Information about application of Quick Fixes in the Czech Republic

As of 1 January 2020 an amendment to European Council Directive 2006/112/EC (the VAT Directive) came into force, introducing significant changes, particularly for intra-Community supplies of goods between Member States. The changes resulting from this amendment have been included in a bill that will amend the Czech VAT Act. The amendments to the Czech VAT Act have not been approved yet and we expect they won’t come into effect until 1 April 2020 or even 1 July 2020. But, until the amendments come into force, VAT payers in the Czech Republic can follow the EU Directive from 1 January 2020.

The proposed amendments to the Czech VAT Act introduced as a result of the amendment to the VAT Directive concern the following areas:

Delivery and acquisition of goods under the call-off stock regime;
Transport assignment for chain supplies within the EU;
Conditions for VAT exemptions related to the supply of goods to another Member State:
Reporting of the purchaser’s VAT number and the correct and timely submission of the recapitulative statement;
The (ir)refutable presumption of the proof of transport for purposes of exemption when goods are delivered to another Member State.

Direct effect of the VAT Directive

A VAT payer in the Czech Republic is entitled to proceed in accordance with the amendment to the VAT Directive, even if the national regulation is in conflict with the Directive. It should be noted, however, that proceeding in accordance with the Directive is an option, not an obligation. However, VAT payers likely will make use of this option, especially if they engage in intra-EU trade in goods.

Unlike Czech VAT payers, an employee at the tax office is not allowed to opt to simply directly apply the terms of the VAT Directive. Tax administrators must always follow the current wording of the national law.

New recapitulative statement form

One of the conditions for the application of the call-off stock regime under Article 17a of the VAT Directive is the obligation to submit a recapitulative statement that includes:

The VAT number of the buyer (without indicating the value of the goods that are relocated);
Two VAT numbers when there is a substitution of buyers;
A flag indicating when goods are returned.

The Czech Financial Administration has prepared an updated form of the recapitulative statement that will contain a separate sheet for the call-off stock regime. Using this new form allows Czech VAT payers to benefit from the direct effect of the VAT Directive. According to the published information, the amended recapitulative statement form will be available by 20 February 2020 at the latest.

Petr Linx
petr.linx@bdo.cz