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Sales tax booklet; application

Entrepreneurs who operate a traveling trade must apply for a VAT booklet from the relevant tax office before starting their activity.

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Procedure details

Entrepreneurs who sell their goods in Germany at markets, on public roads or from door to door, i.e. who operate a so-called itinerant trade (ambulant trade) in accordance with Section 22 (5) of the Value Added Tax Act , are obliged to keep a VAT booklet in accordance with the officially prescribed form and to record their sales and input tax there.

An application for a VAT booklet must be submitted to the relevant tax office before the start of the activity.

  • Residence in Germany
  • Personal appearance at the time of application

  • Required Documents
    • Identity card or passport
    • Registration confirmation as proof of residence
    • Travel trade card, if available

The VAT booklet is issued free of charge.

A VAT booklet must be applied for before the start of the activity.

An exemption from the obligation to keep a VAT register applies to entrepreneurs who:

  • operate a commercial establishment in Germany and properly comply with the record-keeping obligations or
  • their turnover is taxed according to the average rates for agricultural and forestry businesses or
  • trade in newspapers and magazines or
  • are legally obliged to keep books or keep books voluntarily
Status: 11.12.2024
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Finanzen und für Heimat
Source: Federal Portal
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