Yes. A VAT payer receiving goods or services is liable for tax at the preceding stage if the supplier has not paid it and, when the tax liability arose, the customer knew or should and could have known that it would remain unpaid. The Act lists three sufficient grounds for such knowledge: an unreasonable price, shared personnel or ownership between the parties, and payment to a bank account other than the supplier's published account.
What this concerns
Under Section 69(13) of the VAT Act, a VAT payer to whom goods or services are or are to be supplied domestically is liable for the tax at the preceding stage shown on the invoice if:
- the supplier has not paid the tax shown on the invoice or has become unable to pay it, and at the same time
- when the tax liability arose, the customer knew, or on sufficient grounds should and could have known, that all or part of the tax would remain unpaid.
Both conditions must be met together. This is therefore not automatic liability for every unreliable supplier.
A note for readers using older materials: Financial Administration guidance on this topic still refers to Section 69(14). Following amendments, the rule is in paragraph 13; the content is the same, but the numbering differs.
Three grounds establishing knowledge
The Act itself lists sufficient grounds for concluding that the customer should and could have known:
a) An unreasonable price. The consideration on the invoice is unreasonably high or low without economic justification. Take care: a suspiciously low price is caught as well as an inflated one.
b) Shared personnel or ownership. When the tax liability arose, a statutory body, member of the statutory body or member of the supplier was also a statutory body, member of the statutory body or member of the customer.
c) Payment to another account. The consideration, or part of it, was paid to an account other than one published, on the payment date, in the list of bank accounts notified to the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic. The payment date is the date you instructed the bank to make the transfer.
Why this belongs in every transaction review
Ground b) directly affects intra-group transfers and the period immediately after an acquisition, when the statutory representatives or members on both sides are still the same. With this connection, whether the price was reasonable is not decisive: the connection itself suffices.
Ground c) affects payments outside the supplier’s usual account, including some situations involving escrow and payments to third-party accounts. The Act allows a supplier to notify an account belonging to another person, which is then treated as its own, but this must be done correctly and in advance. Checking before payment that the supplier’s account is on the list takes a minute and is one of the least expensive checks available.
In acquisitions, VAT liability therefore belongs in the tax part of legal due diligence, as both a historical target risk and a risk created by the transaction itself.
How the procedure works
Under Section 69b of the VAT Act:
- the decision is issued by the tax office with local jurisdiction over the supplier, rather than over you;
- you must pay the unpaid tax within eight days of delivery of the decision;
- an appeal may be filed within eight days, but has no suspensive effect;
- the supplier ceasing to exist without a legal successor does not affect your liability;
- if you claim an excess VAT deduction, the tax office uses it to pay this tax in priority to any other use.
You may inspect the file relating to the unpaid tax only to the extent necessary to exercise a right of appeal.
An alternative payment route is available
Section 69c allows a special method of paying the tax. A customer who knows, or should and could have known, that the tax will remain unpaid may pay it directly to the tax administrator’s account maintained for the supplier, no later than before delivery of the liability decision.
If the customer does so, the procedure under Section 69b does not apply, and a decision already issued is cancelled by payment.
In practice, this allows the risk in a transaction with a risky or connected supplier to be managed in advance: you pay the net price to the supplier and the VAT directly to the tax administrator. This mechanism should be agreed in the contract, rather than improvised after the first problem.
What to take away
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Check the supplier’s account against the published list before instructing payment.
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In intra-group transfers, allow for shared personnel or ownership as an independent ground for liability.
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An unusually low price carries the same risk as an unusually high one.
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For a risky supplier, consider the special tax payment method and address it in the agreement.
Where we handle this
We assess VAT liability as part of legal due diligence and reflect it in the transaction documents for company sales and purchases, including representations, payment arrangements and holdbacks.
We are lawyers, rather than tax advisers. We identify the risk and address it contractually; a tax adviser assesses the specific tax liability, and we work together in disputed proceedings.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 9 August 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
