The total turnover of enterprises in activities that are subject to VAT, excluding the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture, amounted to 737 billion ISK in the two month period of November to December 2017, which is an increase of 9.2% compared with the same period in 2016. On an annual basis, the turnover in 2017 was 4,145 billion ISK, 4.2% higher than in 2016.
| Table 1: Turnover according to VAT-reports (billion ISK) | ||||||
| Nov.-Dec. 2016 | Nov.-Dec. 2017 | % | 2016 | 2017 | % | |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture and forestry¹ | 675 | 737 | 9.2 | 3,979 | 4,145 | 4.2 |
| A-03/C-102 Fishing, aquaculture; fish processing | 49 | 54 | 11.2 | 348 | 318 | -8.6 |
| C-24 Manufacture of basic metals | 32 | 38 | 18.7 | 198 | 222 | 12.1 |
| C Manufacturing; excluding fish processing, pharmaceutical industry and manufacture of basic metals | 71 | 80 | 12.9 | 392 | 413 | 5.3 |
| D/E Electricity, gas; water supply; sewerage and waste management | 30 | 31 | 5.0 | 162 | 170 | 4.5 |
| F/B Construction, mining and quarrying | 57 | 62 | 8.6 | 281 | 323 | 14.8 |
| G-45 Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 23 | 28 | 18.0 | 161 | 174 | 8.4 |
| G-46171/G-46172/G-46381 Wholesale of fish and fish markets | 30 | 32 | 6.9 | 227 | 193 | -15.0 |
| G-4671 Wholesale of fuels | 16 | 19 | 14.6 | 110 | 124 | 12.4 |
| G-46 Other wholesale | 63 | 63 | -0.1 | 341 | 344 | 0.8 |
| G-47 Retail trade | 82 | 88 | 7.3 | 428 | 453 | 6.0 |
| H Transportation and storage | 61 | 70 | 16.2 | 429 | 454 | 5.9 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 27 | 27 | 1.7 | 173 | 189 | 9.5 |
| J Information and communication | 36 | 39 | 7.3 | 195 | 197 | 1.4 |
| N-7711 Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | 7 | 8 | 17.2 | 45 | 51 | 12.5 |
| N-79 Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities | 13 | 14 | 3.1 | 97 | 108 | 11.5 |
| e-services from abroad | 1 | 2 | 19.2 | 4 | 7 | 93.2 |
| Other fields of activity | 76 | 82 | 7.6 | 387 | 404 | 4.4 |
| ¹For the time being, VAT-turnover is pubished excluding the pharmaceutical industry. Data validation is ongoing. Many farmers report VAT biannually, in accordance with paragraph 31 of the VAT-laws, and have longer reporting deadlines. Reliable data on VAT-turnover during the later half of 2017 in agriculture is not yet available. | ||||||
Turnover by VAT-rate
The higher VAT-rate, or standard rate, is now 24%. All goods and services are subject to this rate unless otherwise specified in the law on VAT (Act 50/1988).
The lower VAT-rate is now 11%. Examples of goods and services in this category include: books, newspapers, house-heating, food, restaurants, accommodation services, and domestic passenger transport (excluding public transport). Alcoholic beverages are subject to the lower VAT-rate since 1 January 2016.
A zero-rated supply falls within the scope of the VAT Act, but no output VAT is charged since the rate is zero. This category includes export of goods and services and contractual payments from the Treasury regarding milk production and sheep farming.
Some services are exempt from VAT, e.g. public transport, medical services, athletic activities, museums, postal services, and lotteries. The suppliers of such services cannot charge VAT or get credit for input VAT on purchases for the exempt (part of the) business.
More details on VAT can be found at the Directorate of Internal Revenue.
| Table 2: VAT-turnover 2017, by VAT-rate (billion ISK) | ||||
| Zero rate | Reduced rate | Standard rate | Total | |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture and forestry¹ | 1,233 (30%) | 895 (22%) | 2,017 (49%) | 4,145 |
| A-03/C-102 Fishing, aquaculture; fish processing | 215 (67%) | 89 (28%) | 15 (5%) | 318 |
| C-24 Manufacture of basic metals | 221 (99%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) | 222 |
| C Manufacturing excluding fish processing (C-102), the pharmaceutical industry (C-21) and manufacture of basic metals (C-24) |
101 (25%) | 136 (33%) | 176 (43%) | 413 |
| D/E Electricity, gas; water supply; sewerage and waste management | 7 (4%) | 25 (15%) | 138 (81%) | 170 |
| F/B Construction, mining and quarrying | 5 (1%) | 1 (0%) | 317 (98%) | 323 |
| G-45 Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 8 (5%) | 0 (0%) | 166 (95%) | 174 |
| G-46171/G-46172/G-46381 Wholesale of fish and fish markets | 145 (75%) | 39 (20%) | 9 (5%) | 193 |
| G-4671 Wholesale of fuels | 29 (24%) | 6 (5%) | 88 (71%) | 124 |
| G-46 Other wholesale | 28 (8%) | 89 (26%) | 227 (66%) | 344 |
| G-47 Retail trade | 20 (4%) | 190 (42%) | 244 (54%) | 453 |
| H Transportation and storage | 353 (78%) | 25 (5%) | 77 (17%) | 454 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 5 (3%) | 177 (93%) | 7 (4%) | 189 |
| J Information and communication | 41 (21%) | 16 (8%) | 141 (71%) | 197 |
| N-7711 Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | 1 (2%) | 0 (1%) | 50 (98%) | 51 |
| N-79 Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities | 15 (14%) | 86 (80%) | 7 (6%) | 108 |
| e-services from abroad | 0 (0%) | 1 (13%) | 6 (86%) | 7 |
| Other fields of activity | 41 (10%) | 15 (4%) | 348 (86%) | 404 |
| ¹For the time being, VAT-turnover is pubished excluding the pharmaceutical industry. Data validation is ongoing. Many farmers report VAT biannually, in accordance with paragraph 31 of the VAT-laws, and have longer reporting deadlines. Reliable data on VAT-turnover during the later half of 2017 in agriculture is not yet available. | ||||
Revision of statistics
At the time of our previous press release, in January, the VAT turnover, excluding the pharmaceutical industry, in September to October 2017 was estimated 737.7 billion ISK which was an increase of 8.3% compared with the same period in 2016. At present, more data are available and the VAT turnover in September to October 2017 is estimated 738.7 billion ISK which is an increase of 8.4% compared with the same period in 2016.
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