Belarusian VAT for digital service providers

From 1 January 2018, non-resident providers of electronic/digital services to consumers in Belarus will charge local VAT.  here is no annual sales registration threshold for non-resident providers of  digital services.

Non-resident providers of digital services will be obliged to register for VAT with the Ministry of Taxes and Duties. The application is paper-based.  

List of digital services that are the subject of Belarusian VAT

Belarusian law includes the following services within the definition of digital services:

• Licensing of software;
• Online computer games;
• Streaming or down load media;
• E-books;
• Database access;
• Internet advertising services;
• Real time trading platforms;
• Data storage and processing;
• Domain name provision and hosting.

VAT rates

In Belarus, the following VAT rates are applied:

• Standard rate: 20%;
• Reduced rate: 10%;
• Increased rate: 25%;
• Zero rate: 0%

Late — registration penalties

Belarusian administrative law provides for several types of fines in the following amounts for tax registration violations:

• Delay in tax registration: penalty of not more than five basic units (one basic unit = BYN24.5).
• Non-registration: penalty of not more than 20 basic units. The amount of the penalty depends on the duration of the delay in tax registration. For legal entities, the penalty equals 20% of the amount of income generated during the period of unregistered business activity.