an alternative. The lawfulness of requesting a tax ID has also been confirmed.
Relevant persons
When submitting new applications for customs authorisations, it is mandatory to provide the tax identification numbers of the persons relevant to customs matters in the customs questionnaires. This primarily covers persons who are responsible for the applicant company or who exercise control over the company’s management. In addition, those responsible for customs matters are included.
Members of advisory boards, supervisory boards and the management of other departments are expressly excluded.
Several individuals may be subject to verification as part of the authorisation procedure.
Links:
Beginn der Erhebung und Verarbeitung der Steuer-ID
Merkblatt zum Art. 24 UZK-IA und der Steuer-ID
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