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German EC sales list (Zusammenfassende Meldung)

The Zusammenfassende Meldung — Germany's EC sales list — goes not to the local tax office but to the FEDERAL CENTRAL TAX OFFICE, and must be transmitted electronically by the 25th day after the end of the reporting period (§ 18a(1) and (2) UStG). For SUPPLIES OF GOODS the period is the calendar month, for SERVICES the calendar quarter — the two rules sit in two different subsections.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 22, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 20 min

This content is part of the path: Handling VAT on business within the EU· Step 7 of 9· Next step: German One-Stop-Shop (OSS): reporting EU distance sales to the BZSt

Deadlines

25th day after the end of the calendar month — supplies of goods
The period is the month in which the intra-Community supplies of goods were made (§ 18a(1) sentence 1 UStG)
25th day after the end of the calendar quarter — services
A period of its own under § 18a(2) sentence 1 UStG, independent of the goods threshold
On crossing 50,000 euros within a quarter: 25th day after the end of THAT month
What must then be reported is that calendar month AND the already elapsed months of the quarter (§ 18a(1) sentence 3 UStG)

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • Your own VAT identification number
  • VAT identification number of every customer or recipient
  • Total taxable base per customer for the reporting period
  • Taxable bases of the four preceding calendar quarters, to test the threshold
  • A clear split between intra-Community supplies of goods and services
See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Entrepreneurs under § 2 UStG who made intra-Community supplies of goods or supplies within the meaning of § 25b(2) UStG (§ 18a(1) sentence 1 UStG)
  • Entrepreneurs who supplied services under § 3a(2) UStG taxable in the rest of the Community, on which the recipient established in another Member State owes the tax there (§ 18a(2) sentence 1 UStG)
  • Anyone staying below the 50,000 euro threshold may report quarterly — but is not obliged to (§ 18a(1) sentence 2 UStG)
  • Anyone NOT taking up the quarterly rule must notify the Federal Central Tax Office of that (§ 18a(1) sentence 4 UStG)

Worked example

Halbrund Werkzeuge GmbH crosses the threshold in May

It reports its intra-Community supplies of goods quarterly, because their taxable bases exceeded 50,000 euros neither in the current quarter nor in any of the four preceding ones (§ 18a(1) sentence 2 UStG). In the second quarter it supplies 18,000 euros in April and 41,000 euros in May — 59,000 euros together, so more than 50,000 euros in the course of the quarter. § 18a(1) sentence 3 UStG then applies: by 25 June it must transmit an EC sales list for May AND for the already elapsed month of April, and from then on it reports monthly. Its services to EU businesses are untouched by this: they keep the separate quarterly period of § 18a(2) sentence 1 UStG — unless it uses the option in § 18a(3) sentence 1 UStG to fold them into the monthly report, which it must notify to the Federal Central Tax Office.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. First separate the two worlds: intra-Community supplies of GOODS under subsection (1), SERVICES under subsection (2). They have different reporting periods.
  2. For the goods, check the 50,000 euro threshold — in the current calendar quarter and in the four preceding ones (§ 18a(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  3. Collect, per customer, the VAT identification number and the total taxable base for the reporting period.
  4. Sign in to Mein ELSTER and select „Zusammenfassende Meldung“.
  5. Transmit the report to the Federal Central Tax Office by the 25th day after the end of the reporting period.
  6. Notify the Federal Central Tax Office where you do not take up the quarterly rule (§ 18a(1) sentence 4 UStG) or where you fold services into the monthly report (§ 18a(3) sentence 2 UStG).

Good to know

  • The recipient is the FEDERAL CENTRAL TAX OFFICE, not the local tax office — unlike the preliminary and annual VAT returns, which both go to the tax office.
  • The EC sales list does not replace the preliminary VAT return: they are two reports with two recipients, two deadlines and two legal bases.
  • The 50,000 euro threshold is tested across FIVE quarters: the current one and the four preceding. A single strong quarter inside that window is enough to trigger monthly reporting (§ 18a(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  • Where subsection (1) already requires monthly reporting, the data on services are given in the report for the LAST MONTH of the quarter (§ 18a(2) sentence 2 UStG).
  • A monthly reporter may instead include the services data in every monthly report — but must notify the Federal Central Tax Office of that (§ 18a(3) UStG).
  • Small businesses under § 19 UStG have no preliminary return duty; they file no recapitulative statement either, because § 18a(4) UStG expressly excludes businesses applying § 19(1).

Common mistakes

  • Putting goods and services on the same rhythm. Subsection (1) builds on the calendar month, subsection (2) on the calendar quarter — two different reporting periods.
  • Testing the 50,000 euros in the current quarter only. The statute requires that the threshold was exceeded neither in the current NOR in any of the FOUR PRECEDING calendar quarters (§ 18a(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  • On crossing, reporting only the current month. § 18a(1) sentence 3 UStG requires the report for that month AND for the already elapsed months of the quarter.
  • Sending the report to the tax office. The recipient is the Federal Central Tax Office (§ 18a(1) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Forgetting the notification to the Federal Central Tax Office where you do not use the quarterly rule (§ 18a(1) sentence 4 UStG) or report services monthly (§ 18a(3) sentence 2 UStG).
  • Confusing the 25th with the 10th. The 10th is the preliminary VAT return date, the 25th that of the EC sales list.

Frequently asked questions

Who receives the EC sales list?

The Federal Central Tax Office, in the officially prescribed dataset through the officially determined interface (§ 18a(1) sentence 1 UStG) — not the locally competent tax office.

Monthly or quarterly?

For intra-Community supplies of goods the period is in principle the calendar month; they may be reported quarterly where the total taxable bases exceeded 50,000 euros neither in the current nor in any of the four preceding calendar quarters (§ 18a(1) sentences 1 and 2 UStG). For services under § 3a(2) UStG the period is the calendar quarter (subsection (2) sentence 1).

What happens if I cross the threshold mid-quarter?

By the 25th day after the end of the calendar month in which the amount is exceeded, an EC sales list must be transmitted for that month and for the already elapsed calendar months of the quarter (§ 18a(1) sentence 3 UStG).

Does it replace the preliminary VAT return?

No. They are two separate duties: the preliminary return goes to the tax office under § 18 UStG by the tenth day, the EC sales list to the Federal Central Tax Office under § 18a UStG by the 25th.

I report monthly — where do the services go?

Either into the report for the last month of the quarter (§ 18a(2) sentence 2 UStG), or — if you notify the Federal Central Tax Office — into the report for each reporting period (§ 18a(3) UStG).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

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Each country applies its own law: these pages are written in its language and read from its official sources.

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.