From the machine room of TDF: federal bank AWV Z4 filings

Hello,

as initiative for more transparency, I would like to share more from “the machine room” of TDF. Many things at TDF happen silently in the background, but frequently take a lot of time (and money), and I think our members and the community deserve a better understanding what is required to run a foundation.

Contrary to what sometimes is assumed, many of these regulations are not specific to TDF, or to a not-for-profit organization, or even to Germany. Several regulations apply for not-for-profits and commercial entities all over Europe, sometimes even worldwide, so I hope these postings will help also other FLOSS projects as part of their work.

Much of what I write is also relevant for board members to understand their responsibilities and duties, because ultimately, the board is in charge, responsible and liable for the proper operation of TDF and must be in a position to oversee that all is happening properly.

These postings are not to be considered legal advice. They might be wrong, incomplete, outdated or contain glitches and errors, or for better understanding might sometimes shorten the explanation. They might also get outdated over the course of time, with changing regulations. They should provide an initial overview, but are provided “as-is”, to be used at your own risk.

In this posting of the series I would like to present the so-called

federal bank AWV Z4 filings

Every month, there is a variety of reporting requirements for TDF, like the payroll and social security, or the VAT filings. One of the lesser-known obligations of any German entity, and even any German individual, are the reporting duties as per the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung - AWV) with the federal bank (Bundesbank). Possibly similar rules exist for other countries, but I am not aware of details.

Some of you who have payments to or from other countries on their personal accounts might have seen a note similar to “AWV-Anmeldepflicht beachten” (“Please note the AWV registration requirement”). In short, this means that for any payment received or made, to whatever country, for whatever reason, that exceeds a certain threshold, there is a reporting duty with only a few exceptions.

The report deadline is strict, the 7th working day after the fiscal month, without a mechanism for prolongation. What needs reporting is the reason for the payment, the sum, and a classification from amongst a variety of categories the payment can fall into, which by itself is not always easy to identify.

In case of reporting wrongly, or not reporting at all, fines can apply. From what I know, the federal bank has the right to audit your reports similar to a financial audit.

In the past, the reporting threshold was low, at 12.500 € per event. For TDF, in particular for any tenders made, this meant regular reportings that were due with a tight deadline.
Since January 1, 2025, this reporting threshold has been increased to 50.000 €, which for TDF makes things way more relaxed, as we rarely have such high payments.

Still, this is a monthly recurring obligation to the board to ensure the filings are done properly and in due time, or to identify that there are no filings to be made.

Florian

For those following this topic, there will be changes from next year on, as we have been informed today via e-mail.

Essentially, the platform will change and we need to re-register. Filings with the new system will be available from February on, with a parallel use likely possible until mid-2026.

With the higher threshold, TDF is unlikely in a need to report soon, but as registration can take up some time and bureaucracy, and filing deadlines are strict (7th day of the following month!), we’ll likely tackle this in January already.

I still do not understand: the TDF has nowadays so many paid people and the board needs to sign that?

As you said: even most Germans do not know that these filings do exists and mostly this is done by somebody within the company, but not CEO/CFO/board…

I wonder how many (regular) tasks our board needs to do volunteering…

1 Like

No, it does not mean the board has to do this personally. It is actually handled by staff, for the board. And it is the membership committee to supervise the work of the board also in this matter, as you surely know as one of its former members.

But the one responsible and liable is the board as legal representative of TDF. This is no different than at any other company. Ultimately, the governing body is responsible and must ensure obligations, e.g. tax filings, are done properly and in time.

Whoever is not aware of that or not willing to take that responsibility, they should rather not run for the board, as this is an integral part of their role.

See also our statutes, § 8 II, emphasis by me: “The Board of Directors shall fulfill the will of the founders, as laid out in the act of formation (“Stiftungsgeschäft”), as effectively as possible within the framework of foundation law and these Articles of Association. Its main tasks are: management of the foundation’s assets, use of the foundation’s resources, preparation of a budget plan, proper accounting and collection of documents, and preparation of the annual financial statement and activity report. It ensures that all facilities for activities supported by the foundation are provided in a satisfactory manner.”