E-commerce and EU VAT: Theory and Practice

E-commerce and EU VAT: Theory and Practice
Rosamund Barr, Jeroen Bijl, Nils Bleckman, Gijsbert Bulk, Ethan Ding & Matthias Luther

The new EU rules governing online sales of goods and services affect all businesses that sell online to EU customers, no matter where the seller is based. This timely book, written by leading tax professionals from various EU countries, is the first to clearly explain the VAT compliance obligations and options that businesses and tax practitioners worldwide must understand in order to adapt to the new system. In addition to describing the legal framework, the authors provide examples of how the rules work in practice and illustrate available choices for businesses, with particular attention to avoiding pitfalls.

Thoroughly describing the rules affecting place of supply, liability, and accounting procedures in all relevant contexts, the book covers such areas of VAT compliance as the following:

- distinction between goods and services;
- differences between imported goods and goods sold intra-EU;
- filing and invoicing obligations under the new one-stop shop scheme;
- reclaiming foreign VAT;
- mitigating fears of fraud and hijacking;
- distinction between business-to-customer and business-to-business transactions; and
- navigating through appeals, mistakes, and adjustments.

Also covered are the particular VAT variations applicable to transactions involving the major European non-EU states - Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The important distinction between the concept of 'nexus' in the United States state and local tax rules and 'place of supply' under EU law is also fully explored.

Because a very large number of remote sellers of goods and services will need to understand and comply with the changes in the EU VAT e-commerce rules, it goes without saying that this book is indispensable to in-house corporate counsel worldwide. Tax administration officials, professionals in indirect tax management, corporate tax and finance directors and other tax professionals, and academics concerned with indirect tax law are sure to welcome this essential resource.