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EU Council Approves DAC9 to Simplify Tax Reporting for Multinational Enterprises

On 14 April 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted a new amendment to Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in taxation—commonly known as DAC9.

This latest revision is designed to ease the reporting requirements for multinational enterprise (MNE) groups under the EU’s Pillar 2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2523). By introducing a centralized system for the exchange of top-up tax information, DAC9 significantly reduces the compliance burden for companies operating across multiple EU jurisdictions. Read more

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EU Adopts New VAT Rules to Streamline E-Commerce Imports and Boost Compliance

The European Union has reached a pivotal agreement on updating its VAT framework, particularly concerning e-commerce imports and the taxation of distance sales involving goods from non-EU countries.

This revised approach is set to improve the efficiency of the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) system. By simplifying the VAT declaration and payment process, the changes aim to reduce red tape for importers within the EU and strengthen measures against VAT evasion. Read more

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Electronic VAT Exemption Certificate: Political Agreement Reached on New Directive

On December 10, 2024, the Council reached a political agreement on the European Commission’s proposal to introduce an electronic VAT exemption certificate.

Key Features of the New Directive

The directive aims to replace the current paper-based VAT exemption certificate with a digital version. This electronic certificate will apply to goods exempted from VAT, such as those imported for embassies, international organisations, or armed forces. Read more

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EU–Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador Preferential Trade Agreement: Updated to Align with Harmonized System 2022

On November 29, 2024, the Trade Committee under the Trade Agreement between the EU and Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador approved updates to the working and processing operations required to grant originating status to products made with non-originating materials. These changes align with the 2022 version of the Harmonized System (HS). Essentially, this means that products manufactured in these countries using materials from outside must meet specific conditions to be considered as “made in” that country. Read more

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Tax Administration EU Summit (TADEUS) Held in Budapest

EU Tax Administration Leaders Unite to Tackle Shared Challenges.

On December 12-13, 2024, the Tax Administration EU Summit (TADEUS) brought together Heads of tax administrations from across the European Union to address pressing and complex challenges. Hosted in Budapest, the summit demonstrated the strong commitment of EU tax authorities to collaborate and find collective solutions. Read more

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Significant Progress in VAT Compliance Achieved in 2022, but Challenges Remain

A new report published on 18 December 2024 by the European Commission highlights substantial improvements in value added tax (VAT) collection in most EU Member States between 2018 and 2022.

The annual EU VAT Gap Report, which assesses the difference between expected VAT revenues and actual collections, shows that Member States lost approximately €89 billion in VAT in 2022, compared to €121 billion in 2018. These losses are primarily attributed to VAT fraud, evasion, avoidance, non-fraudulent bankruptcies, calculation errors, and other factors.

Reducing the VAT compliance gap is a positive development, as lost revenues undermine governments’ ability to fund essential services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Read more

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New VAT Regime for Small Enterprises: Key Changes Starting January 2025

From January 1, 2025, small enterprises will be able to take advantage of a special VAT regime (SME scheme) designed to:

  • Exempt their sales from VAT, allowing goods and services to be sold without charging VAT.
  • Simplify VAT compliance, reducing administrative burdens.

However, businesses opting for VAT exemption will forfeit the right to deduct VAT on expenses related to their exempt sales. Read more

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VAT: Enhanced EU-Norway Cooperation to Tackle Fraud and Improve Recovery of Claims

On October 2, the EU and Norway signed an agreement to update their existing framework for administrative cooperation in VAT matters, focusing on fraud prevention and claim recovery. This revised agreement introduces new tools to strengthen their collaboration.

The original EU-Norway agreement, which came into effect on September 1, 2018, was the first international treaty focused on VAT cooperation. After six years, the partners have amended it to align with Council Regulation 904/2010 on VAT fraud prevention and Council Directive 2010/24/EU on mutual assistance for the recovery of tax-related claims. Read more

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Union Customs Code Annual Progress Report 2023 Released

On September 9, 2024, the European Commission adopted the Union Customs Code (UCC) Annual Progress Report 2023. This fifth edition details advancements in implementing the UCC and its 17 key digital projects, drawing on input from EU Member States throughout 2023. The report has been shared with the European Council and Parliament. Read more

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European Commission Proposes New Tax Cooperation Framework (DAC9) to Simplify Filing Obligations under Pillar 2

The European Commission has introduced a proposal to amend the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation (Directive 2011/16/EU – DAC). Known as DAC9, this proposal aims to streamline the filing process for companies subject to the Pillar 2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2523), which establishes a global minimum tax level for multinational enterprise groups (MNEs) and large-scale domestic groups (LSDGs) within the EU. Read more