News in brief, November 2020

DOMESTIC NEWS IN BRIEF

• The government approved the initial draft of a new Act on Accounting.
• The government will debate a bill implementing the Digitisation Directive; from 1 January 2021, it should enable the online establishment of companies.  
• The chamber of deputies has been debating a bill on the conditions of accommodation sharing. It aims to regulate the distance provision of accommodation sharing through digital platforms in relation to other co-owners of the real property.
• Regulation No. 2020/1503 on European Crowdfunding Service Providers was published in the EU Official Journal; it will be applicable from 10 November 2021.
• Without any changes, the government has extended Regime B of the Antivirus Programme until 31 December 2020. A contribution of 60% (up to CZK 29,000) of paid wage compensation including compulsory contributions per month per employee will therefore continue to be provided to employers. The procedure to be followed by employers or labour offices when applying for the contribution remains unchanged.
• The government has adopted Emergency Measure No. 1113, restricting the free movement of persons and, among other things, ordering employers to let employees work from home wherever possible. The measure should remain in effect until midnight, 20 November 2020.
• The electronic form for the DAC 6 Notification was published on the financial administration’s tax portal.
• The Ministry of Finance has published draft forms for the digital services tax: a registration form, and a tax return form. The bill itself is still in the second reading.
• The tax package for 2021, including, among other things, the introduction of a monetary meal allowance, has passed through the second reading in the chamber of deputies. Around 60 amending proposals have been made, including the abolition of the super-gross wage; individual versions differ as to the tax rates that should apply after the abolition of the super-gross wage. The amending proposals will be voted on in the third reading.
• A law postponing the electronic reporting of sales (in Czech EET) until 2022 and a law regulating the provision of a state guarantee under the COVID III programme have been promulgated in the Collection of Laws.
• Following the European Commission’s decision, the financial administration has issued a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of exemption from customs duties and value added tax on imports of goods from a third country in connection with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

FOREIGN NEWS IN BRIEF

• The European Commission will prolong all sections of the Temporary Framework for State Aid Measures by six months, i.e. until 30 June 2021, and the section enabling recapitalisation support by three months, i.e. until 30 September 2021. On a temporary basis, the temporary framework will now also enable member states to contribute up to EUR 3 million per undertaking to the fixed costs of companies that due to the coronavirus outbreak are facing a decline in turnover of at least 30% in the eligible period compared to the same period of 2019. 
• The European Commission will prolong the current temporary relief from customs duties and value added tax (VAT) on imports of protective and medical equipment from non-EU countries until the end of April 2021. The commission has further proposed that hospitals and medical practitioners should not have to pay VAT on purchases of vaccines and testing kits used in the fight against coronavirus, if agreed by member states. 
• The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU (ECOFIN) has revised the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (the EU blacklist). The EU finance ministers have agreed to add Anguilla and Barbados to the list, and to remove the Cayman Islands and Oman.
• The OECD has published the second monitoring report for the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Norway, Poland, Singapore and Spain, reviewing the jurisdictions’ commitment to implement a minimum standard to improve the resolution of tax-related disputes (MAP). According to the OECD, the peer review monitoring process shows positive changes across all eight jurisdictions.
• France has announced that the digital services tax for 2020 will be due in December 2020. In February 2020, the payment duty for the French digital services tax was suspended, with no late payment interest or penalty for the April and October instalments. The Spanish senate has approved the introduction of a digital services tax at the beginning of October, with expected entry into force on 1 January 2021.