The cancellation of a limited liability entrepreneurial company, abbreviated as UG, is a multi-stage process regulated in the Commercial Code (HGB) and the Law concerning Limited Liability Companies (GmbHG). The following overview summarizes the essential steps and legal requirements:

1. Reasons for Cancellation

The termination of a UG can be initiated through voluntary liquidation or by other legally regulated circumstances. A resolution for voluntary dissolution requires a shareholder resolution with a majority as defined by the partnership agreement. Without a contractual arrangement, a majority of 75% of the votes cast is required.

2. Liquidation Process

After dissolution, the UG enters the so-called "liquidation stage," in which the company's assets are liquidated and all liabilities are settled. The steps in detail:

§ 12 para 4 was repealed in 2021. At the same time, the following changes were introduced:

§ 34 para 3c KStG
§ 8 para 1 in the version of Article 3 of the Act of June 25, 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2056) is also to be applied to assessment periods before 2021

§ 34 para 6d KStG
§ 12 para 4 in the version applicable on June 30, 2021, is to be applied for the last time for the assessment period 2020.

§ 8 para 1 sentence 4 KStG
For corporations as defined in § 1 para 1 with headquarters abroad, whose place of management is located domestically and which are not to be treated as legal persons under domestic corporate law due to lack of legal capacity, services and promises of services between the corporation and persons who earn income as defined in § 20 para 1 number 1 and 9 of the Income Tax Act from this corporation, are to be treated for the purposes of implementing taxation with income taxes like services and promises of services between a legal corporation and its shareholders.

If you, as an entrepreneur of a Limited company, have received a notice from the professional association in which you are personally assessed because the legal capacity of the Limited has allegedly been lost, we recommend filing an objection. You can download a possible non-binding template of such an objection here...

In the previous post, we reported on the information letters from the tax offices regarding the Federal Ministry of Finance's letter dated December 30, 2020.

These letters are currently being supplemented by letters informing the LTD shareholder personally of a VAT number, or announcing the allocation of VAT numbers. Usually, these letters refer to the Federal Ministry of Finance's letter dated December 30, 2020, and additionally note that the LTD will continue to be treated as a subject of corporate tax due to the Brexit Tax Accompanying Act.

As a result, the tax offices assume that taxes for LTDs will be declared using two tax numbers in the future. The existing tax number of the LTD will continue to be used for the corporate tax declaration. A VAT number assigned personally to the entrepreneur will be used for VAT declarations.

These letters typically do not come with legal remedy instructions but are likely to have regulatory content and thus represent an administrative act against which legal remedies are permissible.

You can download a non-binding sample of a corresponding objection further below. Before possibly initiating legal action, you should ...