Hungary proposes a phased move from ÁNYK to eVAT

A proposed timetable, not a new filing deadline

The largest companies would move compulsorily to eVAT during 2027. Most VAT filers, including SMEs, would have until 1 January 2028. Widely used personal and corporate income tax returns would remain available in ÁNYK during 2027. Withdrawal would proceed form by form, after affected users had sufficient preparation and testing time. NAV does not define the largest-company category numerically in this announcement.^[1]

The distinction matters because electronic communication and use of a particular VAT-return channel are different requirements. Section 36 of Act CLI of 2017 on Tax Administration Procedure requires electronic communication for specified taxpayers, including those obliged to transact electronically under the Digital State Act. Act CIII of 2023, sections 8(24) and 19(1)(a), supplies the relevant business-organisation definition and general electronic-procedure requirement, subject to its statutory qualifications.^[3][4]

The current VAT-return mechanism

Section 184(2) of Act CXXVII of 2007 on Value Added Tax currently permits three routes: the prescribed return form; approval of a draft on NAV’s electronic interface after supplementing or modifying its data and declaring input-tax deductions; or transmission of document-level data through a machine interface and electronic approval of the resulting draft. Approval constitutes filing. Where more than one route is used, the first return submitted counts as the return.^[2]

The same section also controls corrections and access. A form-filed return can be self-revised only on the prescribed form. An interface-filed return can be corrected through the interface or the form, but a correction on the form locks subsequent self-revisions to that route. A secondary web user may supplement or modify data but cannot approve the return. Machine-interface use requires registration of the necessary information with NAV.^[2]

Implications for multinational groups

For Hungarian group companies, the proposal is a reason to sequence VAT migration separately from other returns, not to assume that compulsory eVAT has already begun. As a practical inference, testing should cover who approves the return and how later corrections will be made, as well as data transmission. NAV presents a proposed change in timing; binding implementation detail and the first-wave scope still need to be monitored.^[1][2]