LawTax Law
Value Added Tax Law, 5736-1975
חוק מס ערך מוסף, תשל"ו-1975
Published: 1976-01-06Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-13 · Last amended 2026-03-31✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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Chapter XV: Powers of Implementation
Administration of the Tax and Delegation of Powers§
107.
(a)The administration of the tax shall be in the hands of the Director and he may delegate his powers, except for powers under sections 30, 109, 112(a)(1), 113(a1) and 140.
(b)(Repealed)
(c)The delegation of powers pursuant to sections 61, 77, 79, 82, 91, 95, 108(b), 112(a)(2), 113, 114 or 115 requires publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
Demand for Documents, Samples and Information§
108.
(a)In order to ensure the implementation of this Law or the Regulations made thereunder, the Director may –
(1)require any person to furnish him with information relevant to the matter and to permit him to inspect documents and samples relevant to the matter and to copy them;
(2)require the taxable person to deliver to him books, documents, samples and information relevant to the matter, including identification marks delivered to him by the Director, provided that what has been delivered as aforesaid shall be returned within three months from the date of receipt thereof if a complaint regarding an offence under this Law has not been filed before then.
(b)A copy of a document or sample as aforesaid, bearing the endorsement of the Director and the taxable person or his representative that it is consistent with the original, shall be regarded for all purposes and matters as if it were the original.
Receipt of Information from the National Insurance Institute§
108a.
(a)Notwithstanding anything provided in any law, the Director may receive from the National Insurance Institute any information determined pursuant to subsection (b) that came to the National Insurance Institute in the course of performing its functions, and that is required by the Director for the purpose of performing his functions under any law.
(b)The Minister of Finance, in consultation with the Minister of Welfare, with the consent of the Minister of Justice and with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset, shall determine the categories of information that the Director may receive pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a).
Powers of Search and Seizure§
109.
(a)In order to ensure the implementation of this Law or the Regulations made thereunder, a person authorised by the Director for this purpose may –
(1)enter any place that is not exclusively a dwelling, and in relation to a real property transaction – also a dwelling that is the subject of the transaction, provided that if persons reside in that dwelling he shall not enter except with written authorisation from the Director and after twenty-four hours' prior notice has been given, but entry into an installation that the Minister of Defence has determined to be a security installation requires the authorisation of the Minister of Defence or a person authorised by him;
(2)seize from a dealer goods (in this Chapter hereinafter – including their means of transport, books and other documents), if there is a suspicion that an offence has been committed with them or in relation to them, or that they may serve as evidence of the commission thereof; but a means of transport used for the transport of goods as aforesaid shall not be seized unless the owner of the means or the person in whose regular use it is, is suspected of committing the offence or of having had prior knowledge of its commission;
(3)investigate any person.
(4)require a person to appear before him, in person or through a representative, to furnish him with all the particulars required in relation to the tax for which he is liable or the assessment in respect thereof, and to bring for examination books and documents that the person making the demand considers necessary.
(b)A person authorised for the purposes of subsection (a) shall have the powers of a police officer for the prevention or detection of offences and the powers of a police officer of the rank of inspector under section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Testimony), and section 3 of that Ordinance shall apply to a statement he has recorded.
Restriction on Interrogation of Family Members§
110.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 109(a)(3) and without derogating from the provisions of any law regarding privileged evidence, the Director or a person authorised by him shall not, on his own initiative, investigate the spouse of the taxable person, his children or his parents.
Action with respect to Seized Property§
111.
(a)Where goods have been seized pursuant to section 109, the Director may transfer them to a place he directs, or, with the consent of the person holding them, detain them in the hands of the holder against a security to the satisfaction of the Director or without security.
(b)Where goods have been detained in the hands of the holder as referred to in subsection (a), he is required to produce them upon the demand of the Director; if he has not done so, or has produced them in a damaged condition, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Law, unless he has proved that the goods disappeared or were damaged for reasons over which he had no control.
(c)Where goods that have been seized are animals or a commodity liable to spoil, the Magistrate's Court may, upon the application of the Director, order that the goods be sold by public tender or at the price customary on that day, and for the purposes of the other provisions of this section the proceeds of sale shall be regarded as if they were the seized property.
(d)Where goods have been seized and the Director does not know who the owner of the goods is or the address of the person from whom they were seized, the Director shall publish a notice thereof in Reshumot (Official Gazette), and if no person has claimed them within three months from the date of publication of the notice, the goods shall be forfeited.
(e)Where goods have been seized pursuant to section 109, and within six months from the date of seizure no complaint regarding an offence under this Law on account of which they were seized has been filed with a court, and the offence has not been compounded, they shall be returned to the person from whom they were seized; the Magistrate's Court may, upon the application of the Director, extend the period by a further six months.
(f)Where a person's offence in relation to goods seized pursuant to section 109 has been compounded, the Director may forfeit them.
(g)Where a person has been convicted of an offence on account of which the goods were seized, the goods shall be forfeited, unless the court has directed otherwise; where the person has been acquitted, the goods shall be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized or to another person directed by the court; however, the court may direct that notwithstanding the acquittal the goods shall be forfeited.
(h)Where goods have been forfeited, the Director may return them to the person from whom they were seized or to their owner in exchange for payment of their value.
(i)Where a document or book has been seized and is required by the person from whom it was seized or by another person for the fulfilment of a duty under law, they may inspect or copy it, and the Director may, upon their application, return it to them and may make the return conditional upon the delivery of a copy thereof to the Director; the provisions of section 108(b) shall apply to the copy.
Administrative Enforcement Measures§
112.
(a)Where the Director is satisfied that a dealer is not submitting a return as required by law for all his transactions, or has not paid the tax required by a return he has submitted, or has not submitted more than two returns during the past year pursuant to section 67, or has committed an offence with intent to evade the payment of tax, he may –
(1)require the dealer to provide security, to his satisfaction, for the payment of any debt and for compliance with the provisions of this Law, and if security has not been provided within the time set by the Director – prohibit him from continuing his business until the security is furnished;
(2)prohibit him from transferring goods or providing services, in the course of his business, before the Director has marked the invoice, the delivery note or another document, as the Director shall prescribe.
(b)A decision of the Director to prohibit the continuation of business or the transfer of goods or the provision of services shall take effect upon the expiry of fifteen days from the date it was delivered to the dealer.
(c)A decision of the Director as aforesaid may be appealed before the District Court; the filing of the appeal shall stay the execution of the decision as long as the court has not decided otherwise.
Collection of Tax in Special Cases§
112a.
(a)Where the Director has reason to fear that the tax on transactions or the input tax that was not lawfully deducted will not be paid because a dealer intends to leave Israel, or for any other reason, he may –
(1)if an assessment has been made for the dealer pursuant to section 77 – require in a written notice that the dealer immediately provide security, to the satisfaction of the Director, for the payment of the tax specified in the assessment including the linkage differentials and interest specified therein;
(2)if no assessment has been made for the dealer – assess the tax owed by the dealer, in the Director's opinion, at a sum that appears to him to be reasonable and include therein also the linkage differentials, interest and fines owed by him.
(b)Where an assessment has been made pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Director shall deliver a written notice thereof, and every sum recorded therein shall be paid immediately upon delivery of the notice.
(c)Where the said sum has not been paid or the security has not been provided, as the case may be, the Magistrate's Court may, upon the application of the Director, issue an order, even in the absence of the dealer –
(1)for a stay of his departure from the country;
(2)for the attachment of his property, and if it is satisfied that there is a reasonable concern that the tax will not be collected and that attachment alone is not sufficient to secure its collection – for the seizure of his property.
(d)Where a sum as aforesaid has been paid or security has been provided, the dealer may file an objection and an appeal in the manner in which objections and appeals are filed against an assessment under section 77.
(e)The provisions of this section shall also apply to double tax as referred to in section 50 and to a tax determination as referred to in section 76, with such modifications as are required by the matter.
Prohibition on Issuing a Tax Invoice§
113.
(a)Where a person is not keeping books of account or records as prescribed, or is keeping them with a material deviation from the provisions of this Law and the Regulations made thereunder, the Director shall caution him and shall specify in the caution the defect; if the defect has not been rectified within one month from the date of delivery of the caution, the Director may prohibit him from issuing tax invoices.
(a1)(Repealed)
(b)
(1)The taxable person may, against the caution of the Director or, at his option, against the decision to prohibit the issuing of tax invoices pursuant to subsection (a), appeal before the District Court or appeal before the Books Acceptability Committee;
(2)(Repealed)
(c)The appeal shall be filed within thirty days from the date of delivery of the caution or the notice of the prohibition, and the filing thereof shall not stay the execution of the Director's decision, unless the court or the Committee has decided otherwise.
(d)The filing of an appeal under subsection (b) does not take the place of an objection under section 82; where the appeal has been dismissed, the books of account shall be regarded as inadmissible for the purposes of the appeal against the assessment.
(e)A taxable person who has not filed an appeal under subsection (b) may appeal against the caution of the Director or against his decision under this section, together with the appeal pursuant to section 83.
Detention of Goods in Customs Authority Custody§
114.
The Director may detain the clearance of goods of the taxable person from the supervision of the Customs Authority until the payment of all debts due from him under this Law or until the submission of the returns he is required to submit.
Stay of Departure from the Country§
115.
(a)Where a taxable person has been required to pay the tax due from him or to provide security for its payment or to submit a return he has been required to submit, and has not done so, the Magistrate's Court at the place of his residence or place of business may, upon the application of the Director, issue an order, even in his absence, for a stay of his departure from the country and for the attachment of his property until conditions set by it have been fulfilled.
(b)Where the taxable person is a close company as referred to in section 76 of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], an order as referred to in subsection (a) may be made for a stay of departure from the country of any active director or general manager in the company, or of a member holding shares entitling him to at least 26% of the voting power therein or at least 26% of its capital upon liquidation.
(c)Where a taxable person that is a body of persons has been required to pay the tax due from it, and the Director has a reasonable suspicion that the tax will not be paid, the court referred to in subsection (a) may, upon the application of the Director, issue an order for a stay of departure from the country of an active director, chairman of the board of directors or general manager in that body of persons, for the purpose of his investigation or for the purpose of actions required to secure the payment of the tax, provided that the court is satisfied that his departure from the country is likely to frustrate an investigation or actions as aforesaid and that it is not possible to impose appropriate security to ensure their fulfilment.
Postponement of Dates§
116.
(a)The Director may extend any date prescribed in this Law or in Regulations made thereunder for the doing of anything, except a date for the filing of an appeal, and may prescribe that the debt shall be paid in instalments, provided that he shall not extend the date for the deduction of input tax under section 38(a) for a period exceeding five years; if he has so permitted and the taxable person has failed to make one payment by the date prescribed therefor, the Director may demand immediate payment of the balance of the debt.
(a1)(Repealed)
(b)The Director may make the extension of dates as referred to in subsection (a) conditional upon the provision of security to his satisfaction for the payment of any debt or for the performance of any act the date for the doing of which has been deferred.
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