Be ready for the electronic real-time invoice reporting

2018/29/01
The new legislation about online invoicing (also known as the “magic weapon” of NAV) is already in the testing period. Here are the most important pieces of information concerning the new obligation to be introduced in July 2018.

Although the newest regulation of NAV is still in its testing period, you have to start preparing for it, because all companies will be obliged to report the data of invoices with a VAT amount above 100.000 HUF in real time from July 2018.

Why the new regulation is needed

The new regulation means that it is obligatory for companies to electronically report the data of invoices with a VAT amount above 100.000 HUF in real time. The new rule applies to all invoices made by an invoicing programme as well as all other invoices that fall into the regulated category. This means that it is not compulsory to switch to e-invoicing, but to make automation easier, it is worth it to give it a thought.

The module built into the invoicing software must transfer the data automatically and in real time. However, the method of the transfer is not known yet; NAV are still working on the recipient side.

According to NAV, with this new regulation it will be easier to spot fictive companies, fraud (there are more opportunities for fraud because of the high VAT rate), and the so-called “invoice factories.” This means that the new system will optimise the state of the economy, because it would filter out those enterprises who cheat or are fictive. Trustworthy and fair-dealing companies would get a bigger market share, which would whiten the economy and help fair companies improve and stay in the competition.

NAV’s “magic weapon”

Given what was written above, it is understandable why the new obligation is called a “magic weapon.” NAV originally planned to introduce it in 2017, but it seems that it will only start in 2018. NAV is still working on the development of the system as well, but make sure that you are starting to prepare for the obligation already in the testing period.

The issues of the system

Introducing a new system brings along a number of questions for both the companies that produce the invoices and developers. It is not known yet how exactly you have to make the reports to NAV. The new format of data export that has to be used to report the data is different from the old version, so a lot of planning is needed from the side of developers, so that the data be in the right format for the report. Experts say that a minimum of half a year would be needed for development and testing (which may be even more important).

The other important question concerns those companies who use the invoicing programme of a big multinational enterprise. That is because if you want to build the new features into such a software, you need more time and resources - even more so because the programme will need to correspond to Hungarian legislation. So according to experts, there must be a testing period or at least a grace period until all enterprises can introduce the new module. NAV promised that they will provide all help that companies need to prepare for the new regulation.

How can Régens help?

Since the new regulation was announced, we have been working on the possible solutions. The requirements and standards of the system are still not known exactly, but we are trying to be prepared to every possible scenario. Our aim is to develop a system which automatically picks out and sends the invoices covered by the scope of the regulations (i.e. those with a VAT amount above 100.000 HUF) to NAV in the appropriate format.

The newest module (under development) of our own invoicing programme will be capable of automatic data export and data sending, which means that it will make work significantly easier at the companies which use the software. Also, we have considered those companies who do not use Régens’ programme: we are planning a solution that exports the data from the company’s own invoicing software, and forwards them automatically to the tax authorities based on the requirements of the regulation.

For more information do not hesitate to contact our consultant!

 

Zsuzsanna Kósz 

kosz.zsuzsa@regens.hu

 

Source: HVG, Portfólió, Piac és Profit