Taxability of battery charging: Peak-load compensation and qualification of AC-to-DC conversion under Electricity Tax Law

The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) reversed the lower court's judgment, ruling in favor of the customs authority and confirming that the taxpayer's application for peak-load compensation under § 10 StromStG was invalid, thereby rejecting the taxpayer's claim for tax refunds. The dispute centered on whether electricity drawn from a battery for discharging purposes or converted from alternating current to direct current constituted taxable "electricity withdrawal" under the Electricity Tax Act, specifically regarding the qualification of battery charging as a taxable event versus a mere technical transformation. The court held that the conversion of AC to DC does not itself create a new taxable object, and that withdrawing electricity from a battery to recharge it does not qualify for the reduced tax rate or tax exemption, as the decisive legal basis requires the physical withdrawal of electricity from the grid for consumption or storage in a way that meets the statutory definition of "Entnahme," which the disputed battery charging process did not satisfy.

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