Global VAT & Indirect Tax News

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers will submit three separate tax bills to the Verkhovna Rada in early April 2026, including a new tax on the OLX platform, a 5% increase in the military levy, and the abolition of parcel benefits. No bill to introduce VAT for individual entrepreneurs will be presented, as the government seeks to have the IMF remove that requirement. The parliament previously failed to adopt the OLX tax on 10 March 2026.

A London court ruled that a technical college receiving free courses funded by the UK government must treat the funding as consideration for its taxable supply of services, making it subject to VAT that can be recovered from HMRC. The decision clarifies the tax treatment of government funding for educational services. The ruling was issued on March 27, 2026.

The United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters has announced a practical VAT agenda through 2028, establishing a Subcommittee on Indirect Taxes to produce guidance on execution gaps. The workplan covers five priority areas—digital economy VAT, fraud prevention and SME compliance, cross‑border dispute resolution, financial services/FinTech/crypto, and VAT regressivity—with draft outputs expected by October 2028. The initiative signals a global convergence in VAT thinking and increased scrutiny for tax authorities and businesses.

Denmark is tightening its digital bookkeeping and e‑invoicing framework, moving from encouragement to default digital behaviour. From July 2026, e‑invoicing will be the default output, and businesses on registered systems will be automatically enrolled in the NemHandel network unless they opt out. The roadmap also sets a 2028 start for Peppol PINT migration, full transition by 2029, and SAF‑T 2.0 will require transaction‑level detail from 2027.

Kenyan KPMG commentary analyzes the Tax Appeals Tribunal decision that clarified the VAT treatment of insurance intermediaries. The Tribunal ruled that while insurance brokerage services remain exempt, asset management services are taxable at the standard 16% rate. The decision also highlights the High Court's 2021 ruling restoring the exemption and the appellant's unsuccessful deregistration attempt.

The article explains how place of supply rules determine VAT treatment for cross‑border services, outlining B2B and B2C rules, land‑related exceptions, and the importance of identifying place of supply to avoid compliance issues. It also highlights that UK VAT applies if the place of supply is the UK, and that non‑established businesses face a nil registration threshold.

This whitepaper explains how aligning VAT returns with e‑invoicing data can improve accuracy, efficiency and control. It discusses the growing regulatory push for real‑time e‑invoicing, the challenges of reconciling fragmented data, and offers a framework for centralised reconciliation to deliver ROI.

From 1 July 2026 Hungary will tighten its M-sheet VAT reporting, requiring detailed breakdowns of VAT charged and deducted by rate, and mandating new data fields. The ÁNYK filing system will be phased out by 31 December 2026, with taxpayers moving to the eVAT platform, and M-sheets will be abolished entirely from 2027. These changes stem from the 2025 Autumn Tax Package and represent a shift toward real‑time, deduction‑based reporting.

Belgium has made B2B e-invoicing mandatory for domestic VAT‑registered businesses from 1 January 2026, with a three‑month grace period ending 1 April 2026. From 1 January 2028 the country will introduce near real‑time e‑reporting via a five‑corner Peppol model, replacing periodic customer listings. Penalties for non‑compliance include escalating fixed fines and potential VAT deduction denial, while electronic invoices must be retained for 10 years.

The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) clarified that natural shortages of excise goods in designated zones are exempt from excise tax from 1 July 2025, provided they meet specific verification criteria. Losses due to theft, negligence or operational inefficiency remain taxable. Taxable persons must obtain an independent certification report, valid for one year, and declare shortages via EmaraTax not exceeding the permitted percentage.

Portugal has introduced a 6% VAT rate for the construction of homes intended for sale or rent at moderate prices, but the measure is restricted by EU regulations to owner‑occupied homes up to €684,000 and rentals up to €2,300 per month. The new law, published on 6 March 2026, gives the government 180 days to approve the relief, and accompanying decrees also lower income tax for rentals, exempt capital gains on reinvested profits, and impose a 7.5% transfer tax on non‑resident buyers.

The European Parliament and Council have agreed on a comprehensive reform of the EU Customs Code aimed at tackling the surge in e‑commerce parcels. Key measures include a new handling fee for individual parcels from non‑EU countries, treating e‑commerce platforms as importers, a new EU Customs Authority in Lille, and a customs data hub to be mandatory by 2034.

The article outlines a CFO-focused readiness scorecard for e-invoicing, highlighting gaps in regulatory awareness, technical infrastructure, process maturity, vendor coverage, and organisational alignment. It details key mandates in Belgium, France, and Germany, and stresses the importance of early assessment to avoid penalties and lengthy implementation cycles.

Usage‑based billing for AI and SaaS services introduces VAT compliance challenges that stem from system design rather than legal ambiguity. Key issues include the timing of VAT on prepayments, the treatment of free usage, and the risk of late VAT declaration when true‑ups are billed at year‑end. The EU Court of Justice’s ruling on unused airline tickets illustrates how tax authorities view the right to service as a taxable supply.

This blog post explains how SAF‑T can bridge the gap between real‑time e‑invoicing and periodic VAT returns, highlighting EU ViDA mandates, national e‑invoicing rules, and the role of SAF‑T in reconciling data. It details penalties in Poland, Romania’s cross‑validation pilot, and Italy’s fraud‑reduction success, underscoring the need for continuous data validation.

Bahrain’s National Bureau for Revenue released guidance version 1.5 on March 11 2026 clarifying that VAT paid as deposits during import is not immediately recoverable. Registered persons must obtain a customs declaration receipt confirming a ‘VAT confiscation’ status before they can reclaim the VAT, and the recovery must occur within five years from the end of the calendar year in which the deposit becomes recoverable.

Cyprus has reduced the VAT on domestic electricity to 5% from 1 May 2026 to 31 March 2027 and zero‑rated meat, poultry and fish from 1 April to 30 September 2026. Motor fuel excise duty will fall by 8.33 cents per litre between April and June 2026, and the planned Green Tax has been cancelled. The measures are part of a €200 m support package that also includes subsidies for hotels, airlines and farmers.

Chile’s new administration announced a proposal to temporarily suspend VAT on residential property sales for one year, aiming to revive a stagnant housing market. The measure could lower final housing prices by 3‑8%, but input VAT on construction costs would become non‑creditable and must be capitalised. Its success hinges on congressional approval and swift implementation.

The UK government’s Simplified Customs Declaration Process (SCDP) offers a two‑stage electronic declaration method that reduces border controls for authorised traders. Importers must be pre‑authorised, hold an EORI number, and submit a supplementary declaration within ten calendar days of the reporting period’s end, keeping records for four years.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to revise the EU e‑Invoicing Directive, offering three options that range from mandatory use of the EN 16931 standard for B2G transactions above thresholds to a full EU‑wide rollout with interoperability requirements and EU‑level governance. The consultation runs from 18 March to 10 June 2026 and seeks input on how to accelerate harmonisation ahead of the ViDA mandate, which will require structured e‑invoicing for intra‑EU B2B by July 2030.