You got an Aufforderung zur Abgabe. They want your missing VAT returns.
An Aufforderung zur Abgabe is a formal filing request from the German Finanzamt. They are asking for one or more UStVA (monthly VAT preliminary returns) or the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung that have not yet been submitted. The window is typically 14 days. Miss it and a Verspätungszuschlag plus eventual Schätzbescheid follow.
Your German VAT returns are overdue. The Finanzamt is officially asking.
An Aufforderung zur Abgabe is the most common letter foreign sellers receive from a German Finanzamt. It says, in formal German, that the Finanzamt has not received your Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (UStVA, monthly VAT preliminary return) for a specific period (or several), and that you are now required to submit it under § 149 AO (general filing duty) and § 18 UStG (VAT-specific filing duty).
The letter usually lists the missing periods explicitly (e.g. Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldungen für Januar, Februar und März 2026) and sets a deadline, almost always 14 days from the date of the letter. It may also reference § 152 AO, the legal basis for the late filing penalty (Verspätungszuschlag) that applies if you continue to ignore the request.
For foreign Amazon, eBay, and Shopify sellers, this letter typically arrives 3-9 months after the first missed UStVA. The trigger is one of three things: (1) you registered for a German Steuernummer but never started filing the monthly UStVA, (2) Amazon reported your German sales under § 25e UStG and the Finanzamt cross-checked against their filing record, or (3) your prior accountant or fiscal representative stopped filing without telling you.
14 days. Then penalties begin compounding.
14 days to file the missing returns
If you miss the deadline: the Finanzamt sends a Mahnung (formal reminder) along with a Verspätungszuschlag under § 152 AO. The late filing penalty is up to 10% of the assessed tax per return, capped at €25,000 per return, plus interest at 0.15% per month (1.8% per year) under § 233a AO in conjunction with § 238 AO (post-2022 reform). If you still do not file, the Finanzamt issues a Schätzbescheid (estimated assessment), typically 2-5x what you actually owe.
If you respond inside the window: the filings catch up, no Schätzbescheid issues, and the Verspätungszuschlag is often reduced or waived entirely for foreign sellers acting in good faith. Filing within the response window is by far the cheapest outcome.
Three steps to catch up and clean up.
- Reconstruct the missing UStVA returns. A licensed German tax advisor rebuilds each missing return from your real numbers: Amazon VAT Transactions Reports, OSS records, eBay/Shopify exports, or your own bookkeeping. Each return is prepared in DATEV.
- File the backlog via ELSTER within the 14-day window. We submit every missing UStVA (and the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung if it is also missing) electronically to the Finanzamt through ELSTER, with you copied on the confirmations.
- Request reduction or waiver of the Verspätungszuschlag. Filed alongside the returns under § 152 AO. For foreign sellers acting in good faith within the response window, the late filing penalty is typically capped at a small flat amount or waived entirely.
Send us the Aufforderung.
A licensed German tax advisor reads the letter and emails back a fixed-price quote for filing the missing returns within 4 hours (weekdays 9-18 CET). You pay nothing to receive the quote.
Get my quote on the Aufforderung Quote in 4 hours (weekdays 9-18 CET) · No payment to receive itAbout the Aufforderung zur Abgabe.
It is a formal filing request from the German Finanzamt asking for one or more VAT returns (typically UStVA, sometimes the annual Umsatzsteuererklärung) that have not been submitted. It is the most common Finanzamt letter foreign sellers receive.
Typically 14 days, sometimes a shorter or longer window specified in the letter itself. The deadline is binding and starts on the day you receive the letter (per § 122 AO presumption of delivery, day 3 after posting for letters within Germany).
First, a Mahnung (payment reminder) plus a Verspätungszuschlag under § 152 AO (late filing penalty, up to 10% of the assessed tax, capped at €25,000 per return). If you still do not file, a Schätzbescheid issues, an estimated assessment typically 2-5x what you actually owe.
Technically yes, via ELSTER. Practically, foreign sellers usually cannot, because ELSTER access requires a German Steuernummer and an authorization (Zertifikat) that takes weeks to obtain. A licensed German tax advisor with DATEV access can file the same day.
The Verspätungszuschlag under § 152 AO is discretionary in many cases. For foreign sellers acting in good faith and filing within the window after receiving the Aufforderung, the penalty is often reduced or waived entirely. We request reduction or waiver as part of the response.
Yes, this is the most common path to receiving an Aufforderung zur Abgabe. Foreign sellers register, get a Steuernummer, then never start filing because no one explained the monthly UStVA requirement. The fix is the same: catch up the backlog and set up ongoing filing.