Tax & Legal

The European Commission is taking action to tackle risks stemming from low-value imports sold via non-EU online retailers and marketplaces hosting non-EU traders.

The Council today agreed on a partial negotiating mandate on a fundamental reform of the EU customs framework. The overhaul will give customs authorities across the EU a more modern toolbox to deal with trends such as huge increases in trade volumes, especially in e-commerce, a fast-growing number of EU standards that must be checked at the border and shifting geopolitical realities and crises.

On 26 March 2026 the Council and the Parliament agreed to overhaul the EU customs framework, giving the Union a more modern toolbox to deal with trends such as huge increases in trade volumes, especially in e-commerce, a fast-growing number of EU standards that must be checked at the border and challenging geopolitical realities.

VAT record keeping and joint and several liability for operators of electronic interfaces as of July 1, 2021.

The EU is planning a comprehensive reform of its customs legislation that will fundamentally change the way goods are imported and exported in the single market. The necessary steps were initiated in 2023. One of the most important changes is the replacement of the current status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) with the new designation of Trust & Check Trader (T&C Trader).

New transparency rules came into force on 1 January 2024 that will help EU Member States to crack down on Value-Added Tax (VAT) fraud.

Embracing the digital transition to help fight VAT fraud and support EU businesses! For the EU Commission, that’s the key to modernize and make the EU's Value-Added Tax system work better for businesses and more resilient to fraud.

An ECJ advocate general has suggested that the address of the issuer of an invoice must not be identical with the place from where he carries out his economic activity and that any type of address under which the supplier can effectively be contacted is sufficient.

On 8 November 2018, the Finance Bill 2018 was adopted by the German parliament and received the consent of the Bundesrat on 23 November 2018 in the form of “The Act for the Avoidance of VAT Losses on the Trading of Goods on the Internet and Amendments to other Tax Regulations”(hereafter “Finance Act 2018”).

In its plenary session of 18 December 2020 the Bundesrat approved the Finance Bill 2020.