Letter from the Hauptzollamt (main customs office): vehicle tax and enforcement explained

For vehicle tax, the Hauptzollamt assesses the tax, collects it and enforces it if it is not paid. Registering your vehicle at the Zulassungsstelle (vehicle registration office) counts as your tax return; so you do not have to submit anything extra.

The enforcement offices of the Hauptzollämter collect their own claims, such as vehicle tax, and public law money claims of other federal bodies, for example the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, health insurance funds or employers' liability insurance associations (Berufsgenossenschaften). So an enforcement letter from the Hauptzollamt can relate to a claim that does not come from customs at all.

If you have questions about your decision, contact the office named at the top of the letter. General questions about vehicle tax are answered by the Zentrale Auskunft Kraftfahrzeugsteuer (central vehicle tax information service). You can file an Einspruch (objection) and applications for Stundung (deferral of payment) in writing or online through the Zoll-Portal (customs portal), for which you need a user account.

You report a new address or a change of vehicle keeper to the Zulassungsstelle (vehicle registration office), not to customs. You tell the Hauptzollamt about new bank details for the direct debit.

Write your reply in German. German authorities work in German, so a letter in German is the safest way to make sure your reply is understood and processed. The templates (Vorlagen) on this site are in German.

Fake letters: There are fraudulent letters that claim to come from a customs enforcement office. Real customs enforcement officers identify themselves with an official ID card or official badge. Enforcement at your home only happens if you were sent a reminder first and did not react to an announcement of enforcement (Vollstreckungsankündigung). If in doubt, check whether the letter is genuine using contact details that you look up yourself on zoll.de, not the phone number in the letter.

No annual reminder: The vehicle tax decision remains valid until a new one is issued. For the following years, you usually receive no new decision and no payment notice. The tax is collected by direct debit (Lastschrift). If a direct debit fails, the direct debit procedure is put on hold until you activate it again.