Tax Amendment Act 2023

The Austrian Tax Amendment Act 2023 was published in the official gazette, including several tax reforms. Concerning indirect taxes, the VAT Act was amended to, under certain conditions, not require the correction of business-to-customer (B2C) invoices where the taxpayer wrongly overcharged VAT.

Extension of VAT Filing Deadlines

Belgium has extended the submission deadlines for the periodic VAT returns related to the 2023 summer holiday period. In particular, the July 2023 VAT return and EC Sales List must be both submitted until 8 September 2023 (instead of August 21). Nevertheless, the payment deadlines have remained unchanged.

Changes to VAT Regulations Gazetted

The implementation rules of the VAT Act were amended in Bulgaria, including namely changes to the VAT bad debt relief rules and to the required proof for zero-rated supplies.

Interest on VAT Underpayments

As from 1 July 2023, the tax authority may levy monthly interests at a 0.7% rate on VAT underpayments and corrections leading to additional VAT due.

New Measures to Fight VAT Fraud Gazetted

The bill concerning the new tax measures aiming to reduce VAT fraud has been approved and gazetted. The respective measures include, notably:

• Implementation of the EU reporting obligation for payment services on cross-border payments (from 1 January 2024);
• Introduction of the reverse charge mechanism for VAT on telecommunications services; and
• Introduction of a new annual reporting obligation applicable to all VAT-registered businesses to provide information regarding activities that allow for partial VAT deduction.

Increase of VAT Rates

Amendments to the tax legislation have been signed by the President. Concerning the indirect taxes, the changes include notably:

• Increase of the standard VAT rate from 20 to 22%, as from 1 January 2024
• Increase of the VAT rate on accommodation services from 9 to 13% and on published newspapers and magazines from 5 to 9%, both with effect from 1 January 2025

Postponement of Mandatory E-Invoicing and E-Reporting

France has announced the postponement of the implementation date of mandatory e-invoicing and e-reporting, initially scheduled for 1 July 2024. New implementation dates are expected to be determined as part of Finance Act for 2024.

Extension of the VAT Exemption Procedure on Certain Fashion-Related Products

As from 21 July 2023, the VAT exemption procedure was extended to apply to supplies of certain fashion-related goods (i.e., classified under chapters 42 and 61 to 64 of the EU regulation 2658/1987) placed under the special regime of refinement for re-importation.

Directive on VAT Data Reporting Obligation for Payment Service Providers Adopted

The Council Directive (EU) 2020/284 of 18 February 2020, amending Directive 2006/112/EC, which introduced certain reporting requirements for payment service providers has been implemented by Latvia.

Therefore, as from 1 January 2024, the payment service provider must report certain payment data in case of providing payment services corresponding to more than 25 cross-border payments to the same payee in a quarter.

Proposal: Reduced VAT Rate on Catering and Takeaway Services

A proposal was submitted to permanently apply the temporary reduced VAT rate of 9% to catering and takeaway services provided by restaurants, cafes, and similar establishments (excluding alcoholic beverages and related services).

The reduced VAT rate is currently in force only until 31 December 2023.

Directive on VAT Scheme for Small Businesses Adopted

The directive on the special VAT scheme for small businesses has been implemented by the Netherlands, and the respective bill will be in force as from 1 January 2025.

VAT Package Enacted

The SLIM (“simple, local and modern”) 3 package was enacted, and the respective provisions (in general) are in effect since 1 July 2023.

This new package introduced several changes to the VAT regulations in Poland, notably to the threshold to qualify as small taxable person (increased to EUR 2 million), simplification of the requirements related to intra-community transactions (reporting and documents), clarification of the exchange rate to be used to convert foreign amounts in corrective documents, and changes to the pro-rata VAT deduction rules.

Extension of the Temporary Reduction of VAT Rates on Certain Food Products

Spain has extended until 31 December 2023 the application of a zero VAT rate on certain essential food products and a 5% VAT rate to oil and past products.