When is it really submitted? Approval, versions and self-revision in eVAT
When does an eVAT return count as submitted, who can approve it, and when is a self-revision, correction or repair needed? The 15-day surcharge-free rule.
An eVAT return counts as submitted when the draft return is approved (VAT Act 184 (3)). Uploading and an error-free check are not enough: the checked draft only becomes a submitted return through approval.
The final part of the series helps you know for certain on the deadline day which returns are submitted, and what to do if an error turns up afterwards: when a self-revision, correction or repair is needed, when a self-revision is surcharge-free, and on which channel it can be filed. The whole series is also available on one page.
Submission deadlines and rules
- 30 days how long a draft ready to submit can wait for approval via M2M
- 15 days surcharge-free self-revision for returns submitted via M2M
- 90 days how long the VAT records of an M2M return can be downloaded
- 1st when filed on several channels, the return submitted first counts
Source: VAT Act 184 (5)–(6); Art. 211 (3) c); NAV eVAT M2M interface specification
When does an eVAT return count as submitted?
Under VAT Act 184 (3), on both the eVAT web interface and via M2M, approving the draft return counts as submitting the return. The process has two stages. First, NAV checks the uploaded VAT analytics and, if it finds no error that blocks submission, prepares a draft ready to submit. This draft is not yet a return: it only becomes a submitted return through approval, and for the deadline, the day of approval is what counts.
The path of a return up to approval and beyond
Click the numbers or use the Previous and Next buttons to move between the steps.
- Checks: Upload and checks — NAV receives and checks the VAT analytics. If it finds an error that blocks submission, the data must be corrected and uploaded again. (Not yet submitted)
- Checks: Draft ready to submit — The checks finished without errors and the draft can be approved. Via M2M it can wait up to 30 days; after that it expires and the upload must be repeated. (30 days)
- Submission: Approval — The person authorised to approve submits the return: with the submit button on the web interface, or from the filing software via M2M. Under the law, this approval is the submission. (VAT Act 184 (3))
- Submission: Submitted — The return becomes submitted. The submission and the return data also appear on the eVAT web interface, where a PDF can be downloaded. (Submitted)
- After submission: Later checks — NAV may run some comparisons after submission as well. If they flag a difference that requires a change, the return can be fixed by self-revision or correction. (Warning)
- After submission: Change — A submitted return can be changed by self-revision, correction or, at NAV’s request, repair. Each is a new return and can only be filed for a submitted return. (New return)
Based on VAT Act 184, NAV’s eVAT user manual and the eVAT M2M interface specification.
If nobody approves a draft prepared via M2M, NAV deletes the VAT records and the draft on the last day of the month following the filing deadline (VAT Act 184 (4)). The ready-to-submit state is valid for a shorter time, 30 days. So on the deadline day the question is not whether the return was uploaded, but whether it was approved.
Who can approve the return?
Approval is a separate permission. Via M2M, it requires the “return approval” permission; without it, the return can be uploaded and checked, but not submitted. Keep this permission to a small group, and appoint a deputy in advance, so that a holiday or illness does not surface on the deadline day. Setting up permissions is covered in part 5.
How can submission be proven?
How do you approve, and how do you know it worked?
eVAT M2M
Via M2M, the person authorised to approve submits the return from the filing software. The software shows when the return has been submitted; the submission and the return data are also visible on the eVAT web interface, where a PDF of the return can be downloaded.
Keep the submitted return data, the time of submission and the name of the approver. A good filing software logs these automatically.
Web XML upload
With web XML upload, you approve the return with the submit button on the period card of the “Statements and returns” screen, if you wish to submit it based on the check results and the draft. The status of the submitted return can be followed on the same screen.
eVAT web interface
On the eVAT web interface, the submit button becomes active after the pre-check. With an error, the return cannot be submitted until a new pre-check finds it error-free; with warnings only, it can be submitted with the submit button. The submitted return appears on the “Statements and returns” screen.
Which return counts if it is filed on several channels?
Under VAT Act 184 (6), if a return for the same period is submitted in several ways, the one submitted first counts as the return. A later filing is therefore not a fallback, and it does not override the first. If the submitted return contains an error, the solution is a self-revision or correction, not filing again.
The rule stays after the ÁNYK phase-out. Returns can currently still be filed in ÁNYK, so a typical mistake today is preparing a “backup” ÁNYK return next to one already submitted in eVAT. According to NAV’s current guidance, from 1 January 2027 new returns can no longer be submitted in ÁNYK, and it remains available only for self-revising periods filed there earlier; the date may still change, so follow NAV’s latest announcements. After the phase-out two channels remain, the eVAT web interface and the machine (M2M) connection, and between them, too, the return submitted first counts.
Which channel came first also matters: the surcharge-free self-revision within 15 days applies to returns submitted via machine interface (Art. 211 (3) c)). So record for each period where the return was submitted.
Versions: what the software handles, and what to watch
Via M2M, every re-upload is a new version, self-revisions are numbered, and each refers to the return it changes. NAV checks these numbers strictly, but keeping them is not the tax professional’s job: good filing software numbers the versions and sets the references automatically.
For the professional, three things matter: which version was actually submitted, which return a self-revision changes, and whether the full history of the period, from the original return to the latest change, is visible in one place. If the numbering is wrong, NAV rejects the upload; such messages are explained in the validation message database.
What is the difference between self-revision, correction and repair?
The three kinds of change
Each is a new return that refers to the earlier, already submitted one. Which one you need depends on what changes and who initiates it.
Self-revision
When the tax base, the tax or a budget subsidy changes
When?:
- The taxpayer finds that the reported tax was not correct
- Differences above HUF 1,000 can be corrected this way
- Via M2M, it can be surcharge-free within 15 days
Correction
When the tax base and the tax do not change
When?:
- It fixes data without affecting the tax
- For example, a statement or a supplementary sheet entry that does not change the reported tax
Repair
When NAV asks for a faulty return to be repaired
When?:
- Filed after NAV’s notice sent to the taxpayer’s storage
- The barcode of the return classified as faulty must be given
- Its type matches the type of the return being repaired
Terms as defined in NAV’s eVAT user manual; the HUF 1,000 threshold: Art. 56 (3). Source: NAV: eVAT user manual (in Hungarian)
All three can only be filed for an already submitted return, and each contains the full return with the corrected data. For a repair, the barcode from NAV’s notice must also be given.
When is a self-revision surcharge-free?
Under Art. 211 (3) c), for a return submitted via M2M no self-revision surcharge is due if the self-revision is filed within 15 days of submission, but at the latest of the due date. That is another reason to know exactly when the return was submitted. If a surcharge is still charged within the 15 days, NAV issues a warning.
If a self-revision is planned, the intention can also be announced: on the eVAT web interface there is a separate menu item for this at the period of the original return. For 15 days after the announcement, the tax authority cannot start an audit for that period and tax type (Art. 55). The announcement is not a precondition for self-revision.
On which channel can a return be self-revised?
The channel for a self-revision depends on where the original return was submitted:
| Where was the original return submitted? | Where can it be self-revised? |
|---|---|
| On an ÁNYK form | Only on a form |
| On the eVAT web interface or via M2M | In eVAT or on a form; once self-revised on a form, only on a form from then on |
According to NAV, ÁNYK will remain available after the migration for self-revising periods filed in ÁNYK before 2027. That is why one of the most important records of the migration is which period was filed on which channel; this is also covered in the ÁNYK phase-out guide (in Hungarian).
What does this mean in practice?
For companies
In a company, submission is the decision of a designated person. Agree in advance:
Who approves the return, and who deputises: approval permission should not be held by everyone who can upload.
What proves submission: the submitted status, the time of submission and the approver should be traceable.
Which period was filed on which channel: this decides where it can be self-revised later.
When the surcharge-free self-revision window ends: track the 15-day deadline from the day of submission.
For accounting firms
In an accounting firm, this repeats for every client, so on the deadline day the key question is: is every client’s return submitted?
Approval per client: clarify whether the client or the firm approves the return; permissions are covered in part 5.
Avoiding double filing: once a return is submitted, a “backup” filed on another channel does not override it — neither in ÁNYK today, nor between the web interface and M2M after the ÁNYK phase-out.
Evidence per client: the submission status and data should be traceable for each client.
Self-revision: on the client’s channel, and via M2M within the 15-day surcharge-free window.
Practical cases: submitted or not?
Submitted or not — and what is the next step?
Six typical situations from approval to self-revision. The explanations are based on VAT Act 184, the Art. and NAV’s eVAT user manual.
- It is the deadline day. The software shows that the checks finished without errors and the return can be submitted, but nobody has started the approval. Is it submitted?
- Correct: No; the return only counts as submitted once it is approved — Correct. Under VAT Act 184 (3), approving the draft is the submission. Until that happens, the return is not submitted, even if every check passed.
- Yes, an error-free check counts as submission — No. An error-free check only means the draft can be submitted. Under the law, approval is the submission.
- Yes, if NAV’s later checks have also finished — No. Later checks do not decide whether the return is submitted; approval does.
- The return has already been submitted in eVAT. To be safe, it was also filed for the same period in ÁNYK. Which one counts?
- Correct: The one submitted first, i.e. the eVAT return — Correct. Under VAT Act 184 (6), if a return is submitted in several ways, the one submitted first counts as the taxpayer’s return. The second filing does not override the first.
- The later ÁNYK return, because it overrides the earlier one — No. The law treats the return submitted first as the return.
- Whichever NAV accepts later — No. NAV does not choose: under the law, the return submitted first counts. If it contains an error, it must be fixed by self-revision or correction.
- The return can be submitted, but the colleague authorised to approve it is on holiday, and the deadline is today. What is the right solution?
- The person who uploaded the return submits it — Not necessarily possible: approval is a separate permission; the right to upload is not enough.
- File it in ÁNYK, which is always possible — Not a good solution. It does not solve the permission issue, and the channel chosen also decides where the return can later be self-revised (VAT Act 184 (7)–(8)).
- Correct: Someone with approval permission approves it; a deputy should be appointed and given the permission in advance — Correct. Via M2M, approval requires the “return approval” permission. Deputising must be arranged before the deadline, so it does not turn out on the deadline day that nobody can submit the return.
- A monthly return was submitted via M2M on the deadline day. Ten days later it turns out the VAT on one invoice was reported too low. Is a self-revision surcharge due?
- Yes, the surcharge is mandatory for every self-revision — No. Art. 211 (3) has several exceptions, including the self-revision within 15 days of a return submitted via machine interface.
- Correct: No, if the self-revision is submitted within 15 days — Correct. Under Art. 211 (3) c), for a return submitted via machine interface no surcharge is due if the self-revision is filed within 15 days of submission, but at the latest of the due date.
- Only if the return was submitted on the web interface — No. The surcharge exemption is tied to returns submitted via machine interface, not to the web interface.
- A statement in the submitted return contains a typo, but it does not affect the reported tax. What must be filed?
- Correct: A correction — Correct. According to NAV’s manual, a correction can be filed when the tax base, the tax and the budget subsidy do not change.
- A self-revision, with surcharge — No. A self-revision is needed when the tax base, the tax or a budget subsidy changes.
- A repair, with the barcode from NAV’s letter — No. A repair is filed at NAV’s request; it requires the barcode from NAV’s notice.
- The return for August 2026 was still filed in ÁNYK. Now it turns out it must be self-revised. Where can that be done?
- In eVAT, as that is the filing channel from now on — No. Under VAT Act 184 (7), a return submitted on a form can only be self-revised on a form.
- Correct: Only on a form — Correct. The tax base and tax of a return submitted on a form can only be corrected by self-revision on a form. That is why it is worth recording which period was filed on which channel.
- On any channel, freely chosen — No. The choice is only free for a return submitted in eVAT, and only until it has been self-revised on a form.
How SimplyX helps
In SimplyX, the return is submitted from the SimplyX interface by the user authorised to approve it. The system handles versions and the references of self-revisions, so the professional does not have to deal with numbering. SimplyX tracks the status of the return from upload to submission, notifies you of status changes and logs every step; PDFs can be exported for returns and the log. For companies and accounting firms alike, you can see in one place which returns are still awaiting approval. How SimplyX eVAT M2M works
Related resources
eVAT migration in practice — the whole article series on one page
eVAT validation messages — NAV messages explained in plain language
eVAT M2M registration — technical user and permissions
Series summary
This brings the series to its end: from choosing a channel, through data, tax codes, permissions and the test return, to NAV’s feedback and submission. All parts are also available on one page, in order; handling NAV messages is covered in part 7, the test return in part 6.
Sources
Act CXXVII of 2007 on VAT, Section 184 (in Hungarian)
Act CL of 2017 on the Rules of Taxation, Sections 54–57 and 211 (in Hungarian)
NAV: eVAT user manual (in Hungarian)
NAV: eVAT M2M 2.0 interface specification, v1.1 (July 2026, in Hungarian)