Foreign companies’ filing requirements including “specific information"

On 1 January 2021, new rules regarding "specific information" (Sw. särskilda uppgifter) were introduced. The rules state that certain foreign companies must submit "specific information" to the Swedish Tax Agency. 

Information must be provided by foreign companies that do not submit an income tax return and fulfills one of the three criteria below:

• is registered for Swedish F-tax,
• is required to deduct preliminary tax from compensation for work in Sweden, or
• is required to provide the equipment necessary to keep an electronic staff register on a building or construction site.
  

The following information shall be submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency:

• information regarding the company’s operations in Sweden,
  
• the time period over which the operations have been carried out, and
  
• any other information that the Swedish Tax Agency requires to assess tax liability under the Swedish Income Tax Act.
  

The new rules are applied for the first time to financial years beginning after 31 December 2020, hence, the first period to submit information for is financial year 2021.

The "specific information" has the same filing date as an income tax return would have had (should the company had been obligated to file one), i.e., for a company with calendar year as its financial year, the information should be submitted no later than the 1st of July the year after the financial year in question.

Companies must submit the "specific information" annually from 2022 onwards as long the company is obligated to file such information according to one of the three criteria above.

If the "specific information" is submitted to late, the company can be liable to pay a penalty fee between SEK 1 250 – 3 750.  

An e-service for "specific information" will be available from mid-March 2022 through which the information should be submitted.

To confirm that the "specific information" provided is correct, an authorized signee of the company must sign the "specific information" using a pointing device such as a computer mouse. Hence, the information cannot be submitted by e.g., an advisor.

If a company is unable to use the e-service, the company should contact the Swedish Tax Agency. 

Foreign companies are obligated to file income tax returns if they carry out business activities from e.g., a permanent establishment in Sweden. A company must itself assess whether it has a permanent establishment.

The Swedish Tax Agency has recently started to send out income tax returns for financial year 2021 to companies. However, if a company is not liable to tax in Sweden the company has no obligation to file an income tax return. 

If your company has received an income tax return but is not liable to tax in Sweden the company has no obligation to file an income tax return. Furthermore, if your company is required to file "specific information" in accordance with the above, the "specific information" should suffice, i.e., a company is not obligated to file both an income tax return and "specific information".

When filing "specific information", it is important that the information is correct and transparent in order for the Swedish Tax Agency to be able to make a correct assessment. Please note that incorrect information can lead to tax penalties. We can assist with discussing and analyzing whether a foreign company has a permanent establishment in Sweden. Furthermore, we can assist with advising on how a foreign company should answer the Swedish Tax Agency’s questions with regards to "specific information" in order for the company to be transparent. 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like to discuss.

Subscribe to TaxNews och other news from KPMG Sweden.