Global VAT Guide: June 2023 VAT Updates

June 2023 VAT Updates in Belgium

e-Portal Account Statements Notifications

On 5 May 2023, the Belgian Authority notified that from May 2023, Belgian VAT registered taxpayers will receive a VAT account statement in MyMinfin only in the following situations:

• The current account mentions a fine for late filing of a declaration;
• A VAT declaration is missing; and
• Your current account shows an amount due.

There are no changes in the way notifications are sent to non-established companies, or to companies under the jurisdiction of the Centre for Specific Matters.

Law modernizing the VAT chain and collection of tax and non-tax claims within FPS Finances

On 23 March 2023, the Law modernizing the VAT chain and collection of tax and non-tax claims within FPS Finances (Loi visant à moderniser la chaîne T.V.A. et la perception des créances fiscales et non fiscales au sein du SPF Finances), adopted on 12 March 2023, was published.

A number of changes are introduced with this law that aim to improve the collection of VAT:

• Due date to file Quarterly returns is extended from 20th to 25th of the month that follows the reporting period end;
  • The due date to file Monthly return remains unchanged – the 20^th of the following month;
• Option to pay tax due by Direct Debit will be introduced;
• Monthly VAT refunds may be requested by all that file monthly returns on the condition that returns are filed on time in preceding 6 months;
  • Currently, refunds may be requested on a quarterly basis, or monthly upon specific authorization
• VAT Provisions Account (Compte-provisions T.V.A ) replacing the current account of taxpayer’s VAT credits and Debts Account;
• “Substitute VAT return Proposal” («Proposition de déclaration de substitution) automatically generated in cases where no VAT return is submitted within 3 months following the respective reporting period, and indicating VAT equal to the highest of the reported in last 12 months VAT amount due, subject to a minimum of EUR 2,100;
• Timeframe to respond to a tax office request for information; 1 month may be shortened to 10 days (currently no legal ground specifying timelines to respond); and
• Late filing of a return may result in extended statute of limitations to the 31 December of the fourth year following the year in which the VAT became payable.

Expected entry into force of the new regulations is 1 January 2024 with a possibility to postpone until 1 January 2025.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Finland

On 16 May 2023, the Finnish Tax administration notified that the use of the real-time Vero API interfaces of the tax administration requires a software-specific API key from 1 June 2023.

If the key is not used, the calls made after 31 May 2023 will be unsuccessful.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Hungary

With a decision issued on 22 May 2023, the European Council has granted Hungary a higher VAT registration threshold.

The taxable persons whose annual turnover is no higher than EUR 71,500 are not obligated to register for VAT.

The VAT registration threshold has increased from EUR 48,000.

This change will be applied only for a limited period of time, until 31 December 2024.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Italy

The updated version of the Italian VAT refund, VAT credit request form (IVA TR Richesta di rimborso o utilizzo in comensazione del credito IVA trimetriale) became mandatory in May 2023.

From 1 April 2023, applications for VAT refund / VAT credit by Italian VAT registered companies can be made on the latest version of form IVA TR.

From 3 May 2023, the use of the new version became mandatory.

The previous version could be used until 2 May 2023.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Lithuania

On 2 May 2023, the Lithuanian tax authority published updated guidance in relation to, “How to complete VAT Return FR0600”.

The procedure for submitting and completing the VAT declaration for the tax period (form FR0600, hereinafter – the VAT declaration) is illustrated by examples referring to reporting periods 2023 reflecting the latest regulative changes.

The Guidance covers basic and specific questions on the technicalities around complying with the filing obligations such as:

• What are the deadlines for submitting the VAT declaration for the tax period;
• In which fields the taxable value of the goods and services provided during the tax period and the sales VAT amounts calculated from it must be entered;
• How the purchase VAT amounts of the purchased (imported) goods (services) and the purchase VAT deduction must be declared during the tax period; and
• How the amount of VAT payable to the budget (refundable from the budget) should be calculated.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Malta

On 4 April 2023, the Maltese 2023 Budget Act (Act No. XII of 2023 An Act to implement Budget Measures for the Financial Year 2023 and other administrative measures) was enacted.

The VAT related measures/changes include:

• VIES – there will be an increase of penalty for late submission of the range of EUR 50 – EUR 600 for every month or part thereof from the due date to submit; and
• Tax office requests for information – legal obligation to respond, penalty of the range specified above in case of delayed response

On 4 May 2023, the Maltese tax authorities published Implementing Guidelines for the Increase in the Administrative Penalty for late filing of Recapitulative Statements, providing practical guidance on the application of the legislation.

The Guidelines allow a one-time concession on the imposition of administrative penalties on the late filing of recapitulative statements in so far as any recapitulative statements due to be filed by or before 15 September 2023.

Any late submissions of recapitulative statements after the lapse of that date shall incur administrative penalties as follows:

• EUR 10 – EUR 120 monthly – statements that had been due to be filed before 4 April 2023; and
• EUR 50 – EUR 600 monthly – statements due to be filed after 4 April 2023.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Poland

Law on Central Electronic System of Payment Information (CESOP)

On 11 May 11 2023, the Senate adopted the Act of April 14, 2023 amending the Act on tax on goods and services and certain other acts. (Sejm reference no. 3030, no. 3030, 3095, 3095-A; Senate reference no. 956, 956 A) without amendments.

This Act implements Council Directive (EU) 2020/284 of 18 February 2020 amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the introduction of certain requirements for payment service providers (OJ L 62 of 02.03.2020, p. 7)

By this Act in the Polish law are implemented EU regulations on combating VAT fraud. The proposed solutions assume closer cooperation between tax administrations and payment service providers, i.e. banks or credit institutions.

The Act introduces regulations imposing on payment service providers located in Poland the obligation to keep quarterly records of cross-border payments and payment recipients. These records are to be made available electronically to the Head of the National Revenue Administration.

Purchase of a medical subscription is not entitled to deduct VAT

The Polish tax authorities confirmed with an individual interpretation that the costs for a medical subscription for the taxpayer and his family are not considered related to economic activity.

Therefore, VAT on such invoices is not deductible.

SLIM VAT 3 Package

On 11 May 2023, the Draft Act introducing further solutions to simplify and speed up VAT settlements – the so-called Slim VAT package 3 was discussed on the session of the Senate.

The Senate supported the proposal for amendments made by the Budget and Public Finance Committee on this matter made following a meeting held on 9 May 2023 (paper no. 957 A). 

On 26 May 2023, the Sejm adopted the Act accepting part of the proposed amendments.

On 29 May 2023, the Act was submitted to the President for signature.

SLIM VAT 3 is expected to come into force on 1 July 2023.

VAT Groups

The Polish Ministry of Finance “Tax clarifications regarding VAT groups” published on 11 October 2022 referred to a new requirement to be introduced upon adoption of the VAT Groups in 2023 – VAT group members to keep separate their records of transactions made among themselves in electronic form.

Within the period January – June 2023 keeping these records was optional.

From 1 July 2023, it becomes mandatory and the respective records should be sent to the tax office, by means of electronic communication, for monthly periods, by the 25^th day of the month following each subsequent month.

The structure of the dedicated reporting form JPK_GV(1)  was subject to a public consultation – in the period 30 December 2022 – 13 January 2023.

A public consultation on a Draft Ordinance of the Minister of Finance on the records kept by members of the VAT group took place from 30 December 2022 – 5 January 2023.

To allow taxpayers to prepare for the new reporting requirement in March 2023 the Polish tax administration published a working logical structure of JPK_GV(1) and respective data file specifications.

The Ordinance of the Minister of Finance dated 30 March 2023 on the records kept by members of a VAT group was published in the Polish Official Gazette on 18 April 2023.

According to the Ordinance, the mandatory records must include:

• Data on the supplies and respective documents reference number, date of issue;
• Details on the VAT Group member to whom the supplies were made; and
• Description of supplies type, date of supply, quantity unit and total price, total sum of receivables for supplies in the respective monthly period

There are further fields on which record keeping is optional.

The effective entry into force of the new reporting form is 1 July 2023.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Spain

On 18 April 2023, Orden HFP/387/2023 was published.

This regulative document modifies Order EHA/1658/2009, of June 12, which establishes the procedure and conditions for the direct debit of payment of certain Debts through accounts opened at credit institutions that provide the service of collaboration in the collection management of the State Tax Administration Agency.

In this way, direct debit is made possible, where the bank account is from within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA Area).

Before that direct debit was only possible for certain Spanish bank accounts.

As per the Ordinance, the direct debit from a foreign SEPA bank account would be possible from the following dates:

• “Regarding direct debits of deferrals and instalments: It will be applicable with respect to requests for deferral or instalment submitted to the State Tax Administration Agency on July 1, 2023 or on a later date”; and
• In the case of direct debits of self-assessments: It will be applicable with respect to those declarations or self-assessments presented before the State Tax Administration Agency on 1 February 2024 or on a later date.

The payment of the self-assessments that must be submitted to the State Tax Administration Agency between 1 July 2023 and 31 January 2024 may also be domiciled by taxpayers in accounts opened in non-collaborating entities, located in the SEPA area.

To do this, they must proceed as follows:

• Submit the self-assessment electronically through the electronic Office of the State Tax Administration Agency, with the option of “debt acknowledgment”; and
• Once the online submission of the self-assessment has been successfully completed in the above terms, they must submit a request for deferral or instalment of the instalment to be deposited, domiciling the payment of the instalments in an account opened at a credit institution located in the SEPA Zone and that it complies with the requirements established in point a) of article 2 of this order;

The change of regulations would result in simplifying the payment process for the taxpayers with SEPA bank accounts.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Canada

On 23 May 2023, the Tax Administration in British Columbia published Notice 2023-004.

The notice outlines the changes in Budget 2023 concerning the collection obligations of online marketplace facilitators and the taxation of online marketplace services.

Below are the most important points of Notice 2023-004:

• Taxable and Non-Taxable Services Sold by Online Marketplace Sellers
  • Effective 1 July 2023, online marketplace facilitators must collect PST from online marketplace sellers on online marketplace services whether the online marketplace seller is selling taxable or non-taxable services through the online marketplace. Prior to this amendment, online marketplace facilitators were required to charge online marketplace sellers PST on online marketplace services only if the online marketplace service was to facilitate the sale of taxable services. The amendment extends this to services that are non-taxable (for example, massage services)

• What Are Online Marketplace Services?
  • Effective 1 July 2023, online marketplace services are restricted to services in respect of sales and leases made on the marketplace facilitator’s online marketplace. For example, advertising purchased by an online marketplace seller for a line of business unrelated to goods sold on the online marketplace is not considered an online marketplace service effective 1 July 2023

• How PST Applies to Online Marketplace Services?
  • Effective July 1 2023, online marketplace services purchased by an online marketplace seller from an online marketplace facilitator are taxable in the following situations:
    • The online marketplace service is provided to goods and the goods are in B.C. at the time the service is provided to the goods
    • The online marketplace service is a service to store goods and the goods are stored in B.C.
    • The online marketplace service is in respect of accommodation located in B.C.
    • If the online marketplace service is not a service to goods, storage of goods or in respect of accommodation, then the service is taxable if the online marketplace seller is in B.C., except where the service is used wholly outside B.C.

• PST on Goods Sent From Outside Canada Into B.C.
  • Effective 1 July 1 2023, online marketplace facilitators are not required to collect PST on goods sent from outside Canada into B.C. regardless of whether the good is intended for personal or commercial use.

June 2023 VAT Updates in India

Reporting e-Invoices

On 6 May 2023, the GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) issued an advisory in relation to the time limit taxpayers must report their e-invoices.

The time limit was set to 7 days and this was proposed to come into effect on 1 May 2023.

This advisory will defer by 3 months the time limit on reporting old e-invoices on the IRP (Invoice Registration Portal) for taxpayers with an annual turnover equal to or greater than INR 1 billion.

The exact date of the implementation of the 7 day time limit should be announced soon.

B2B e-Invoicing

On 10 May 2023, CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) issued a notification that confirmed businesses with an annual turnover of INR 50 million or more will need to issue B2B e-invoices for transactions beginning 1 August 2023.

This is a mandatory requirement.

At present, the mandatory issuance of B2B e-invoices applies to businesses with a turnover of INR 100 million.

If the turnover of a business exceeds the INR 50 million limit for the last 5 years (financial years 2017-2022) there will be a mandatory requirement to generate e-invoices from 1 August 2023.

June 2023 VAT Updates in the Philippines

From January 2023, VAT-registered taxpayers are no longer required to file the Monthly VAT Declaration (BIR Form No. 2550M) but instead file the corresponding Quarterly VAT Return (BIR Form No. 2550Q).

Some taxpayers requested that they be allowed to file their VAT returns and pay the corresponding VAT on a monthly basis.

As an answer to this, on 10 May 2023, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) published Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 52-2023 allowing VAT registered persons to choose to file their VAT returns and pay the corresponding VAT liabilities on a monthly basis if they deem so convenient, but they are still required to file the quarterly VAT return and pay the corresponding VAT liabilities as mandated under the Tax Code.

If the VAT-registered person chooses to switch from monthly to quarterly filing or vice versa no penalties shall arise.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Saudi Arabia

Electronic submission of VAT refunds in Saudi Arabia is a 2 step process.

1. Register as VAT eligible person
2. Submit VAT refund claim

At this stage, only Step 1 was actually developed.

Recently in the ZATCA portal, the functionality of Step 2 has become a visible option – this is only for 2022 claims.

The taxpayer first needs to login to their account and inside the account, Step 2 should be visible.

June 2023 VAT Updates in Thailand

On 9 January 2023, the Revenue Department published Announcements regarding VAT (No. 247, 248 and 249) effective from the date of publication onwards.

All electronically issued documents should contain the sentence:

“This document is provided and submitted to the Revenue Department by electronic means”

“เอกสารนี้ได้จัดท าและส่งข้อมูลให้แก่กรมสรรพากรด้วยวิธีการทางอิเล็กทรอนิกส์”

In order for the document to be recognized as electronically issued it must be signed with an electronic signature using an electronic certificate.

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