Member States support the Commission’s proposal to postpone for 6 months the entry into force of the legislative package on the modernisation of VAT for cross-border e-commerce due to the Covid-19 pandemic (see EUROPE 12483/7). The new rules would therefore apply from 1 July 2021 instead of 1 January 2021.
This is reflected in two draft compromise texts of the Croatian EU Council Presidency, dated 11 June and copied to EUROPE, which should soon be submitted to the Member States’ Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper). Because Austria has withdrawn its reservation, the texts were now supported by all delegations, a note said.
The support of the EU27 for this proposal comes as no real surprise, since the Commission had indicated that it had consulted the Member States in advance on this matter when it presented its proposal. The latter had given their approval to a postponement not exceeding 6 months.
In particular, a recital has been added in the draft implementing regulation of the Council of the EU to specify that, “in view of the significant impact of the economic disturbances and possible additional difficulties resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak, (...) the Commission could work closely with the Member States concerned to monitor the adaptation of the national IT systems and to provide technical assistance whenever needed”.
Adopted in 2017 (see EUROPE 11919/3), this package of measures aims to make it easier to sell and buy goods online abroad. It should also enable Member States to recover the billions of euros of VAT they lose each year on online sales, ensuring that third country businesses do not receive preferential treatment when selling to European consumers.
For their part, the European Parliament rapporteurs consider that a three-month postponement would be sufficient (see EUROPE 12502/19). Parliament is expected to adopt its opinion at its July plenary session. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)