What "third country" means for Australia
For German VAT purposes, Australia is treated identically to the US, UK (post-Brexit), Canada, or China — a third-country business under §13b and §21 UStG. Concrete consequences:
| Topic | Australian-company treatment |
|---|---|
| Registration threshold | None — any taxable supply triggers registration |
| Goods movement | Imports/exports — customs declarations + EORI required |
| Union OSS access | No (requires EU establishment) |
| Non-Union OSS for digital services | Yes (register in one EU member state) |
| ZM / Intrastat | Generally not applicable (third-country trade is customs, not intra-EU reporting) |
| Fiscal representative | Not required — Steuerberater is sufficient |
When an Australian company must register
Germany has no registration threshold for foreign sellers. The obligation begins the moment you make a taxable supply in Germany. The most common triggers:
1. Amazon Pan-EU FBA
Even if your Australian operation never touches German soil, Amazon does. If you're enrolled in Pan-EU FBA on European marketplaces, Amazon allocates inventory across multiple countries including Germany. From the moment your stock crosses into a German fulfilment centre, you have a taxable presence in Germany. Amazon will request your German USt-IdNr. and will eventually de-enrol you from Pan-EU if you can't provide one.
2. German 3PL or consignment stock
Using any German 3PL (Zalando Fulfilment, Otto, independent providers), or consignment stock held in Germany, creates the same obligation. Inventory location triggers registration regardless of company nationality.
3. B2C digital/service sales without OSS
Australian SaaS and digital service providers selling to German B2C customers must use Non-Union OSS or register in Germany. Non-Union OSS requires picking one EU member state of identification — Germany is a common choice for Australian SaaS, but other member states work too. For enterprise B2B contracts, German buyers often expect a real DE-prefixed USt-IdNr. on your invoices, which requires local registration regardless of OSS.
Where Australian companies typically do NOT need to register: pure B2B services to German businesses where the reverse charge (§13b UStG) applies throughout, with no German stock or establishment. The German customer accounts for the VAT via their own return. Some service categories are exceptions — confirm before assuming.
No fiscal representative required
This is the single biggest cost trap for Australian sellers researching German VAT online. Some providers imply that because Australia is a third country, you need a fiscal representative in Germany. This is not true.
Germany does not require fiscal representation for any third-country business — Australian, US, UK, Canadian, Chinese, or Swiss — for standard VAT registration and monthly filing. A licensed Steuerberater acting as your tax agent is sufficient under §3 StBerG. Quoted "fiscal rep" fees of €1,000–€3,000/year for German VAT have no legal basis. Full breakdown.
Finanzamt Hannover-Nord and document requirements
Australian companies registering for German VAT are routed to Finanzamt Hannover-Nord under the BZSt routing per §20a UStG (the same office that handles UK companies post-Brexit). What Hannover-Nord needs:
- ASIC Current Company Statement (extract from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission), typically dated within 3 months
- Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Constitution / Articles of Association if requested
- Passport copies of all listed directors
- Apostille on the ASIC extract and constitution — Australia is a Hague Convention signatory, so Apostille is straightforward via DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
- Sworn German translation of the ASIC extract and constitution — arranged by your Steuerberater
- Completed Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung in German
The Apostille and translation steps add 2–4 weeks to the timeline at the start. Vaytax sequences these so your application lands at Hannover-Nord with a complete file the first time.
Banking: SEPA from Australia
The German Finanzamt collects VAT via SEPA Direct Debit, which requires a SEPA-zone bank account. Australian banks don't natively provide this. Practical workarounds in order of preference:
- Wise Business EUR account — provides a SEPA-compatible EUR account. Cleanest workaround. Many Australian sellers use this for European operations anyway.
- Revolut Business EUR account — similar to Wise; SEPA-compatible.
- Australian-bank international transfer for each filing — manual, slower, incurs FX. Workable if VAT amounts are small.
- European subsidiary EUR account — if you have a UK Ltd, Irish company, or other EU/UK entity, its bank account can be used for the SEPA mandate.
Vaytax helps you set this up during onboarding — the SEPA mandate goes to whichever EUR account you nominate, and Wise/Revolut both work cleanly.
Monthly filing: what it actually looks like
- You: Enter sales figures into the Vaytax dashboard each month (~5 minutes — totals per VAT rate, B2B supplies, reverse-charge situations, EU acquisitions).
- We: Import into DATEV, generate the USt-Voranmeldung, file via ELSTER.
- Finanzamt: Processes the filing, debits your nominated SEPA-zone EUR account for VAT owed.
- You: Filing confirmation in dashboard and email.
First two years: monthly filing is mandatory. From year three: quarterly becomes possible if annual VAT owed is under €7,500. Dauerfristverlängerung gives you an extra month per deadline in exchange for a refundable 1/11 deposit.