If you use alcohol commercially and it is not used for drinking or consumption purposes, you can do so tax-free in many cases. You usually need a permit for this.

With a permit, you can obtain alcohol from a German tax warehouse without paying tax. A tax warehouse is a location approved by the main customs office where alcohol or alcohol products may be produced, processed, treated, stored, received or dispatched. Before issuing a permit, the customs administration generally checks whether certain requirements are met with regard to your tax reliability.

In some cases, the alcohol must be denatured in order to be used tax-free. Denaturing involves adding certain substances to the alcohol so that it is no longer drinkable or edible. You can use alcohol products tax-free on application for the following purposes:

• for the manufacture of medicines, if you are permitted to do so under pharmaceutical legislation
• undenatured for the production of vinegar
• denatured for the manufacture of goods that are neither medicinal products nor foodstuffs
• denatured for heating or cleaning purposes or other purposes that do not serve the manufacture of goods
• undenatured for the manufacture of food flavorings for the flavoring of beverages of an alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 1.2% or other foodstuffs, excluding alcohol and other spirituous beverages
• undenatured for the manufacture of chocolates with an alcohol content of up to 8.5 liters of alcohol per 100 kilograms
• undenatured for the production of other foodstuffs with an alcohol content of up to 5 liters of alcohol per 100 kilograms, but not for spirits and other alcoholic beverages

The permit lists certain obligations that you must observe. If you do not comply with these, you can expect restrictions that may lead to the permit being revoked.