tag: tax procedure

In criminal cases involving a company, it has already been possible to prosecute not only the company’s executives but the company itself. In practice, however, this rarely happened. From 2026, the rules governing criminal proceedings against companies will change fundamentally, and companies are expected to be held accountable more frequently.

In the audit practice of the Hungarian Tax and Customs Administration (HTA), the audit of transfer pricing is gaining importance. Moreover, the relevant regulations are becoming more complex with each passing year. As the deadlines for transfer pricing documentation approach, it is worth reviewing what hidden pitfalls should be avoided when preparing documentation and providing data.

Already last year, it was noticeable that after several years of decline, the Hungarian Tax Authority conducts more and more tax audits. In 2022, the number of tax audits increased by 6.2% compared to the previous year. Experience shows that this trend is expected to continue even more strongly this year. The most commonly audited tax category remains VAT.

The yearbook of the Hungarian tax authority summarising the most important tax events and statistics for 2022 has been published. It shows, among other things, the number of fines imposed and the effectiveness with which the tax authority's decisions can be challenged. We have compiled the most important and informative figures from the yearbook.

Recently, the tax authority’s audit practices have changed appreciably. While until recently, tax audits were mostly launched as fully standalone procedures, today the tax authority (NAV) is increasingly initiating criminal proceedings alongside its tax audits. This is particularly the case in bogus-invoice deals affecting VAT, as well as in excise-duty and certain customs matters. But what’s behind this?

“The tax number of one of my companies was deleted due to some blunder, but we corrected it” – so begins a widely-known and innocent story that could happen to anyone. Then we realise in terror that due to this “blunder”, the Court of Registration refuses to register our company, or that the tax authority wants to delete the tax number of one of our existing companies. Could this have been avoided? What can be done?

Many people could be in for a nasty surprise when trying to set up a company: the company court refuses to register the majority owner or managing director on grounds that the person is subject to a ban. While the banned persons sometimes know that they have “been up to no good”, in other cases they are baffled as to the reasons for the ban. A lot is at stake: a person who is banned could end up on the “black list” for up to 7-8 years.