Registration Time: 13:15
Sessions Time: 13:30 - 16:45  including a 15-minute break
Speaker: Mr Saviour Bezzina
Venue:   Online Webinar

Participation Fees (The Institute is now accepting payments via Paypal)
MIA Members: €40.00
Non-MIA Members: €75.00
Retired Members: €20.00
Students: €30.00

*Group bookings for 3 or more participants available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The right to deduct or claim VAT on expenses incurred in conducting an economic activity (input VAT) is one of the most important considerations for VAT registered persons. On the face of it, the process may look straight- forward: receive the invoices, record them in the VAT return and proceed to claim VAT back. However, quite a few conditions need to be satisfied for such a claim to be in line with the various provisions of the Maltese VAT Act.
For starters, not everyone is entitled to claim back input VAT – only those who satisfy certain conditions, mainly taxable persons who qualify and actually register for Maltese VAT under Article 10 of the Maltese VAT Act and who perform certain activities which carry a right to refund.
Consequently, the first issue is to determine which economic activities will be carried out and whether they entail a right of refund. In case of mixed supplies wherein only some of the activities carry a right of refund, one might need to enter the realm of partial attribution rules which regulate how to calculate the portion of the VAT incurred on general expenses that can be claimed back.
From experience, there are quite a few misconceptions associated with this mechanism, such as that it can be applied to all the expenses incurred. This is not the case since for specific expenses solely attributable to a specific supply or group of supplies with the same right of refund, one either claims VAT in full or does not claim any of it depending on the nature of activities to which it is related.
The timing of the VAT claim is another key factor
The computation of the partial attribution mechanism is another important aspect which obliges an Article 10 VAT registered person to use the previous year’s ratio as a provisional ratio for the current year.
Once the current year is over and the definitive ratio is known, it is possible to perform any adjustments triggered by a difference between the provisional and definitive ratio in the appropriate boxes (40 or 41) of the first VAT return ending in the following calendar year. At times this might prove to be problematic, especially if it is being applied for the first time and if no proper records and workings are kept.
Blocked deductions are another important consideration which prohibits the claiming of VAT on certain expenses, even if they are genuine business expenses. At this point, it is important to highlight the difference between VAT and corporate tax considerations with respect to what can be claimed back or deducted for tax or VAT purposes. Sometimes these are mixed, giving rise to an incorrect VAT treatment which, if discovered, may lead to interest and penalties.
The timing of the VAT claim is another key factor. While in practice this is usually based on the invoice date, it is not always the case especially in cases of deposits, requests for payments from professionals or warrant holders and invoices from suppliers who are authorised to account for VAT using the cash accounting system.
Additional obligations apply in cases of input VAT claimed on capital goods (fixed assets) which satisfy certain conditions wherein the original amount of input VAT claimed back may need to be adjusted in the subsequent years if certain conditions are satisfied.
Finally, due care needs to be given to collecting the appropriate evidence and format backing such VAT claims.

SPECIFIC TOPICS TO BE COVERED DURING THE SESSION

The right to claim back VAT incurred often gives rise to several questions/difficulties including:
- Eligibility of Input Tax Credit (Who is entitled to claim back input VAT)
- Evidence of Input Tax (Type of Documentation required – full vs simplified invoices, receipts?)
- Blocked Deductions (Which VAT cannot be claimed back)
- Attribution of input Tax and Partial Attribution (In which instances is the right of refund restricted and how to calculate it)
- Capital Goods Scheme (When are adjustments to past input VAT incurred required)
- Reductions/Credit Notes/Late invoices (how to declare them in the VAT Return and whether there is the need to adjust past VAT Returns and if yes how)
During the session we will discuss in detail the main VAT provisions pertaining to input VAT with an emphasis on the issues above making reference to specific situations/ examples which will be discussed in a user-friendly manner whilst encouraging questions from the attendees to make the session as relevant as possible

Why is the session of relevance to our members?

Attendance is encouraged for participants to understand which VAT they are entitled to claim (hence avoiding losing out on any input VAT which is currently potentially being lost/not claimed) and at the same time making sure that no input VAT is overclaimed (not claiming any VAT which cannot be claimed back). More importantly, the session will explain the theoretical basis and the respective practical implementation of the right of a VAT refund enabling the participants to understand which are those factors/provisions which determine whether an expense can be claimed or not any why. As always, active participation and questions from participants are encouraged, will be tackled, and answered during the session itself making the session more useful and relevant for all those participants .

Target Audience

This course is ideal both to experienced personnel (directors, accountants, lawyers, financial professionals, accounting students, financial staff) who have been working in VAT for a number of months/years (who may need to brush up their technical knowledge or fill in certain gaps and clarify certain issues relating to the right to claim back input VAT) as well as newcomers in the respective sectors (who have an opportunity to get a very good theoretical and practical understanding of the main applicable VAT refund concepts).

Speaker's Profile

Saviour is the senior manager responsible for indirect tax matters at the EY Malta office and forms part of EY’s Global Indirect Tax Network as a local knowledge contact. He joined EY in July 2006 after obtaining the Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons.) from the University of Malta. He is a member of the Malta Institute of Accountants, holds a Diploma in VAT compliance, lectures regularly on VAT and indirect tax matters and is a member of the MIA and MIT Indirect Taxation Committees. Saviour was awarded the 2007 MIA prize as the best student who graduated in the Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) Degree Course Group 2004/2006.

EVeNT CPE COMPETENCies

3  Core

WEBINARS TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and conditions  apply

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