The European Commission put new implementing measures on the table on Tuesday 11 December to facilitate electronic commerce and better combat value added tax (VAT) fraud.
From 2021 onwards, companies selling goods online will have to comply with a new VAT system. They will be able to fulfil their tax obligations via an online portal that is "easy to use and in their own language", the European institution stresses. In the absence of this portal, companies would have to register for VAT in each Member State where they sell goods.
Also from 2021 onwards, major online marketplaces will be required to collect the correct amount of VAT when they facilitate the sale of goods by third country companies to consumers in the European Union.
This will ensure that tax authorities can claim the tax due when sellers established outside the EU have not complied with the applicable rules.
These measures stem from the legislative package on VAT in electronic commerce, which the Council adopted at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11919).
For more information: https://bit.ly/2gLGO7a. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)