After finally introducing euro as the official currency in January 2023, Croatia is already on to a new project. Fiscalization 2.0 is a new project of the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration that should change the way of doing business in Croatia.
The main goal of the Fiscalization 2.0 project, as stated on the website of the Tax Administration, is the establishment of a system for fiscalizing invoices issued in the economy (B2B) with the implementation of a cashless payment system via eInvoice with an integrated e-archive and active, unique and advanced online bookkeeping in the VAT system. These novelties should bring significant, positive changes in business and far less burden on the entrepreneurs themselves.
The realization of the project will be financed from grants from the National Recovery Plan program and resistance for the period 2021 to 2026.
As explained by the Tax Administration this project will ensure a whole range of benefits for all stakeholders and business entities, such as the ones listed below:
- simplified tax returns
- reduction of the number of required forms (tax bookkeeping), accuracy of tax obligations and, to a considerable extent, their pre-fulfilment with data from the e-Racun platform
- transparent business and the possibility of insight into payment terms and compliance with payment terms
- insight into the current operations of an individual taxpayer
- current credit checks
- contribution to environmental protection by using a digital instead of a “paper” account archive
- reducing the number of copies of invoices and archiving them through Internet intermediaries
- the possibility of sending attachments to the account and relieving the burden of paperwork
- improving interoperability among actors involved in the billing process
- the ability to track and connect accounts and prevent tax fraud related to VAT refunds
- business entities receive support for more efficient and competitive operations in the national and global context.
All the above should be implemented by December 2024, when the “Fiscalization 2.0” project is expected to be completed, and the whole process should happen through three planned stages:
- It is planned to establish a system for reporting non-cash invoices to the Tax Administration, namely invoices issued today by state administration bodies – fiscalization of invoices issued in the B2G (Business to Government) segment.
- Implementation of a cashless payment system via eInvoice in the B2B segment (Business to business) with an integrated e-archive and active, unique and advanced online bookkeeping in the VAT.
- The third activity is the establishment of a free application for issuing eInvoices, which will be made available to small taxpayers. As Tax Administration states, for the aforementioned group, the costs of introducing e-Invoices would be disproportionate to the benefits they would receive from such a way of doing business.
Even though lemon law primarily works in favor of consumers, it also prescribes the conditions under which the seller is not obliged to do all of the above.
The seller is not required to remedy the defective product if:
- The consumer had damaged the item,
- The consumer had misused the item and caused the fault as a result,
- The consumer had damaged the item while trying to repair/modify it himself or through a third party,
- The consumer was informed about the fault before he bought the item,
- The consumer had simply changed his mind and no longer wants the item.
In the spirit of good business practice, a general recommendation is that retailers should ensure that the goods they sell always match their description and are, in fact, fit for their purpose as marketed and promoted.
If at the end of the day there is a valid basis for the application of the lemon law and the seller does not want to act on the buyer’s request and refuses to remedy the defective product, the consumer can opt for the last remedy guaranteed under lemon law regulations and claim a complaint to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).
Need to get and/or to remain compliant? Get in touch!
#jbfiscalconsulting #fiscalization #fiscalisation #fiscalization 2.0