VAT control statement

What it means

The control statement is a detailed listing of documents that a VAT payer files together with the return for the same period. Nothing is paid on it - it exists so the authority can match a supplier’s issued invoice against the customer’s received one.

It is split into sections by type of supply: issued documents, received documents with deduction, correcting documents, simplified documents and till summaries. Each line carries the partner’s VAT ID, the document number, the base and the tax.

It is not the same as the EC Sales List. That one reports supplies of goods and services to customers in other EU states and serves cross-border control, while the control statement matches domestic trade and also covers purchases where the customer pays the tax under the reverse charge.

How it works in practice

The financial administration matches both sides automatically. A mismatch in the document number, the VAT ID or the amount triggers a request for explanation, even where the tax itself is correct.

So when entering invoices the document number is taken exactly as the supplier wrote it, and the period is checked. Most requests come from a typo or a document posted in the wrong month, not from intent.

When an error is found after filing, a supplementary control statement is filed. We prepare it as soon as the partner or the office flags the mismatch, and if the amount of tax changes as well we add a supplementary tax return; a mere typo in a document number needs only the corrected statement.

What to watch out for

Not filing, or filing late, carries its own penalty regardless of the return. Repeated mismatches raise the odds of a tax audit - the statement is now the main way companies get selected for review.

A supplier who repeatedly fails to match is a warning sign. If they do not declare their tax, the authority also looks at the customer’s deduction and, where fraud is suspected, can invoke joint liability for the tax - so mismatches with a partner are settled at once, not during an audit.