I'm retired military, and via the German rules.....I can shop at a BX/commissary, with a card....reporting the purchases once a month at the local Zoll-office (the tax office)....then pay a 13-percent 'tax' on whatever I bought.
To be honest, I doubt if I use the card more than eight times a year, and there's probably only a dozen-odd items at the commissary that are of interest to me.
So the rules are....I keep all receipts, and go on the first week of each month to Wiesbaden Zoll-office. It's down by the river, and it's one of those places with almost zero parking. You walk in.....they do a tally of what you spent (usually taking 30 to 50 minutes), then hand you a bill (typically between 10 and 25 Euro).
Back as Covid hit....they went to a 'don't-come-and-visit-us' standard. You were allowed to just mail the card and receipts to them, and a week later....you'd get the card back with a bill in the mail. This simplified the whole deal, and avoided the stupid parking problem.
For three years, this worked. Actually, I thought it would last.
Well....last month, they sent me a note.....the don't-come-and-visit-us' routine is halted. We want you to come and visit.
Yesterday, I went over. Parking? Non-existent.....six tractor trailer rigs took up half of their parking lot (this was a 7 AM).
I walked down the hallway, and noticed a couple of Zoll recruitment posters. They were aimed at 18-to-21 year old folks.
I looked for the older gal who handled the cards....well....she's now retired.
The six to eight older guys who worked around the place? Gone....they seem to have retired during the Covid-era.
Here were mostly 20-year old Zoll employees....all in military/police uniforms.
The visit? Well....it took about 50 minutes to do the paperwork. If you count up the 60 minute drive....I wasted two hours of time. I don't mind the tax....it's just this stupid paperwork drill experience.
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