Single VAT registration in the UE: a crucial reform

EU VAT in the Digital Age: which news?

The rise of the digital economy significantly impacted on the operation of the Union VAT system, as it poses challenges to the new digital business models, and does not allow for the full use of the data generated by digitalisation. Council Directive 2006/112/EC should be amended to take account of this evolution.

Based on this, in July 2023 the European Parliament has proposed over 250 changes to the European Commission (EC) VAT in the reforms of the Digital Age, to improve efficiency of VAT for all and reduce fraud. The reforms are to be included in three groups:

• Single VAT registration in the EU – extension of OSS to B2C own stock movements;
• Digital Reporting Requirements & e-invoicing;
• VAT treatment of the platform economy.

Single VAT registration in the EU

The introduction of an EU single VAT registration will lead to targeted interventions in various sectors, such as:

• Extension of OSS for B2C and B2C own stocks;
• Marketplaces deemed supplier extended to EU sellers;
• EU IOSS mandated for marketplaces;
• EU tackles misuse of IOSS numbers;...