On 6 July 2021 Parliament amended the Taxes and Duties Act to give the State Revenue Service (“SRS”) the right to publish information on SRS decisions of public importance from 5 August 2021. This article explores the goals of the amendments and the nature of information the SRS will be allowed to publish.
The Import One-Stop Shop (“IOSS”), a special VAT scheme for distance sales of goods imported from third countries or third territories, will be implemented across the EU from 1 July 2021 as part of extensive amendments to the VAT rules for e-commerce companies. This article explores an intermediary’s obligations and liability under the IOSS.
Restrictions imposed to tackle the Covid-19 crisis have adversely affected many companies’ ability to carry on the sort of business they were able to do before the emergency situation was announced. It is not only their ability to make a profit that is restricted but also their ability to cover business costs. State aid for shopping malls and sports centres is awaiting approval from the European Commission this week. Both types of aid are to be granted and monitored by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA). An aid application is due by 31 May 2021 (unless the deadline is extended) so it has to be ready in a week’s time with a number of documents attached. LIAA will decide to grant aid by 30 September 2021 and check 15% of aid recipients on a random basis. This article explores key aspects of this aid.
The Cabinet of Ministers’ Rule No. 321 of 10 May 2005, The Amount, Collection, Refund, Allocation and Payment of the Levy on Blank Storage Media and Devices Usable for Reproduction, has been amended with effect from 14 April 2021. This article explores the goals and implications of the amendments.
The national legislation of certain member states, including Latvia, does not give a taxable person established in another member state the right to recover VAT as a taxable person registered in another member state if the person registers for Latvian VAT. This article explores some of the findings made in the Regional Administrative Court’s ruling of 28 January 2021 on case No. A420147918, which has now taken effect.
In last week’s edition of Flash News we outlined the VAT treatment of companies offering free meals to their workers during working hours as well as transport between home and work to ensure business continuity especially during the Covid-19 crisis. This article explores the personal and corporate income tax implications of this practice.
Both before and during the Covid-19 crisis, some companies have been providing their employees with free meals and transport between home and work for the sake of business continuity. This article explores the VAT implications of this practice.
As you may know, Latvian taxable persons can recover VAT paid on purchases in another member state under Council Directive 2008/9/EC, i.e. local VAT is refunded to taxable persons that are not established in the member state but are established in another. As Britain left the EU on 31 January 2020 with a period of transition to 31 December 2020, the single EU VAT refund procedure is no longer available to recover UK VAT after 1 January 2021. The single procedure can still be used to recover any UK VAT paid in 2020, but the filing deadline is almost upon us: 31 March 2021.
When employees are sent on business trips abroad, various online platforms are increasingly used for booking the necessary accommodation and transport services. A variety of other goods and services are also being ordered online from foreign vendors. Any documents received often fail to make it clear whether VAT has been charged on the supply and who is the other party (the platform or its customer). This article explores a few models commonly found across the EU from the buyer’s point of view.
On 20 January 2021 the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled on case C‑655/19 to determine whether a transaction, in which an individual sold properties he acquired as creditor through enforcement procedures after he had provided mortgages, is considered economic activity within the meaning of the VAT directive and attracts VAT. This article explores the CJEU’s findings.
To ensure systematic accounting for VAT and prevent evasion where a supply continues for a long time and the tax point is difficult to identify, the VAT Act lays down time limits for issuing a tax invoice and reporting VAT. But are those deadlines applicable to a supply between two Latvian-registered taxable persons where the customer is responsible for accounting for VAT (“local reverse charge”)?
Recent years have seen new players rapidly entering the financial services market: FinTech companies. The name itself suggests that these companies are operating where financial services meet technology. FinTech companies are promoting and developing the banking business and are themselves becoming an alternative to traditional banking. This article explores some key VAT issues facing FinTech companies.
In its ruling C‑787/18 (Sögård Fastigheter AB) of 26 November 2020 the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) looked into an obligation to adjust input tax on capital goods in a supply of real estate (“RE”) and which party is liable. This article explores some of the CJEU findings.
Does the land owner – a taxable person registered for Latvian VAT – have a right to demand payment of VAT in a forced lease of land? And should the amount of VAT be included in or paid on top of the rent? In this article we are looking for answers.
