Work on the Commission's proposals for a regulation and directive presented in December 2018 to better combat VAT fraud in the e-commerce sector (see EUROPE 12158/29) is progressing, both in the European Parliament and in the EU Council.
The two draft reports for opinions prepared by MEP Lidia Pereira (EPP, Portugal) are ready and will be discussed on Monday 4 November in the Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
In her draft reports, Lidia Pereira supports the Commission's proposals and considers that the fight against VAT fraud must develop in parallel with the increasing digitisation of the economy. She highlights the need to that end to assess in future whether virtual currency trading platforms should be included in the scope of the proposal.
The rapporteur also calls on Member States to continue to invest in technology-based VAT collection techniques. She also believes that the use of 'Blockchain' technology could be used to better protect personal data and to improve the online exchange of information between tax authorities.
The proposed new rules establish quarterly information exchange obligations for payment service providers that will allow the Eurofisc network to exchange and analyse certain payment data on cross-border sales. To achieve this, the Commission will develop a new Central Electronic System of Payment Information (CESOP), which is expected to be launched in 3 years' time.
While the Commission's initial text provides that payment service providers should keep information on cross-border payment transactions for a period of 2 years, in order to help Member States combat VAT fraud in e-commerce, Pereira recommends extending this period to 3 years. On the other hand, she suggests postponing the application of the provisions of the directive to 2024, 2 years after the date proposed by the Commission.
On the EU Council side, the proposals could be included in the agenda of the Ecofin Council on 8 November. The meeting of Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 30 October will have to determine whether the dossier is ready for adoption. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)