Annual closing — what, by when, and what happens if I am late?

What does the law say?

Annual tax return. It is filed under art. 92 of the Corporate Income Tax Act in the period 1 March – 30 June of the following year, electronically only. Corporate income tax is 10 % and is paid within the same deadline. The return is also where expense tax is declared.

Corrective return. It is allowed once, by 30 September of the same year. After that date corrections go through a notification to the territorial directorate of the National Revenue Agency under the procedure of the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code.

Annual financial statements. They are published in the Commercial Register by 30 September. Publication is free of a state fee. Exempt are sole traders who are not subject to a mandatory independent financial audit, and dormant undertakings, which publish a declaration instead of statements.

Advance instalments. They depend on the net sales revenue for the previous year: up to about 153 388 € no advance instalments are made; between that amount and about 1 533 876 € the instalments are quarterly; above that — monthly. The return on the type and amount of the advance instalments is filed from 1 March to 15 April. If the annual tax due exceeds the declared instalments by more than 25 %, interest is due on the excess.

Self-insured persons have a separate deadline. The final social security contributions for the previous year are paid within the deadline for filing the individual's annual tax return.

Penalties. An annual tax return that is not filed or is filed late is penalised under art. 261 of the Corporate Income Tax Act with a fine ranging from several hundred to several thousand euros, and for a repeat offence — at double the amount. Annual financial statements that are not published are penalised under art. 74 of the Accountancy Act with a pecuniary penalty of 0.1–0.5 % of net sales revenue, but not less than the established minimum, and for a repeat offence — at double the amount. Systematic failure to publish may also lead to proceedings for the dissolution of the company.

The closing calendar

1. January–February. Stocktaking, closing the accounts, clearing the cash account and receivables, collecting missing documents.
2. 1 March – 15 April. Return on the advance instalments for the current year, if the company owes any.
3. By 30 June. Filing the annual tax return and paying the corporate income tax.
4. By 30 June. Declaration of no activity in the Commercial Register, if that is the case.
5. By 30 September. Publication of the annual financial statements; also the last date for the one-off corrective return.

What goes wrong most often?

• The two dates get mixed up. 30 June is the tax return, 30 September is the statements. Meeting the first does not save the second.
• The statements are considered filed because they have been prepared. The obligation is to publish them in the Commercial Register, not to draw them up.
• Missing documents chased in June. A counterparty that does not reply in January does not reply in June either — only by then the deadline is already close.