Hungary: Copyright levies for PCs added

The copyright levies of the complete scope of products liable to taxation is reviewed and reassessed in Hungary each year. There may be some major and some minor deviations in the tariff levels compared to the previous year. This year, however, there is a significant deviation: there are now levies on all types of PCs, in addition to all existing levies. The new levies range between 1.50 and 7.50 euros (converted), according to storage capacity of the device.

Very similar to the developments in other countries, this further completes the so-called product chain starting with MP3/4-player, mobile phones/smartphones and tablets, including the storage media usually used in or with these devices, i.e. mainly memory cards and hard disks. All this is already covered by copyright levies in Hungary. The modernisation and expansion of the levy system to include the new levies for PCs speaks for its vitality and may be in line with the current usage habits. It prepares the replacement of outdated formats such as audio cassettes.

The new Legal Notification No. 68, which established this important change, also forms the basis for the exemption of professional users from the levy liability. It gives them the possibility of exemption or retroactive refund of levies. A system of applying for exemptions and refunds has long been in place in the country.

For more information, please feel free to contact us at: copyright@1cc-consulting.com