Registration and Refund Rules for Excise Duties

The Bulgarian government has recently gazetted a legislation simplifying the registration and refund rules for Excise Duties, such as updated refund procedure rules and introduction of rules for registration of persons that dispatch or receive excise goods that are released for consumption in the EU.

Enactment Amending Finance Law for 2022

The French government has enacted the Amending Finance Law for 2022 and, therefore, confirmed the provisions of Ordinance 2021-1190 of 15 September 2021 relating to e-invoicing and e-reporting for VAT purposes that will be into force between 1 July 2024 and 1 January 2026.

VAT Treatment of Subsidies and Input VAT Deduction Rules

The Greek tax authorities have provided clarification about the VAT treatment of subsidies and respective input VAT deduction rules. Among others, the following were provided:

• Subsidies directly connected to the price, that represent total or partial consideration for the goods or services provided and are paid to the respective supplier by a third party, are included in the taxable amount
• The deduction of input VAT is provided to the extent that the respective goods and services purchased are used to perform taxable transactions
• The input VAT incurred to carry out transactions exempted without the right to deduct VAT and transactions outside the scope of VAT, is not deductible

Tax Simplification Measures

With the aim to reduce the administrative burden on taxpayers and improve tax collection, the Italian parliament has enacted, among other measures, the extension until 31 December 2026 of the application of the reverse charge mechanism with respect to certain supplies susceptible to VAT fraud (i.e., terminal equipment for public land mobile telecommunication services, supply of game consoles, tablet PCs and laptops, etc.).

Import of Defence Goods

The Romanian government has gazetted a new law establishing, as from 1 August 2022, that the date on which the VAT becomes chargeable on import of goods to ensure the protection of the national defence interests of Romania can be delayed by 30 days.

VAT Exemptions on Deliveries to EU Armed Forces

Instructions were published in Romania concerning the application of VAT exemptions for deliveries of goods and services to the EU armed forces.

Ordinarily, these VAT exemptions are direct (applied by the supplier), based on a specific certificate. However, when such is not applied or applicable, an indirect exemption may still be requested.