News in brief, April 2021

DOMESTIC NEWS IN BRIEF

• The GFD has issued its Information on Applying VAT on the provision of COVID-19 testing services.
• The GFD has issued its Information on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Transfer Pricing and a translation of the relevant OECD guidance of 18 December 2020.
• The GFD has issued Instruction D-47 on the Waiver of Default Interest and Other Tax-Related Charges, regulating the procedure of the Czech financial administration for making decisions on waivers of tax-related charges pursuant to the Tax Procedure Code. The instruction follows an amendment to the Tax Procedure Code in effect from 1 January 2021 and replaces the previous Instruction D-47.
• The Czech Social Security Administration has published explanations and procedures regarding the issue of e-sicknotes due to quarantine or isolation that are followed by the payment of a wage compensation for time spent in quarantine (‘self-isolation payment’).
• This year, CzechInvest will launch a Technological Incubation project, currently under preparation, inspired by the ESA BIC cosmic incubator now celebrating its fifth birthday. Within this project, CzechInvest will provide support to more than 300 start-ups from seven key technological areas, each receiving aid of up to CZK 5 million.
• The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs’ Notice No. 143/2021 on the average annual gross wage amount in the Czech Republic for 2020 for the purposes of issuing blue cards pursuant to Act No.  326/1999 Coll., on the residence of foreign nationals in the Czech Republic, has been published in the Collection of Laws.

FOREIGN NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed that the Polish tax on the monthly turnover of retailers exceeding EUR 4 million and the Hungarian tax on advertisement (5.3% of the base exceeding approx. EUR 312 thousand) do not infringe upon EU legislation on state aid.
• Directive No. 2021/514, amending Directive No. 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC 7), has been published in the Official Journal of the EU, introducing the duty of digital platform operators to report transactions performed via such platforms. The duty will also apply to operators outside the EU regardless of their size. Member states are obligated to implement the directive in national legislations by the end of 2021, with effect from 1 January 2023.