Report on the Results of the Parallel Audit of the Administration of Value Added Tax in the Czech Republic and in the Federal Republic of Germany

Report ID: 275

Based on an agreement between the SAIs of Czech Republic and Germany, both SAIs conducted a parallel audit on the administration of value added tax (VAT). Besides the main point – exchange of information based on the Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 and the Commission Regulation (EC) No 1925/2004 – the audit covered other topics as for instance the registration of taxpayers,

VAT returns and recapitulative statements that are closely linked with it. Additionally, the legal situation in terms of international bus transportation of passengers and the comparison of certain statistical data were part of the audit.

In Czech Republic, the objective of the audit was to review the procedure used by financial authorities in administrating value added tax following integration of the Czech Republic into the common internal market of the European Community (hereinafter “EC”), connected with free movement of goods and services, and to review the use of the VIES1, particularly monitoring the exercise of the right to exempt intra- Community deliveries from value added tax.

In Germany, the objective of the audit was to review the system of intra- Community VAT control with a special focus on administrative cooperation in the field of VAT according to the above mentioned regulations. As a result of this, weaknesses should be reported and recommendations be developed to address the problems stated.

Source: https://www.nku.cz/en/audit/coordinated-audits/

Administration of Value Added Tax in the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany Follow-up Audit Report

Report ID: 345

VAT is an audit area which is very suitable for tax audit cooperation because it is the only tax harmonised within the EU. The Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic (hereinafter “Czech SAI”) and the Federal Court of Auditors – Bundesrechnungshof (hereinafter “German SAI”) conducted a first ever parallel audit in the field of VAT in 2006. The report was published in 2008 (The report si also published in the catalogue at https://intosai-cooperativeaudits.org/catalog/report/report-on-the-results-of-the-parallel-audit-of-the-administration-of-value-added-tax-in-the-czech-republic-and-in-the-federal-republic-of-germany).

The follow-up audit of the administration of VAT in the Czech Republic and in Germany was carried out on the basis of an agreement between the two SAIs. During previous parallel audits, suspicious cases of intra-Community transactions were detected. Some of them merited further review. On the basis of audit findings the two SAIs produced recommendations on VAT management.

The follow-up audit was conducted to evaluate the action taken in response to these recommendations and to review the suspicious cases selected. In addition, the two SAIs decided to examine the following matters in their parallel audit mission:

• review of selected cases of intra-Community transactions between taxpayers from the Czech Republic and Germany that were not resolved during the previous parallel audit,

• review of selected cases of intra-Community transactions between taxpayers from the Czech Republic and Germany that were classified as high-risk cases,

• audit of the tax administrations’ procedure in the field of international assistance for the recovery of VAT claims,

• VAT audits of large companies.

The cooperation of the two SAIs within the parallel audits of the administration of VAT achieved the objectives set by the German and Czech SAI. The two SAIs developed a deeper understanding of the applicable systems in the Czech Republic and Germany in the fields of:

• intra-Community transactions

• risk management of VAT, especially concerning the selection of risk prone transactions

, • recovery of VAT claims, and

• VAT audits of large tax entities.

Due to mutual cooperation, differences of strategies to detect VAT fraud cases and in the above mentioned areas of VAT administration in the Czech Republic and Germany were revealed. Audit findings were compared and on their basis best practices were identified. Furthermore, the SAIs hope that the results achieved may encourage stakeholders to enter into discussions about approaches and strategies within and among Member States as well as with the EU Commission.

Source: https://www.nku.cz/assets/publications-documents/other-publications/paralelni-kontroly-spravy-dph-cr-srn-2010.pdf