EU finance ministers are expected to agree on a general approach on the directive on value added tax (VAT) rules for distance selling of imported goods and VAT on imports at the Ecofin Council meeting on Tuesday 13 May (see other news).
Presented in May 2023 by the European Commission, the directive is part of the reform of the customs union (see EUROPE 13184/4). Its aim is to facilitate the collection of VAT on the millions of low-value parcels that arrive at the EU’s borders every day. “The main change is that the person who will be liable to pay VAT for the imports of small consignments will not be the customer anymore, but it will be the supplier, which means that the suppliers will have to be registered for VAT in all the Member States where they have customers”, explained a European source contacted by Agence Europe on Friday 9 May. Alternatively, suppliers will have the option of registering with the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). “The main goal behind the change is to motivate suppliers from third countries to register with the Import One Stop Shop”, she said.
According to the EU Council’s general approach, registration with the IOSS should not be compulsory for everyone, contrary to the initial proposal. The Member States felt that it would be difficult to impose this obligation on suppliers outside the EU.
Read the general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/gqz
The EU Council’s statement: https://aeur.eu/f/gr0
The compromise text: https://aeur.eu/f/gr1 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)