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Despite the completeness of the list of mandatory details of the tax invoice provided in clause 201.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, tax officials in most cases …
The Tax Office Attempts to Further Interpret the Essence of the Tax Invoice
Despite the completeness of the list of mandatory details of the tax invoice provided in clause 201.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, tax officers in most cases, despite the norms provided by legislation, try to interpret them much more broadly and most often in their favor. Many assert that the tax invoice will always be the primary document and will always be a stumbling block in relations between taxpayers and tax authorities.
How should the details be filled in?
Tax inspection employees cannot decide which lettering to use when filling in the fields “Buyer’s Name” and “Seller’s Name”. According to clause 201.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, tax invoices should indicate “the full or abbreviated name as stated in the statutory documents of the legal entity or the surname, first name and patronymic of the individual registered as a payer of value added tax” — for both the buyer and the seller.
In letter No. 534/6/15-3115 of the main body of the State Tax Inspectorate dated 15.01.2013 it is stated that “in the fields ‘Buyer’s Name’ and ‘Seller’s Name’ of the tax invoice the name of the legal entity is indicated, corresponding to the name specified in the statutory documents of such an entity (including the exact letter case (capitalization) of that name)”.
Tax Credit Based on a Complaint
In a letter dated 16.01.2013 No. 721/6/15-3115 tax authorities remind: if the seller refuses to issue the buyer a properly issued tax invoice, the buyer, based on a complaint against the supplier, has the right to include the VAT amount on the purchase in the composition of the tax credit. Appendix 8 to the VAT return provides a form for a statement on the supplier’s refusal to provide a tax invoice (violation of the registration procedure in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices and/or violation of the filling procedure). It should be remembered that tax officers firmly maintain that such a statement must be submitted together with the VAT return for the reporting period in which the right to the tax credit arose. The 365-day period for inclusion in the VAT tax credit, as in the case of the tax invoice, in their opinion, does not apply here.
Copies of sales receipts and other documents that can confirm the receipt of services or goods, and which are drawn up in accordance with the Accounting Law, as well as documents that can confirm the payment of tax when purchasing services or goods, must necessarily be submitted together with the statement. In the case of filing the VAT return electronically, there is no specific requirement that these primary documents confirming the statement be submitted on the same day. The main thing is to submit them by the deadline for filing the VAT report for the month for which the company submits Appendix 8.
Electronic Tax Invoice
The tax invoice provided to the buyer (recipient) by the taxpayer and, at his request, sealed and signed by the authorized person of the payer in accordance with clause 201.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine must be provided in one of the following forms:
- in electronic form;
- in paper form.
Any electronic tax invoice, regardless of the amount and the nomenclature of the goods for which it is issued, must be registered in the ERNN.
When registering a tax invoice in the ERNN it is impossible to make changes to an already registered tax invoice. In that case the seller issues a new tax invoice with the correct data (complying with the prescriptions of clause 201.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine and Order No. 1379 on the composition of tax invoices) and registers it in the ERNN within the 15-calendar-day term. Tax officials in letter No. 8238/0/61-12/15-3115 dated 31.12.2012 rightly note that the legislation does not prescribe a mechanism for notifying the buyer of changes to the tax invoice they received.
And in the case of discrepancies between the data of the tax invoice and the ERNN, tax officials have a perfectly legal basis for conducting an unscheduled on-site documentary audit of the seller and, in some cases, the buyer of services or goods.
In such a case the question arises about the inspection of electronic tax invoices by tax officials. After all, in accordance with clause 85.2 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, the taxpayer must provide the officials of the tax authorities with all documents in full that relate to or are connected with the subject of the audit. According to clause 85.4 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, the taxpayer is required during audits by the State Tax Service to provide duly certified copies of accounting, primary financial and business and other documents that testify to non-payment of taxes, mandatory payments (fees), concealment or understatement of the value of taxable objects, violation of the requirements of other legislation, the control over compliance with which falls within the competence of the State Tax Service. Officials of the State Tax Service during an audit may demand a printed and properly certified tax invoice if it was drawn up electronically and is related to and pertains to the subject of the audit or is not registered in the ERNN. Unfortunately, the “proper form” of certifying an electronic invoice by tax employees is not specified. Most likely, the issue of certification falls on the official who is assigned to certify.
Registration in the ERNN
Since 01.01.2012 registration in the ERNN was introduced for all tax invoices where the VAT amount exceeds 10 thousand. In addition, tax invoices created in electronic form or whose nomenclature includes imported and excisable goods are registered regardless of the amount for which they are issued.
In the case of drawing up an Adjustment Calculation (AC) to a tax invoice whose data have not been entered into the ERNN, such an AC is registered after the registration of that invoice regardless of its date of preparation, that is, you must register the tax invoice and only after that the AC to it.
As tax officials rightly note in letter No. 3313/0/61-12/15-3115 dated 08.10.2012, in the case of drawing up an AC to a tax invoice issued before 01.01.2012 and which was not subject to registration in the ERNN, and as a result of which the total VAT amount after the adjustment reached 10 thousand, such ACs and tax invoices do not need to be registered in the Register.
If an AC is issued to a tax invoice issued for supplies of imported and excisable goods, the AC must be registered regardless of the amount and date of issuance of the tax invoice. If at the time of issuing the AC the tax invoice has not yet been registered, it should be registered, and then the AC should be registered under that tax invoice.