Finish an EC Sales List correction on time

The task "Critical ZM correction" (Kritische ZM-Berichtigung) accompanies a correction of your EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung, ZM). It appears when you yourself document an error in a report you already filed. In the app it appears as "Review task". It carries the name "Critical ZM correction" in the task reminder by email.

What happened

Under ZM, on a filed or confirmed report, you opened "Found an error? Start correction", described the reason (at least 10 characters) and clicked "Start correction deadline".

Rechnungskit records the moment of this click as the day you learned of the error. From it, Rechnungskit calculates the deadline: one calendar month from that day. The task reads: "ZM correction …: prove receipt at the BZSt by …"

Why Rechnungskit stops here

If you realize afterwards that a filed ZM is incorrect or incomplete, you must correct it within one month (section 18a (10) UStG).

For intra-community supplies of goods, the VAT exemption also depends on it: it does not apply to the extent that the ZM was filed incorrectly or incompletely for the supply concerned (section 4 no. 1 (b) UStG).

Rechnungskit therefore does not silently correct a filed report. It runs the correction as a report of its own with its own proof. This is not tax advice. If in doubt, ask your tax advisor.

How to resolve it

1. Open ZM, for example via "Open" on the task on the dashboard or in the "To review" tab. Below the list of reports is the box "Open ZM corrections" with the date by which receipt at the BZSt must be proven.
2. Click "Edit correction →". Enter the corrected rows ("Add row", "Remove") and click "Lock correction".
3. The correction now appears as a report of its own in the list. Download the "ELSTER file" there and file it through ELSTER.
4. Click "Mark submitted" on the correction. The button only appears after you have downloaded the ELSTER file.
5. Upload the confirmation from ELSTER or the BZSt (PDF, PNG, JPG or XML) and click "Archive confirmation".

The list only shows the twelve newest reports. So file a correction promptly, before newer reports push it out of the list.

When the task closes on its own

When you archive the confirmation for the correction report, Rechnungskit closes the task. Rechnungskit keeps the proof with a checksum.

In the "To review" tab you can also close the task with "Mark as done". Then the proof is missing from the archive, though. Only use this if you documented the correction some other way.

Related settings

• ZM: reporting period for services (monthly or quarterly)
• Settings → Account: your own valid VAT ID, a prerequisite for the ZM