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The wording of the EU Directive 2018/1910, effective since 1 January 2020, suggests that EU suppliers must check that other businesses they are trading with within the EU are properly VAT registered. The Directive has triggered concerns about the obligation and the timing of when these checks must be done.  What is VIES? VIES, the […]

The UK officially left the European Union at 11pm BST on Friday 31 January 2020, 10 months later than originally planned due to two negotiation period extensions. Both are now in a transition period due to end on 31 December 2020.  During this period, the conditions of the new relationship will be redefined and agreed. […]

With today’s announcement that SAP is extending support for its Business Suite 7 software suite until the end of 2027 many are breathing a sigh of relief. But are they falling victim to a false sense of security? While SAP adjusted its timeline, largely due to increasing customer pressure, know that governments have no such […]

The insurance market for 2019 was marked by two key trends:  insurers implementing post-Brexit strategies, and the continuous rise of insurtech companies. But classic and more traditional insurance companies and captives have not surrendered. A hard Brexit has been anticipated by UK insurers British insurance companies have carefully planned for the different flavours of Brexit […]

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) doesn’t represent a significant share of the total revenue generated by tax authorities.  In the UK for instance, it only accounts for 1% of the total revenue while the share rises to just 4% in Germany. However, over the past five years there has been a regular increase in the amount […]

2019 was an exciting year for VAT and, given the ever-increasing pressure on governments to increase revenues, it’s likely that 2020 will be just as eventful. Although VAT is an ever-shifting landscape, below are three recent trends that we believe are poised to continue in 2020 and beyond: 1.  VAT obligations for remote sellers Globally, […]

Working towards a ‘Definitive VAT System’ The EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (“ECOFIN”) issued a report last month.  This followed its review of EU tax policies and developments since Finland took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2019.  The report is broad.  It covers digital taxation, contributions to the […]

Romania has the largest so-called “VAT gap,” the difference between actual and expected VAT revenues, in the European Union. According to a 2019 European Commission study, 36% of Romania’s VAT revenues, EUR 6.41 billion, went missing in 2017. Romania’s VAT gap reached 48% in 2011, following a sharp increase in the standard VAT rate from […]

The deadline for the electronic invoicing mandate in India is rapidly approaching, and if multinationals aren’t careful, compliance issues could catch some SAP customers by surprise. On April 1, India will begin enforcing its own unique version of mandatory e-invoicing for all but the smallest businesses in the country, although the Indian tax administration has […]

Controls to close the VAT gap and combat VAT fraud The VAT gap for Europe remains around €137 billion every year, according to the latest report from the European Commission. This represents a loss of 11.2% of the expected VAT revenue for the region. The largest gaps were in Romania at 37.89%, Greece 33.6%, and […]

On 27 December 2019, the Italian government issued a decree delaying and establishing new dates for when the NSO platform would go live. The Electronic Purchase Orders Routing Node platform (Nodo di Smistamento degli Ordini, NSO) had initially been scheduled to be effective on 1 October 2019. The NSO is the Italian government owned platform […]

Digital tax reporting requirements have arrived and are here to stay.  As the global VAT gap continues to grow (estimated to be as high as half a trillion EUR), countries are increasingly using complex reporting requirements to gain insight into VAT activities.  In this rapidly changing environment, it’s of utmost importance for companies to ensure […]

The insurance world is often seen as slow and reluctant to fully embrace technology. However, new competition from the growing number of insurtech companies and the digitisation of reporting to local authorities are forcing insurers to wake up to the wave of technology transformation the sector is experiencing. Still, people behind technology remain key. Perhaps […]

The following is an excerpt from “Trends in Continuous Global VAT Compliance,” the 11th edition of the industry’s most comprehensive guide to e-invoicing, e-archiving and VAT reporting. The full report is available for download.  To reduce the VAT gap, countries are pushing taxable organizations to comply with VAT requirements and enforcing different types of legal […]

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released the new 2020 version of the Incoterms.  Incoterms are important business shorthand and understanding their express meaning and intended usage is incredibly important in minimizing business risk and ensuring compliant VAT reporting.  The following information provides some basic guidance for tax compliance professionals looking to refresh their […]

HMRC administers the whole of the tax system for the UK and Northern Ireland.  Although there are some 5.7 million active businesses in the UK, less than half a percent are responsible for 40% of the tax HMRC collects (approximately £217 billion in 2017).  So, how well those businesses manage their tax compliance will make […]

Mandatory SAF-T (Standard Audit File-Tax) reporting will be introduced in Norway from 1 January 2020. Use of SAF-T, a standardized XML format containing exported accounting information, remains voluntary until that date. SAF-T is designed to reduce compliance and administrative costs for businesses and revenue bodies and enhance audit outcomes.  Its standardized, easily readable layout and […]

First legislation of the myDATA The requirement for the mandatory submission of tax data to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) has finally been established in law, specifically in the new tax bill approved by the Greek parliament just a few days ago. The tax bill further mandates the IAPR to finalize, by way […]