On 1 December the European Commission adopted a package of measures to improve the tax climate for e-commerce companies in the EU. With these proposals, the Commission follows up on its commitments made in the strategy for a digital single market for Europe and the Action Plan for a common VAT Area in the EU and a new VAT approach introduced e-commerce.

The introduction of an EU-wide portal for online payments of VAT (the “one-stop shop”), VAT compliance costs should fall sharply. With the new rules, the VAT will be paid in the Member State of consumption and tax revenue will therefore be shared more equally across the EU. Finally, the Commission also makes her promise that the Member States to e-publications such as e-books and online newspapers can apply the same tax rate as their printed counterparts (the provisions did not allow that e-publications received the same favorable tax treatment as traditional print publications will be deleted).

The proposals relate in particular to:

• new rules allowing companies that sell goods online, easily able to fulfill all their VAT obligations in the EU in one place;
• simplification of the VAT rules for start-ups and micro-enterprises that sell online: under € 10,000 VAT on cross-border sales will be handled domestically. SMEs will then be able to use
• simpler procedures for cross-border sales to € 100,000, which they can do business more easily;
• measures to combat VAT fraud from outside the EU, which could distort the market and cause unfair competition;

the possibility for Member States to reduce VAT rates for e-publications such as e-books and online newspapers.

 

Please see links for the relevant documents below:

• Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive 2006/112/EC and Directive 2009/132/EC as regards certain value added tax obligations for supplies of services and distance sales of goods
• Impact assessment for the proposal to modernise VAT for cross-border E-Commerce
• Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment on the proposal to modernise VAT for cross-border e-commerce
• Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION amending   Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 laying down implementing measures for Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax
• Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax
• Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive   2006/112/EC, as regards rates of value added tax applied to books, newspapers   and periodicals
• Impact Assessment
• Executive Summary Impact assessment
• Opinion on the Impact assessment Part I
• Opinion on the Impact assessment Part II

 

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