In our newsletter on the autumn tax package, we reported that from the period beginning on 1 July 2021 – with a few exceptions – the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) will prepare a VAT return proposal, i.e. eVAT, on the basis of the data available to it. Government Decree 429/2021 (VII. 16.), which was promulgated on 16 July and entered into force the following day, postponed the deadline for the introduction of the eVAT system until 1 October 2021, and for an even later date in some cases.

The most important measure of the Government Decree is that, contrary to the original plans, NAV will first prepare a VAT return proposal for VAT subjects only for the tax period starting on 1 October 2021 instead of 1 July 2021.

A new provision to be highlighted is that, as a rule, the eVAT will, in principle, include import VAT data in the return periods starting on or after 1 February 2022 at the earliest.  In case NAV is able to solve the integration of these data into the eVAT system before that date (and informs the public on this), then taxpayers do not have to supplement their VAT return proposals manually with their import VAT data for the earlier period either.

Taxpayers can perform their VAT return filing obligation via the eVAT system not sooner than for the reporting period including 1 July 2022 in which they

• request a deferral of payment by reason of compensations for epidemiological measures in relation to animal diseases, or
• declare the intra-Community acquisition or importing of passenger cars, or
• declare the sale of new means of transport to another Member State of the European Union, or
• declare the acquisition of produce subject to the reverse charge mechanism pursuant to Annex 6/A of the VAT Act., or declare the acquisition of metal goods in accordance with Annex 6/B of the VAT Act.

In case NAV can enable the eVAT system to handle such data earlier than the above deadline, then tax subjects engaged in the above transactions can also perform their return filing obligation via the eVAT system at an earlier date.

A new rule introduced is that the transfer of the tax paid via the eVAT system to another tax type can be first requested in the returns period including 1 April 2022. However, this may also be done earlier in case NAV can enable the eVAT system to process such requests and informs taxpayers accordingly. In the meantime, the transfer of the amount of VAT to be refunded can be requested by filing a traditional VAT return, or after the crediting of the refunded VAT to the tax current account, by way of using form no. 17 (request for transfer to another tax type and to refund taxes from tax current accounts showing an overpayment).

A further limitation is that, contrary to the original plans, self-revisions may not be filed via the eVAT system for returns periods earlier than the one including 1 July 2022. Such self-revision requests may only be filed by way of the form introduced for this purpose. The above means that in the next one year, the eVAT system will only be suitable for the filing of the original tax returns, and in case of self-revisions it is – presumably – only the traditional VAT return forms may be completed and submitted to NAV

It is not a substantive change, but only a clarification related to the postponement of the introduction of the eVAT system, that companies whose frequency of VAT returns filing changes during the year compared to 1 October 2021 (e.g. changing from quarterly to monthly returns) will only be able to use the returns proposals after 1 January 2022.

We hope that you found the above summary useful. If you have any further questions in connection with this topic, we are at your disposal.