Our customers often ask us if transfer pricing adjustments affect VAT. This is an issue that remains unresolved by the VAT directive, the Latvian VAT Act, the Cabinet of Ministers’ rules, or guidelines issued by the State Revenue Service (SRS). Even the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has never dealt with this issue in its rulings. This article explores an opinion expressed by the European Commission’s VAT committee.
As the war in Ukraine goes on, many companies have unselfishly donated to Ukrainian residents and to Ukrainian refugees having crossed the EU border. Does the current tax regime encourage donations? And how has the Latvian government responded to the present situation?
On 20 January 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on C-90/20 (Apcoa Parking Danmark A/S) regarding the VAT treatment of a fee the operator of car parks located on private land charges any motorist who breaks the parking terms and conditions. This article explores the CJEU’s findings and their practical implications.
Latvia is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions. One of the objectives is to cut emissions from road vehicles. This can be done by minimising the overall use of transport and by encouraging the use of vehicles with low or zero CO2 emissions. This article explores what incentives are available for buying and using electric vehicles (EVs) in Latvia and other member states.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has examined a question that often faces Latvian taxable persons. May an excessive price of advertising services and the fact that they are not clearly necessary for the company’s business give the tax authority grounds for denying a deduction of input tax on the advertising expenses? This article explores the court findings and their practical implications.
Drafted by the Budgetary and Fiscal Committee, endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers and passed by Parliament, amendments to the VAT Act are waiting to be announced by the President of Latvia. The amendments are mainly related to changes in other pieces of legislation or meant to take over several VAT directives amending Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax. This article explores what we see as key amendments.
When goods are supplied to a person in another member state, one might wonder how VAT should be properly applied if the customer has not presented his VAT registration number, yet he is known to be a trader. Is this an intra-Community distance sale or an intra-Community supply of goods? Since the VAT treatment varies, it is important to understand the features of each transaction.
The surge of online trading has more and more businesses not only selling their own goods but promoting sales of third-party goods through various electronic interfaces (e.g. marketplaces, platforms or portals). Under amendments to the VAT rules effective from 1 July 2021, in certain cases interfaces promoting third-party supplies are responsible for collecting VAT instead of the seller. This article explores cases in which the taxable person (interface) is considered to have acquired the goods and sold them on, becoming a deemed supplier.
As opportunities for digitalisation evolve, more and more companies are interested in supplying and acquiring services remotely over the internet. For example, ads are placed in news portals and e-mails. All that virtual data has to be stored somewhere, new apps are being created for customer authorisations and payments, and various other services are supplied with the help of information technology. Which of those services qualify as supplied electronically? What difficulties tend to arise in applying VAT on such services?
On 12 October 2021 the Cabinet of Ministers debated and endorsed “Adopting a System of Electronic Flow of Supporting Documents and Waybills,” an informational report prepared by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) that mandates the use of electronic supporting documents and e-invoices by 2025. E-invoicing will be mandatory between businesses (B2B) and between businesses and government agencies (B2G).
On 9 September 2021 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on a dispute over the tax authority’s right to refuse a VAT refund if the taxable person fails to duly submit documents the authority has requested to prove the person’s refund claim is valid. This article explores CJEU findings and Latvian case law.
Debt assignments are widely used in business. A debt assignment allows the company to turn its trade receivables into working capital. The sale (assignment) of a debt is increasingly taken to mean the transfer of a debt arising from consumer credit to licensed debt recovery service providers in order to recover the debt out of court. In practice, debt assignment has a wide range of uses – it is also used by lenders that take the original creditor’s place, including individuals investing in lending platforms.
The VAT treatment of debt assignments is not straightforward and may vary according to the characteristics of each assignment. It is also a misconception that debt assignments do not require an evaluation of their VAT treatment. This article explores how debt assignments are treated for VAT purposes.
The Public Benefit Organisations (PBO) Act defines a donation but the concept of sponsoring remains undefined. In practice, companies that sponsor events organised by PBOs might wonder whether sponsoring has the same tax treatment as a donation. This article explores the tax implications of sponsoring PBOs.
The year 2021 and the current macroeconomic cycle have brought a number of adjustments and uncertainty about the future to households (private consumers), businesses of various sizes, and policymakers. Covid-19 and related paradigm changes, the risk of recurrent pandemic, disrupted logistics and supply chains, and other factors create substantial risks affecting companies’ ability to stay in business and grow. This article explores common causes of financial distress and debt restructuring tools, including how companies can reach an agreement with the State Revenue Service on paying taxes.
On 21 May 2019 we informed MindLink.lv readers about Ruling C-235/18 Vega International issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on VAT treatment where a company provides its subsidiaries registered for VAT in various EU member states with fuel cards for various fuel suppliers and arranges payments between those subsidiaries (the actual consumers of fuel) and the actual suppliers. Based on this CJEU ruling, the Latvian State Revenue Service (SRS) has issued guidance on the VAT and excise treatment of fuel card transactions. This article explores their opinion on applying tax rules to fuel card transactions.
