As of January 1, 2021, companies doing business in Hungary must comply with the new, updated RTIR (Real-Time Invoice Reporting). In addition to the B2B e-invoicing requirements, there are now further B2C e-invoicing regulations from the NAV (Nemzeti Adó és Vámhivatal, National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary, HU TA). From a technical point of view, an XML version 3.0 must be sent to the NAV Online Számla platform, which forwards the XML file directly to your customers. What this means for your business is that you need a future-proof SAP solution that is easy to manage and can be updated to ensure long-term compliance and avoid paying severe penalties for violations.

Hungary was one of the first users of e-invoicing worldwide and started the first B2B requirements, which included a machine-readable XML format (version 1.0). The aim was to electronically transmit invoices exceeding a value of HUF 100,000 (€ 320) in real-time. However, billing and reporting were two different processes.

An update for the e-invoicing requirements followed on July 1, 2020. This included a new XML format (version 2.0). From this point on, tax-exempt transactions (with the exception of intra-community transactions) and domestic transactions that are subject to the reverse charge procedure had to be transferred. In addition, the reporting threshold of HUF 100,000 per invoice no longer applies. In addition, incoming invoices could also be viewed in the NAV portal from then on.

A new version 3.0 will come into effect on January 1, 2021, with a transition period until March 31, 2021. As you can see, the Hungarian tax authority is pursuing a strategy of rapid adaptation: Version 2.0 was only introduced in 2020. The new requirement includes invoices to private individuals (B2C) as well as export and intra-community transactions. From April 1, 2021, when the transition period ends, only the new XSD (XML Schema Definition, Version 3.0) can be submitted and Version 2.0 will no longer be accepted by the NAV. In other words, as of this date, non-compliance will result in fines of up to HUF 500,000 (€ 1,700) per invoice.