To improve the collection of value added tax, a list of bank accounts of VAT payers will be introduced in Slovakia on 1 January 2022. By 30 November 2021, existing VAT payers have to report their bank accounts to the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic, who will publish the list of bank accounts on its website. Any taxpayer whose account does not appear on the list of bank accounts will not be repaid excess deductions or overpayments of VAT.
The introduction of the list of bank accounts is one of the most important elements of the proposed changes to the Slovakian Value Added Tax Act published in spring 2021 as part of the amendment to the Act on Tax Administration.
Reporting obligation
The amendment to the VAT Act prescribes that VAT payers registered as of 15 November 2021 must report their bank accounts to the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic by 30 November 2021.The bank accounts in question are domestic and foreign payment accounts used for business purposes, which are related to the subject of the tax under the VAT Act. The information relates to both banking and non-banking institutions.
From 15 November 2021, taxpayers must report this type of account immediately from the day the company becomes a taxpayer, or from the day the company sets up such a payment account.
The taxpayer is also obliged to report any additional information, that means any changes related to this payment account. For these purposes, the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic prepares a separate data form, which will be available on their website.
List of bank accounts
The registered payment accounts reported together with the identification data of the VAT payers will be added to the list of bank accounts of VAT payers published and regularly updated on the website of the Financial Administration from 1 January 2022.
If the reporting obligation is not fulfilled, and the taxpayer’s account does not appear on the list of bank accounts, the taxpayer will not be repaid any excess deductions or overpayments of VAT, and even a fine up to EUR 10,000 can be imposed.
New liability rules for deducted VAT
Effective from 1 January 2022, a new rule concerning value added tax liabilities is to be added to the VAT Act (Section 69 (14)). The aim of this new rule is to ensure payment of VAT tax liabilities correctly and on time. The amendment obliges each payer (customer) to verify if the supplier’s bank account is published on the list of bank accounts on the website of the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic, on the day the payment instruction is submitted.
In practice, this means that the person (customer) is liable for the VAT from the previous step, which the taxpayer has deducted in his VAT return, if the supplier did not fulfil its obligation to pay the VAT to the state budget and the customer paid the invoice to the supplier’s account that was not listed in the published report on the website of the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic.
If you want to know more about the details surrounding the introduction of list of bank accounts of VAT payers in Slovakia, we recommend you visit the website of Mandat Consulting, k.s. and contact the local WTS experts in Slovakia.