New Obligation to Register Bank Accounts with the Tax Office - Slovakia

The Slovakian government has decided to introduce an additional tax-related requirement for all VAT registered payers in order to decrease VAT fraud.

As of 1 January 2022, taxpayers registered for VAT purposes must report to the tax authorities their bank accounts used for business (including foreign bank accounts). Taxpayers must also notify the tax office of the bank account number if it is a newly established bank account (without delay in this matter). If an entrepreneur becomes a new VAT payer, they are obliged to notify the tax office of their account number on the date of registration as a VAT payer. 

This solution works similarly to the Polish white list. Further details of the Slovakian “white list” can be found here.

The tax office will publish the VAT payer's account numbers on its website, and the list will be available to the public. 

The lists of bank accounts on the website will be updated regularly. The first list should be published on 1 January 2022.

The most important thing is that all payments must be made to the bank accounts stated on the white list. If not (for example, if a customer pays invoices to a bank account not on the list), they will be liable for the payment of VAT jointly and severally with the supplier (VAT payer).
 

VAT liability can also be applied if the payment for the delivered goods or services is paid into a bank account published in the list of bank accounts, but it is not the supplier's bank account.

The aim of VAT liability is to motivate customers to pay invoices only to those bank account numbers that have been reported to the tax office.

Apart from paying to the bank accounts reported to tax authorities, another possibility which allows customers to avoid VAT liability is paying to the supplier an invoice without VAT (the split payment method). In this case, VAT is paid directly into the account of the tax authorities. The supplier receives payment for the goods or service (net amount), and the tax office receives VAT directly. The supplier no longer has to pay VAT. Obviously, split payment also has significant disadvantages, especially when we take into consideration cash flow, and it is more demanding from the technical perspective.

For non-compliance with the reporting obligation, or for providing incorrect, false or incomplete data, the tax office will be able to fine the VAT payer between EUR 30 and EUR 3 000.

There’s more you should know about e-invoicing in Slovakia – visit our dedicated website and stay up to date with the new and upcoming regulations.