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Pay tobacco tax

  • Steuern und Abgaben

If you deal in tobacco products or tobacco substitutes, you may be required to pay tobacco tax in certain cases.

  • Basic information

    The tobacco tax is an excise tax levied on tobacco products, tobacco substitutes, and equivalent products. Goods subject to the tobacco tax include, for example: 

    • Cigars or cigarillos
    • Cigarettes
    • Smoking tobacco (fine-cut tobacco, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, and heated tobacco) 
    • Substitutes for tobacco products
    • Tobacco waste

    Products subject to tobacco tax are defined as follows:

    Cigars or cigarillos

    Cigars or cigarillos are tobacco rolls intended and suitable for smoking that are wrapped in a wrapper or in a wrapper and a binder. The tobacco rolls must

    • consist entirely of natural tobacco,
    • have an outer wrapper made of natural tobacco, or
    • be filled with shredded blended tobacco and
    • have an outer wrapper of normal cigar color made from reconstituted tobacco that completely covers them (where applicable, the filter may also be covered, but not the mouthpiece).
    • have a unit weight (corresponding to the average weight of 1,000 pieces without filter and mouthpiece at the time the tax becomes due) of at least 2.3 grams and no more than 10 grams.
    • have a circumference of 34 millimeters or more over at least one-third of their length.

    Cigarettes are tobacco sticks that

    • are directly suitable for smoking and are not cigars or cigarillos as described above,
    • are inserted into a cigarette paper tube through a simple, non-industrial process, or
    • are wrapped in a cigarette paper sheet through a simple, non-industrial process.
    • Smoking tobacco (fine-cut tobacco, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, and heated tobacco)

    Smoking tobacco is the umbrella term for fine-cut tobacco, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, and heated tobacco, and refers to:

    • tobacco that has been cut, otherwise shredded, spun, or pressed into sheets and is suitable for smoking without further industrial processing.
    • It is not limited to finished products but also includes processed tobacco suitable for smoking as a raw material, semi-finished product, or intermediate product.
    • At the time of submission, it can be made ready for smoking either directly or through easily performable processes (such as manual shredding) that do not essentially constitute industrial processing.

    Fine-cut

    • contains tobacco pieces where more than 25 percent of their weight consists of pieces less than 1.5 millimeters long or wide,
    • is intended for the roll-your-own production of cigarettes—for example, as indicated by the label on the retail packaging or other accompanying documentation—and is used by consumers to roll their own cigarettes.

    Pipe tobacco

    • is smoking tobacco that cannot be classified as fine-cut tobacco. 

    Hookah tobacco

    • is smoking tobacco that additionally meets the definition under Section 1(2b) of the Tobacco Tax Act (TabStG), w
      , goods classified under subheading 2403 11 of the Combined Nomenclature, as well as products for water pipes that do not contain tobacco

    Heated tobacco

    • is smoking tobacco that is cut into pieces and individually portioned, suitable for consumption by inhaling an aerosol or smoke generated in a device.

    Tobacco in individual portions that is suitable for smoking in multiple puffs (as with cigarettes) even without a device will continue to be classified as a cigarette for tobacco tax purposes.

    Substitutes for tobacco products

    • are products suitable for the consumption of an aerosol or vapor generated by a device, such as the e-liquids used in e-cigarettes.

    This also includes

    • products offered as components for the DIY production of substances for use in e-cigarettes, as well as
      mixing components or liquid substances for use in hookahs that are not products equivalent to smoking tobacco (such as glycerin or flavorings). The product must be intended for smoking or inhalation.

    For more information on the definition of goods subject to tobacco tax and tobacco waste, see “Further Information.”

    Requirements

    You must pay tobacco tax if the tax has become due and you are a taxpayer within the meaning of the law. This may be the case in various situations, for example, if:

    • you operate a tax warehouse from which tobacco products or tobacco substitutes were removed or consumed,
    • you are a registered consignee and receive tobacco products at your business that were previously transported under tax suspension,
    • you were involved in unauthorized manufacturing,
    • you were involved in irregularities during the transport of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes under tax suspension,
    • you were involved in irregularities during the transport of tobacco products in free circulation,
    • You are a certified consignee and receive tobacco products in free circulation from other EU Member States as a certified consignee,
    • you possess, for commercial purposes within the German tax territory, tobacco products or tobacco substitutes that were brought in or shipped from the tax-free circulation of another Member State without the use of German tax stamps,
    • you possess tobacco products or tobacco substitutes in free circulation for which tax has not yet been paid within the German tax territory, or
    • you import tobacco products or tobacco substitutes from a third country or third territory.

  • Procedure

    You must pay the tobacco tax in the form of tax stamps by affixing and validating—that is, using—German tax stamps on your retail packages. The tax stamps must already have been used at the time the tax becomes due. 
    Here’s how to purchase German tax stamps if you hold a valid permit and are authorized to obtain them:

    • On the Customs website, you will find the form “Tax Return for Tobacco Tax Stamps” (Form 1619). This can be filled out digitally or manually after printing. 
    • Calculate the tax stamp liability on the form. 
    • Send the printed and signed form to the Bielefeld Main Customs Office.
    • Pay the tax stamp liability by the respective due date.
    • You will receive the ordered quantity of tax stamps.
    • Validate the tax stamps and affix them to the retail packaging.

    You must file a tax return (in certain cases) if, for example, the tax is due as a result of

    • unlawful removal from the tax warehouse or unlawful consumption within the tax warehouse,
    • production without the required authorization from the main customs office,
    • irregularities in transport under tax suspension,
    • supply to persons who do not hold a valid permit for tax-free commercial use,
    • possession of tobacco products for commercial purposes (in the case of the transfer of tobacco products from tax-free circulation in another Member State) 
    • .

    To do so, proceed as follows:

    • Access the form “Tax Return for Tobacco Products in Individual Cases” (Form 1625) on the Customs website. Fill it out digitally or by hand after printing it. 
    • Send the completed and signed form immediately to your local main customs office.
    • You will receive a tax assessment notice.

    The competent authority is the main customs office in whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you reside. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you are not a resident of Germany, the main customs office with local jurisdiction is the one in whose district you first become subject to taxation.

    Please note that the tobacco products may be seized.

    More information

    Tobacco Waste

    Tobacco waste is smoking tobacco if

    • it is suitable for smoking,
    • is packaged for retail sale, and
    • are not cigars, cigarillos, or cigarettes as described above under “Basic Information.” 

    The following are considered tobacco waste:

    • remnants of tobacco leaves as well as
    • by-products resulting from the processing of tobacco or from the manufacture, treatment, or processing of tobacco products.

    Products Equivalent to Tobacco Products

    • Such products consist entirely or partially of substances other than tobacco and meet the requirements described above for cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, or smoking tobacco
    • examples include “herbal cigarettes,” “smoking pastes,” “hookah cotton,” “alginate capsules,” “smoking crystals,” “ice drops,” “cellulose sheets,” or “vapor stones.”

    Tobacco tax generally becomes due as soon as the aforementioned tobacco products or substitutes for tobacco products enter the economic cycle within the German tax territory. This is the case if

    • you have removed tobacco products or substitutes for tobacco products from a tax warehouse without subsequently entering another tax suspension procedure.
    • You have consumed tobacco products or substitutes for tobacco products in a tax warehouse.
    • you have received tobacco products at your business premises as a registered consignee. A registered consignee is a person who holds a permit to receive tobacco products at their business premises following transport under tax suspension.
    • You manufacture tobacco products or tobacco substitutes without a license as a tax warehouse operator.
    • You supply tobacco products or tobacco substitutes to persons without authorization for the tax-exempt commercial use of tobacco products.
    • You, as a recipient, receive tobacco substitutes from the free circulation of another EU Member State. A consignee is a person who is authorized to receive tobacco substitutes from the free circulation of another EU Member State within the German tax territory for commercial purposes.
    • You have received tobacco products as a certified recipient at your business. A certified recipient is a person who holds a permit to receive tobacco products exempt from mandatory packaging and lacking German tax stamps—which were delivered from the tax-free market of another EU member state for commercial purposes— at their business premises or at another location within the German tax territory.
    • You possess tobacco products or tobacco substitutes in free circulation for tax purposes for which tax has not yet been paid within the German tax territory.
    • You import tobacco products or tobacco substitutes from a third country or third territory.

    The amount of tax is calculated based on the applicable tax rate, the quantity, and the value (the retail price) of the tobacco product in question. For tobacco substitutes, only the tax rate and the quantity are relevant.

    For tobacco products and tobacco substitutes, the tax is generally paid through the use of tax stamps. In addition, you must file a tax return if the tax has arisen, for example, as a result of:

    • unlawful removal from the tax warehouse or unlawful consumption within the tax warehouse,
    • manufacture without the required authorization from the main customs office,
    • involvement in an unlawful import from a third country or third territory,
    • irregularities in the transport under tax suspension,
    • irregularities in the transport of tobacco products in free circulation from other EU member states within the tax territory,
    • Receipt of tobacco products in free circulation from other EU Member States as a certified consignee,
    • Possession within the German tax territory, for commercial purposes and without the use of German tax stamps, of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes brought into or dispatched from another EU Member State under duty-free status,
    • Possession of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes in free circulation for which tax has not yet been paid within the German tax territory,
    • Supply to persons who do not hold a valid permit for tax-exempt commercial use.

    Appeal

    • Objection
    • Detailed information on how to file an objection, if applicable, can be found in your tax assessment notice.
    • Lawsuit before the Tax Court 

  • Necessary Documents
    • As a rule, no documentation is required.

  • Forms

  • Fees / Costs

    There are usually no additional costs.
    In the event of late payment, a late payment surcharge will be levied.

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    Use of Tax Stamps: Before the Introduction of the Tobacco Tax
    Submission of the tax return: immediately

    How long does it take to process

    Tax stamps are usually sent within 2 business days.
    The tax assessment upon submission of a tax return is usually issued within 6 weeks.

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.

The official information in German is complete and correct. 31.07.2026

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