Extension of the scope of persons required to open a Hungarian bank account
Hungarian legal and natural persons liable for VAT, including self-employed persons, were already required to have at least one Hungarian bank account.
However, as of 1 January 2025, the scope of these obligations has been extended, and a Hungarian branch of a foreign company is now also required to open and operate at least one Hungarian bank account. The bank account may not only be HUF-based, or the taxpayer may have several bank accounts, even in different currencies. The type of bank account(s) a particular entrepreneur should open may depend on several factors (e.g. the currency of the tax liability, accounting, sales revenue, conditions of the banks), so it is worth considering these in advance.
As a general rule, they are obliged to hold their funds and settle their cash flows in a bank account and to conclude a bank account agreement for this purpose.
The first bank account must be opened within 15 days from the date of notification of the taxpayer’s tax number by the authority or court. On this basis, branches in Hungary that do not currently have a bank account must arrange for one to be opened shortly.
Opening a bank account is usually initiated in person (although some banks may even allow it to be done online without the need of personal presence). Typically, the legal representative of the company (e.g. the managing director) is authorized to open the account, but it may also be possible to authorize a proxy in accordance with the bank’s requirements. Typically, at least the following original/authentic documents are required to open a bank account: the valid deed of foundation of the company, a specimen signature of the representative countersigned by a lawyer/notarized specimen signature, a court registration order in the case of a new company, a public company certificate not older than 30 days in the case of an operating company, and the identity documents of the person acting as the representative. The list is not exhaustive, of course, as it depends on the conditions of the bank and the type of business of the taxpayer.
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