You got an Anhörung. This is the last step before a Schätzbescheid.
An Anhörung is the German Finanzamt's formal "give us your side before we estimate" letter. Required under § 91 AO before most adverse acts. You have 14 days to file a written response. Respond properly and no Schätzbescheid issues. Ignore it and the estimated assessment lands automatically.
The Finanzamt is about to estimate, and is legally required to ask you first.
An Anhörung (formal hearing notice) is required under § 91 AO before the Finanzamt issues most adverse administrative acts. In the VAT context, the Anhörung is the last step before a Schätzbescheid under § 162 AO. The letter explains that the Finanzamt intends to estimate your tax basis, lists the periods and amounts they propose to assess, and gives you a written window to object or supplement the record.
For foreign sellers, the Anhörung usually arrives after a missed Aufforderung zur Abgabe. The sequence is: Aufforderung (filing request, 14 days) → Erinnerung (reminder, 7-14 days) → Anhörung (formal hearing, 14 days) → Schätzbescheid (estimated assessment, 30 days to object). The Anhörung is the cheapest stop on this chain. After this, you are dealing with an actual assessment and a much steeper recovery path.
The letter usually includes the Finanzamt's proposed estimate as a number, so you can see what they intend to assess. This is intentional: it gives you concrete numbers to push back on, and it is intentionally high. Treat it as an opening position, not a final figure.
14 days. Then the Schätzbescheid issues automatically.
14 days to file your side in writing
If you miss the deadline: the Finanzamt issues the Schätzbescheid as proposed in the Anhörung. You are then in the 1-month Einspruch window under §§ 347 ff. AO, but with a much weaker starting position because the Finanzamt followed all required procedural steps (§ 91 AO was satisfied). Interest under § 233a AO begins accruing on the assessed amount. A Verspätungszuschlag is added.
If you respond inside the window: the Schätzbescheid does not issue. The Finanzamt processes your response, accepts whichever filings you supply, and resolves the case directly. This is by far the cheapest outcome of any Finanzamt letter sequence, because you skip the assessment-then-objection round entirely.
Three things every Anhörung response needs.
- A formal written response in German, citing § 91 AO. A licensed German tax advisor drafts the response to the issuing Finanzamt, addressing each period and each amount the Anhörung proposes. The response acknowledges the missing returns, explains the cause where defensible (foreign seller, fiscal representative change, OSS misclassification, etc.), and commits to a specific filing timeline.
- The missing UStVA returns themselves, filed alongside the response. Where possible, we reconstruct the missing returns from your real numbers (Amazon VAT Transactions Reports, OSS records, eBay/Shopify exports, your own bookkeeping) and file them via ELSTER before the Anhörung deadline. Filing the returns is the strongest possible response to the Anhörung.
- If reconstruction needs more time, a Fristverlängerung (deadline extension). Filed under § 109 AO. The Finanzamt sometimes grants foreign sellers an additional 14-30 days for multi-year reconstructions, but only by explicit request. Ignoring the deadline guarantees the Schätzbescheid.
Send us the Anhörung.
A licensed German tax advisor reads the letter and emails back a fixed-price quote for drafting the response and filing the missing returns within 4 hours (weekdays 9-18 CET). You pay nothing to receive the quote.
Get my quote on the Anhörung Quote in 4 hours (weekdays 9-18 CET) · No payment to receive itAbout the Anhörung.
An Anhörung is the Finanzamt's formal pre-decision hearing: a written notice that they are about to estimate your VAT under § 162 AO and an invitation to give your side first. It is required under § 91 AO before most adverse administrative acts. It is the last step before a Schätzbescheid issues.
An Aufforderung zur Abgabe is an earlier filing request, the Finanzamt asking for returns they have not received. An Anhörung is later in the sequence, the Finanzamt saying they are now ready to estimate the tax themselves and giving you a final chance to respond. If you ignored an Aufforderung, the Anhörung is the next letter.
Typically 14 days. The exact date is stated in the letter. The Finanzamt is not required to wait beyond the stated deadline before issuing the Schätzbescheid.
The Finanzamt issues a Schätzbescheid under § 162 AO, typically 2-5x what you actually owe. You then have one month under §§ 347 ff. AO to file an Einspruch, but you are starting from a much weaker position. Responding to the Anhörung is much cheaper than fighting the Schätzbescheid afterwards.
The response should: (1) acknowledge the missing returns, (2) commit to filing within a specific timeframe (or attach the filings directly if reconstruction is fast enough), (3) explain the cause where defensible (foreign seller new to German VAT, fiscal representative changed, OSS misclassification, etc.), and (4) request that the Schätzbescheid not issue. A licensed German tax advisor drafts this in formal German.
Sometimes, but only by explicit request, not by ignoring it. A Fristverlängerung (deadline extension) under § 109 AO is granted on case-by-case basis where the taxpayer can show a legitimate need for more time. For foreign sellers reconstructing multi-year filings, a one-time 14-30 day extension is sometimes granted.