The total turnover of enterprises in activities that are subject to VAT, excluding the pharmaceutical industry, travel agencies and land passenger transport, amounted to 706 billion ISK in the period of July to August 2017, which is a increase of 1.4% compared to the same period in 2016. On an annual basis, the turnover was 1.7% higher in the period from September 2016 to August 2017 compared to the preceding twelve months. Travel agencies were exempt from VAT until 2016, and this should be taken into account when comparing turnover before and after that change.
For the time being, turnover from the pharmaceutical industry is excluded in these statistics. Data validation for that sector is ongoing.
| Table 1: Turnover according to VAT-reports (billion ISK) | ||||||
| July-August 2016 | July-August 2017 | % | Sept. 2015-August 2016 | Sept. 2016-August 2017 | % | |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry¹ | 730 | 740 | 1.4 | 3,959 | 4,069 | • |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry, travel agencies and land passenger transport² | 697 | 706 | 1.4 | 3,874 | 3,942 | 1.7 |
| A-01/A-02 Agriculture and forestry³ | • | • | • | 51 | 51 | 0.2 |
| A-03/C-102 Fishing, aquaculture; fish processing | 56 | 49 | -13.7 | 365 | 305 | -16.6 |
| C-24 Manufacture of basic metals | 33 | 36 | 10.3 | 205 | 210 | 2.2 |
| C Manufacturing; excluding fish processing, pharmaceutical industry and manufacture of basic metals | 66 | 68 | 2.3 | 392 | 402 | 2.3 |
| D/E Electricity, gas; water supply; sewerage and waste management | 25 | 27 | 7.0 | 163 | 166 | 2.0 |
| F/B Construction, mining and quarrying | 54 | 57 | 6.8 | 256 | 306 | 19.5 |
| G-45 Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 27 | 29 | 8.5 | 157 | 168 | 6.9 |
| G-46171/G-46172/G-46381 Wholesale of fish and fish markets | 35 | 31 | -12.2 | 237 | 196 | -17.4 |
| G-4671 Wholesale of fuels | 25 | 25 | -0.6 | 109 | 117 | 8.0 |
| G-46 Other wholesale | 58 | 57 | -2.2 | 339 | 341 | 0.9 |
| G-47 Retail trade | 78 | 82 | 5.0 | 418 | 440 | 5.2 |
| H Transportation and storage² | 95 | 98 | 3.2 | 424 | 435 | • |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 44 | 45 | 2.7 | 158 | 185 | 16.6 |
| J Information and communication | 29 | 29 | 0.1 | 192 | 191 | -0.1 |
| N-7711 Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | 12 | 13 | 4.6 | 42 | 50 | 18.9 |
| N-79 Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities² | 27 | 28 | 3.7 | 70 | 105 | • |
| e-services from abroad | 0 | 1 | 110.1 | 2 | 6 | 171.5 |
| Other fields of activity | 63 | 63 | 0.5 | 379 | 395 | 4.2 |
| ¹For the time being, VAT-turnover is published excluding the pharmaceutical industry. Data validation is ongoing | ||||||
| ²Since the beginning 2016, some economic activities are no longer exempt from VAT, e.g. travel agencies (section N) and certain types of passenger transportation (section H). | ||||||
| ³Most farmers report VAT every 6 months. Hence data in two-month buckets are not a good indicator of trends in agriculture. | ||||||
| Table 2: VAT-turnover September 2016 to August 2017, by VAT-rate (billion ISK) | ||||
| Zero rate | Reduced rate | Standard rate | Total | |
| Total excluding the pharmaceutical industry¹ | 1,187 (29%) | 894 (22%) | 1,987 (49%) | 4,069 |
| A-01/A-02 Agriculture and forestry | 10 (19%) | 10 (20%) | 31 (61%) | 51 |
| A-03/C-102 Fishing, aquaculture; fish processing | 202 (66%) | 88 (29%) | 15 (5%) | 305 |
| C-24 Manufacture of basic metals | 92 (23%) | 135 (34%) | 174 (43%) | 402 |
| C Manufacturing excluding fish processing (C-102), the pharmaceutical industry (C-21) and manufacture of basic metals (C-24) |
208 (99%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1%) | 210 |
| D/E Electricity, gas; water supply; sewerage and waste management | 6 (4%) | 25 (15%) | 135 (81%) | 166 |
| F/B Construction, mining and quarrying | 5 (2%) | 1 (0%) | 300 (98%) | 306 |
| G-45 Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
9 (6%) | 0 (0%) | 158 (94%) | 168 |
| G-46171/G-46172/G-46381 Wholesale of fish and fish markets | 145 (74%) | 41 (21%) | 9 (5%) | 196 |
| G-4671 Wholesale of fuels | 26 (22%) | 6 (5%) | 85 (73%) | 117 |
| G-46 Other wholesale | 28 (8%) | 89 (26%) | 224 (66%) | 341 |
| G-47 Retail trade | 19 (4%) | 186 (42%) | 234 (53%) | 440 |
| H Transportation and storage | 337 (77%) | 24 (6%) | 74 (17%) | 435 |
| I Accommodation and food service activities | 5 (3%) | 172 (93%) | 7 (4%) | 185 |
| J Information and communication | 38 (20%) | 16 (8%) | 137 (72%) | 191 |
| N-7711 Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | 1 (2%) | 0 (1%) | 49 (98%) | 50 |
| N-79 Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities |
15 (14%) | 83 (80%) | 6 (6%) | 105 |
| e-services from abroad | 0 (0%) | 1 (10%) | 5 (89%) | 6 |
| Other fields of activity | 41 (10%) | 14 (4%) | 340 (86%) | 395 |
| ¹For the time being, VAT-turnover is pubished excluding the pharmaceutical industry. Data validation is ongoing | ||||
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 (law no. 50 from 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 related to the production of milk 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.
Particulars about VAT can be found at the Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Revision of statistics
At the time of our previous press release, in September, the VAT turnover, excluding the pharmaceutical industry, in May to June 2017 was estimated 752.7 billion ISK which was an increase of 1.5% compared to the same period in 2016. At present, more data are available and the VAT turnover in May to June 2017 is estimated 754.3 billion ISK which is an increase of 1.8% compared to the same period in 2016.
Other statistics on business economy
Statistics Iceland publishes annual income and balance statements of enterprises by activity, based on tax returns, providing a detailed picture of the individual sectors.
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