No Late-Filing Penalties for VAT Returns From Foreign Companies in the OSS System From March to September 2022

On 1 June 2022, the Finnish Tax Administration communicated that, between 1 March and 30 September 2022, it will not collect late-filing penalties for missing VAT returns from foreign companies that are registered in the EU One Stop Shop (OSS) system and have Finnish customers. The Finnish Tax Administration will not send payment reminders during said period, either – even when a company has not paid its VAT. However, this ‘special arrangement’ does not mean that companies are discharged from paying VAT during this period. The Finnish Tax Administration will eventually collect the unpaid taxes. Also, taxes that are partially or fully unpaid accrue interest in the usual way, i.e. from the day following the due date up to the payment date. The reason for this special arrangement is that some EU Member States have had difficulties implementing the newly launched OSS system.  The One Stop Shop is a special VAT scheme that companies can use in their international consumer sales.