Stock ledger
The stock ledger is the running record of all receipts, removals and stock in the tax warehouse. It is the basis for the duty return and has to reflect the actual stock at any time.
What matters in practice
The stock ledger is an obligation of the warehouse keeper. It is kept on the officially prescribed form covering every receipt into and every removal from the tax warehouse (Section 10(2) AlkStV), alongside a file of supporting documents for each entry. The main customs office can require additional records and may, on request, accept the operator's own records instead where fiscal interests are preserved.
Stock has to be taken once a year. The warehouse keeper notifies the main customs office of the start at least three weeks in advance and, within one month of completion, declares book stock and actual stock together with a statement on any quantity differences (Section 12 AlkStV).
The ledger has to be retained for ten years like all records of fiscal relevance. It is therefore not just a working tool but the evidence with which every removal and every discrepancy can later be substantiated.
Legal basis
Section 10 AlkStV, Section 12 AlkStV, German Fiscal Code
Example
During a stocktake the main customs office compares the counted goods with the stock ledger; shortages count as removed and are taxed. A statement is required on every difference (Section 12 AlkStV).
What goes wrong
The most expensive discrepancy is the shortage. What is in the ledger but not on the rack counts as removed and is taxed, and the warehouse keeper is the person liable. The second classic is an entry that lags behind the movement: the pallet leaves on Friday and is booked on Monday.
In between, stock does not match. If a stocktake falls into that window the resulting difference cannot be explained afterwards, because the supporting documents sit in two different periods.
At TXWH
TXWH keeps the stock ledger digitally per customer, lot and pallet and retains it for ten years. Every movement is booked on the day it happens so that stock and ledger do not drift apart.