Just before the new year, members of Parliament adopted two Acts - the Amendment to the Value Added Tax Act (ZDDV-1M) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 3/2022) and the Debureaucratisation Act (Zdeb) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 3/2022 ), and both entered into force on January 22, 2022. While the Amendment to the Value Added Tax Act transposes into Slovenian law four European directives applicable to the provision of services at a distance and distance selling of goods, the Debureaucratisation Act brings the elimination of some administrative burdens and facilitates access to public services.
According to the Amendment, companies will be able to claim a VAT deduction on the purchase of motor vehicles (cars, motorcycles ...) without CO2 emissions, if these vehicles are used within the company's activities and their value does not exceed EUR 80,000. In addition, a VAT deduction will also be possible for the purchase of fuels, lubricants, spare parts and services for these vehicles.
The most important change for customers is an abolishment of the obligation to deliver the invoice in paper form. Merchants and other invoice issuers will now only be obliged to issue printed invoices at the request of customers.
The amendment also abolishes the obligation to submit additional documentation for taxpayers who submit a VAT return for the first time (list of invoices received and invoices issued), which simplifies the procedure for them. The obligation to identify for VAT purposes for foreign taxpayers is also abolished when they make supplies in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia for which VAT must be paid by the recipient of goods or services. Lastly, as of July 1, 2022, the threshold for compulsory entry of farmers into the VAT system, which has so far amounted to EUR 7,500 of annual cadastral income of a farm household, will be abolished, and will simplify the VAT system for farmers.
On the other hand, the Debureaucratisation Act, with its provisions, interferes with 12 other Acts, abrogating laws and statutory regulations issued on their basis that are no longer applicable.
According to the Debureaucratisation Act, mobile number and e-mail address of an individual may be added to the Central Register of the Population, which will enable faster and more efficient contact with public officials. According to the new Act, the service of documents will also be possible to an e-mail address which the individual will disclose to the competent authority, as well as introduction of the service of documents to public employees also on business e-mail address.
In the Civil Procedure Act the notarization of printed copies of decisions with e-signatures will be abolished, while the Nature Conservation Act stipulates that the founder may also perform the tasks of managing the protected area. Furthermore, the Sports Act will abolish the double check regarding the fulfilment of the conditions of age of majority and at least secondary vocational education when entering in the register of professional workers in sports.
The Funeral and Cemetery Services Act now stipulates that in smaller towns, connected to city cemeteries, it is allowed to respect the wishes of the mourners so that the deceased can lie at home until the funeral. And lastly, instead of the originally proposed Official Register of the Republic of Slovenia, the law will introduce the Register of Legal Acts of Local Communities, which was the wish of municipalities.
