North Macedonia: Extension Of VAT Deadlines & Criteria For Deregistration

Extended VAT payment deadline in 2021

The North Macedonian Government has recently extended the payment deadline for VAT due following the filing of a periodic VAT return. Typically, the deadline for payment of outstanding VAT to the state has been the same as the deadline for filing the relevant VAT return.  

The deadline for filing VAT returns for quarterly VAT taxpayers is the 25th of the month following the quarter in question (25th of April, July, October and January). Monthly VAT taxpayers submit their VAT returns by the 25th of the month following the month in question. 

With this amendment, applicable until the end of the calendar year, the deadline for settling VAT payables will be 5 days after the VAT return filing deadline. In April 2021, both monthly and quarterly taxpayers will need to submit their returns by April 25th and settle their VAT payables by April 30.  

Extended VAT exemption of donations made to Government 

A VAT exemption of donations of goods and services made to government entities, introduced in April 2020, will be applicable until the end of 2021.  

An official decree published in the 102/2020 Official Gazette allowed for the VAT exemption of such donations due to the pandemic. 

Right to VAT deregistration: criteria to be fulfilled 

With the decrease in turnover, due to the pandemic, in a multitude of sectors, many companies have shown interest in the possibility of deregistering as VAT taxpayers in North Macedonia.  

The VAT rulebook covering the procedure for deregistration, last amended in 2020, provides two grounds on which companies can request a deregistration.  

According to the Law on VAT, once registered, VAT taxpayers remain registered for at least three calendar years regardless of the turnover. From the third year onwards, if the annual turnover does not exceed the currently valid VAT registration threshold (currently MKD 2 million), the taxpayer can request the deregistration from the Public Revenue Office. 

The second scenario is when the taxpayer has not exceeded the threshold turnover amount in the last 2 calendar years and has not used the right to input VAT in the last 2 years. In such cases, the taxpayer can request the deregistration from the VAT system by filing a request to the Public Revenue Office.  

VAT deregistrations can be performed in the first 15 days of any calendar year. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.