Businesses that are not full VAT payers but trade with other EU countries must often take on a special VAT status. In Slovakia this means registering under § 7 and § 7a of the VAT Act; in the Czech Republic it means becoming an identified person. In both cases you get a VAT number, must self-assess VAT on cross-border purchases, cannot deduct input VAT, and remain a non-payer for domestic sales — but the thresholds and terminology differ.
Why a special VAT status for cross-border trade?
EU VAT rules require that tax on intra-EU acquisitions of goods and on many cross-border services is accounted for in the country of the customer. A small business below the domestic registration threshold would otherwise escape this. Both Slovakia and the Czech Republic therefore created a light-touch status: you report and pay VAT on the cross-border transactions without becoming a full VAT payer.
The key practical point in both countries is that this status does not turn you into a full payer. You keep invoicing domestic customers without VAT and you get no right to deduct — the number exists only to settle the cross-border tax.
Slovakia: registration under § 7 and § 7a
Slovakia splits the obligation in two. Under § 7, you must register before the value of goods acquired from other member states exceeds €14,000 in a calendar year (new means of transport and excise goods are excluded from the limit). Under § 7a, you must register — with no threshold at all — before receiving a service from a foreign supplier taxable in Slovakia, or before supplying a service to another member state where the customer accounts for the tax.
The Czech Republic: the identified person
The Czech Republic bundles the same situations under one label, the identified person (§ 6g–§6l of the VAT Act). You become one when goods acquired from the EU exceed CZK 326,000 in a calendar year (§ 6g), or immediately on the first cross-border service — whether you receive it (§ 6h) or supply it to another member state (§ 6i). Registration must follow within 15 days of the triggering event.
How the thresholds and terminology differ
The goods threshold is the clearest contrast: €14,000 in Slovakia versus CZK 326,000 (roughly €13,000) in the Czech Republic — close in value but set in different currencies and counted differently, so they must never be mixed. For services, neither country applies a threshold; a single transaction creates the obligation. The names also differ: Slovakia speaks of „a person registered for tax under § 7/§7a“, the Czech Republic of an „identified person“.
What are the duties — and can you deduct input VAT?
In both countries you must self-assess and pay VAT on the intra-EU acquisition or the received service, file a VAT return for the period in which the liability arose, and submit an EC Sales List (recapitulative statement / souhrnné hlášení) when you supply services cross-border under the reverse charge. The same reverse-charge logic shapes the invoice itself — see our guide on how to invoice abroad from a VAT perspective. Crucially, neither status allows you to deduct input VAT — that remains the privilege of a full VAT payer.
You remain a non-payer for domestic sales
This is the feature that confuses many business owners. Holding a VAT number under § 7/§7a or as an identified person does not mean charging VAT to local customers. For domestic transactions you stay a non-payer; the number is used only to declare tax on cross-border dealings. It therefore has little effect on your domestic pricing or on the usual invoice requirements described in our guide on how to issue a domestic invoice in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
How and when to register
In Slovakia the application is filed before the triggering event — before crossing the €14,000 goods threshold or before the first § 7a service. In the Czech Republic the identified person registers within 15 days of the triggering event. In both countries, missing the deadline can mean penalties and back-assessed tax, so businesses buying regularly from the EU should monitor their cross-border volumes with their accountant.
Buying goods or services from the EU and unsure whether you must register under § 7/§7a or as an identified person? We will review your cross-border dealings, register you on time and set up the VAT return and EC Sales List so you avoid penalties.
FAQ
Does this status make me a full VAT payer?
No. Neither Slovak § 7/§7a registration nor the Czech identified-person status turns you into a full VAT payer. You keep invoicing domestic customers without VAT and you cannot deduct input VAT. The VAT number serves only to declare and pay tax on your cross-border transactions.
Can I deduct the VAT I self-assess on EU purchases?
No. In both Slovakia and the Czech Republic this status carries no right to deduct input VAT. You must declare and pay the VAT on acquired goods or received services, but you cannot recover it. That is the main difference from being a full VAT payer.
Do the thresholds for goods match in the two countries?
They are close but not identical. Slovakia sets the goods-acquisition threshold at €14,000 per calendar year under § 7, while the Czech Republic sets it at CZK 326,000 (about €13,000) under § 6g. For services there is no threshold in either country — the first transaction triggers the obligation.