Value Added Tax (VAT) is the main type of indirect taxation in Slovenia and in other European Union (EU) countries.
VAT is categorized as tax on consumption which is applied during the whole production and distribution process to most goods and services. Goods and services are taxed only to the value that was added during one particular phase which means that VAT for all previous phases was already deducted. One of the essential characteristics of VAT is to ensure neutrality between taxpayers as it avoids double taxation.
A business registered for the tax will charge VAT (output tax) on its sales, and incur VAT (input tax) on its purchases (including any VAT paid at importation). The difference between the output tax and the deductible input tax in each accounting period will be the amount of VAT payable by the business to the tax authority. Where the input tax exceeds the output tax, a refund can be claimed.
A transaction is within the scope of Slovenian VAT if the following conditions are met:
There are three rates of VAT that are applied to goods and services in Slovenia: the standard rate (22%), the reduced rate (9.5%) and the super-reduced rate (5%). In addition, some goods and services are exempted from the tax.
Businesses that make exempt supplies are unable to claim all of the input tax that they incur, so the VAT paid to suppliers will be a ‘real’ cost.
Goods imported into Slovenia from outside the EU are subject to VAT. The tax will have to be paid by the importer at the time of importation or, under certain conditions, through monthly VAT returns with reverse charge mechanism. Where the importation is for business purposes and the importer is registered for VAT, it may be possible to reclaim the tax (subject to certain rules).
A domestic taxable person who either makes or intends to make taxable supply of goods or services, which exceed €50,000 (€7,500 for agricultural activities) turnover in the period of twelve months, must register for VAT in Slovenia.
Small businesses can register on a voluntary basis even if the registration limit has not been exceeded, this registration is valid for a minimum period of five years. Foreign taxable person who makes supply to Slovenia is obliged to register for VAT in Slovenia prior to commencing any taxable activities in Slovenia, regardless of the fact that it may not exceed the prescribed turnover limit.
For these purposes, a taxable person is any kind of legal entity (body) which meets the following requirements:
Therefore, once a person is registered for VAT, all of his business activities will be covered by the registration – even if the nature of some of those activities is very different.
A penalty may be imposed by the Tax authority if a business fails to register for VAT at the correct time.
The VAT registration limit does not apply to businesses that are not established in Slovenia. Those businesses will need to register for VAT before they commence performing taxable transactions in Slovenia, irrespective of the level of turnover. Different registration requirements apply to businesses involved with B2C sales, e.g. online sales of goods and provision of electronic services (limit €10,000 or OSS scheme).
B2C supplies of telecommunications, radio and television broadcasting services, and/or electronically supplied services to customers in Slovenia are subject to Slovenian VAT (place of taxation is in Slovenia) if the threshold of EUR 10,000 of turnover with regard to services rendered to Slovene customers in the current and also previous calendar year is surpassed.
Nevertheless, from 1 July 2021 onwards, suppliers from other EU Member States and third countries and territories may opt-in to use EU and non-EU special schemes, respectively, to report provision of such services to Slovene customers, as Slovenia is fully aligned with European legislation.
For EU businesses registered for VAT in Slovenia no fiscal representative required. Non EU-businesses are required to appoint a fiscal representative.
The default tax return period in Slovenia is one calendar month. Businesses established in Slovenia with a previous years’ turnover of less than €210,000 per year may file quarterly returns. Regardless of the turnover businesses which carry out any intra-community transactions must submit a monthly return. Non-resident taxable persons and newly registered businesses must submit monthly returns.
No, if the return has been submitted before the tax office has started a tax inspection. Interest are due for late tax payments.
Businesses that are registered for VAT in Slovenia and make supplies of goods or services to traders registered for the tax in other EU countries are required to complete and submit EC
Sales Lists (RP form). The RP must show details of the recipients of the goods and services and is submitted on a monthly basis.
Generally, RP’s are only submitted for months in which there were supplies made to other EU countries, i.e. nil supplies do not have to be reported.
In addition, if the value of the intra-EU trade in goods dispatched or arriving from other EU is above an annual threshold, a supplementary declaration (referred to as an Intrastat declaration) has to be submitted for either or both. These declarations have to be submitted on a monthly basis.
Further to this, special report on local sales subject to reverse charge under Article 76.a of Slovene VAT Act needs to be submitted for construction work including repair, cleaning, maintenance, alteration and demolition services in relation to immovable property; supply of staff involved in the performance of construction work; supply of buildings or parts thereof, and of the land on which they stand, unless the supply is performed before the buildings or parts thereof are first occupied or used or if the supply is performed prior to the expiry of the two-year period from the commencement of the first use or first occupation and supply of land other than building land; supply of waste, residues and used material and services related thereto; and transfer of greenhouse gas emission rights as defined by the Act governing protection of the environment.
The special report must show details of the recipients of the goods and services and is submitted on a monthly basis. Generally, those special reports are only submitted for months in which such supplies were performed, i.e. nil supplies do not have to be reported.
Yes. A range of penalties can be imposed where businesses do not comply with the VAT rules.
Penalties and interest can be applied for errors and omissions made on tax returns, or where the tax is paid late. Penalties can also be applied where the business has failed to maintain adequate records, provide information (including additional declarations), or makes repeated mistakes.
Criminal proceedings may be brought in the case of more serious matters.
Yes, it may be possible to reclaim the VAT incurred in certain circumstances.
Two schemes exist, one for businesses established in the EU and another for businesses established elsewhere.
The EU cross border refund scheme is available in all EU Member States, and enables a business established in an EU country to recover VAT incurred in another Member State. To be eligible to make a claim, the claimant must be a taxable person established in an EU Member State other than the one from which the claim is to be sought. In addition, the claimant:
The amount that is refundable is determined by the deduction rules that apply in the country making the refund. The claim is submitted electronically to the Tax authority from whom the repayment is being sought.
The refund period must not cover more than one calendar year or less than three calendar months – unless it is covering the remainder of a calendar year. The claim has to be made by 30 September of the year following that in which the VAT was incurred.
Businesses established outside of the EU can, subject to certain conditions, also reclaim the VAT incurred on imports into Slovenia or purchases of goods and services used in Slovenia. The scheme is available to any person carrying on a business established in a third country ie outside the EU, provided that in the period of the claim:
The deadline for the submission of VAT refund request for businesses from third countries is 30 June in the year following the year to which the VAT refund request relates.
The deadline for the submission of VAT refund request for businesses from other EU countries is 30 September in the year following the year to which the VAT refund request relates. In this case the VAT refund request is submitted electronically via the VAT refund portal.
A VAT invoice must show:
VAT invoices can be issued, received and stored in electronic format and there is no need to tell the tax authority. Electronic invoices must contain the same information as paper invoices. The method used to ensure the authenticity of origin, the integrity of content and legibility of the invoices is a business choice and can be achieved by any business controls which create a reliable audit trail between an invoice and a supply of goods or services.
There are no current or anticipated Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T) or similar electronic/digital filing requirements, e.g. invoice listing data file/real-time VAT reporting.
For further information on indirect tax in Slovenia please contact:
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Vesna Radovanović Ahčin |
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