Reporting regulations in foreign trade

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In foreign trade, there are also obligations to report capital transactions and payment transactions with non-residents , the so-called reporting regulations .

Reporting requirements

According to Section 11 of the Foreign Trade Act (AWG) in conjunction with Section 67 (1) No. 1 of the Foreign Trade Ordinance (AWV), payments by non-residents or to residents on their behalf must be reported by the residents. Payments by residents to non-residents are also to be reported by residents in accordance with Section 67 (1) No. 2 AWV.

According to Section 67 (2) AWV:

  • Payments 12,500 euros not exceed EUR 12,500 or its equivalent does not exceed (the splitting into several tranches to circumvent the reporting obligation is not permitted);
  • Payments for the import or export of goods, as these are already recorded in the export declarations or customs declarations;
  • Payments for short-term loans with a term of no more than 12 months, as these are repaid within one year and therefore do not affect the annual statistics or would unnecessarily distort them. Overnight deposits or fixed-term deposits with a term of up to one year that are invested by residents with foreign banks, including their repayment, are also not subject to reporting.

Payments in this context means not only the movement of money, but also the offsetting and offsetting of amounts, as well as the bringing in of property and rights in companies, branches and permanent establishments (Section 67 (2) AWV).

Reporting office

The Deutsche Bundesbank is responsible for accepting reports in capital transactions with non-residents in accordance with Section 67 (1) AWV . Since August 2013, Annex Z1 has been forwarded to the commissioned credit institution in accordance with Section 63 (2) AWV. From September 2013, the necessary report in accordance with §§ 67 ff. Using form Z4 must be made directly by the person making the payment via the Deutsche Bundesbank's website .

Forms

Normally, all transfers from and to foreign countries must be reported. The normal payment order in foreign trade (Section 67 (1) AWV) therefore already contains a copy for the Deutsche Bundesbank and fields for the foreign trade statistics . Since September 2013, however, the report has no longer been submitted using the paper-based procedure, usually with the transfer (so-called Z1 report ), but is currently submitted using form Z4. Payments to non-residents with bank details in Germany or payments from them can also be reported using form Z4 in accordance with Section 67 (1) No. 1 AWV. The Z4 reports are made monthly via the Deutsche Bundesbank website by the client or beneficiary of the payment. Payments for securities transactions must be reported using form Z10 in accordance with Section 67 (4) AWV.

The basis for the reports is the specification of services for payments in foreign trade. A key figure is assigned to each possible business type.

Reports about claims and liabilities of more than 5 million euros per month abroad are to be reported in accordance with Section 66 (1) AWV. Private individuals, monetary financial institutions , investment companies and corporations are excluded with regard to their investment funds . According to Section 66 (2) AWV, the report must be made on form “Z5” by the tenth day of the following month. Other claims and liabilities towards non-residents are to be reported by the twentieth day of the following month on the form "Z5a". A reporting person who falls below the reporting exemption limit of 5 million euros under Section 66 (1) AWV must report this fact by the twentieth day of the following month in accordance with Section 66 (5) AWV.

Content of the message

According to Section 67 (5) AWV, the reports must contain at least the following information:

  • Reporter
  • Recipient and recipient country
  • Key figure from the specification of services and a short description ("leasing", "international contribution" etc.)
  • amount
  • date
  • In the case of securities transactions, the name of the security, the ISIN , the nominal range and the number of units

Reporting deadlines

The reporting deadlines result from Section 71 AWV.

Administrative offenses

The intentional or negligent disregard of the reporting obligations is an administrative offense in accordance with Section 19 Paragraph 3 No. 1 Letter b of the Foreign Trade Act in conjunction with Section 81 Paragraph 2 No. 19 and 20 AWV. According to Section 19 (6) AWG, this can be punished with a fine of up to 30,000 euros.

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