Hungary: The Hungarian legislator has introduced a new reporting obligation to reduce VAT fraud.
Taxable persons who carry out the first domestic taxable sale of goods to a person (not an end consumer), an intra-Community acquisition or transfer of goods with another purpose from another EU member state to Hungary or sale of goods or transfer of goods with another purpose from Hungary to another EU country, are subject to a new obligation in Hungary as of 1 January 2015 for goods transported by truck. The aim of the new obligation is to reduce VAT fraud. Taxable persons are only subject to the obligation if the goods are transported by truck weighing more than 3.5 tons in total (subject to road toll). However, in the case of so called hazardous goods (e.g. vegetables, dairy products, clothing) reporting should be made irrespective of the weight of the truck. Except for special cases (e.g. military or emergency services trucks), an exemption applies only if the weight and value of the goods does not exceed 2500 kg or 2 million HUF, the thresholds being 200 kg / HUF 250 000 in the case of hazardous food, and 500 kg / HUF 1 million in the case of other hazardous goods. Reporting must be made either before the start of transportation or before the start of loading the truck, depending on the direction of the transportation. In the case of hazardous goods, the taxable person must also provide security in general. Reports can be made on a designated homepage (https ://www.ekaer.nav.gov.hu). Once individual reports are received, the tax office (NAV) issues an EKAER number for the goods transported, which is valid for 15 days. The EKAER number should be communicated to the carrier. The NAV can only check compliance with the reporting obligation and thus the goods themselves based on this EKAER number. Modification of data reported is only possible to a very limited extent and within a certain period. Transportation without an EKAER number or defective, deficient reporting can result in serious consequences. In this case, the NAV can impose a default penalty up to 40% of the value of the goods and can also seize the goods. Although the obligation is in force as of 1 January, there are many open issues with respect to the new system (chain supply, bulk transportation). The NAV can only impose a default penalty after 1 February 2015. We hope for an answer to open issues by then.