According to a statement dated 2 April from the State Secretariat for Tax and Financial Regulation of the Ministry of National Economy, reverse charging could have been applied to the sale of live pigs, half-carcasses and fodder.
However, the introduction of this measure is subject to approval by the European Union, and the European Commission rejected the Hungarian application for said approval on 19 March 2013. Accordingly, pursuant to a legal amendment published in Hungarian Gazette No. 54, the reverse VAT charging rules for the pig and fodder sector will not enter into force on 1 April 2013.
For these products, the vendor taxpayer must still charge VAT on sales, while the administrative obligations associated with reverse charging will not take effect either. The earlier legal amendment defined the products precisely, stating the customs tariff codes (e.g. full or half domestic pig carcasses, animal fodder, except for dog and cat food). Thus, contrary to the reverse charging applicable from 1 July 2012 for certain types of cereals, reverse taxation will not be introduced in this sector (the obvious purpose of reverse charging would have been to fight VAT fraud caused by the high VAT rate).
