VAT Records

Records, information, documents and accounts in relation to transactions within scope of VAT shall be retained for a period of at least 6 years from the end of the year to which they relate, however if a VAT Return is furnished after its due date, or where a correction is made to a return – the 6 year period commences when that VAT return is submitted/corrected.

In the case of capital goods, the 6-year period starts to run from the end of the period of adjustment (5 years in case of movables and 20 years in case of immovables).

Notwithstanding the above, if a person makes intra-community distance sales of goods (B2C sales of goods to customer in other EU Member States), records must be kept electronically for 10 years from the year during which the transaction was carried out.

Invoices shall be stored in the original form in which they were sent or made available, whether paper or electronic. In practice, electronic storage of original invoices is accepted however in case of any invoices stored electronically the Commissioner may require that the data guaranteeing the authenticity of the origin of the invoices and the integrity of their content as provided for in the Twelfth Schedule of the VAT Act shall also be stored by electronic means.

Where a taxable person stores by electronic means invoices which he issues or receives, guaranteeing online access to the data concerned to the Commissioner, and where the tax is due in another Member State, the competent authorities of that Member State shall, for control purposes, have the right to access, download and use those invoices.