Servicios de cumplimiento

In a bid to boost tourism and promote travel in the country, Slovakia will apply a 10% reduced VAT rate to the tourism and catering industry.  

The rate was effective from 1 January 2023. The VAT reduction will boost Slovakia’s tourist industry, which was severely hit by the pandemic, and serve as a boost for the final wave of winter tourism. It looks set to be a permanent VAT rate modification.  

The services, to which the reduced VAT rate can be applied after 31 March 2023, are listed in Annex No. 7a of the VAT Act, including: 

• passenger transport services by cable cars, funiculars and ski-lifts, 
• services for the purpose of performing sport in indoor and outdoor sports facilities (including admission to fitness centres), and admission to swimming pools, 
• restaurant and catering services, and 
• accommodation services 

Slovakia is a complaint territory for Tungsten and we support all valid VAT rates in the country as part of our e-invoicing solution.  

Our recent post indicated that B2G e-invoicing was due to commence in Slovakia in April 2023. However, the implementation of B2G e-invoicing has now been delayed in Slovakia. A Decree mandating B2G e-invoicing in Slovakia is expected in 2023.  

The B2G e-invoicing delay would also suggest a further delay for mandatory B2B e-invoicing in Slovakia, potentially pushing this as far back as 2025, although no concrete timelines have been disclosed in this regard. We also expect the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposal to heavily influence Slovakia’s e-invoicing B2B model. 

Currently, the e-invoicing system can only be tested with the Ministry of Finance and the Data Centre of the Ministry of Finance. During this phase, malfunctioning elements will be identified and, once resolved, the decree will be published. We expect the B2G public sector e-invoicing implementation to be followed by B2B e-invoicing in Slovakia, and Tungsten will closely monitor e-invoicing developments in the country.  

Serbia introduced some revisions to the VAT Rulebook in the Official Gazette in February 2023, which are effective from 1 March 2023.  In addition, as of 1 January 2023, all VAT debtors which are VAT payers, as well as voluntary users of the system of electronic invoices (SEF), are obliged to electronically record VAT calculations in SEF. 

The amendments to the VAT Rulebook relate to the extension of the deadline for issuance of e-invoices for so-called ‘successive supplies’ (multiple individual supplies of goods or services made to one person in one tax period). 

With specific exceptions, electronic recording of VAT calculations in SEF is performed for transactions where: 

• The reverse charge VAT applies;  
• when a VAT-able supply with compensation is made to a person who is a taxpayer for income from self-employment, and 
• to a person deemed a taxpayer in terms of the Corporate Income Tax Law, as well as in case of VAT-able free of charge supplies, VAT-able expenditures (write-offs), shortages, etc. 

Tungsten analysed the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) in April 2022, when Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced PPT as an optional requirement on a UK invoice.  PPT in the UK is usually negotiated between the supplier and buyer- in stark contrast to Spain’s Plastic Packaging Tax, where suppliers are obligated to charge the PPT to their buyers. Tungsten can support PPT in both Spain and the UK today. 

From 1 April 2023, a full year on since its inception, PPT will be increased to £210.82 per tonne. There are no known plans now to make PPT a mandatory element of a UK invoice.  

Please refer to the HMRC website for further information.  

Last month’s post revealed some significant updates in respect of Belgium’s B2B proposed e-invoicing trajectory. The Belgian Minister of Finance has re-affirmed in response to a Parliamentary question that in accordance with the government agreement, he intends to mandate e-invoicing for most taxpayers.  

This inevitably requires an application for derogation from Articles 218 and 232 of the EU VAT Directive, which has been discussed between the Cabinet of the Ministry of Finance and the European Commission.  

The measures regarding both e-invoicing and e-reporting are in line with the proposal from the European Commission and are hoped to further reduce the VAT gap in the country. 

Belgium’s fiscal trajectory for 2023 and 2024 is shaping up to be a busy one. 

Our recent post on the VAT reduction for energy in Belgium indicated that the reduced rate of 6% for energy (down from 21%) was a temporary one. However, the Belgian Federal Budget has reversed this, stating that this VAT reduction will in fact be a permanent one, benefitting Belgians with more affordable energy prices. The VAT rate will be effective from 1 April 2023. 

Belgium is a compliant territory for Tungsten and we support all valid VAT rates in the country as part of our e-invoicing solution.  

Last month, we published some significant updates in relation to Belgium’s intent to mandate B2B e-invoicing in the country. You can read more in respect of the same here.  

Belgium’s outreach in respect of the digitisation of its fiscal procedures has extended yet further beyond the e-invoicing topography as it looks to simplify and streamline its fiscal infrastructure on a much more extensive scale. The proposed Bill No. 55K3128001 includes the procedures which, once facilitated, aim to achieve this underlying objective. 

A particularly significant change proposed by the bill is the introduction of automated processing of periodic VAT declarations and payments. 

The Bill is currently with the Belgian Parliament for approval, and is expected to come into effect, if approved, on 1 January 2024. This aligns with proposed e-invoicing and e-reporting transitions in Belgium, hinting at prevalent fiscal change in the country in 2024. 

The Bundesministerium der Finanzen announced that they will shortly publish draft details of the proposed domestic B2B e-invoicing solution that will take effect between German businesses.  We are expecting this during April 2023. By means of some background, Germany requested a derogation to mandate e-invoicing in November 2022– just a month before the European Commission published its much-anticipated VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposal.  

The discussion paper is, in all likelihood, triggered by the proposal. However, the roots of this may extend back yet further- the new coalition government in Germany had also considered the reduction of the VAT gap via digitisation of its fiscal procedures as far back as 2021.  

Finer details around the e-invoicing solution are yet to be revealed, but it does appear in all respects that it will be incumbent on the German tax authorities to produce a model that is ViDA compliant.  

Germany is a critical market for Tungsten and we are looking forward to probing Germany’s proposed e-invoicing solution once unveiled.  

Germany is the latest country this month to advance a distinctly environmental agenda, following in the footsteps of the Reino Unido Y España, and more recently, Scotland, via the Deposit Return Scheme.  

Expected in the first quarter of 2025, the legislation in Germany outlines the scope, refunds and penalties associated with such a levy, which, as the name suggests, applies to single-use non-recyclable plastic. 

The legislation has passed through the Federal Parliament and is awaiting approval in the Federal Council. 

Tungsten will monitor progression of the tax and consider its obligations in respect of the levy. 

As Croatia steps up its support for a B2B e-invoicing mandate in 2025, it similarly looks to combat with other fiscal-related measures considering rising inflation that continues to grapple Europe.  

As part of these fiscal reforms, the Croatian Parliament has accepted to consider a bill which serves as an emergency measure to extend the reduced VAT on heating-related supplies. 

The reduced VAT rate of 5% was due to expire on 31 March 2023 but is now being touted for extension until 31 March 2024.  

Croatia is a compliant territory for Tungsten and our portal supports all valid tax rates in the country.