Compliance Services

Mexico has been in the midst of some turbulent e-invoicing changes, the most notable being the transition to the CFDI 4.0. Kofax supports the CFDI 4.0 as part of our e-invoicing solution today. 

For specific transportation goods, the Mexican government also imposes further obligations on Mexican taxpayers, who are required to process the ‘Carta Porte’ as part of its CFDI. Kofax has successfully supported the Carta Porte since January 2022.  

Coinciding with the Carta Porte launch, the Mexican government initially afforded some concessions to Mexican taxpayers, allowing a grace period whereby taxpayers would not been sanctioned for missing or inaccurate information in the Carta Porte. This owes largely to the complexities associated with the Carta Porte and its relatively fast implementation.  

These concessions have now been extended to 31 December 2023. 

From 1 January 2024, penalties will come into effect, meaning taxpayers will need to ensure information contained within the Carta Porte is accurate and complete, to avoid sanctions. 

Serbia has published an updated version of its technical guidelines with respect to The Technical Guideline for the Administrative and Technical Overview of Functionalities (ESIR or L-PFR). 

The new updated version has been categorised as 1.15 and is accessible on the Official Serbian Tax Authority website.  

Despite 2022 being relatively muted with respect to e-invoicing developments in the country, Croatia has been significantly more vocal in its support for introducing Continuous Transaction Controls (CTCs) in 2023. CTCs serve as potent government measures which help to reduce VAT gaps, with the corollary of developing and automating wider fiscal procedures. 

Kofax has been monitoring developments in respect of the Croatian government’s ‘Fiscalisation 2.0’ project. Our recent post confirms the main goals associated with the project.  

To this effect, the government has recently issued an announcement regarding the initiative which can be accessed here (in Croatian only). Currently, the plan is very much in its infancy, but with significant developments expected over the coming months. 

With a tentative time period of 2024 confirmed for the roll-out, Kofax will keenly follow project developments and consider Kofax’s role within the wider project. 

Estonia has adopted the draft law to increase the standard VAT rate in the country from 20% to 22% from 1 January 2024.  

Estonia has also approved the following VAT rate changes, effective 1 January 2025:

• Accommodation VAT rate increase from 9% to 13% 
• VAT rate increase for press publications from 5% to 9% 

It is important to note that the 13% VAT rate approved for 1 January 2025 is a new VAT rate that does not currently exist in Estonia, with the 9% reduced VAT rate currently co-existing alongside the standard 20% VAT rate. 

Kofax will support the new VAT rate approved for 1 January 2025, but we will first turn our attention to supporting the new standard rate of 22% from 1 January 2024. 

Kofax will be in contact with impacted Estonian suppliers and buyers in Q3 with further details to facilitate the new VAT rate. 

Belgium’s e-invoicing and e-reporting plans formed part of wider tax reforms in the country, which included a potential VAT rate consolidation.  

Belgium’s planned wider tax reforms have, as of late collapsed, in part due to a degree of political instability in the country. This means that the envisaged plans to consolidate the reduced and super-reduced rates into a single 9% VAT rate have, for now, also halted.  

This in turn raises further questions about the timeline around Belgium’s B2B e-invoicing and e-reporting mandate. While the Belgian government has not communicated any official timelines, this potentially also places the July 2024 inception date in some doubt. 

Belgian is a critical and compliant market for Kofax. We are closely following the mandate implementation, with a view to categorically confirming when we can expect e-invoicing and e-reporting to commence in the country. 

Only a few weeks ago, Kofax’s recent post commented on the European Union’s draft proposal to authorise Romania to mandate B2B e-invoicing in the country.  

And e-invoicing advancements are developing swiftly. The Council of the European Union has now approved this request, authorising Romania to mandate B2B e-invoicing in the country. The timeframes for approval remain the same as previously communicated- i.e., from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026, or alternatively, when Digital Reporting Requirements for ViDA come into effect.  

The EU approval can be located via the link below: 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32023D1553 

The derogation approval represents a significant milestone for Romania’s e-invoicing trajectory. However, while Romania’s e-invoicing mandate is projected for 1 January 2024, this date is certainly not set in stone, and there are already tentative indications that this may be delayed. Kofax is closely monitoring e-invoicing developments in the country.  

Having reviewed its existing VAT rates, Romania is now considering the abolition of its 5% reduced VAT rate, with the Coalition government now set to debate the measure.  

The abolition of the 5% VAT rate may not provoke immediate changes in the Kofax system, if confirmed. Suppliers may need to raise credit or debit notes some time after a VAT rate ceases to be effective. Nevertheless, Kofax will monitor any confirmation in this respect. 

The Romanian government is also proposing that restaurant, catering and cultural services are increased from the 9% reduced VAT rate to 19%, the standard VAT rate in Romania. 

Romania is a compliant territory for Kofax, and our e-invoicing solution captures all valid VAT rates in the country. 

Kofax has been monitoring tax rate changes in The Czech Republic, which edge closer to the final approval stages to implement an upcoming VAT rate consolidation projected for January 2024. You can read more about the proposed changes here. 

In recent developments, the lower Czech house in Parliament has agreed to government proposals for the VAT rate consolidation, with the Bill now expected to proceed to the Upper House for review. 

Kofax is cognizant of the impending 1 January 2024 deadline. We are closely following the VAT rate change approval in the Czech Republic and will support the VAT rate change if and once confirmed. 

Portugal’s B2G Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) mandate has been subject to multiple revisions- and yet again, this has been delayed – to 31 December 2023, via Law Decree no. 54/2023. 

Current requirements in Portugal mandate that only large businesses have a requirement to issues e-invoices in the B2G e-invoicing environment. 

You can read more about B2G e-invoicing in Portugal on our dedicated country-specific page here.  

The Belgian Federal Government (FOD Finance) wants to facilitate data exchange between taxpayers and the FOD Finance via the use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). API connections hold obvious advantages: they reduce the frequency of logins, clicks and actions when navigating file management. Specifically, with reference to the FOD Finance, the benefits extend to: 

• Consulting documents from the FOD Finance directly from an accountancy software package  
• Submitting periodic VAT returns.  

For enablement, software package developers must link the FOD Finance APIs to their own software packages. 

Further information on the APIs can be located via the following website: 

https://financien.belgium.be/nl/E-services/apis-fod-financien