Hooray, at least something will get cheaper! It would seem that great news for both consumers and entrepreneurs. But let's try to look into the future. To begin with, let's say that reducing the VAT on fruits and vegetables to zero is one of the plans of the coalition government, which is yet to become law. Thus, the government wants to stimulate healthy eating.
There are many difficulties for legislators.
"Is a can of pasta sauce a vegetable?" - Prime Minister Rutte asked an unusual question at a meeting of the Senate.
To create the sauce, tomatoes and onions are used, but also sugar or butter. As a result, it is not clear what counts as fruits and vegetables? Processed or unprocessed fruits? It is clear that unprocessed is better, but the same beans, for example, no one will eat raw, but in the sauce they are swept off the counter.
As you can see, legislators are at the very beginning of the journey, and they will need to decide what exactly to reduce BTW (VAT) to 0. Thus, the law itself will appear no earlier than in a year or two.
For us, as buyers and consumers, cheaper fruits and vegetables are an undoubted benefit for the wallet and health.
So what's next for business?
It is logical to assume that the new law will bring some difficulties. Namely, the introduction of a new tariff rate and, consequently, changes in tax reporting for VAT.
Example. Horeca already sells goods in two different tariffs: a low one is used for some products (9%), and a high one, for example, for spirits (21%). After the introduction of the new law, there will be a new tariff (planned to be 0%) for healthy products (fruits and vegetables).
Accordingly, it will be necessary to keep separate records for the new category, which will entail many administrative changes. It will be necessary to reconfigure computer systems and cash registers, and it will be necessary to prepare for this in advance.
We will track news on this topic and keep you updated!
Publication Date: 21.02.2022
