Also in the news...
Register as an overseas company with Companies House
You must register an overseas company with Companies House if you want to set up a place of business in the UK.
How to successfully expand your business and set up in the UK
Tell us about your business and we'll give you the official information and data you need, in one place
Foreign Office travel advice updates
Latest travel information for British nationals affected by the situation in the Middle East.
Check if you need a UK visa
You may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work.
Apply to use simplified declarations for imports you entered in your records without authorisation
Choose how you’ll make supplementary declarations for goods that you entered into your own records without authorisation.
ECOFIN Abandons Plans For A Standard VAT Return; Czech Republic To Pilot Domestic Reverse Charge
ECOFIN’s latest monthly review of VAT measures includes abandoning plans for a standard VAT return across 28 countries. The Czech Republic has requested to pilot the domestic reverse charge, an anti-VAT fraud measure.
The EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) latest update on VAT measures includes, as anticipated, abandoning plans for a standard VAT return across 28 countries. The concept of a uniform EU VAT return was put forward in October 2013, to help companies operating in various European jurisdictions understand the different computation methodologies. While the one measure would result in cost savings, reaching a consensus in reporting standards differs across regions and would require time.
The Czech Republic has requested to pilot the domestic reverse charge, an anti-VAT fraud measure which you will find outlined in further detail in our paper, VAT reforms in Europe. To be reviewed for implementation, expansion of the domestic reverse charge mechanism is likely to reduce the reporting burden.
In the long term, it would force tax administrations in various countries to change the way they collect information, potentially leading to similarities in reporting across various EU member states and improving cash flow for businesses operating across Europe on a non-resident basis. This could be another way of achieving the concept of the single VAT return across the region.
ECOFIN meets monthly to review and co-operate on fiscal, monetary and wider economic issues within the European Union. It comprises of Finance Ministers from 28 member states.
Got questions? Contact our VAT experts.