The technical requirements for mandatory, real-time electronic data delivery of invoicing programs will change most probably from May. The change effects all companies that issue an invoice containing at least 100,000 forints of VAT - that is, in general, a net worth of 371,000 forints - and must forward all its data to the Tax Authority immediately, online.
Changes only affect minimally the daily work of the invoicing program users - for example, it may be necessary to select a quantity unit related to the product on the invoice in a different way. The new requirements are more about the technical aspects of the communication between the software and the servers of NAV: some data are now be communicated to the NAV systems in a structure that is easier to understand and process. The description of the new requirements - version 1.1 - is now available on the website of the National Tax Authority, developers can start to modify the programs accordingly.
Companies should contact their invoicing software developer as soon as possible to find out if they are upgrading the software to meet the new requirements and, if so, when will that be available. They should also find out if the developer of the program will charge for the upgrade. The affected companies should also prepare to install the updates within the next two months.
In case the program is not upgraded in time, the NAV system will not accept the invoice information and the fine may be up to HUF 500,000 per company per invoice. Especially companies that use a custom-developed program, rather than billing from a ready-made invoicing system, need to act quickly.
Further new changes are expected to be released in autumn, when the updated programs will have to be modified according to the newer 1.3 version requirements. However, its content is unknown at the present.