One of our clients, a small catering company, bought a laptop for the office. The invoice was in order: MKD 60,000 taxable amount, 18% VAT, MKD 70,800 in total. Paid, filed, sent to us.
"We'll deduct the VAT, right? MKD 10,800."
We deducted 3,000.
Computers are not 18%
The reduced 5% rate is not only for bread and medicines. Article 30 of the Macedonian VAT Law also applies it to automatic data-processing machines and their units — computers (paragraph 1, point 10), and among services, to software for them (paragraph 2, point 2). A laptop is a computer. On a taxable amount of MKD 60,000 the VAT is 3,000, not 10,800.
The Government specifies in more detail which goods fall under this rate (Article 30(3)), so for peripherals — a monitor, printer, scanner — it is worth checking whether it really is a "computer unit" or an ordinary item at 18%.
Why the excess cannot be deducted
If a supplier shows more VAT than it owes under the law, the supplier owes that excess (Article 55(2)). It is not your input VAT. The law expressly excludes it from deduction: there is no right of deduction for tax owed by the issuer of the invoice under Article 55 (Article 35, point 7).
The rule: you deduct only VAT at the rate the law prescribes. Anything above that is the supplier's debt to the state — not your claim against the state.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Taxable amount | MKD 60,000 |
| VAT on the invoice (18%) | MKD 10,800 |
| VAT under the law (5%) | MKD 3,000 |
| Deductible | MKD 3,000 |
| Excess owed by the supplier | MKD 7,800 |
How you get the money back
The excess is not lost — it just comes from the supplier, not from the state.
- Ask for a correction. The supplier issues a corrected invoice or a correction document with the right VAT. That ends its liability for the excess (Article 55(3), referring to Article 22(1)).
- Settle the difference. If the price was agreed "VAT included", the supplier refunds MKD 7,800 or offsets it against the next purchase.
- Don't wait for an audit. Excess VAT deducted and disallowed in a tax audit comes back with interest — and by then the supplier will be in no hurry to correct anything.
What to check in your books
Computers, laptops, servers and software bought this year: if the invoice says 18%, check whether that is really the right rate for the item. One invoice is not much. Five laptops and annual licences are.