Member Article

Accordance launches Covid-19 EU Tax Authority tracker

As EU governments throughout the bloc make rapid changes to reporting and payment schedules in light of the pandemic, specialist international VAT service provider Accordance is launching a Covid-19 Tax Authority tracker to help businesses navigate the rapidly changing international VAT situation.

Global markets are currently struggling with unprecedented changes to activity across many sectors, along with soaring numbers of employees quarantining or incapacitated through illness. In response to the sweeping changes to business activity and in order to support economic activity, many Tax Authorities across Europe are updating their office hours and meeting procedures, penalty and interest time lines, and VAT reporting and payment schedules.

Although these changes should ease the immediate burden on businesses, those who trade in multiple territories will need to keep abreast of each nation’s differing assistance measures. It is also crucial for businesses to understand that a prerequisite for many of these assistance measures, including VAT payment deferrals, is that companies continue to file their VAT returns on time. As such, despite deferrals and changes to procedures, businesses should still be preparing their data and submitting in the usual way. To guide businesses through these often-daily changes, Accordance is launching the Tax Authority tracker free of charge.

Lucy Franklin, CEO of Accordance, says: “The scale of the challenge we face is unprecedented, and businesses across the continent must play their part in safeguarding the future of the economy and protecting jobs.”

“At Accordance we’re committed to helping businesses feel at home in Europe, and so we’re offering our knowledge of and proximity to EU Tax Authorities to assist other businesses in this complicated moment. Our updates will collate, synthesize and decode Tax Authority changes for the wider business community - as they could have a significant impact on business planning and immediate cash flow.”

The company will harness the decades of experience of its VAT Consultants, its multilingual capacity and the its long history of working closely with European Tax Authorities to provide the tracker service. It will include specific information on how the changes will affect certain sectors, and any exemptions which businesses must be aware of. The tracker will also offer guidance on how best to prepare and to mitigate the impact of changes.

A summary and comparison of the differing decisions taken by the EU Tax Authorities is available here, and will be updated as appropriate. Further narrative Tax Authority updates will be available here, or alternatively weekly updates on tax legislation throughout the EU are provided through the newsletter.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Accordance VAT .