Submitting Financial Statements in Germany

Any company with operations in Germany is required to respect numerous regulations concerning the lodging of the financial statements, which are documents that give a comprehensive image of the company’s financial situation. At the same time, they are used to verify the validity of the company’s financial status. In Germany, like in many other jurisdictions, the investors have to submit the financial statements following a certain procedure and our team of German attorneys can offer an in-depth presentation on this matter or legal assistance. 

Accounting legislation applicable in Germany 

German legal entities are required to draft and lodge their financial statements following a specific procedure, which respects the rules and regulations imposed by the German GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Rules referring to the way in which such documents have to be prepared may vary in accordance with the legal entity under which the company is carrying its operations, but, as a general principle, the following documents have to be submitted:

• annual statutory financial statements;

• monthly preliminary Value Added Tax (VAT) returns;

• annual VAT returns;

• annual corporate income tax returns;

• annual trade tax returns.

Prepare the financial statements in Germany  

Businessmen who have opened a company in Germany are required to prepare the financial statements by respecting a certain procedure. The company’s documents have to be prepared and signed by the representatives of the company at the general meeting. Furthermore, the documents have to be published in a period of a maximum of 12 months after the end of the financial year.  

The procedure may involve the assistance of an auditor, based on the company’s size. It is necessary to mention that the German legislation stipulates that the management of the company is fully responsible for presenting a true image of the company’s financial status; our team of German lawyers can offer more details on the specific details referring to the drafting of the financial statements. 

Companies operating in Germany are also required to submit their financial statements at the “E-Bilanz’, an online platform which provides tax services. 

Businessmen interested in receiving more details on how to submit the financial statements in Germany can address to our German law firm for legal assistance.