Value added tax surcharge in ancillary cost statement
January 24, 2012 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Oliver Burchardt
The billing of heating and hot water costs is done by BRUNATA, in individual invoices for each tenant and the various commercial tenants (shops) to which I belong. All amounts are gross, including the statutory VAT of 19%. In another invoice, the landlord takes over these details as gross and adds his additional allocable costs, such as street cleaning, general electricity, insurance, property tax, etc. From this, he calculates a total sum which he calls total operating costs net. He then adds another 19% VAT to this and arrives at total operating costs gross. From this, he deducts my advance payments net plus 19% VAT and arrives at total advance payments gross. He deducts this from the total operating costs gross and calculates a balance due from me. Is this procedure correct? Additionally, I received the billing for 01.07.2009 - 30.06.2010 dated 28.06.2011 only after inquiring with a letter dated 04.10.2011. Allegedly, he had sent me the billing in June 2011. However, I could not confirm receiving it. Do I have to pay the additional operating costs at all?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I would be happy to answer as part of an initial consultation.
It appears that your landlord is exercising his right to rent to you as a commercial tenant subject to sales tax. In this case, he is entitled to a deduction for the costs burdened with input tax. In my opinion, billing you with gross costs is not correct, as the landlord will be reimbursed the input tax by the tax office, but you would also end up paying this input tax with this billing method.
As a result, your landlord would effectively receive the input tax twice. However, the question of the billing modality is more of a civil than a tax law issue. You should engage a lawyer to enforce your right to a correct billing. Due to professional reasons, I am unable to provide such advice. The same applies to the second part of your question. The provision of Section 556 of the German Civil Code, which stipulates that the utility bill must be provided within 12 months, explicitly applies only to residential leases. Commercial tenancy law has different regulations that require legal advice.
Nevertheless, I hope I have provided you with an initial overview of the situation.
Best regards,
Oliver Burchardt
Certified Public Accountant
Tax Advisor
