The Hungarian Tax Authority NAV Is Set to Require the Saf-T Format for Data Reporting

Following in the footsteps of other European countries such as Portugal, Norway, and Poland, the Hungarian government has decided to roll out the reporting of certain accounting data using the SAF-T international standard.

With the implementation of SAF-T, the government aims to, among other matters, replace  the Adatextport audit report that requires the exporting of certain accounting information taken from invoices , on NAV demand.

NAV has organized a pilot project involving large enterprises and tech providers, including EDICOM. The aim is to test the proper functioning of the new format to tweak it in consideration of the opinions, suggestions, and problems the new requirement could cause.

It is expected that, once the pilot phase ends in May, the government will publish the law determining the requirements and deadlines for getting SAF-T up and running in Hungary . According to the NAV plan, it is forecast to take effect as of 1 January 2021.

NAV said repeatedly during the pilot project that SAF-T implementation would not affect Online Számla Real Time Invoice Reporting (RTIR) which must continue to be reported..

The Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T) is an international format proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to harmonize tax and accounting reporting. The goal is to streamline the auditing work of national revenue authorities by tapping a commonly readable standard format the ensures reported information integrity.  The OECD’s SAF-T proposal contains both the technical features of the SAF-T format and the guidance notes for generating and issuing SAF-T files.

The enormous amount of accounting programs, new electronic archiving solutions, and different security systems generate a complex ecosystem that hampers auditing work by the revenue authorities. The creation of a global standard format like SAF-T can help solve these problems. SAF-T is an  XML file easily adaptable to each government's requirements, with the information needed for the proper oversight of compliance with tax and accounting requirements in each country. The unique format also facilitates the work of taxpayers when it comes to complying with their tax obligations, by reducing evasion and fraud.

It is for all those reasons that a growing number of countries including Hungary are implementing its use.