To apply for repayment or remission of import duties

If you are not certified for the IT procedure ATLAS (Automated Tariff and Local Customs Clearance System), you must apply for the refund in writing:

• Download the "Application for refund/remission" (Form 0223) via the Customs website.
• Or make an informal written request, but it must include all the information provided on Form 0223.
• Complete the application and, if necessary, the supplementary sheet in full,
• Send two copies of your application to the main customs office that issued the original duty notice.
• If the main customs office discovers discrepancies during the examination or if further proof or explanations are required, you may have to submit further documents.
• You may have to present the relevant goods to the customs office.
• You will receive the decision on the customs authority's application and the possible amount to be refunded in the form of a tax assessment or rejection notice in writing.
• The payment of a refund is always made to you as the person making the application.
• If necessary, the refund or remission is subject to a condition, such as the re-export of the goods or their destruction under customs supervision. In this case, this condition must first be fulfilled before the duty is refunded to you.

If the customs authorities determine that the requested duties must be repaid, they will make the repayment on their own initiative without an application.

• Application formally correct
• Statutory cases for refund or remission exist. Common cases:
  • The customs declaration was declared invalid after payment of the duties.
  • The duties claimed were not legally due.
  • You imported goods but rejected them because they were ovine or not in conformity with the contract.
  • The duties were subsequently collected, although this subsequent collection was legally inadmissible.
• alternatively: special circumstances justify remission or repayment

• all documents necessary to determine the appropriate level of import duty, for example, proof of preference if a preferential rate of duty is to be applied
• in the case of goods rejected as defective or not in accordance with the terms of the contract: Supplementary Sheet to Application for Refund/Reduction (Form 0235).

There are no costs for you.

The deadline by which you must submit the application depends on why you are requesting a refund or remission:

• Customs declaration was invalidated: usually 90 days after acceptance of the original customs declaration
• Goods rejected: usually up to 1 year after notification of duties
• Duties not due, undue post-clearance recovery or special circumstances: usually within 3 years of notification of duties.

If the customs authorities cannot accept the application, for example for formal reasons, you have a maximum of 30 days to provide additional information.

Within 30 days, the customs authority will inform you whether your application can be formally accepted.

The processing time depends on the complexity of the matter, but must normally be completed within 120 days.

• Artikel 116 bis 123 Unionszollkodex (EU-Verordnung 952/2013)
• Artikel 172 bis 180 Durchführungsverordnung Zollkodex (2015/2447)

• Appeal. Detailed information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the notice of your application
• Action before the tax court

Forms: yes
Online procedure possible: no
Written form required: yes
Personal appearance required: no

• „Antrag auf Erstattung/Erlass“ (Formular 0223)
• „Zusatzblatt zum Antrag auf Erstattung/Erlass“ (Formular 0235)