Coronavirus (Covid19) – Support measures regarding VAT for businesses in the EU

The payment of VAT can be postponed until 30 September 2020 or a payment in instalments can be set up until 30 September 2020.              

Cancellation of penalties for VAT paid late can be requested.

The deadline for filing the annual VAT return 2019 is postponed to 31 August 2020.

Until 31 August 2020 interest for late returns not submitted on time will not be charged.

Because of Covid19 , Belgium had taken measures to postpone VAT declarations and payments for the months of March and April 2020.

The Belgian tax administration has announced the return to the usual deadlines for the filing of the declaration and payment of VAT for the month of May 2020.

Therefore :
– the VAT return for May 2020 must be filed by 20 June 2020 at the latest.
– the payment of VAT due for May 2020 must be made no later than 20 June 2020
– the filing of the EC Sales List for May 2020 must be filed by 20 June 2020 at the latest

Taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 situation (nationals and non-residents registered for VAT purposes in Croatia) who had a turnover of up to HRK 7,500,000 (€ 1,000,000) in 2019 are entitled to defer VAT may submit a request for deferral of VAT payment under the following circumstances:

– On the day the application is submitted all tax returns must be filed and all payment obligations must be settled
– Clients must prove in the Application that they are unable to pay taxes by either writing the data on the previous month’s drop in turnover compared to the same month in the previous year, or substantially explain why they expect a drop in turnover in the next three months.               
If the request is justified, VAT obligation due in time of special circumstances by 20.06.2020 will be delayed by 3 months. By accepting the Application, it remains the companies obligation to file all tax returns within the deadlines

The right to defer VAT liabilities cannot be achieved for February VAT, which was submitted by 20.03. and which is due by 31.03.

For large companies (turnover over DKK 50 million): VAT payment deadlines are deferred by 15 days for July settlement and 7 days for August settlement.

For SME’s: SMEs can combine the VAT due for the third and fourth quarter together and postpone the payment of the total amount until 1 March 2021.

VAT returns, intrastat returns and VAT payments must always be made within the usual deadlines.

However, for the only companies that have experienced a drop in their turnover due to the Covid-19 crisis and are unable to gather all the documents required to draw up their VAT return. The administration admits, on an exceptional basis and for the duration of the containment decided by the authorities, that they may submit their declarations for the months of March and April 2020 by paying a flat-rate VAT deposit, calculated on the basis of the amount of tax declared for the previous month(s), under the following conditions:

– for the March declaration (subscribed in April), the businesses concerned may pay a flat-rate advance equal to 80% (or 50% for businesses which have closed down completely since mid-March or whose activity is estimated to have fallen sharply by 50% or more) of the amount declared for February (paid in March) or, if they have already made use of an advance payment the previous month (February), a flat-rate advance equal to 80% (or 50%) of the amount declared for January (paid in February) ;

– for the April declaration (subscribed in May), VAT declaration and payment procedures identical to those used for the month of March will be granted if the confinement period is extended and makes it impossible to declare a regularisation declaration on that date.

The system is extended to the May declaration (suscribed in June).

As of the June declaration (suscribed in July), businesses will have to regularise the VAT actually due on the basis of the actual elements derived from the activity over the previous months.

Warning: in order to benefit from the measures, businesses must be able to provide proof:
1. a significant drop in turnover due to Covid-19
2. and the objective impossibility of collecting the necessary elements

Due to the crisis related to Covid-19, the administration grants, upon request, delays in the payment of VAT. This measure is aimed at all VAT taxable persons who are exposed to financial difficulties directly related to the Covid-19 crisis.

Update of 13 May 2020: Considering the progressive lifting of lockdown restrictions of the national economy, the administrative tolerance with regard to VAT declarations is revoked. The deadlines for the submission of intrastat declarations have been extended as follows:

– February 2020: April 24, 2020
– March 2020: May 15, 2020
– April 2020: 08 June 2020
– May 2020: June 30, 2020
– June 2020: 22 July 2020

VAT returns and VAT payments must be made within the usual deadlines.

However, businesses infinancial difficulties due to the pandemic may request payment delays or payment instalmentswithout penalty.

The deadline for the submission of intrastat declarations for March 2020 is extended until 20 April2020.

The entry into force of the new SAF-T JPK VAT file is postponed to 1 october 2020.

These measures also apply to non-resident businesses.

The filing of the annual declaration 2019 is postponed to 15 september 2020.

For companies subject to the monthly declaration regime :
– the filing of the VAT return for the month of May 2020 is postponed to 17 July 2020 and the payment of VAT is postponed to 25 July 2020.
– the filing of the VAT return for June 2020 is postponed to 17 August 2020 and the payment of VAT is postponed to 25 August 2020

For companies subject to the quarterly declaration system, the filing of the VAT return for the 2nd quarter of 2020 is postponed until 22 August 2020 and the payment of VAT is postponed until 25 August 2020.

The filing of the VAT return for the first quarter of 2020, which was normally due on 20 April, is automatically postponed until 20 May.    

Please note that this measure only applies to companies (resident and non-resident) whose 2019 turnover in Spain was less than 600,000 euros.

VAT returns must be filed within the usual time limits.

However, VAT payments for periods february to April 2020 can be postponed until March 31, 2021 without penalties or interest on late payments. This deferral is automatic and also applies to non-residents.