In its recent judgment (LVK-56 EOOD v. Bulgaria, C-643/11 –
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62011CJ0643:EN:HTML)
the ECJ held that in line with Article 203 of the VAT Directive suppliers must pay any VAT included in an invoice irrespective of whether there is an underlying taxable transaction.Read More »
Author: Michaela Merz
Russia with love
Russia always fascinated me. The diversity, literature, the ballet, theatre, the vastness, the soft melancholy and in particular the people. I love Russians. They have a big heart, are helpful, one can passionately discuss with them for hours politics, art and many other topics and they can always again surprise me. I admit that my Russian is a bit rusty. Read More »
Russia with Love
Russland hat mich schon immer fasziniert. Die Vielfalt, die Literatur, das Ballett, Theater, die Weite, die sanfte Wehmut und vor allem die Leute. Ich liebe Russen. Sie haben ein grosses Herz, sind hilfsbereit, man kann mit ihnen stundenlang leidenschaftlich über Politik, Kunst und etliche Themen diskutieren und sie können mich immer wieder überraschen. Read More »
Turkey – mandatory e-invoicing and e-bookkeeping as from 1 of September 2013
The scope of the optional e-invoicing arrangement that was first introduced in Turkey in 2010 has recently been extended and made mandatory to a group of taxpayers. These include companies that hold a mineral oil license, produce or import goods subject to Special Consumption Tax (similar to Excise Duty) and companies that already using e-invoicing when supplying goods or services to other businesses that benefit form the application.Read More »
Madonna/MDNA Show in the Letzigrund stadium
Four years ago I was at the Madonna concert in Dübendorf. After that I promised myself to never ever again spend any money on this woman. The area of the Dübendorf airport is suitable for planes landing but for a concert is seemed not suitable at all. Madonna’s concert back then was sterile, boring and I only wanted to do one thing, which was to go home. Madonna did not create any atmosphere. In comparison with the Robbie Williams concert in Bern, where the singer made the stadium boil by himself and without any effects, Madonna’s production back then failed.Read More »
Madonna/MDNA Show im Letzigrund
Vor 4 Jahren habe ich das Madonna Konzert in Dübendorf besucht. Danach habe ich mir geschworen, nie mehr wieder Geld für diese Frau auszugeben. Das Gelände des Flugplatzes in Dübendorf eignet sich für die Landung von Flugzeugen, für ein Konzert schien es damals völlig ungeeignet zu sein. Das damalige Konzert von Madonna war steril, langweilig und ich hatte nur einen Wunsch, nämlich nach Hause zu gehen. Stimmung hat Madonna nicht geschaffen. Read More »
Retirement
In the morning I had breakfast with Richard. The day before he was still employed and as of this day he is retired. The first day after a filled business life must feel funny. One does not receive emails, the phone only rings every now and then and the stress is gone. What shall one do all of a sudden?Read More »
Pensionierung
Ich habe heute Morgen mit Richard gefrühstückt. Gestern war er noch angestellt und ab heute ist er pensioniert. Der erste Tag nach einem ausgefüllten Geschäftsleben muss sich wahrscheinlich komisch anfühlen. Man bekommt keine Mails, das Telefon klingelt selten, der Stress ist weg. Was macht man plötzlich? Read More »
Czech Republic: Change of VAT rules
The Czech VAT changes that have been effective since 1 January 2013 also include new rules that result in more administration for businesses. As an anti-avoidance measure the new rules require businesses to check their suppliers’ bank account numbers.
If the VAT payment is not received from the account that was communicated to the tax authorities and customers made payments to a supplier account that is not known by the tax administration, the authorities can demand VAT payment from the customer. To avoid any negative consequences it is therefore key that you match the recipients’ bank account number with database of the authorities.
The database where the account numbers should be checked will be available on the website of the Czech authorities from 1 April 2013. (For those taxpayers that do not confirm their account numbers to the authorities by 28 February 2013, the bank account that was used for the initial VAT registration will be entered in the database.)
“Black List”
The tax administration will also publish a “Black List” of the unreliable VAT payers by the end of February. In the event that your supplier is on the list, it is possible to make the VAT payment directly to the tax authorities (instead of the supplier), but it is highly recommended to agree this with your supplier. In the event that VAT is paid by the customer and later also by the supplier, the excess payment will be credited to the supplier’s VAT account. The customer will not be able to reclaim this amount from the authorities, only from the supplier as a price adjustment.
Germany: new limitation in the application of deemed intra-community supplies transition period until 1 of March 2013
Based on the opinion of the German Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesfinanzministerium – BMF) the simplification rule is only applicable if the supplier transports the goods himself. In case the recipient organises the transport or the goods are transported by a third party freight forwarder, the simplification cannot be used. Germany has a simplification scheme in place which allows suppliers to treat the cross-border transaction as an intra-community transfer of own goods. In such a case, the supplier reports an intra-community supply in the EU member state of dispatch and an intra-community acquisition in Germany. The delivery to the recipient of the goods in Germany is treated as a domestic supply of goods and charged with local German VAT.
This simplification rule is very useful as the supplier has only a limited administrative effort. Furthermore, the VAT numbers of the recipients neither need to be requested nor verified on regular basis (which might be a huge administrative burden).
The new limitation of the use of the simplification will not generate more revenue for the tax authority but it will create lots of administrative work which could be easily avoided.
Michaela Merz 