VAT in the Digital Age

Key points

The EESC:

• stresses that in order to fully benefit from the single market, businesses require uniform application of VAT rules across the EU. This can only be ensured by action at EU level, preventing red tape, discrepancies and loopholes in the applicable VAT rules;
• points out that the current system treats goods and services in intra-Community trade differently and regrets that the comprehensive proposal from the Commission does not take the opportunity to align VAT treatment between goods and services;
• considers that the suggested timeline for reporting intra-Community supplies of goods and services within two days seems unreasonably short and is worried that the time limit of two days for electronic invoices and reporting would constitute a barrier to intra-community trade, especially since many SMEs are already facing problems with the much longer time limit within the current regulatory framework;
• considers that summary invoices should not be eliminated since it would create problems in many sectors. The use of summary invoices should always be allowed for domestic transactions;
• encourages the Commission to continue working towards including VAT deductions in the One Stop Shop (OSS) as soon as possible and towards timely VAT refunds;
• is concerned that the considerable implementation costs for the measures in the comprehensive VAT package could lead to higher prices for consumers.