SKATTEETATEN – NORWEGIAN TAX ADMINISTRATION
REGNSKAP NORGE – ACCOUNTING NORWAY
Norwegian SAF-T
Financial data
Documentation
SAF-T Working group
V1.1 - 29.04.2016
Version
1.0
1.1
Description
Initial version
Added information on the use of Standard VAT Codes
Date
17.03.2016
29.04.2016
General information and overview of resources available for accounting system developers.
TOC
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 2
Purpose of the SAF-T format ............................................................................................................... 2
Important information ........................................................................................................................ 2
Background of the SAF-T ..................................................................................................................... 3
Changes and future versions of the SAF-T Financial data ................................................................... 4
Contact info - questions and answers ................................................................................................. 4
Exchange of SAF-T data files .................................................................................................................... 4
SAF-T data file to the Tax Authorities .................................................................................................. 4
SAF-T data file and the ASiC infrastructure ......................................................................................... 5
Naming of the SAF-T data file .............................................................................................................. 6
Exporting of large SAF-T data files....................................................................................................... 7
Validation of the SAF-T data file .......................................................................................................... 7
Data model and other documentation ................................................................................................... 8
General Ledger Standard Accounts <StandardAccountID> ................................................................ 8
Standard VAT Tax codes <StandardTaxCode> .................................................................................... 8
Difference between Mandatory and Optional data elements ............................................................ 8
Attachments ........................................................................................................................................ 9
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Introduction
Purpose of the SAF-T format
Norwegian SAF-T (Standard Audit File - Tax) is standard file format for exporting various types of
accounting transactional data using the XML format.
This first version of the SAF-T Financial is limited to the general ledger level including customer and
supplier transactions. Necessary master data is also included.
Future versions of the SAF-T Financial will include source documents such as detailed invoice data
and movements of goods. Furthermore, other data elements will be added to support SAF-T Financial
as a format for migration of data between different accounting software.
The SAF-T Cash Register is under development in 2016 containing journal data from electronic cash
register systems. The XSD (XML Schema Definition) and documentation are expected to be finalized
by April 2016.
The primary purpose of the SAF-T Financial data format is to:
-
Serve as an export format for accounting data after request from the Norwegian Tax
Administration, public accountants and other parties.
- Serve as archiving format for the necessary accounting data for those who are obliged to
keep accounts as stated in the Norwegian bookkeeping legislation.
- Serve as a format for moving data when changing accounting software.
- Serve as a format for moving data from accounting software to other financial systems such
as year-end closing systems, tax computation systems, business intelligence software,
advisory systems etc.
This documentation is intended for software developers and vendors who are to incorporate export
functionality of SAF-T Financial data in their software.
Important information
This is the initial distribution of the standard format and documentation. The following upcoming
activities are bound in 2016:
-
Develop Altinn receivement of SAF-T data and validation
Support the implementation of SAF-T
Activities and timeline on future format extensions
Updates will be available at http://www.skatteetaten.no/no/Bedrift-og-organisasjon/Drivebedrift/Bokforing-og-regnskap/standardformat-regnskap-saf-t/
Technical resources are available at www.github.com/skatteetaten/saf-t
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Background of the SAF-T
The Norwegian SAF-T is based upon the recommendation from the OECD to Revenue Bodies to
establish a standard together with the accounting software developers and other stakeholders. The
details can be found in OECD documents:
Version 1 http://www.oecd.org/tax/administration/guidancenoteguidancefordevelopersofbusinessandaccountingsoftwareconcerningtaxauditrequirements.htm
Version 2 http://www.oecd.org/tax/administration/ftaguidancenotesone-auditingstandards.htm
A project group gave their recommendations for implementing SAF-T in Norway in 2014. The group
had representatives from The Tax Administration, The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO),
Accounting Norway (including representatives from accounting software vendors) and the
Norwegian Institute of Public Accountants. Details can be found in the report sent to The Ministry of
Finance June 2014. The complete report with attachments are available at:
http://www.skatteetaten.no/no/Bedrift-og-organisasjon/Drive-bedrift/Bokforing-ogregnskap/standardformat-regnskap-saf-t/
During the fall of 2015 a working group was set to make necessary adjustments and document the
first version of the SAF-T Financial data, as well as conduct preliminary testing of the XSD. The basis
for the work was the XSD from the OECD working group (version 2 from 2010).
The working group participants were:
- Geir Ove Klefsåsvold Visma Software International AS
- Karl Erik Strømsholm Zirius AS
- Terje Johansen
Poweroffice AS
- Truls Rødfjell
Poweroffice AS
- Gøran Thomassen
Poweroffice AS
- Steinar Berggren
Skatt øst (Tax Region Eastern Norway)
- Nonna Risnes
Skattedirektoratet (Directorate of Taxes)
- Rune Tystad
Skattedirektoratet (Directorate of Taxes)
Valuable contributions have also been received from associates of the above.
The standard VAT codes <StandardTaxCodes> are based on the work done by the project group in
2014, and valuable contributions during the revision in 2016 were received from Frode Nilsen and
John Skogan in Sticos AS.
It is expected that the Ministry of Finance will send a proposal for consultation in 2016, that will
make SAF-T export mandatory for traders obliged to prepare accounts in Norway.
The SAF-T Schema authority is The Norwegian Tax Administration, see contact details in chapter
Contact info - questions and answers.
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In 2010 Hans Christian Ellefsen in Accounting Norway (Regnskap Norge) established “Regnskap Norge
IT-forum”, a meeting place for software vendors to the accounting industry in Norway. The aim for
Regnskap Norge IT-forum is to strengthen the relationship between accountants and software
developers and to ensure that the development of solutions is in line with accountants and their
customer’s needs.
One of the first topics to be addressed was the need for a standardized method to transfer
accounting data from one system to another, and to ensure a backwards compatible storage method
for mandatory long time storage of accounting information. A working group amongst members of
Regnskap Norge IT-forum was established to discuss the issue and suggest a format. During this
work, The Norwegian Tax Administration started to process the recommendation from OECD.
Due to prolonged close cooperation between Accounting Norway and The Norwegian Tax
Administration, our efforts were soon coordinated to ensure that we developed one standard for
both control and commercial purposes. Hence, the working group in Regnskap Norge IT-forum
continued its work under the administrative leadership of The Norwegian Tax Administration.
Regnskap Norge is pleased with the result of the cooperation and the balance between
governmental and private needs in the standardized format.
Changes and future versions of the SAF-T Financial data
In 2016 a project lead by the The Tax Administration is to support the implementation of the
standard, establish ownership and pinpoint a timeline for changes and further developments of the
SAF-T in general. Furthermore, the Altinn portal is to be adjusted to handle the receiving of SAF-T
data.
Contact info - questions and answers
Details will be published at:
http://www.skatteetaten.no/no/Bedrift-og-organisasjon/Drive-bedrift/Bokforing-ogregnskap/standardformat-regnskap-saf-t/
Questions can be sent to saf-t@skatteetaten.no
Exchange of SAF-T data files
SAF-T data file to the Tax Authorities
Details on how to exchange data with the Tax Authorities are dealt with in dialog between the Tax
Auditor and the representative of the accounting subject.
4
It is estimated that during the fall of 2016 a solution will be established making it possible to send the
SAF-T data to the Tax Authorities using the Altinn portal. The specifications of the solution are
planned to be finalised by the end of April 2016.
In some cases it will be adequate to export SAF-T data from various systems and/or different periods.
In such cases the receiver of the data will do the necessary assemblies of the data.
The analysis software used by Tax Authorities and public accountants are recommended to develop
interfaces to facilitate the import of SAF-T data. Manual XML import is also possible but not
recommended as a long term solution.
SAF-T data file and the ASiC infrastructure
Associated Signature Container (ASiC) can be used for sending multi messages in an encrypted
container. This can be an option for exchange of data with parties other than the Norwegian Tax
Administration using the existing PEPPOL network.
More resources are available at:
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/102900_102999/102918/01.01.01_60/ts_102918v010101p.pdf
https://github.com/difi/asic
https://github.com/difi/vefa-esubmission
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Naming of the SAF-T data file
It is strongly advised to use the following naming convention to ensure necessary information in the
filename. The purpose is to identify what data are in the file, who the recipient of the data is, and to
create a unique filename for each export.
<SAF-T export type>_<organization number of the vendor who the data represents>_<date and
time(yyyymmddhh24hmise>.xml
Where:
“SAF-T Financial” states the SAF-T type of file
“999888999” represents the organization number belonging to the owner of the data.
“20160401235911” represents the date and time when the file was created using a 24 hour clock.
For example:
SAF-T Financial_999999999_20160401235911.xml
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Exporting of large SAF-T data files
Testing indicates that the file compression ratio using “ZIP”are from 95 to 97 percent of the original
XML data file. It is recommended to ZIP the files during transport.
Limitations in the Altinn portal for SAF-T will be 2 GB of source data and 200 MB of ZIP file per
attachment.
For data files that exceed the limitations, dividing of the export into different periods and multiple
files, or splitting of the ZIP archive in several files are viewed as an adequate solution.
Validation of the SAF-T data file
It is recommended to do XSD schema validation of SAF-T test data files. There are different solutions
available for this purpose.
When established the Altinn receivement of SAF-T data will do an XSD schema validation and about a
dozen of business rule validations.
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Data model and other documentation
General Ledger Standard Accounts <StandardAccountID>
The actual account number used and the account description are to be represented in:
AccountID and AccountDescription (In schema: Masterfiles, GeneralLedgerAccounts, Account)
The account numbers and descriptions can be different from the Standard Account Overview.
The StandardAccountID must be on either a 2 or 4 digit level as stated in the Standard Account
Overview in attachment 3.
Therefore, the actual account number used must be mapped to the standard account ID. It is
recommended that this mapping is done in conjunction with the user selection of accounts overview
in the application.
Standard VAT Tax codes <StandardTaxCode>
In Norway it is common that codes are used for classification and calculation of value added tax
(VAT). This is usually referred to as VAT codes. The standard VAT codes are based on VAT academic
logic.
The standard codes are only applicable to the SAF-T Financial export format. Software vendors can
use whatever VAT tax codes they prefer internally in their own systems, and export them to the XML
document on line level.
However, the internal VAT tax codes have to be mapped to the corresponding Norwegian SAF-T
Standard VAT codes <StandardTaxCode> in schema location Masterfiles.
Over time it is recommended to implement the usage of the standard VAT codes in the systems as
well if that is possible.
See further information in the document <Norwegian SAF-T Standard VAT codes>
Difference between Mandatory and Optional data elements
What data are stored in the database varies between the various accounting softwares. For this
reason several data elements are stated as optional.
It is important to emphasize that as long as the optional data elements are available in the database,
it must be written to the XML file. The SAF-T Financial data format will not extend the documentation
requirements for the traders obliged to prepare accounts.
Mandatory data elements can not be empty, and sometimes they must have enumerated values.
This is necessary for the XML data file to validate with the schema. The mandatory elements mainly
represent the data necessary to produce the specifications that are obliged by the Norwegian
Bookkeeping Act. Also other essential data in the XML file must by nature be mandatory, such as the
header data elements.
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Attachments
The following attachments are enclosed in the documentation package:
Norwegian SAF-T Financial data - Technical description.docx
The document contains detailed description on the different data elements with reference to the
XSD schema. Diversions from the OECD SAF-T schema are also described.
Norwegian_SAF-T_Financial_Schema_v_1.00.xsd
The schema is available on www.github.com/skatteetaten/saf-t
General Ledger Standard Accounts
Contains the standard account numbers and description to be used in the Norwegian SAF-T Financial
data file, either by 2 or 4 digit account numbers. Files in XML and CSV format as well as a schema are
available on www.github.com/skatteetaten/saf-t folder name General Ledger Standard Accounts
Norwegian SAF-T Standard VAT codes v1.0
Documentation containing description of standard VAT codes to be used for mapping internal VAT
codes. Files in XML and CSV format as well as a schema are available on
www.github.com/skatteetaten/saf-t folder name Standard Tax Codes
Example XML Data file:
The technical description contains example XML. An example data file are planned to be published
later in 2016.
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