The APEH and the BSA are cooperating

Together, the tax authorities and the international law enforcement organization will fight against illegal software use and the black economy.

A co-operation agreement has been signed between the Tax and Financial Control Office and the Business Software Alliance, an international law enforcement organization, with the aim of working together to combat illegal use of software for economic purposes. Within the framework of the co-operation, the parties intend to help efforts to curb the black economy, to reduce the wealth disadvantage of the national economy and the loss of public finances.

Another goal of the cooperation is to reduce the illegal use of software in Hungary in the coming years from the current 42% to the European Union average (which is currently 35%). The joint action is justified by the fact that the use of illegal software causes significant losses not only to the software industry but also to the national economy as a whole, as its distribution avoids paying taxes and contributions and makes illegal cash flows and payments uncontrollable. Considering the prevalence of computers in Hungary, the illegal use of software has become a problem affecting the entire national economy.

The APEH and the BSA expect the joint action to reduce the use of illegal software, at the same time to spread the use of legitimate software and increase public revenues. Compliance with the provisions on the registration of assets owned by the company is mandatory, violation of which may result in penalties.

The cooperation between the two organizations includes the professional training of APEH auditors on software licenses and the provision of a wide range of information to the public.

The cooperation was signed by Dr. János Szikora, President of the APEH, and Georg Herrnleben, BSA's Director for Central and Eastern Europe, on behalf of the BSA.

The tax authority is emphasizing to step up its efforts in the near future to curb illegal software use and distribution. This infringing activity greatly contributes to the fact that the actors of the black economy in Hungary earn billions of forints a year in hidden income, thus depriving the public finances of a significant amount of tax revenue and thousands of declared IT jobs.

Georg Herrnleben, BSA’s Director for Central and Eastern Europe, mentioned that through its programs, BSA keeps business owners and managers informed about the financial and legal risks of using illegal software among the company’s assets. While software registry education and information remains a primary area of ​​BSA's activity, the organization intends to support intellectual property and copyright protection by enforcing applicable laws.