Late filing of Financial Statement in Germany

20 August 2021 - As was earlier announced by the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Federal Office of Justice initiated administrative fine proceedings under Section 335 of the German Commercial Code before March 1, 2021 against companies whose statutory deadline for disclosing FS 2019 is December 31, 2020. If no publication was made within that period and there is no timely response to queries from the Federal Gazette or the publication is not made in accordance with the law, the Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) will set fines until publication is made. This fine amounts to at least EUR 2,500, up to EUR 25,000. Generally, the authority sends letters to the company, which state the amount of penalty to be paid.

For the Financial Statement (FS) with cut off as of 31 Dec 2020, no extension applies and publication shall be completed within 1 year from its financial year end, without exception, by 31 Dec 2021. Provided that within 6 weeks after deadline FS are not yet published, late filing penalties are to be set.