Commercial law, which also applies to tax accounting through § 5 (1) sentence 1 half sentence 1 EStG, makes it possible to set aside provisions in a wide variety of cases. However, the tax law in §§ 5, 6 and 6a EStG provides for various exceptions. Insofar as the formation of a provision is permitted under commercial law, but a prohibition of passivation or a restriction of passivation applies for tax purposes, the tax balance deviates from the generally relevant trade balance.
Under commercial and tax law, a distinction must be made between liabilities on the one hand and provisions on the other. Essentially, the difference is the certainty or uncertainty of the amount to be passivated:
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.