Key Takeaways
- A Schätzbescheid is the Finanzamt's estimated VAT assessment under §162 AO, issued when a registered taxpayer fails to file a required return. The estimate is intentionally high to motivate filing.
- You have one month from receipt to appeal via formal Einspruch (§§ 347 ff. AO). Miss it and the estimate becomes legally final.
- Foreign Amazon sellers receive these most often, but not only, after Amazon reports their German sales to the Finanzamt under §22f UStG.
- The Einspruch does not pause the payment deadline. A separate Aussetzung der Vollziehung (§361 AO) is required to suspend collection.
- Responding to a Schätzbescheid typically costs €400 to €800 for one period, €1,500 to €3,000 across several years, quoted before any work starts.
Sources: Abgabenordnung (AO), UStG, BMF guidance, BVerfG 1 BvR 2237/14.
What is a Schätzbescheid?
A Schätzbescheid (estimated assessment) is a tax notice issued by the German Finanzamt under §162 Abgabenordnung (AO) when a taxpayer fails to submit a required return. The Finanzamt estimates the tax owed (usually high, deliberately, to motivate filing) and sends a binding bill. It looks like any other Bescheid: a header naming your case number (Aktenzeichen), the tax type and period (most often Umsatzsteuer, one calendar year), an estimated tax figure, a Verspätungszuschlag for late filing, statutory interest, and a payment deadline (Zahlbar bis).
The legal effect is the same as a normal assessment. It is a binding act (Verwaltungsakt) that creates a real debt. The number is not a proposal you can ignore; it is the amount the Finanzamt currently believes you owe. If you do nothing within the one-month appeal window, that number becomes legally final (bestandskräftig) and collectable.
Most Schätzbescheide arrive after escalation: one or more Mahnungen (reminders) first, then a Schätzungsankündigung (notice that an estimate is being prepared), then the Bescheid itself. By the time the letter lands on your desk, the Finanzamt has usually been trying to reach you for several months. For foreign companies without a German address, those earlier reminders sometimes never arrive, and the Schätzbescheid is the first thing the seller hears about the case.
Why foreign sellers get them
Three patterns dominate. Sellers usually recognise themselves in one of them.
1. Amazon reported your sales to the Finanzamt
Under §22f UStG, Amazon and other online marketplaces are obliged to collect VAT registration data from sellers and report seller transaction data to the German tax authorities. When a seller's data does not match a valid registration, the Finanzamt opens a case and assesses VAT for the periods Amazon reported. This is the single largest source of Schätzbescheide aimed at foreign sellers right now, almost always covering retroactive periods (typically 2022 onward). For background on the rule and how it interacts with marketplace liability, see our Amazon VAT in Germany guide.
2. You registered but stopped filing
You completed the tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung), you have a Steuernummer, and at some point the monthly UStVA filings stopped: change of accountant, change of mailing address, business pause, language confusion. The filing obligation does not stop just because the returns do. After a few missed periods, the Finanzamt issues a Schätzbescheid for each.
3. You crossed a threshold without registering
An FBA shipment landed in a German warehouse, or your B2C distance sales to Germany crossed €10,000 EU-wide, or you held inventory through a third-party logistics provider in Germany. Each of these triggers an immediate registration obligation, with no threshold for the warehouse case. When the Finanzamt later identifies the activity (often via customs filings, marketplace data, or supplier reports), the back-period VAT comes as a Schätzbescheid.
The one-month clock under §§ 347 ff. AO
The right to file an Einspruch is established by §347 AO. The deadline is set by §355 AO: one month from the date the Bescheid is deemed received. Three rules decide when that month ends.
- Postal delivery (Bekanntgabefiktion, §122 Abs. 2 AO). A Bescheid posted to an address in Germany counts as received on the fourth day after posting (Nr. 1). One posted to an address abroad counts as received one month after posting (Nr. 2), which is the usual case for a foreign seller without a German address. Posted in Germany on 14 May: deemed received on 18 May, appeal window to 18 June. Posted abroad on 14 May: deemed received on 14 June, appeal window to 14 July. An envelope that arrived earlier does not bring the date forward. If it arrived later than the deemed date, the later date counts, and where there is doubt it is the Finanzamt that has to prove when the letter arrived (§122 Abs. 2 AO).
- No instructions on how to object, or wrong ones (§356 AO). The one-month period only starts if the Bescheid tells you that you can object, where to send the objection and by when. If that instruction is missing or wrong, the Einspruch stays admissible for one year from notification instead.
- Weekends and holidays do not pause the clock. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or German public holiday, it extends to the next business day (§108(3) AO). That is the only mechanical extension.
Once the month passes, the Bescheid is bestandskräftig: legally final. At that point your options narrow dramatically. A formal Wiedereinsetzung in den vorigen Stand under §110 AO is theoretically available if you can prove you were prevented from filing on time without your own fault, but the bar is high and the Finanzamt grants it sparingly.
Your three options
Option 1: File an Einspruch (formal appeal)
The Einspruch is filed in writing or electronically with the Finanzamt that issued the Bescheid. It must name the Bescheid (Aktenzeichen + date), state that you are filing an Einspruch, and ideally give grounds. The grounds can be supplemented later; what matters is that the Einspruch itself is on file within the one-month window. Once the Einspruch is filed, the Bescheid is no longer final and the Finanzamt is obliged to re-examine the case.
Option 2: Submit the missing return
If the underlying problem is a missed UStVA, submitting the actual return is the cleanest fix. Your real numbers usually replace the estimate. Two things to know. First, the Schätzbescheid does not automatically disappear when the return is filed; you still need an Einspruch to keep the case open while the Finanzamt processes the replacement. Second, if your real VAT liability is higher than the estimate (rare but possible), filing the return makes the situation worse, not better. Get tax advice before submitting in that case.
Option 3: Pay and dispute later
Almost never the right move. Paying does not preserve appeal rights, and recovering an overpayment after the Bescheid is final requires a separate procedure (§172 AO change of an assessment) with a higher legal bar than a routine Einspruch. The only scenario where paying-and-disputing makes sense is when the amount is small and you genuinely have no grounds to appeal but want to avoid enforcement noise.
What a response typically costs
Costs vary by complexity, not by total assessment amount. A single-period Schätzbescheid with clean underlying records (you have the books, the returns just were not filed) is the cheap end: €400 to €800 for a licensed Steuerberater to prepare the Einspruch, quoted before any work starts (see estimated assessment and hearing). Multi-year cases (common after Amazon §22f reporting that reaches back two to four years) are typically €1,500 to €3,000 because each period needs a separate return reconstructed from transaction-level marketplace data (see outstanding returns).
Compare that to the cost of doing nothing. The estimated VAT itself becomes payable. Statutory interest accrues at roughly 1.8% per year (the rate the Bundestag set after the Bundesverfassungsgericht ruled the historical 6% rate unconstitutional in 1 BvR 2237/14, applicable to periods from 2019-01-01). A Verspätungszuschlag is usually already inside the Bescheid (§152 AO): on a monthly or quarterly UStVA it is discretionary, with no percentage in the statute and a €25,000 ceiling per late return, because § 152 Abs. 8 Nr. 1 AO disapplies the 0.25%-per-started-month scale that governs the annual return. Routine collection follows: the Finanzamt can initiate enforcement against assets located in Germany. For Amazon FBA sellers, that creates real operational risk because inventory in a German warehouse is reachable.
For more on penalties and the late-filing rules around §152 AO, see our penalties and late-filing guide.
When you need a licensed Steuerberater
You can technically file an Einspruch yourself. In practice, three things make a Steuerberater the default choice for foreign sellers.
- Language and form. The Einspruch must be in German and reference the correct statutory basis. German is the official language (§87 AO): the Finanzamt can ask for a translation of anything you send in another language, and an objection in another language keeps the deadline only if that translation arrives within the period the office sets. Otherwise the day the translation arrives counts (§87 Abs. 4 AO).
- Service of documents. If your company has no seat or management in Germany, another EU country or the EEA, the Finanzamt can ask you to name a recipient in Germany (Empfangsbevollmächtigter, §123 AO). If you do not name one, a letter posted to you counts as received one month after posting. A licensed Steuerberater fills this role as part of representation.
- Aussetzung der Vollziehung. To suspend payment during the appeal you need a separate §361 AO request, with concrete grounds and documentary support. Getting this right requires advisor judgment, not a template.
You do not need a fiscal representative in Germany. Germany is one of the EU countries that lets non-EU companies register directly through a licensed Steuerberater without that extra cost. See our explainer on fiscal representation for the distinction.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to appeal a Schätzbescheid?
One month from the day the Bescheid counts as received (§§ 347 ff., 355 Abgabenordnung). Posted to an address in Germany, that is the fourth day after posting; posted to an address abroad, it is one month after posting (§122 Abs. 2 AO), so for a letter sent abroad the deadline falls about two months after the posting date. If the letter arrived later, the later date counts. If the Bescheid does not say how, where and by when to object, the period is one year instead (§356 AO). The clock does not pause for weekends or holidays. Only if the final day itself falls on a Saturday, Sunday or German public holiday does it shift to the next business day under §108(3) AO.
What happens if I do nothing?
The estimate becomes legally final (bestandskräftig). The Finanzamt can then initiate collection action against assets located in Germany. Statutory interest (around 1.8% per year, post-2018 BVerfG ruling) accrues on the unpaid amount, and a late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag, §152 AO) typically already sits inside the Schätzbescheid itself.
Can I just submit the missing return and ignore the Schätzbescheid?
Submitting the actual return usually causes the Finanzamt to replace the estimate with your real numbers, but you still need to file a formal Einspruch within the one-month window to keep the case open. Filing the return alone does not preserve appeal rights if the deadline passes.
My company is not in Germany. Can I appeal myself?
Legally yes, but the Einspruch must be in German and reference the correct statutory basis. If your company has no seat in Germany, another EU country or the EEA, the Finanzamt can also ask you to name a recipient in Germany (Empfangsbevollmächtigter, §123 AO); if you do not, its letters count as received one month after posting. In practice, a licensed German Steuerberater takes on both.
Will the appeal stop the payment deadline?
No, not automatically. The Schätzbescheid remains payable while the appeal is pending. To suspend payment, you file a separate Antrag auf Aussetzung der Vollziehung (§361 AO request to suspend enforcement) alongside the Einspruch.
How much does a response to a Schätzbescheid cost?
A written objection (Einspruch) for a single period with clean records is typically €400 to €800, quoted before any work starts. Multi-year cases (common after Amazon §22f reporting that goes back two to four years) are typically €1,500 to €3,000, depending on how many returns have to be prepared.
What if Amazon reported my sales but the numbers are wrong?
Common. Amazon's transaction-level reports under §22f UStG include shipments to other EU countries that are not German-taxable, plus B2B reverse-charge transactions that should not be in the German VAT base. The Einspruch substantiates the correct German-taxable portion using your transaction-level Amazon reports.