Relaxed deadlines for additional returns and new obligations for payroll accountants

The beginning of the school year brought not only the return of children to their classrooms, but also important news from the world of accounting and taxation. The opinions of the CNB and the Supreme Administrative Court have a major impact. Let's summarise them in a nutshell.

Additional tax returns are due to be relaxed

The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) recently issued a landmark judgment (2 Afs 363/2019 - 50) that changes the deadline for filing an additional tax return. The modification concerns the additional tax return for a lower tax liability. This refers to situations where a taxpayer discovers that he or she has inadvertently underreported tax - and seeks a refund of the overpayment.

Until now, the tax authorities have interpreted the provisions of the Tax Code quite strictly. It only allowed you to file a tax return for a lower tax liability by the end of the following month from the time you discovered the mistake. If you missed the deadline, the tax office rejected the return.

This approach should be changed by the new case law of the Supreme Administrative Court, according to which such filing is possible even after the above mentioned deadline. The court ruled that a supplemental return for a lower tax liability can be filed at any time during the assessment period (i.e., 3 years from the end of the period for a regular return). There should no longer be a penalty for such late filing.

Payroll accountants need special permission

The Czech National Bank recently issued an opinion requiring payroll accountants to obtain a permit to provide payment services (under the Payment Services Act).

If an external payroll accountant uses his/her own bank account to pay wages and deductions (even if he/she has opened a separate account for each client), he/she must obtain a permit to transfer funds from the payment account or a money transfer permit under the Act (Section 3).

However, the CNB has stated that this authorisation is not necessary if the payroll accountant only has a right of disposal over an account held in the name of the employer and makes payments from this account.