Businesses call for further facilitation of VAT Registration

At the occasion of a dedicated joint Roundtable on the Single VAT Registration in the EU, Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce showed full support for the plans tabled by the European Commission in December’s VAT in the Digital Age proposal to further facilitate VAT registration in the EU.

The legislative proposal includes an extension of the ‘VAT One Stop Shop’ (OSS) portals, allowing businesses selling to consumers and holding stock in another Member State to register only once for VAT purposes in the entire EU and to fulfill their VAT obligations via a single online portal.

Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce are calling the EU Member States to reach consensus as soon as possible to enable sellers to make better use of the Single Market.

Luca Cassetti, Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe, commented: “The new VAT OSS and Import OSS are a success story and a milestone in the EU efforts to simplify VAT legislation. However, businesses with multiple warehouses in EU countries still need to VAT-register in ​​each country of storage. This is costly and burdensome, especially for SMEs. Introducing a Single VAT ID Registration Number​​ by extending the existing VAT OSS would greatly reduce administrative procedures and help businesses thrive in the EU Single Market.”

Christel Delberghe, Director General of EuroCommerce, commented: “In the 30th year after the creation of the EU Single Market, VAT compliance when trading cross border still ranks amongst the highest barriers for companies. Despite the welcomed improvements through the VAT OSS, VAT registration in different Member States is often still time-consuming and costly with SMEs spending around 8,000 euros on compliance costs per year and in each country. The Commission proposal on a Single VAT Registration initiative is a welcomed opportunity to facilitate trade within the EU by making VAT compliance simpler, fairer and more efficient.”

Ahead of the Roundtable, Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce have jointly launched a Campaign with a website and materials, an informative video and communication tools to raise awareness on the benefits of a Single VAT Registration in the EU.