ELECTRONIC TRADE AND TRANSORT CONTROL SYSTEM
(abbreviated as EKAER in Hungarian)
I. Who and what transactions are affected by the EKAER System?
In case of every transport by tolled vehicles (with a total weight of over 3,5 tons)
- transport of goods to Hungary using public roads from member states of the European Union,
- transport of goods from Hungary to member states of the European Union,
- engagements in taxable product selling not targeting end users,
are subject to notification.
In case of transports by non-tolled motor vehicles, only potentially risky products shall be reported over a certain weight and value limit:
- potentially risky food – 200 kg or 250,000 HUF – List can be found HERE in Hungarian.
- potentially risky products – 500 kg or 1 million HUF – List can be found HERE in Hungarian.
The list of potentially risky products can be found here in Hungarian: LIST
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IMPORTANT! The Hungarian party is subject to notification in all cases: EU → HU (product purchase, public road transport for other purposes) Recipient is the obligor HU → EU (Intra-Community supply of goods, public road transport for other purposes) HU Consignor is the obligor HU → HU – no end-user (first domestic taxable product selling) Consignor is the obligor |
Of course, there are exceptions in the law, which means that not everyone is subject to notification. Without limitation: the relief supplies are exempt and vehicles participating in emergency response. Transport of goods in the context of groupage traffic is not subject to notification, if the weight and value limit of the delivered potentially risky products do not exceed the notification thresholds.
II. How can I fulfill the EKAER notifications?
The company subject to notification shall first appoint a person who will manage the EKAER notifications.
To this the individual needs:
- registration on the customer portal (ÜGYFÉLKAPU in Hungarian) – personal registration in the Office of Government Issued Documents
- notification submitted to the tax authority
- EKAER registration.
| Owing to the course of the notification obligation, it is recommended to appoint a Hungarian person to manage the notification process due to the fact that the personal registration in the Office of Government Issued Documents is in Hungarian as well as the registration form. |
Freight forwarder registration is also possible at registration.
In addition to the company subject to notification the freight forwarder can also enter the delivery data without registering on the customer portal. In this respect the freight forwarder gets a separate identification number from the system. The company subject to notification shall select their shipping partner and their ID number. In this case this is the only way for the company to receive an EKAER number with which the shipping can be started.
It is clear from the above points that this shall not be carried out by the outside shipping company; however, the notification cannot be done without their involvement.
III. Security deposit
In some cases when using the EKAER system, security deposit liability arises, which shall be paid to the bank account number given by the tax authority before the shipment has started. This is not always required; security deposit shall be provided only in case of the following range of activities associated with public road transport:
- if the taxpayer transports goods from member states of the European Union to Hungary
- or is engaged in first taxable product selling in Hungary not targeting end users.
So no security deposit shall be paid in case of sale of goods or other exports from Hungary to other member states of the European Union.
The rate of security deposit
It is important when determining the rate of security deposit that
- it continuously must be at least 15% of the value of the previously delivered products under EKAER system,
- if the obligor has to provide security deposits by different virtues at the same time, only the one with the highest value will have to be paid.
If there is no appropriate security deposit, no EKAER number will be given from the system and thus the transport cannot be started.
How to provide a security deposit?
Security deposit can either be paid to a separate deposit account or provided by a bank guarantee registered by the national tax authority.
Exemption
All taxpayers who are registered in the database of the national tax authority as qualified taxpayers or meet all of the following conditions are exempt from paying a security deposits:
- have been operating for at least two years,
- are registered in the database for public debt-free taxpayers and
- their tax number is not under suspension at the time of notification.
IV. Sanctions
If the taxpayer refuses to give a declaration or there are risk factors, the authority may lock down the cargo (via sealing the cargo or cargo space with an official seal) to verify its identity.
If the taxpayer fails to meet their obligation to apply for an EKAER number or to report the entire shipment or there is a lack of consistency between the cargo and its designation, the shipment or its undeclared part is considered to be a product of unverified origin and the tax authority may impose a default penalty of a maximum of 40% of the value of the product of unverified origin. The authority can lock down products meeting in value the amount of the penalty – except in the case of live animals and highly perishable products.
The national tax and customs administration will apply the above list of sanctions from February 1, 2015 for the first time.
You may interested in our Electronic Trade and Transport Control System to be triggered from March 1, 2015 article.
