Nothing

The none (symbol: ∅; Austrian .: empty signal) is in the red tape is a way to determine whether a query or a poll from the receiver to the note was taken. If a recipient has no contributions to make to a query or there is no need on the part of the recipient, he indicates that he has taken note of it with a false report. The nil report is usually a letter to the sender with the content "No need available"; he can then note this in his files in order to keep track of whose answers are still pending. In simple cases it is enough in the bureaucracy not to have given an answer by the deadline. Especially in important cases, this harbors the risk that there will be no feedback if those involved have not received an important message.

Queries to regulate whether a negative report is necessary contain the wording "negative report is required" or "negative report can be omitted / negative report is not required" or no indication of a negative report.

Typical examples of queries with the necessary negative result are, for example, suggestions for items on the agenda for important meetings or participant reports for further training events.

In common parlance, the word negative is also used in the sense of “does not exist” or “does not exist”.

As part of the annual reporting obligations of credit and financial services institutions under the Banking Act , some false reports are to be submitted (for example, Section 14 (1) sentence 2 of the Advertising Ordinance on the Banking Act). The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority can see from this that the person subject to the reporting obligation has fulfilled his reporting obligation. If the report was simply not reported, it would not be clear whether no reportable facts had been met or whether the report had simply not been met.