Reporting obligations under the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance - current changes as of 1 January 2025
Reporting regulations in cross-border capital and payment transactions are often overlooked and their consequences underestimated even when they are subject to fines! Domestic companies in particular monitor and report their assets and transactions with foreigners.
The following changes must be taken into account for the first time for the reporting month of January 2025:
1. Increasing of the reporting thresholds
The reporting thresholds for the individual reporting types have been increased.
Now, only payments (in particular Z4 notifications) that exceed the amount of EUR 50,000 (previously EUR 12,500) must be reported, Section 67 (2) no. 1 Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV).
Claims and liabilities (in particular Z5 notifications) only have to be reported in accordance with Section 66 (1) AWV if, at the end of a month, each sum amounts to more than 6 million Euro in total (previously 5 million Euro).
Assets of residents abroad (K3 notifications) and foreigners in Germany (K4 notifications) only have to be reported in accordance with Section 64 (3) AWV and Section 65 (4) AWV if the balance sheet total of the relevant company exceeds 6 million Euro (previously 3 million Euro).
2. Further amendments to Section 67 AWV (payment notifications)
From the reporting month of 1 January 2025 on, "the transfer of crypto assets pursuant to Section 1 (11) sentence 4 of the German Banking Act", Section 67 (3) sentence 2 no. 2 AWV, is also to be considered as a payment. A crypto asset is the digital representation of a value or right that can be transferred and stored electronically using certain forms of technology.
From the reporting month of January 2025 on, "interest payments for foreign bonds and money market instruments" are no longer subject to the payments reporting obligation, Section 67 (2) no. 4 AWV.
3. New reporting forms
The previous reporting forms will be replaced by so-called data collection forms in the revised General Statistics Reporting Portal (AMS). These will be available from mid-2025 on and will be mandatory from mid-2026 on. The previous "old" reporting forms can still be used optionally until mid-2026.
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 2 DIREKA1
Previous reporting forms: K3 Message
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 3 DIREKA2
Previous reporting forms: K4 Message
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 4 AUSWIB1
Previous reporting forms: Z5, Z5a sheet1 and sheet 2, Z5b
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 5 ZABILC1
Previous reporting forms: Z4 (transit, services, capital movements), Z8, Z11, Z14, Z15
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 6 ZABILC2
Previous reporting forms: Z10 (Securities transactions and financial derivatives)
New data collection diagrams: Appendix 7 ZABILC3
Previous reporting forms: Z12 (Travel: card sales)
In this context, we would like to point out that the ExtraNet platform, where the AMS is located, is to be replaced by the NExt e-business platform, probably in the 2nd quarter of 2025. NExt will not take over any users from ExtraNet. Therefore, all users who are already registered in ExtraNet and want to use NExt in the future will have to re-register in the NExt portal. There will be a simplified registration procedure for foreign trade reporting.
4. New mandatory fields for the foreign direct investments reports ("K4 declarations")
The key figures of balance sheet total, annual turnover and number of employees of the German corporate group must now be provided with the reports; previously the reporting of these information was optional.
5. Harmonization of reporting deadlines
The reporting deadlines have been partially harmonized. In addition, the reporting deadline will be changed from calendar days to business days. Business days are all days that are not Sundays or public holidays.
From the reporting month of February 2025 (for January 2025) on, all transaction reports (including Z4 reports) must be submitted by the 7th business day of the following month. Claims and liabilities (Z5, Z5a and Z5b reports) must be submitted by the 10th business day of the following month based on the situation on the last business day of the previous month.
6. New key figures - crypto
As of the reporting month of February 2025 (for January 2025) on, new separate key figures can be used for crypto assets, until now the key figures 139 and 239 had to be used:
Crypto assets and digital assets without corresponding liability
Key figure: 804 | payment types (“Belegarten”): 3 oder 4
Foreign crypto assets and digital assets with liabilities
Key figure: 814 | payment types (“Belegarten”): 3 oder 4
Domestic crypto assets and digital assets with liabilities
Key figure: 824 | payment types (“Belegarten”): 3 oder 4
Nonfungible Token (NFT)
Key figure: 834 | payment types (“Belegarten”): 3 oder 4
Income and expenditure of crypto assets must be reported in accordance with Section 67 AWV via the Z10 report (later Annex 6 ZABILC2).
7. Payments in respect ot traveling
Payments in regard of traveling and made by means of foreign notes and foreign currency traveler's checks are no longer to be reported (applies to codes 010 and 011). The reporting obligation for the annex/form Z13, Section 70 (1) no. 4 letter b AWV (reports by financial institutions), is deleted without replacement.
8. Reporting of payments by maritime shipping companies
Section 69 AWV "Reporting of payments by maritime shipping companies" has been repealed. As a result, the reporting obligation for domestic shipping companies that existed until 31 December 2024 due to payment transactions with residents no longer applies. The reporting obligation pursuant to Section 67 AWV continues to apply to domestic shipping companies. They must therefore continue to report incoming and outgoing payments made by or to foreigners (survey chart ZABILC1).