Global VAT & Indirect Tax News

The Bahamas Prime Minister announced that unprepared food will be zero-rated for VAT effective 1 April 2026. The change applies to all unprepared food items sold within the country.

The article argues that India’s 2026 budget should overhaul the GST structure, financing options, and fleet economics to accelerate electric vehicle adoption. It proposes reducing GST on batteries and charging services to 5%, reclassifying battery swapping as an energy service, extending vehicle life norms, and providing green credit and toll waivers to lower ownership costs and support large fleet conversions.

Russia increased its VAT rate from 20% to 22% on 1 January 2026, expanding VAT registration to more small businesses. The Finance Ministry expects the hike to bring an extra 3.2 trillion rubles in revenue, while businesses have already raised prices to offset the tax change. The move aims to close the fiscal gap caused by war spending and falling oil revenues.

The Oman Tax Authority (OTA) has been approved as a Peppol Authority and is advancing its e-invoicing rollout. A consultation session on December 9, 2025 reviewed the draft data dictionary, and OTA has set a phased accreditation schedule for Q1–Q3 2026, culminating in an August 2026 pilot where taxpayers can exchange e‑invoices. The draft dictionary specifies 53 mandatory fields for standard tax e‑invoices and 66 additional conditional fields.

China’s Ministry of Finance announced the cancellation of VAT export rebates for photovoltaic glass products effective 1 April 2026, which is expected to give a short‑term boost to soda ash prices. Battery product rebates will be phased out during 2026 and fully eliminated by 2027. The policy, declared on 9 January 2026, is part of a broader effort to curb excess inventory in the soda ash market.

The Bahamas will apply a 0% VAT rate to unprepared essential food items from 1 April 2026, replacing the 5% reduced rate introduced in 2025. This follows a broader VAT reform that lowered the standard rate from 12% to 10% in 2024, aiming to ease cost‑of‑living pressures for consumers.

Cyprus has extended a zero VAT rate on essential fresh produce until the end of 2026. The measure, announced by the Tax Department following a decree dated 21 November 2025, applies from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and covers a specific list of vegetables and fruits. Businesses must comply with the decree’s provisions to qualify for the zero rate.

Côte d’Ivoire has introduced a 9% value‑added tax on animal feed, production inputs and related packaging, effective 17 January 2026. The measure replaces a previous exemption that applied until the end of 2025 and is part of the 2026 Finance Law tax reform. The reduced rate, chosen over the standard 18%, aims to limit the impact on the livestock sector while still bringing these goods into the VAT framework.