The Federal Ministry of Finance has reportedly not yet taken effective steps to rectify the error and reinstate current regulations stemming from the premature implementation of a tobacco tax increase, which came into effect due to a legislative mistake. This was reported by “Bild”, citing a spokesperson for Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU). The spokesperson stated that the Federal Ministry of Finance has not yet initiated a formal corrective procedure.
The law became operational on October 21st instead of the intended date of January 1st-and notably, some products, such as cigarettes, were subject to the maximum rates originally planned only for 2030. Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) had previously directed the customs administration not to apply the law. His intention had been to resolve the error using a correction procedure under Paragraph 61 of the Joint Rules of Procedure (GGO).
According to the Bundestag administration, only informal consultations have taken place so far. Klöckner’s spokesperson noted that a final determination-whether the Ministry’s assessment regarding the feasibility of correcting the error in the law-making decision is shared, and whether the President of the Bundestag can thus grant consent to the rectification-can only be made based on a specific and justified request for correction.
Furthermore, the relevant parliamentary committee must be involved. The spokesperson referred to Paragraph 122, Subsection 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Bundestag (GO-BT), explaining that this ensures the participation of political parties within the committee, which is necessary before a final position can be taken.
The initial correction procedure, however, has proven too high-risk for the Federal Ministry of Finance. Consequently, the Ministry is now opting to address the error through an amendment to the law instead. A spokesperson informed “Bild” that the decision has been made to initiate a legal amendment to the tobacco tax law, partly to eliminate all remaining legal doubts or speculation. To achieve this, a drafting aid will be sent to the governing parties, which is intended to be appended to the Financial Equalization Act (FAG).
The change is intended to be quickly debated and passed by the Bundestag. The Bundesrat could then finalize the regulation on November 20th. Following this, the correction is expected to be published in the Federal Law Gazette during November.
