The Recovery Package in the context of tax changes
Following the Government announcement on the Recovery Package, the related amendment to the tax regulations was published. Below we summarise a selection of the most important changes in this area.
Changes relating to customs guarantees for temporary storage and special customs procedures – VAT will no longer be secured
On 15 March 2019, the President of the Czech Republic signed an act amending certain tax laws (the “tax package”). The package includes the long-awaited amendment to the Customs Act providing guidance on securing customs debts relating to temporary storage and special customs procedures (except for the transit procedure). The news is that the customs authorities will no longer require that the customs guarantee covers VAT.
We assume that the amendment will be effective from 1 April 2019. The new legislation also covers situations in which goods will be released on behalf of VAT non-payers. Only if the importer is an “unreliable VAT payer” or an unreliable person the customs authorities will require import VAT being secured as it has been to date.
The existing authorisations for special procedures issued before 1 May 2016 (ie under the Community Customs Code) allowing for securing related customs debts in a reduced scope should be replaced by new authorisations in compliance with the Union Customs Code as of 1 May 2019. The amendment has been approved at the last minute for the customs authorities to issue new authorisations for holders of special procedures and temporary warehouse operators so that they are less burdened with the requirement for high customs guarantees.
The article is part of dReport – March 2019, Tax news; Grants and investment Incentives.
