If you have a business in Hungary, you may have received an e-mail from the Budapest Chamber of Commerce (BKIK) about your yearly contribution. This is a fee that all Hungarian companies must pay to support the operations of the Chamber of Commerce. But how much do you need to pay when, and what can you expect if you miss the deadline?

The basics of Chamber of Commerce contributions

Act CXXI of 1991 on Economic Chambers stipulates that every Hungarian enterprise must be registered with the local Chamber of Commerce and pay yearly contributions to it. If your company’s registered seat is in the capital, this will be BKIK, the Budapest Chamber of Commerce. In exchange for the yearly contribution, the chamber offers you the following services:

• Consultancy in matters of economy, finances, taxation, and taking loans
• Partner search
• Tender monitoring

Please note that you will need to pay the membership contribution even if you do not use these services at all. Although the yearly contribution works similarly to a membership fee, these two are different: the yearly contribution is mandatory for all enterprises, whereas the Chamber of Commerce membership (and consequently, paying the membership fee) is voluntary. The contribution is for one calendar year and needs to be paid by 31 March (newly formed companies, must pay the fee within five days of their incorporation). This means that a company incorporated in December 2021 needs to pay the fee for 2021 right away, then also for 2022 by 31 March.

Overdue contributions and postponed deadlines

Overdue BKIK contributions are public liabilities, meaning that the Chamber of Commerce can start a recovery procedure through the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) if you miss the deadline, regardless the size of the amount unpaid. However, due to the negative effects of the pandemic on businesses, BKIK postponed the payment deadline both in 2020 and 2021. Since the deadline for 2021 was 31 July, it is strongly recommended to pay your yearly contribution as soon as possible if you have not done so yet. (If you suspended your freelancer status for the entire year, you do not need to pay the fee.)

Paying your yearly contribution to BKIK

By default, the yearly contribution is HUF 5,000 (approximately EUR 14) per company, but you may owe more if you failed to pay the fee in previous years. If you like to do things the old-fashioned way, you can pay your yearly contribution in person at BKIK’s office. However, for our international clients a bank transfer is probably easier. If you choose this option, you need to transfer the fee to account 1010 2086 0261 4500 0200 3005 (IBAN: HU37 1010 2086 0261 4500 0200 3005, SWIFT: BUDAHUHB) at Budapest Bank and indicate your company’s VAT number in the reference field.

If you are not sure about how much you need to pay or what your VAT number is, you can confirm both by looking at the e-mail about your yearly contribution. You can check the status of your payment using BKIK’s website. To log in, you will need your company’s VAT number and your unique password. Once you have logged in, you may need to fill in a form, then download some documents and sign them. These documents are intended to provide the Chamber of Commerce with information about your business, and you can submit them in person or via e-mail. In our experience, the website is not always up to date, meaning that payments do not always show up. If you have already paid your yearly contribution but it does not appear on the website, you can contact BKIK by calling +36 1 488 2000 or by e-mailing ugyfelszolgalat@bkik.hu.

If you are still having doubts, leave this to us

We are happy to help our clients with matters related to the Chamber of Commerce. Registering new companies, arranging yearly contributions, getting documents attested – you can always count on us. For more details, contact your English-speaking accountant at Helpers Finance. You can learn about our services here. You can ask for a consultation by calling our office on +36 1 215 0712, by e-mailing info@helpersfinance.hu or by filling in our contact form.

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