13.06.2024The New GoBD 2024 and its Impact on Future Tax Audits
With the letter dated March 11, 2024, the tax administration has published significant changes to the so-called GoBD (Principles for the Proper Management and Retention of Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form, as well as Data Access), which came into effect on April 1, 2024. In addition to an extension of the ability of the tax auditor to estimate taxation basis in course of audits, the letter also includes changes to the manner in which audit-relevant data is made available to the tax administration. In conjunction with the discussion draft on the standardized digital interface for accounting data (DSFinVBV-E) which first became available at the end of last year, initial conclusions can be drawn regarding future requirements for data access in audits.
Background
With the letter (BMF IV D 2 - S 0316/21/10001: 002; DOK 2024/0184201) dated March 11, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) made changes to the existing BMF letter of November 28, 2019, which have a significant impact on data provision within the scope of audits. In recent years, standardized interfaces for payroll data (DLS) and an interface for exporting data from electronic cash register systems (DSFinV-K/TW) have already been introduced. This is now expected to be complemented by a nationwide uniform interface for accounting data (DSFinVBV).
Changes to the GoBD of March 11, 2024
The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) letter of March 11, 2024, presents a significant update to the GoBD. Within this context, it is noteworthy that the tax administration has reiterated that the probative value of accounting records ceases if the data is not supplied in accordance with the specifications of one of the prescribed interfaces of the tax authorities. This development underscores the need for proper data provision that adheres to these specifications and follows the legislative amendments of the Tax Audit Modernization Act of 2023. The amendment letter of March 11, 2024, only makes selective adjustments to the GoBD, which may cause some confusion upon its publication.
Despite this, the update marks a crucial development of the legal framework, which now requires the information necessary for accounting under the GoBD to include the type of account (Assets, Liabilities, Capital, Expenses, Income, Others) and account type (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Debtor, Creditor, Taxable Profit / Extra-statutory additions and deductions, Others). However, the BMF letter does not provide information on how to handle situations where certain systems do not provide for these details or - if these details are provided - the taxpayer does not fill them in because available system functions are not used.
Another major change is the consistent use of the term "data transfer" instead of "data medium transfer", which is associated with the deletion of the term "data medium". This change paves the way for a nationwide introduction of data transfer portals as a physical data medium is no longer required.
Changes to the Supplementary Information on Data Provision
Alongside the amendment letter, the supplementary information on data provision was also revised in the BMF letter of March 11, 2024.
The BMF letter still recommends the use of the description standard for data provision in operational practice, although it is not legally required. For the first time, specific requirements have been set for the index.xml. Notably, there is a reference to .csv files, with it remaining unclear whether only .csv files are permitted, as the description standard would allow other formats, and therefore some accounting systems use other data formats.
Certain data formats, for example LOTUS 123, ASCII print files and other specific formats for A/S400, are no longer supported as of April 1, 2024.
Conclusion
The adjustments in the BMF letter, the recent changes to the Fiscal Code, and the discussion draft on DSFinVBV suggest that the tax administration will require a higher level of standardization in audits in the future. While this is to be welcomed in the context of efficiency for the tax audit process, depending on the system landscape used, these changes may burden taxpayers with additional expenses in order to comply with them.
Fundstelle
Bundesfinanzministerium: BMF-Schreiben zur Änderung der GoBD vom 11.03.2024
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Justin Dominic Derber
Senior Manager
