1. What do these terms and conditions apply to?
Our services in the area of online tax returns in our applications (i.e. our website and our mobile application) are governed exclusively by the following terms and conditions.
2. Who is your contracting party and how is the contract concluded?
Your contract partner is
forium GmbH
Kantstraße 13
10623 Berlin
Germany
Commercial register: Berlin (Charlottenburg) District Court, HRB 74178
Represented by the Managing Directors Felix Bodeewes and Leander Bretschger.
The presentation of our services in our applications on our website and in our app does not constitute a binding offer.
In our applications, you can place the desired service "in the shopping cart" and then "proceed to checkout". After selecting your payment method and entering your information (mandatory information is marked with a "*"), you will be taken to the order overview. There you can check and, if necessary, correct your selection and entries. Only when you order a service do you make a binding offer (§ 145 BGB). You place this order by clicking on "Buy now for a fee!". If this offer is accepted, we will send you an order confirmation by email. This concludes the contract.
Beyond the order data required to process your order, the individual contract text is not stored by us. Therefore, it cannot be retrieved by you after the order process is completed. However, you can save or print the data of your order.
The contract language is exclusively German.
3. What service do we provide?
We provide you with an easy-to-use online form for the income tax return, through which you can enter, prepare, and (for a fee) electronically submit your data to the tax office or send it using printed tax forms. No software is installed on your computer when using the website. When using the mobile application, it is installed on your mobile device.
The online form is only suitable for individuals who are subject to income tax in Germany. You can find information on the scope of the programme according to section 87c of the Fiscal Code here.
The information texts, examples, and notes in the online form are general explanations. They refer to a standard tax case and are only intended to highlight any existing possibilities for structuring the tax case. We do not provide legal advice.
4. What are you responsible for?
The tax return is based solely on your entries. Please check your data for completeness and accuracy before submitting it to the tax office. By signing, you confirm the accuracy of the information you have provided to the tax office.
Please note that even if you submit your tax return electronically, you must also print, sign, and submit the (online form generated) compressed tax return to the tax office in good time. Please also consider any possible (potentially technical) delays in electronic and postal transmission.
5. Is artificial intelligence (AI) used in our service?
We offer you the opportunity to be assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI) at various points in the tax return process.
Please note: AI is a tool and can make mistakes, such as incorrect or fabricated content (“hallucinations”). You are responsible for the correct tax return and must check any AI inputs. Use is voluntary.
Our chatbot in customer service also uses AI. Its answers are for initial guidance only and may be inaccurate. For individual or complex tax questions, please contact a tax advisor. For technical questions, our customer service team will be happy to help.
The AI is provided by OpenAI. We accept no liability for its use.
6. What are the costs of our services?
All prices stated in our applications are in Euro and include the applicable VAT.
7. When must you pay and how can you do so?
The fee is due immediately upon ordering. Payment can be made by SEPA direct debit mandate (existing customers only), PayPal or advance payment.
8. CANCELLATION POLICY - How and until when can you cancel the contract? What are the consequences of cancellation?
a) Right of withdrawal
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period is 14 days from the day the contract is concluded.
To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us
forium GmbH
Address: Kantstraße 13, 10623 Berlin
Phone: (030) 4202-46-30
Fax: 030 42 02 46 55
Email: [email protected]
of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or email). You may use the attached sample withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
b) Consequences of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
If you requested to begin the performance of services during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated to us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.
c) Expiry of the right of withdrawal
Your right of withdrawal expires before the end of the 14-day period if we have fully performed our services, you have agreed to the start of the services before the end of the withdrawal period, and you have confirmed your knowledge that the right of withdrawal expires upon full performance of the contract.
- End of withdrawal policy -
9. What if something doesn't work properly?
Should our online form contain errors that lead to a malfunction of the form or incorrect information in the tax return, you are entitled to have the relevant tax return recreated free of charge using the online form, provided you inform us in advance of the specific nature of the error and its impact. We are entitled to bypass such an error if it can only be rectified with disproportionate effort and the proposed workaround does not have any significant impact on the content of the tax return.
If the error occurs again, you are entitled to withdraw from the contract, provided the error does not have only insignificant effects. We will then promptly refund any payments made. The special provisions of section 9 apply to any claims for damages.
If the online form does not exceptionally cover specific circumstances relevant to you, please contact our support team (Email: [email protected]; Tel: (030) 4202-46-30).
10. For what can we not accept liability?
Please understand that we cannot verify the data you enter or provide tax advice - the latter for legal reasons. We also do not monitor deadlines for submitting tax returns.
As far as the online form provides information on the expected tax liability, these are non-binding estimates, although we strive for the greatest possible accuracy. However, due to the different interpretations of tax laws, deviations are always possible. The final determination of the tax liability is made solely by the relevant tax office.
We endeavour to offer our services without interruption (365 days/year, 24 h/day) and ensure availability of more than 99%. Access may be temporarily restricted due to maintenance work. We cannot accept liability for the functionality and accessibility of the ELSTER servers and ELSTER software provided by the tax authorities.
In the event of intent or gross negligence on our part or on the part of our agents, we are liable in accordance with legal regulations. In the case of simple negligence, our liability is limited to such damages that were foreseeable and typical at the time of the conclusion of the contract. This limitation of liability does not apply in the event of injury to life, body, and health. Liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.
11. Are there any other regulations?
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies. Mandatory provisions of the state in which you have your habitual residence remain unaffected.
If individual provisions of this contract are invalid or contradict legal regulations, the validity of the rest of the contract shall not be affected.
Should there be any disputes between you and us that we cannot resolve amicably, we would regret this. In such cases, the European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution, which you can find at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We are willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration service.
The relevant consumer arbitration service is:
Universal Arbitration Service of the Federal Government
Centre for Arbitration e.V.
Straßburger Straße 8
77694 Kehl am Rhein
Telephone: +49 7851 7957940
Fax: +49 7851 7957941
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: www.verbraucher-schlichter.de
