Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter RS) published Intervention Measures in the Fiscal Area Act (hereinafter Intervention law) in the Official Gazette of the RS on March 28, 2020. The Intervention law is intended to help to mitigate the negative consequences of COVID-19 epidemic on economy.
The Act includes temporary alterations in the area of taxation; however, in the field of Value Added Tax (hereinafter VAT) no special changes or novelties have been adopted thus far. This means that – as opposed to some countries that have temporarily deferred the submission of VAT returns and/or payment of VAT liabilities – the submission of VAT returns and VAT payment in RS must be completed within regular deadlines.
Nevertheless, taxable persons can still use the institute of deferral or payment of tax in instalments if they send an application to the Slovene Tax Authority.
Tax Procedure Act already includes a provision whereby a taxable person can apply for a tax deferral or payment in instalments which is, among other, also applicable for VAT payments. This provision is further expanded in the Intervention law and now also includes withholding tax and advance tax payments. It should be noted, however, that the institute cannot be used for social security contributions. The request should be sent using the Tax Authorities’ online platform eDavki or exceptionally via e-mail directly to Slovene Tax Authority, who decides on application within 8 days of the receipt of the complete form.
Taxable person may apply for a tax deferral of up to two years or pay tax liabilities in the maximum of 24 monthly instalments over a period of 24 months using one of the following options:
In accordance with the Intervention law a taxable person may apply for tax deferral or payment in instalments if the epidemic is affecting its ability to generate revenue. The decrease in revenues may be the result of the decree temporarily prohibiting the offering and selling of goods and services to consumers, loss of orders, termination of contracts with business partners, interrupted operation in foreign and domestic markets, disrupted or interrupted supply of raw materials, suspension of projects etc.
More information and the application (currently only available in Slovene language) are available here.
Pursuant to Tax Procedure Act, a taxable person may apply for a deferral or payment in instalments if it would suffer a serious economic damage as a result of permanent insolvency or loss of ability to generate revenue for reasons beyond the taxable person's control.
More information and the application are available here.
A taxable person may avoid the burden of proving serious economic damage by submitting a security instrument or allowing the lien to be entered in the appropriate register in accordance with the Tax Procedure Act.
More information and the application are available here.
The provision was also modified in the Intervention law insofar as the interest is not accrued for deferred or unpaid tax (including the default interest) if applied in accordance with the Intervention law and Tax Procedures Act.
Taxable person should be diligent to settle all instalments when they are due. If a taxable person fails to settle an instalment which is due for the duration of the measures under Intervention law, all outstanding instalments will be due in 3 months of the termination of the measures under this law. If a taxable person fails to settle an instalment due after the measures under Intervention law had been terminated, all outstanding instalments will expire on the day when the unpaid instalment was due.
It is suggested that companies review the possibilities of proof/supporting documentation which could be provided to the Tax Authorities along with the request form, as the type of application depends on the reasons for deferral or payment in instalments. Companies should also make a payment plan as in case of deferral of all tax liabilities to a certain time in the future may seriously impact their cash flow in that moment.
If you have additional questions or your company requires assistance with the application, feel free to contact our team of advisors.
This document (and all information accessed through the links in this document) is for informational purposes only and cannot be considered as legal advice. The facts stated therein may have changed since the date of publication. You should seek legal advice before taking any possible action.