BGH: Separate Offenses for VAT Pre-Returns and Annual Returns—Major Change in Tax Criminal Law

• The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ended the previous practice of treating VAT advance returns and the annual VAT return as a single criminal act in tax law.
• Going forward, each VAT advance return and the annual VAT return will be considered separate offenses, potentially leading to multiple charges and higher penalties for tax evasion.
• A correct annual return no longer automatically remedies false advance returns, and vice versa; each incorrect declaration is now an independent offense.
• Defense strategies and self-disclosure advice must be revised, as each declaration now carries its own legal consequences.

Source: nwb-experten-blog.de

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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