Deposit with VAT?

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Value added tax is levied on the sales price of goods of all kinds in Germany. In this way you can see the actual prices with deposit and tax in the supermarket.

Basically, every dealer is free to choose the amount of the deposit.
Basically, every dealer is free to choose the amount of the deposit. © marika / Pixelio

In the supermarket, prices are usually gross but without a deposit

  • The amounts that are charged as a deposit on returnable bottles in Germany are not regulated by law, but they are quite uniform.
  • 8 cents are charged on beer bottles, most other bottles cost a 15 cents deposit. However, this regulation can be observed or circumvented by any beverage manufacturer. For example, some glass bottles are lent for 10 cents.
  • VAT is also levied on the deposit, but this is not a problem for most end users. The prices indicated are already including the value added tax specified.
  • Wholesalers, on the other hand, often charge VAT on the stated amount. This means that the supermarket pays more deposit for the bottles from the wholesaler than it demands from its customers.
  • The deposit amount and the tax levied must be specified in detail on the invoice. As a rule, the same VAT rate is charged for the deposit as for the drink in it. Milk bottles are taxed at 7%, while lemonade bottles are taxed at 19%.
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  • As a retailer, you must therefore pay very close attention to whether the deposit for one-way bottles, for example, is calculated as 25 cents including tax or 25 cents plus tax.

VAT problems

  • If you are an end user, you will not have any problems because the amounts mentioned in the sale are always calculated including tax, i.e. gross. Only in the case of wholesalers can the amounts be accepted as net and offset in this way.
  • Keep the deposit paid as a pending item as you will get that money back. The taxes that you previously paid will be deducted when you make another purchase.
  • You may withhold the collected deposit as a provision for outstanding claims. Here, too, the tax paid by the customer is deducted upon return.
  • The differences between the net and the gross calculation are business risk. There is no uniform legal regulation, since the bottle deposit is not regulated at all for returnable bottles and is regulated as a minimum amount for non-returnable bottles.

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