In its letter dated 23 May 2016, the BMF once again changed its view on the application of Section 6 InvStG. As argued in the literature (as already Elser/ Thiedein: NWB EV 2015, p. 104), it is now possible to prove the actual income of non-transparent funds with legal certainty, even in the case of so-called third-country funds. The background to this is the BFH ruling of 17 November 2015, which does not permit the application of the "standstill clause" pursuant to Art. 64 (1) TFEU to Section 6 InvStG.

In practice, this means that, on the one hand, pending proceedings can be concluded in favour of the investors concerned if the relevant evidence is provided and, on the other hand, the necessary documents should be requested in good time for existing non-transparent fund investments. In practice, however, this often involves considerable effort. It should therefore be checked in advance whether this effort is worthwhile or whether there are any documents at all for the funds concerned.