What an e-commerce importer must file in Germany in 2026
This profile assumes a small company that sells online and imports goods into the EU, so it adds the obligations that come with cross-border online sales - customs and import duties, packaging and extended-producer-responsibility fees, consumer rules for online sellers - on top of the standard tax calendar. It also includes EU-wide e-commerce and product rules, such as CE marking or battery regulations, where they apply. Sell only domestically, or manufacture rather than import, and your actual list will look different.
This page assumes a specific starting profile: e-commerce importer, in Germany. It's a starting point, not tailored advice - your actual obligations depend on your exact sector, turnover and how you operate.
Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends EU consumer-protection law (the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive) to ban generic environmental claims not backed by recognised excellent environmental performance (e.g. 'climate neutral', 'eco-friendly', 'green' used without substantiation), bans claims based purely on carbon-offsetting, and requires sustainability labels to come from a certification scheme or a public authority rather than being self-created. It also bans planned-obsolescence practices and requires clearer product durability/reparability information.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Directive (EU) 2024/2853 must be transposed by 9 December 2026 and applies to products placed on the market after that date. Software (including SaaS and AI), digital manufacturing files and related services count as products; missing security updates can make a product defective. Courts can order disclosure of evidence and presume defectiveness in complex cases. Free open-source software outside commercial activity is excluded.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Each EU country must provide at least one certified EU Digital Identity Wallet so citizens and businesses can identify themselves, sign documents with qualified e-signatures and share verified attributes (company registration, licences) across the EU. Public administrations must accept it for online services.
Corporations (GmbH, UG (haftungsbeschränkt), and GmbH & Co. KG) must file their annual financial statements for disclosure via the Unternehmensregister/Bundesanzeiger within 12 months of their balance-sheet date (§325 Abs. 1a HGB); for a calendar-year company that means by 31 December of the following year. Small and micro companies (Kleinstkapitalgesellschaften, §267/§267a HGB) may use reduced formats or, for micro companies, simple deposit (Hinterlegung) instead of full publication, but the 12-month deadline itself still applies.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Micro and small companies dealing in the EUDR commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, wood and derived products) get six extra months. Small downstream traders mainly need to collect and pass on upstream due diligence reference numbers; small primary producers in low-risk countries file a simplified declaration.
Payment providers in EU countries outside the euro area must offer euro instant transfers and the free name/IBAN check (Verification of Payee) from July 2027, completing the roll-out across the EU.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Annual income tax (Einkommensteuer), corporation tax (Körperschaftsteuer) and trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) returns must be filed by 31 July of the following year (§149 Abs. 2 AO) when self-prepared. If a Steuerberater (tax advisor) or Lohnsteuerhilfeverein prepares the return, the deadline extends to the last day of February of the second following year (§149 Abs. 3 AO), unless the tax office sets an earlier date under §149 Abs. 4.
VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.