The State Secretary for Finance has updated a margin scheme policy decision.
A special regime for used goods, artefacts and antiques forms part of the Netherlands Turnover Tax by virtue of which payments made in connection with these kinds of items come under the margin scheme – which involves tax being charged on the trader’s margin – rather than being liable for value added tax as per the customary rules. The margin scheme has been introduced with the aim of avoiding value added tax accumulating where the goods in question had previously been supplied to customers who were not in a position to secure value added tax relief. The central plank of the margin scheme is that the margin is set per individual good. This can be something of a challenge depending on the branch of industry and may prompt the profit margin being set per time period using the aggregation facility.
These are the changes compared with the previous version of the policy decision:
- Allowances have been made for the increase in the standard value added tax rate from 19% to 21%;
- Reconsidering the choice in favour of application of the margin scheme has been made easier provided certain conditions are met;
- The option of setting negative margins per time period also applies where the buyer and seller both apply the aggregation facility in the event of discontinuation of business operations and where a tax entity is exited from or abolished;
- Rather than having to be submitted for the scrutiny of the inspector of taxes, the recalculation resulting from the application of the aggregation facility by automotive disassembly businesses may henceforth be accounted for using section 1a of the tax return;
- The minimum for a certificate of purchase to be issued has been increased to € 500;
- It has been made compulsory – in connection with the invoicing rules effective 1 January 2013 – for business owners who make use of the margin scheme to provide their invoices with a reference to the relevant effect.