Tour operator and travel agency services

Application for certificate of good conduct

The certificate of good conduct can be applied before creation and maintenance of a legal relationship (e.g. employment relationship)or in order to verify that the applicant complies with requirements defined by an act. 

 

Please ask your employer whether you need a certificate of good conduct or not, and in case the answer is yes, what kind of certificate do they need.

 

The certificate of good conduct can verify that the individual

  • has not got any record in the register of convicted persons, and/or
  • is not under the effect of deprivation of civil rights, and/or 
  • is not prohibited to exercise a profession or an activity, or
  • complies with requirements defined by a Hungarian act.

 

The application can be submitted 

  • by mail on an official application form,
  • by phone via Government Customer Line 1818,
  • electronically using the Client Gate at the Hungarian eGovernment portal, where Client Gate identification is required, 
  • personally at the Customer Service of the Criminal Records Authority in Budapest, in case of priority service, 
  • personally at Hungarian Embassies or Consulates abroad.

 

The certificate of good conduct is free of charge 4 times a year, but there is a consular fee, if the application is submitted at a Hungarian Embassy or Consulate abroad.

 

The certificate of good conduct is delivered

  • by mail as recorded delivery (in case the application was submitted by mail, by phone or via Client Gate) 
  • personally at the Personal Customer Service Centre in case of priority service,
  • at the diplomatic or consular representation of Hungary.

 

Length of the process: 8 days (5 days in case of applying in person)

Application for joint tax certificate

For the notification of activity, business entities are obliged to attach a certificate of public dues justifying that they have no dues, in case they previously did not register into the database of taxpayers who fulfill all obligations concerning the payment of public dues . The negative joint tax certificate (11UK12 used in the General Framework Program) concompanys that the company has neither tax nor customs dues in the registration of NAV on the date of issue of the cerificate or on the day asked by the taxpayer in his/her application.

 

Forms and supporting documentation 

  1. Application for joint tax certificate
  2. Certificate for payment of procedure fees

Application for joint tax certificate can be submitted in electronic way.  More information

In case of electronic submission, the application can be attached with no more than 5-5 scanned document of tif and/or pdf format. Fees of procedure can also be paid in electornic way.

Client gate identification is a required.  

Notification of conversion of premises

The place of service provision can be established in a house that was previously used for residential purposes. The conversion of premises must be notified together with the start-up of the activity.

Forms and supporting documentation

  1. Application form
  2.  
  • 2.1.) Document certifying the entitlement of the applicant to the conversion of premises (title deed of the property, lease contract)
  • 2.2.) Certificate for payment of duty (duty stamp)

In building notification procedures competent authorities are notaries undertaking building authority proceedings in district and local governments. On the PSC contacts of building authorities can be found through the function of office-search. Detailed information on the procedure (steps to be taken to submit the application, forms, deadlines, fees and contacts) is available on the website of the competent authorities as well as the application form (its content is regulated by law). Forms are generally can be filled online and it can be printed. Regarding the format it is in pdf, xls or doc. 

The possibility to electronic administration is excluded by law. Furthermore, competent authorities require duty stamp, which can not be bought online. Supporting documents and declarations must be submitted in original.

The services of a tour operator are aimed at the compilation and provision of travel service packages with the combination of minimum two of the following: passenger transportation, accommodation and other tourism services (in particular, meals, guided tours, entertainment and cultural programmes), within the framework of a gainful business activity. The services of a travel agency are aimed at the provision of travel services within the framework of a gainful business activity based on the engagement of a tour operator and the conclusion of contracts on its behalf.

Service providers residing in another EEA State may commence and engage in the above services under the same conditions as service providers residing in Hungary in the form of settlement in Hungary and are required to meet the same requirements that apply to service providers residing in Hungary.

Only those travel businesses may engage in tour operator and travel agency services which satisfy the conditions laid down by law and whose operation was licensed and authorised by the Hungarian Trade Licensing Office (MKEH) based on a request.

Tour operator and travel agency services may only be provided if

  1. the business has a person in its employ, whether as an employee or engaged in any other work-related legal relationship, or in the case of an individual enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, who has passed the examination or holds qualifications for tour operator services as determined by law and has relevant experience (hereinafter referred to as „person responsible for services”),
  2. its senior officer, senior employee and the person responsible for the services or, in the case of an individual enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, has/have no criminal record and is/are not under the effect of prohibition from engagement in an occupation related to tour operator and travel agency services,
  3. its senior officer, senior employee and the person responsible for the services or, in the case of an individual enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, was/were not the owner(s), member(s), senior officer(s) or senior employee(s) of a business which was prohibited from engagement in tour operator or travel agency services in a final and absolute official resolution due to the violation of the statutory regulations relating to tour operator or travel agency activities or due to engagement in these activities without a licence at any time five years before the commencement of the services,
  4. not including travel agents, the business has the pecuniary security determined by law (bank guarantee), entered into an insurance contract with an insurer (insurers) which may also be concluded for a specific number of passengers (directly for the passenger’s benefit) and has frozen funds tied up by the travel business with a credit institution that is segregated for specific purposes (monetary deposit). The insurance contract must be concluded for a minimum term of one year. The contract entered into with the credit institution must be valid for minimum eighteen months. The travel business must extend the term of the contract by 31 October, every year (regardless of the expiry date) and must verify the extension of the contract towards the Hungarian Trade Licensing Office.

The request for a licence may be submitted by mail, electronically or in person at the Customer Services Department of the Customer Services Office of the Hungarian Trade Licensing Office

Processing time limit: 45 days.

Administration costs: HUF 10,000 procedural fee

Form required for administration:

  1. Form
  2. Electronic forms (used in the General Framework Program)

Documents required for administration

  1. certificate(s) verifying that senior officer(s), senior employee(s) or individual entrepreneur has/have no criminal record and certificate verifying that they are not under the effect of prohibition from engagement in providing the services of tour operators and travel agencies,
  2. specimen signature(s) of person(s) authorised to sign on behalf of business,
  3. declaration(s) of senior officer(s), senior employee(s) and person responsible for services or, in the case of an individual enterprise, of the individual entrepreneur that they were not prohibited from engaging in the services in question,
  4. verification of the fact that the person responsible for the services has no criminal record and verification of the fact that he/she is not under the effect of prohibition from an occupation related to tour operator and travel agency services,
  5. deed verifying relevant professional experience of person responsible for services for minimum 10 years or existence of a qualification certificate,
  6. deed verifying existence of qualifications of person responsible for services,
  7. deed verifying existence of language certificate of person responsible for services,
  8. employment contract of person responsible for services or verification of any other work-related legal relationship,
  9. if the applicant travel business is not in the data base of taxpayers with zero public debt at the time of the submission of the request, verification on the basis of a public deed issued no more than 30 days previously that it is a taxpayer with zero public debt at the time of the submission of the request,
  10. declaration of consent to management of personal details,
  11. declaration regarding engagement in the activities under Section 8(3), paragraphs a) and c) of Government Decree No. 213/1996. (XII. 23.) Description: §,
  12. certificate (original) verifying placement of pecuniary security,
  13. declaration regarding the obligation to increase pecuniary security,
  14. original or certified copy of authorisation committed to a private deed with full probative force delivered to and accepted by insurer/financial institution regarding exemption from insurance/bank confidentiality,
  15. declaration regarding amount of net sales revenue,
  16. charter declaration,
  17. declaration regarding guaranteed contracts,
  18. verification of payment of procedural fee.

 

Cross-border services

Service providers with the freedom to provide services as defined in the legislation on the general rules of the commencement of and engagement in services must report the intention to engage in tour operator or travel agency services as cross-border services to the trade authority. The authority appointed for taking delivery of and processing the above report is the Hungarian Trade Licensing Office.

The authority supervising the services verifies forthwith after the receipt of the report whether the report satisfies the criteria prescribed in Act LXXVI of 2009 on the Commencement of and Engagement in Services.

Method of administration: In person or by mail (Hungarian Trade Licensing Office: Magyar Kereskedelmi Engedélyezési Hivatal 1537 Bp. Pf. 345.)

Processing time limit: 10 business days

Administration costs: HUF 10,000 procedural fee

Form required for administration

Please click here to read the general conditions of cross-border service provision in Hungary.

Documents required for administration:

  1. copy of public deed verifying citizenship,
  2. certified copy and translation of deed which verifies that the service provider is entitled to engage in the given profession in a Member State as a settled business,
  3. certified copies and certified translations of deeds verifying successful completion of training which prepared the service provider in his/her Member State for providing such services,
  4. if the service provider practised the given profession in the Member State to be settled in, certified copy and certified translation of deed which verifies that the service provider practised the given profession for minimum two years during the ten years preceding the filing of the report in the Member State to be settled in,
  5. certificate verifying payment of procedural duty.

 Legislative background:

  1. Act LXXVI of 2009 on the General Rules of the Commencement of and Engagement in Service Activities
  2. Act C of 2001 on the Recognition of Foreign Certificates and Degrees
  3. Act CLXIV of 2005 on Trade
  4. Government Decree No. 213/1996. (XII. 23.) on tour operator and travel agency services