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If, as a business owner, you include VAT on an invoice, you must pay it to the tax authorities. In case of any doubt on this matter, the VAT legislation contains a specific provision to this effect.<\/p>\n
The notorious Section 37 of the Turnover Tax Act 1968 stipulates that VAT which:<\/p>\n
must be paid to the Tax and Customs Administration.<\/p>\n
A business owner who believes they have incorrectly included VAT on an invoice can rectify this by:<\/p>\n
In practice, the latter is sometimes overlooked. In such cases, the tax authorities can often successfully invoke the aforementioned Article 37. As a result, the VAT stated on the original invoice must still be paid. The VAT stated on the credit note may not, therefore, be set off against the VAT payable.<\/p>\n
After all, for the business owner to whom it is issued, the invoice forms the basis for claiming VAT deduction. If that deduction is not reversed following the issue of the credit note, the tax authorities suffer a loss of tax revenue (after all, the VAT is ultimately not paid, but has been deducted).<\/p>\n
The trader issuing the credit note must therefore provide convincing evidence that the customer has not deducted the VAT or that the deduction has been reversed. This burden of proof can usually only be met with the customer\u2019s cooperation.<\/p>\n