NSS k podání kontrolního hlášení v nesprávné formě

SAC on the submission of an incorrect form of the VAT Ledger

In its judgment (5 Afs 281/2021 – 34), the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on the justification of a fine of CZK 50,000 for failure to file a VAT Ledger within the alternative deadline. The complainant had submitted the VAT Ledger, but had mistakenly attached a file for a different tax period. According to the tax administrator, the tax report for the required period was not submitted and he therefore imposed a penalty.

The complainant argued before the court that the VAT Ledger had been submitted, but that it had been submitted in the form of an incorrect file. As a result of the error, the VAT Ledger for January 2019 was resubmitted instead of submitting August 2019. The VAT Ledger was not marked as subsequent, so it should have been obvious to the tax authorities that it was a mistake.

According to the SAC, the tax administrator could not simply ignore the company's submission, as it must have had at least a prima facie doubt as to the meaning of the submission. The tax authority should therefore have asked the company to rectify the defect in the submission and to clarify whether it was in fact a corrective VAT Ledger for January 2019 or an incorrectly completed control report for August of the same year (the deadline for submission of which had expired one day earlier). According to the SAC, the Municipal Court in Prague also failed to stop this formalistic procedure of the tax administrator.

However, the SAC also adds that it would not be necessary to call on the company to remedy the defects in the submission if it was a deliberate, repeated or otherwise abusive practice (e.g. in order to prevent the timely detection of a fraudulent chain). The question is whether the SAC would be equally lenient if a similar mistake was made by a professional representing the taxpayer, such as a tax advisor, accountant or lawyer.

If you have any questions, please contact the authors of the article or other members of the EY team with whom you work.

Authors:

Jevgenija Bajzíková

Pavol Bezek