Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof)

The German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) is the Court of last resort in tax matters. Its principal task is to ensure uniformity of the law through clarification of fundamental points of law and development of the law. It will not undertake fact-finding of its own but will confine itself to reviewing the legal assessment of a case by the lower courts. The facts established by these courts are binding on the Federal Court of Justice, unless such findings are affected by a procedural error at the lower court pointed out in the statement of grounds for appeal. Evidence will therefore not normally be heard by the German Federal Fiscal Court. Although its decisions can only bind the respective parties, they are still authoritative for the taxation of other tax paying citizens where the same facts of case apply.