Who pays taxes on the acquisition of immovable assets?

The General Financial Directorate issued information on a change in the status of tax payers in accordance with section 1(1) of the legal measure of the Senate no. 340/2013 Coll., on taxes relating to the acquisition of immovable assets. The mentioned section stipulates clearly the form of the arrangement between the transferor and acquirer if they have agreed that the tax payer is the acquirer. The arrangement shall be incorporated into the specific legal act (a specific purchase or exchange agreement) which is the basis for the acquisition of immovable assets. The agreement should contain the explicit wording that, in the given case, "The payer of the tax on the acquisition of immovable assets is the acquirer".

Improper wording of the clause adjusting the choice of the tax payer (e.g. "the acquirer submits the tax return and pays the tax") cannot be considered binding and adequate acceptance of the status of the tax payer. In such cases, the tax administrator is not obliged to consider the acquirer as the tax payer. Subsequently, the tax administrator would notify the transferor of its duty to submit the tax return and to pay the tax, including fines for late submission of the tax returns and interest on the late payment of tax.

The General Financial Directorate informs about such potential errors in purchase agreements. By the end of 2014, the parties involved will be allowed to adjust the improper wording of such agreements in the form of an affirmative declaration of the parties involved in the legal act witnessed by the respective tax administrator.