When companies claim significant relief from electricity and energy taxes, this information should be publicly available. Since 2016, the Energy and Electricity Tax Transparency Ordinance (EnSTransV) has been in effect, obligating companies to report substantial tax benefits to the main customs office. The updated information sheet on the EnSTransV details which tax exemptions, reductions, or reliefs are relevant in this context.

To implement EU regulations, the transparency requirements under state aid law have been tightened in German energy and electricity tax law, and the reporting thresholds have been lowered as of January 1, 2024. Therefore, all companies that received tax relief exceeding €100.000 (previously: more than €200.000) in the 2024 calendar year are now required to submit a notification or declaration in 2025. For beneficiaries active in the primary production of agricultural products and in fisheries/aquaculture, the reporting threshold is reduced to a uniform €10.000.

At the same time, with the elimination of the peak load compensation, the potential reduction in electricity tax for manufacturing companies (according to Section 9b of the Electricity Tax Act) was significantly increased from €5,13/MWh to €20/MWh. This means that the consumption threshold above which companies must report their tax benefits is reduced from almost 39 GWh to 5 GWh of electricity consumption solely due to Section 9b of the Electricity Tax Act.

Companies should therefore promptly check whether they have received or will receive tax breaks exceeding €100.000 in the 2024 calendar year, as specified in the paragraphs listed in the annex to the Energy Tax Transparency Ordinance (EnSTransV). If this threshold is exceeded, companies are required to submit a report via the online portal of the main customs office by June 30, 2025, in accordance with Section 3, Paragraph 3 of the EnSTransV.