A taxable person shall mean any person who, independently, carries out in any place any economic activity, whatever the purpose or results of that activity.
A taxable person shall register in the State Revenue Service (SRS) Value Added Tax Taxable Persons Register (VAT Taxable persons register) before VAT taxable transactions are made.
Taxable persons are divided as follows:
- inland taxable persons:
- registered taxable persons – taxable persons which have been registered in the SRS VAT Taxable persons register,
- non-registered taxable persons – taxable persons which, exercising the rights laid down in the Value Added Tax Law*, have not been registered in the SRS VAT Taxable persons register in accordance with the general procedure.
* An inland taxable person may not register in the SRS VAT Taxable person register, if the total value of the supplies of goods and services subject to VAT made within the territory of Latvia (inland) in that calendar year, excluding VAT, has not exceeded EUR 50,000.
* An inland taxable person who receives services from a person from another Member State or from any third country or third territory which is not established inland, the place of supply of which is determined in accordance with Section 19, Paragraph one of the Value Added Tax Law, may not register in the SRS VAT Taxable person register until the total value of supplies of goods and services subject to VAT within the territory of Latvia (inland) in that calendar year, excluding VAT, has not exceeded EUR 50,000, and if he or she uses the special registration scheme specified in Section 139.2 of the Value Added Tax Law.
- taxable persons of another Member State:
- registered taxable persons of another Member State - taxable persons which have been registered in the register of taxable persons of another Member State for tax payment purposes;
- non-registered taxable persons of another Member State - taxable persons which have not been registered in the register of taxable persons of another Member State and the legal address or place or residence of which is in another Member State.
- taxable persons of third countries or third territories:
- registered taxable persons of third countries or third territories - taxable persons to whom an identification number of a taxable person or a similar number has been issued by the country in which the taxable person performs economic activity which allows to identify the taxable person for taxation purposes;
- non-registered taxable persons of third countries or territories -taxable persons to whom an identification number of a taxable person or a similar number has not been issued by the country in which the taxable person is established which allows to identify the taxable person for taxation purposes.
The following persons shall also be regarded as a registered taxable person:
- a fiscal representative;
- a VAT group;
- any person who, on occasional basis, supplies a new means of transport which is dispatched or transported to the recipient by the supplier, recipient, or third person on behalf of the supplier or recipient to a destination outside inland areas, but within the territory of the European Union;
- the recipient of services in accordance with Article 18 of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 of 15 March 2011 laying down implementing measures for Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (recast) – for the determining the place of supply of service;
- a State or local government institution or local government - in respect of receipt of construction services in accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 142 of the Value Added Tax Law;
- a body governed by public law in respect of the following transactions if it:
- supplies electronic communications services;
- supplies goods, including water, gas, electricity;
- supplies goods transport services;
- supplies port or airport services;
- supplies passenger transport services;
- makes transactions in respect of agricultural products, carried out by agricultural intervention agencies pursuant to conditions of Regulations on the common organisation of the market in those products;
- organises trade fairs and exhibitions;
- supplies warehousing services;
- supplies advertising services of commercial nature;
- supplies tourism services;
- supplies television and radio services of commercial nature;
- supplies catering services in compliance with the exemptions referred to in Section 52, Paragraph one of the Value Added Tax Law;
- supplies leasing services.
- bodies governed by public law, as well as private individuals who fulfil, in accordance with the State Administration Structure Law, the tasks of State administration delegated or transferred to them through authorisation, where their treatment as non-taxable persons would significantly affect the situation in the field of competition in respect of the market participants (present or potential) performing competitive activities or transactions and thus would lead to significant distortions of competition;
- a legal non-taxable person if it acquires goods within the territory of the European Union or receives services the place of supply of which is determined in accordance with Section 19, Paragraph one of the Value Added Tax Law.