What is the next course of action for an entity once the financial statements have been approved? Have there been any changes to the timing of the preparation, approval or filing of the financial statements or the approval notice?
The obligation to deposit the financial statements in the register of financial statements imposes on the entity a maximum of six months from the date on which the financial statements are drawn up, unless otherwise provided for by a specific regulation.
The deposit of an entity's financial statements shall be provided for by a special regulation which specifies that the obligation to deposit the financial statements in the register of financial statements shall not extend beyond the date for filing the income tax return. This means that if an entity files its tax return by the due date, it is obliged to deposit the financial statements in the register by that date.
Approval of the accounts
The approval of the financial statements is mandatory for an entity within a maximum period of one year from the end of the period for which the financial statements are drawn up. This means that an entity that has accounted on a calendar year basis (01.01.2021 - 31.12.2021) will prepare financial statements as at 31.12.2021 and will be required to approve the financial statements by 31.12.2022. An entity that has accounted on a business year basis (e.g. 01.03.2021 - 28.02.2022) will prepare financial statements as at 28.02.2022 and must approve them by 28.02.2023.
If an entity does not have approved financial statements by the deadline for filing them in the register of financial statements, but manages to file its tax return within the due date, it may file unapproved financial statements, but it must do so within one year of the end of the period for which they were prepared. In that case, however, it must also deposit a notice of approval in the register of accounts within the statutory period.
Time limit for depositing the notification
Where an entity approves the financial statements after they have been deposited in the register, it is obliged to deposit a notice of the date of approval of the financial statements in the register within a maximum period of 15 days from the date of approval.
For the purposes of the notification of the date of approval of the financial statements, the entity shall use the new form available on the portal of the financial administration in the section "Specimens of forms" within the electronic services section, which was recently issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and is valid from 01.01.2022. It does not matter for which period the entity prepares the financial statements, but it is necessary to use this new form.
Method of storing the financial statements in the register of financial statements
The process of depositing an entity's financial statements is carried out by the tax administrator, i.e. the tax office, which will enter the financial statements, as well as the notice of approval of the financial statements, in the register on behalf of the entity. There may be two methods of filing, namely electronically or in paper form.
Those entities which are obliged to communicate electronically with the tax authorities must submit the accounts and the notice of their approval exclusively electronically. This also applies to not-for-profit organisations, which became obliged to communicate purely electronically at the beginning of 2022.
On the other hand, entities that are not obliged to communicate with the tax office electronically may deliver the financial statements and the notice of approval to the tax office in paper form by filing them with the tax office or by sending them by post.
In the case of an entity which is, for example, a cooperative or a trading company, it must assess whether, for the accounting period in the calendar year 2021, its net turnover did not exceed €6 000 000, its total assets €3 000 000 and its average number of employees 40. In that case, the accounts must also be audited.
Public accessibility of the accounts
The financial statements, notices of approval of the financial statements and other documents deposited by the entities in the register of financial statements are only partially accessible to the public. Among the documents that are accessible to the public are the financial statements of cooperatives, commercial companies, state-owned enterprises and, as from 01.01.2022, the documents of civil associations, land associations and apartment owners' associations.