Germany Proposes New External Audit Regulations to Accelerate and Streamline Tax Audits

• Germany has released a draft to revise BpO 2000, renaming it the External Audit Regulations (ApO), aiming to modernize and speed up external audits.
• The draft covers procedures for business, payroll tax, and special VAT audits, detailing principles, scope, taxpayer obligations, and the role of the Federal Central Tax Office.
• It emphasizes efficiency and risk-based auditing, with audits focused on key risk areas and limited in scope and duration.
• Framework agreements between tax authorities and taxpayers are formally introduced to structure cooperation and streamline audits.
• The draft specifies audit orders, advance notice requirements, follow-up audits for large businesses, and a more flexible, targeted audit approach, with expanded roles for the Federal Central Tax Office.

Source: fiscal-requirements.com

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.

---

---