Deutsche Post rejects accusations

Deutsche Post AG, Germany’s postal services monopoly, has issued a strong denial of accusations by the country’s Commissioner of audits that it does not pay enough VAT. Edgar Ernst, head of finance, said that Deutsche Post had special legal dispensations exempting parts of its business from VAT. The spat was sparked by a report which concluded that Deutsche Post should collect an additional 445m euros in VAT per year.

For Ernst, this figure is not based on any rational criterion. He indicated that Deutsche Post had had no contact with the Commissioner’s office during or after the investigation and added that the exemption from charging VAT extended to the monopoly activities, such as letter delivery, and universal services (parcels of up to 20kg, newspapers and magazines).