Tax News, April 2024

In April edition of tax news, we inform you about the issued first batch of Informative tax calculations for year 2023, about the proposal for an amendment to the Act on Excise Duties, about the adopted Act on amendments to the Investment Promotion Act and about the revision of the European classification of the economic activities NACE and the national version SKD.

SLOVENIAN TAX AUTHORITIES ISSUED THE FIRST BATCH OF INFORMATIVE TAX CALCULATIONS FOR YEAR 2023 ON 29 MARCH 2024

The Informative tax calculation is assembled according to the information available to the Tax Authorities based on official records, data on the income and dependent family members, which were reported to the Tax Authorities by payers of the income and individuals during the year.

The individual must carefully review the Informative tax calculation. If the individual does not agree with the tax calculation or finds that the given data is incorrect or incomplete, he must file an objection against Informative tax calculation and submit it to the competent tax office that issued the calculation no later than 30 days (15 days from received Informative tax calculation which is considered as received after 15 days from the dispatch) from the date the calculation was issued. Deadline for submitting objection is 29 April 2024. If the individual agrees with the data included in the calculation and finds that it is correct, no further action is needed. In such case, after the expiry of the deadline for filing an objection, the Informative tax calculation is considered as their final Annual income tax assessment for tax year.

Deadline for additional tax payment is 29 May 2024. Refund of overpaid tax should be transferred by 29 May 2024.

Second batch of Informative tax calculations is planned to be issued at the end of May 2024.

PROPOSAL FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE ACT ON EXCISE DUTIES

In April, the Committee on Finance of National Assembly supported the proposal for an amendment to the Act on Excise Duties based on which excise duties on tobacco products will be increased.

With the new proposed amendment to the Act on Excise Duties, the excise duty on cigarettes will be increased by approximately three percent, on electronic cigarettes by 1.5 times and on tobacco for heating by a third. The amendment also further enhances the definition of tobacco products which will enable the excise duty treatment of any new products as well. In addition, proposal for amendment includes also introduction of control over facilities for the production of tobacco products and to strengthen control over unprocessed tobacco in order to prevent tax evasion. The proposal also stipulates an exemption from paying excise duty for energy-intensive companies in cases where these companies have green certificates. This should further encourage the efficient use of energy. 

ADOPTED ACT ON AMENDMENTS TO THE INVESTMENT PROMOTION ACT

On 28 March 2024, the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted an amendment to the Investment Promotion Act, which was reported in our February edition of tax news. As mentioned, branches of foreign companies based in EU Member States can also receive an incentive, while companies established in third countries must establish a company in Slovenia before receiving the incentive.

The incentive shall include regional aid, aid to small and medium-sized enterprises and aid for research, development and innovation. The investor may also submit an application for an investment incentive before having a company or branch of a foreign company registered in Slovenia, but it must be registered at the moment of payment of the incentive, at the latest. We should emphasize that the investment that received the incentive must be carried out within three years, exceptionally this does not apply in the event of a natural disaster or epidemic. In addition, the amendments to the act define sectors of investment for which support will not be possible, namely lignite, broadband, energy production and distribution, shipbuilding, and synthetic fibers industries. Based on the amendment to the act, it is also planned to adopt by-laws with technical characteristics in the upcoming weeks, which should be followed by the publication of tender calls for the incentive.

REVISION OF THE EUROPEAN CLASSIFICATION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES NACE AND THE NATIONAL VERSION SKD

Due to the development of economic activities and major changes in the structure of the European economy in 2019 the European Commission has started the process of updating the European classification of economic activities NACE. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/137, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 20 January 2023, replaces the current version of the European NACE Rev. 2 classification with the revised version NACE Rev. 2.1, which is intended to be more representative of current economic activities. The new classification is more granular and has 651 classes at the lowest level (currently 615 classes), clustered into 287 groups (currently 272 groups). The number of divisions, one level above groups, will be reduced to 87, one less than in the current classification. The areas, representing the highest level of division of activities, will now be 22, one more than now. The change will enter into force on 1 January 2025.

The Slovenian Classification of Activities (SKD) reproduces the NACE categories in full down to the 4th level (classes), supplemented by national subclasses at the 5th level. The Statistical Office of Slovenia has also updated the Slovenian subclasses in line with the changes to the European classification.

The most significant changes were in the area of retail trade and information and communication technology (ICT). The retail sector will no longer be divided according to the mode of distribution (in a shop, online, on a stall, in a market or through a vending machine). The area J - Information and communication activities will be split into two new areas, so that all areas after this one (from K onwards) have been shifted by one letter. Section 45 (motor vehicle sale and repair of motor vehicles) will now be divided into several activities: wholesale trade (section 46), retail trade (section 47) and repair and maintenance of computers, consumer goods, motor vehicles and motorcycles (section 95).