New rules for submission of VAT returns

Ministerial Decision A. 1020/2024 was published on 06/02/24 enforcing the new rules for the submission of VAT returns as resulted from income transmitted to myDATA platform.

As myDATA reporting has been fully enforced since the 1st of January 2024, a new method has also evolved for the submission of VAT returns. In particular VAT return submission will be pre-filled with the income and expenses data as already uploaded to myDATA platformincluding their classification. Therefore a revenue and an expense rule are introduced, which mandate that revenues declared in the VAT cannot be less than those uploaded to myDATA platform. Moreover, expenses declared in the VAT return cannot exceed those uploaded to myDATA platform. However higher amounts of revenues and lower amounts of expenses can be reported without any limitation in the VAT return.

There is though a deviation limit is provided in relation to the above thresholds, which applies per tax period on the total revenues and expenses declared. The allowed deviation percentage is 30% on the revenues and 30% on the expenses per tax period, compared to the value of data transmitted to myDATA platform. The Decision also clarifies that transfers between different codes of the VAT return is allowed provided that the total value of revenues and expenses declared is not affected. Timing differences arising for the expenses are also possible. In the latter case, the timing differences will be settled either in the VAT returns of the following tax period or via filing of amending VAT returns in the period of reference but, in any case, within the fiscal year concerned.

Further guidance is also provided in cases of objective transmission difficulties or correlation discrepancies of the data pre-completed in the VAT return with those reported on myDATA platform. In such case, uploading of data under an alternative transmission method bearing special classification is provided, so as to bridge such uncorrelated differences in the VAT return of a relevant month.