In addition to the general tax obligations affecting the taxation of companies and individuals, the Hungarian Tax Authority pays special attention this year to the legal compliance of the customs and excise field. The audit directions for 2023 are presented in this article.
Customs checks
The customs administration department of the Tax Authority can carry out customs checks on the one hand during the customs procedure, during customs clearance, and on the other hand once the goods have been released (retrospectively). They want to reveal possible undervaluations. Customs controls for security and protection are also important: the protection of intellectual property rights and the exclusion of products subject to restrictions and prohibitions, compliance with product safety regulations, especially in case of toys, baby and toddler clothing, laser pointers, lighters, mouth masks . During subsequent customs inspections, the correctness and processing of the customs value of the products are examined; the legality of the goods classification, the benefits used.
The customs authority also carries out customs checks on low-value packages, in order to detect security and defense risks (weapons, drugs).
EAGF
Unauthorized support requests and beneficiaries who are not operating legally are detected during the subsequent audit of titles financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund. They check the fulfilment of EAGF-supported investments, uncover fictitious economic events, sales chains, and overinvoicing. In 2023/2024, the "exceptional adaptation support" for poultry farms and sow farms will also be audited.
Field of police authorities
The Hungarian Tax Authority’s policing powers at the border crossings operating in the external border section of Hungary of the European Union and in the framework of the in-depth inspection in the entire territory of the country is present in order of a
comprehensive inspection activity, which aims
to find products exempted from taxation. As part of this, they check:stolen
metals, illegal metal dealers,
they check compliance with road freight and
passenger transport regulations,
compliance with the provisions regarding the
driving and rest time of drivers, the use of tachograph devices and data
recording sheets, the technical, safety and environmental protection properties
of vehicles, the road traffic of vehicles exceeding the maximum allowed total
weight, axle load and size, the securing of freight and compliance with the
rules for the transport of goods in bulk,
companies with a competitive advantage gained
by evading the law, especially those that carry out third-country transport in
a way that violates the law.
During inspections on public roads or border
crossings - in the case of loading/unloading places in Hungary - they examine
whether the senders/recipients fulfill their administrative, inspection and
reporting obligations. During EKAER road and on-site audits related to goods
transport, the realness of the data in the notifications is checked.
The field of law enforcement can cover up acts that violate the protection of intellectual property rights, as well as fraud and the illegal excise goods. One way to do this is to take a sample from the fuel tank and check it in a mobile laboratory.
Among the tasks in the field of money laundering prevention and detection, the law enforcement field is responsible for observing and enforcing the legal and regular export and import of cash in circulation at border crossing points operating at the external customs border of the European Union. Therefore, the amount of cash in the possession of private individuals and the legality of their export and import will be examined as much as possible at the border crossing points.
Excise duty checks
The 2023 inspection guidelines deal separately with excise tax inspections. According to the plans, a lot of emphasis will be placed this year on the control of excise tax refunds before transfer, as well as on the origin of the goods in retail trade. The tax inspectors also conduct targeted excise inspections and inspect excise products within the framework of cooperation between Member States.
LeitnerLeitner supports its clients with special attention and specialized experts in the areas of customs and excise duties, as well as in matters related to environmental protection and energy taxation. In addition to his current consulting practice, our expert colleague has more than two decades of tax authority experience in the field, which is a guarantee for our clients to find efficient and practice-oriented solutions.
