December 6, 2017 by Ecommerce News. About Laws and regulations with tags Europe. 9479 views.
The finance ministers of the European Union have agreed on simplified tax rules for online retailers. So, instead of registering for VAT in each EU country, online retailers in the future will be able to file a single tax return for the entire European Union. This should reduce costs for ecommerce companies and increase the tax revenues of EU countries.
The new rules also mean online retailers are no longer obliged to register for VAT in each of the member states in which they sell goods. Based on information from the European Commission, such obligations cost companies around 8 thousand euros for every EU country into which they sell. "The one-stop shop will generate an overall saving of €2.3 billion for businesses and a €7 billion increase in VAT revenues for member states", the Commission estimates.
For start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, things will get easier too. Below 10.000 euros in yearly cross-border online sales, these companies will be able to continue applying VAT rules used in its home country.