With effect from 1 January 2025, a VAT supplementary return must be submitted to the Tax and Customs Administration within 8 weeks.
VAT top-up
If a business owner realises that too much or too little VAT has been paid or claimed back, they are legally obliged to report this (accurately and in full) to the Tax and Customs Administration on their own initiative. This must be done by means of a supplementary return, which must be submitted electronically to the Tax and Customs Administration using the appropriate form. Electronic submission can be made via MijnBelastingdienst Zakelijk (log in with eHerkenning) or via your own tax return software.
If the amount shown on the supplementary return is €1,000 or less, no supplementary return needs to be submitted; instead, the correction may be included in the next regular periodic return. In that case, no penalty will be imposed and no interest will be charged (see below).
Fine
Failure to submit a supplementary tax return, or failure to do so on time, may result in the Tax and Customs Administration imposing a fine. No absenteeisma fine may be imposed. If the failure to submit the supplementary return, or its late submission, is due to gross negligence or wilful misconduct on the part of the business owner, a offenceA fine may be imposed. This may amount to 100% of the tax, up to a maximum of €6,709. Only time will tell how this will play out in practice.
No penalty will be imposed if the supplementary return results in a refund.
Terms
The supplementary tax return must be submitted within the earlier of the following two deadlines:
- before the trader knows or has reasonable grounds to suspect that the tax authorities are aware of any inaccuracies or omissions in the VAT return(s) submitted;
- within 8 weeks of the trader becoming aware of the inaccuracy or incompleteness.
The latter time limit is new with effect from 1 January 2025. For businesses that identified before 1 January 2025 that too much or too little VAT had been paid in respect of any period, the eight-week period will commence on 1 January 2025. This transitional arrangement does not apply to the first-mentioned deadline.
Interest
Tax interest is calculated on the VAT assessed as a result of a supplementary return from the first day following the financial year to which the supplementary return relates. However, if the supplementary return is submitted before 1 April following the financial year to which the supplementary return relates, no tax interest will be charged.