NAV President: the data reconciliation procedure further whitens the economy

He said: during the new data reconciliation procedure, the authority reveals its own risk data to businesses, which can also be considered a kind of free consultation. This procedure supports cooperative taxpayers who are fundamentally striving to comply with the rules and fulfill their tax obligations in order to eliminate and correct individual, minor errors – he said, adding that according to my experience so far, 90 percent of the companies concerned prepare new tax returns or use self-revision.

A compliance audit and tax audit will follow the data reconciliation procedure if the client does not resolve the discrepancies, he added.

The data reconciliation procedure can only take place if there is no intentional tax fraud, the NAV chairman emphasized. Where such a thing is detected, the authority will opt for a subsequent audit, and such companies will continue to be dealt with with strict measures.

According to his explanation, the tax authority continuously monitors the discrepancies between the returns and the control data available to the NAV. It would be a great step forward in this process if businesses were to receive real-time feedback on any discrepancies at the time of filing the return, but this would require significant IT developments, the implementation of which is included in the authority’s plans for the next one or two years.

The President of the Tax Authority noted that in addition to the high-risk sectors that have been under special surveillance so far, such as the construction industry, personal and property protection, and fruit and vegetable trade, the focus of their inspections will be on regular importers, sellers on foreign or domestic websites, and platform operators. He also included event organizers, those involved in tourism, catering, accommodation services, those operating in the beauty industry, and those engaged in activities subject to excise tax.

The tax authority may target, among others, those companies that have been operating on member loans for several years, have been continuously rolling over their previously incurred deductible VAT for years, or tend to submit zero-value returns, as well as those that do not issue invoices according to the data from the online invoice data service.