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Kaffeesteuer bezahlen


If you handle coffee or goods containing coffee, you must pay coffee tax under certain conditions.

The coffee tax is a tax levied on coffee and goods containing coffee within the meaning of the law. These include, among others:

  • roasted coffee
  • instant coffee
  • cappuccino
  • Cáfe au lait
  • espresso
  • mocha
  • Latte macchiato - certain confectionery containing coffee

You may produce, handle, process, store, receive or dispatch coffee in a tax warehouse without first incurring tax. A tax warehouse must be approved by the main customs office.
Tax is incurred as soon as the coffee is removed from the tax warehouse or goods containing coffee are produced there. The tax is also incurred, among other things, if you

  • produce goods containing untaxed coffee without a permit from the main customs office or
  • supply coffee to persons without a permit for the tax-free commercial use of coffee or
  • import coffee or goods containing coffee from another country into Germany or transport them for commercial purposes.

The amount of tax is determined by the type and quantity of coffee or by the coffee content in the goods. The tax rate is EUR 2.19 per kilogram for roasted coffee and EUR 4.78 per kilogram for soluble coffee. If goods containing coffee are transported to Germany, flat-rate tax rates apply depending on the content of roasted coffee or soluble coffee in the goods.
If you have to pay the tax, you must submit a tax return without being asked to do so. If you do not wish to pay coffee tax initially, you will need permission from the main customs office.

Requirements

You must pay coffee tax if the tax has arisen and you are liable to pay tax within the meaning of the law. This may be the case in various constellations, in particular if

  • you are the owner of a tax warehouse from which the products were withdrawn or consumed,
  • you were involved in the production using untaxed coffee without a permit,
  • you have supplied the coffee to persons without a permit for the tax-free commercial use of coffee, or
  • you were involved in irregularities during transportation during which the tax was suspended.