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VAT news & updates
Country |
Standard VAT Rates |
Reduced VAT Rates |
| Austria | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 10% , 13% , 19% |
| Belgium | The standard VAT rate is 21%. | 12%, 6% From May 8, 2021, to September 30, 2021, the VAT rate on restaurant and catering services (including the delivery of certain alcoholic beverages) has been reduced to 6%. |
| Bulgaria | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 9% |
| Croatia | The standard VAT rate is 25%. | 13%, 5% |
| Cyprus | The standard VAT rate is 19%. | 5%, 9% |
| Czech Republic | The standard VAT rate is 21%. | 15% , 10% |
| Denmark | The standard VAT rate is 25%. | There are certain services that are exempt from VAT such as health and social care; education; cultural activities and more. |
| Estonia | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 9%. |
| Finland | The standard VAT rate is 24% | 14%, 10% |
| France | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 5.5%, 2.1% applies to major medicines, newspapers, and online news services |
| Germany | The standard VAT rate is 19% | 7% Farmers benefit from a reduced rate of 5.5% |
| Greece | The standard VAT rate is 24% | 13% |
| Hungary | The standard VAT rate is 27%. | 5% , 12%, 7%, 18% |
| Ireland | The standard VAT rate is 23%. | 13.5%, 4.8%, 9% |
| Italy | The standard VAT rate is 22% | 4%, 5%, 10% |
| Latvia | The standard VAT rate is 21%. | 12%, From January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2023, the VAT rate on certain fruits and vegetables has been reduced from the standard rate (21%) to 5%. |
| Lithuania | The standard VAT rate is 21%. | 9%, 5% |
| Luxembourg | The standard VAT rate is 17% | 14%, 3%, 8% |
| Malta | The standard VAT rate is 18%. | 5%, 7% |
| Monaco | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 5.5%, 10%, 2.1% |
| The Netherlands | The standard VAT rate is 21% | 9% |
| Poland | The standard VAT rate is 23%. | 8%, 5% |
| Portugal | The standard VAT rate is 23% | 6%, 13% |
| Romania | The standard VAT rate is 19%. | 9%, 5% |
| Slovakia | The standard VAT rate is 20%. | 10%, 6% |
| Slovenia | The standard VAT rate is 22%. | 9.5%, 5% |
| Spain | The standard VAT rate is 21% | 10%, 4% |
| Sweden | The standard VAT rate is 25%. | 12%, 6% |
These VAT rates are only indicative. Please use this information at your own discretion. Last update: 01/07/2021
VAT on digital services
Like everything VAT is constantly evolving as well in order to adapt to its new digital environment. Businesses have gone digital and the digital service industry in always expanding across the world. At the same time countries have started to tax digital service providers but these taxes are slowly being introduced to fit each economy individually.
VAT Country Guides – Click here to view
Fiscal representation
A fiscal representative is a tax registered company which will manage your queries and filing obligations while dealing with the tax authorities. Certain countries require you to appoint a fiscal representative when your company is established outside the European Union to be completely complaint with your VAT obligations. Alternatively, even if it is not mandatory, fiscal representation can create VAT and cash flow advantages and Global VAT Compliance will make sure you benefit from them.
GVC also has her own entities for fiscal representation purposes in many countries.
Fiscal representation can help you maximize the following benefits:
- Import VAT deferment license
- VAT Warehouse
- Reverse charge
- Zero-rated trading of excise goods
Fiscal representative requirements
Please consider that many countries handle strict requirements when granting a fiscal representative license. As such, Global VAT Compliance is fully up-to-date with these requirements and in regular contact with tax authorities in several countries.
Joint liability
In some cases, the fiscal representative may be jointly liable for all VAT payments of the company. Because of this, it is industry practice to require a security deposit or bank guarantee in favor of the fiscal representative to mitigate against potential risks if the company reneges any of their liabilities.
| Country | VAT Filing frequency | Standard VAT rates | Distance Selling Thresholds | VAT returns Deadlines | Fiscal Representation |
| UK | Quarterly | 20% | GBP 70.000 | 7th next month | |
| DE | Monthly | 19% | EUR 100.000 | 10th next month | |
| FR | Monthly | 20% | EUR 35.000 | 19th next month | Required |
| IT | Quarterly | 22% | EUR 35.000 | last day of second month | Required |
| ES | Quarterly | 21% | EUR 35.000 | 20th next month | Required |
| PL | Monthly | 23% | PLN 160.000 | 25th next month | Required |
| CZ | Monthly | 21% | CZK 1.140.000 | 25th next month |
*The above information is only indicative. This table is updated regularly but please contact GVC in order to ensure that it is correct at the date you are using it.