Ireland – standard VAT rate decrease effective from 1 September 2020
Following the same footpath as Germany, as part of the July 2020 Jobs Stimulus Plan the Irish government has introduced a temporary reduction of the standard VAT rate in Ireland from 23% down to 21%.
The new standard VAT rate of 21% came into force on 1 September 2020 and it will be applicable only for a six-month period until 28 February 2021.
The reduction in the standard VAT rate was implemented with a view to directly supporting businesses that were negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
Poland – replacement of VAT returns with new extended SAF-T files effective from 1 October 2020
We would like to remind our readers that, as per the flash news published in our July’s VATlife magazine, as of October 2020 companies registered for VAT in Poland will no longer be submitting VAT returns. The existing VAT returns and the current format of the SAF-T files will be replaced with a new expanded type of SAF-T file (JPK_VAT). Apart from some editorial changes to the format, in which the existing information should be presenting moving forward, as part of the new expanded SAF-T file companies will be required to report certain details, which has never been reportable to the Polish tax authorities to date, either within the VAT returns or the previous type of SAT-T files, for example a document type, goods and services codes or certain procedures indicators.
Please contact Essentia should you wish us to review your existing Polish VAT reports with a view of adjusting them to the new expanded SAF-T file reporting requirements.
Portugal – catching up with ‘quick fixes’
On the 24th of August 2020 Portugal has officially implemented into its national VAT legislation the provisions of the three out of four so -called ‘2020 VAT quick fixes’ making those provisions retroactive in effect back to 1 January 2020 (which is the deadline, by which all EU Member States were meant to incorporate the quick fixes provisions into their local VAT law).
The provisions implemented now into the Portuguese VAT legislation deal with:
- the simplification measure for call-off stock transactions;
- the rules concerning determination of the intra-EU transport to be assigned within the chain transactions; and
- making the EU customer’s valid VAT number being a substantive condition for the application of the VAT exemption for intra-Community deliveries of goods.
Due to the fact that the fourth quick fix concerning the proof of transport to support the VAT exemption for intra-Community deliveries of good did not have to be officially transposed into the national legislation due to the fact that the provisions of the Council Implementing Regulations, which were dealing with this issue, are directly applicable in all EU Member States.
This story was originally posted on VAT Life, Quipsound’s quarterly newsletter in association with Essentia Global Services. Click here to see the story and more on VAT Life.