Discounts provided by the IVAucher program will not be applied at the time of purchase, but the amount will be credited by banks to consumers’ accounts, according to a statement released by the Treasury Department this Monday.
IVAucher, whose first phase runs from June 1 to Tuesday, August 31, allows consumers to accumulate a full VAT amount on purchases made in the residential, cultural and restaurant sectors by requesting an invoice with a VAT number.
In September, the balance of each of the taxpayers who have joined the program will be determined, and during the period from October 1 to December 31, this amount can be deducted from the amounts payable for consumption made in the same set of sectors. In today’s statement, the Ministry of Finance finally explains how discounts that are subject to certain conditions will be handled, namely, the discount cannot exceed 50% of consumption. Thus, the discount will not be instant. The consumer pays the purchase amount in full, and then the bank credits the discount amount to his bank account.
Created to spur consumption in sectors particularly affected by the impact of the pandemic, IVAucher recorded low participation in June, despite Treasury Department citing that “available data for June indicate significant increases in invoices, tax base and related VAT. … in relation to 2020, reaching levels close to the homologous pre-pandemic period ”. And, as he notes, this is “a trend that is expected to intensify in July and August.”
Data for July and August will be available in the coming weeks, the guardian adds, pointing out that the tax break meant that the obligation to report invoices for July was pushed back to August 31, rather than August 12 as it had previously. …
“This solution allows merchants to integrate the IVAucher program while maintaining their usual electronic payment methods, while the IVAucher balance is returned directly by banking institutions to the consumer’s bank account,” he clarifies.
However, “merchants still have the ability to provide IVAucher discounts to customers through the system operator’s (SaltPay) network: TPA, IVAucher app and billing software.” In other words, in establishments that choose to use the SaltPay network, discounts will apply immediately.
