Start of statutory time limits upon electronic delivery

An electronic document is deemed to have been served as soon as it is available within the recipient’s electronic sphere of control—i.e. in the FinanzOnline DataBox. Whether and when it is actually opened or retrieved is irrelevant. Furthermore, it is expressly stipulated that weekends and public holidays do not suspend or interrupt the running of deadlines. Accordingly, service effected on a Saturday or Sunday also triggers deadlines immediately.

Since the audit report entered the recipient’s electronic sphere of control on a Saturday, the one-month appeal period commenced on that day. In this context, the Federal Finance Court (Bundesfinanzgericht, BFG) clarified that a law firm being closed over the weekend does not constitute an excusable absence. Consequently, service is deemed effective and the deadline is not postponed to the following Monday. It is also not required that the recipient has the full statutory period available for filing an appeal. As long as the recipient becomes aware of the service in sufficient time to lodge an appeal, the service is considered effective. In the case at hand, 30 days remained available to apply for an extension of the deadline. Therefore, no delay in the effectiveness of service occurred.

Conclusion

The BFG decision highlights that, in the case of electronic service, the mere availability in the FinanzOnline DataBox is sufficient to trigger the running of deadlines—irrespective of weekends or actual knowledge. Regular monitoring of FinanzOnline should therefore be ensured in order to avoid missing statutory deadlines.