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.

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.

Germany is preparing XRechnung 4.0, the next major version of its national e‑invoice standard, to align with the revised EN 16931‑1:2026. The new standard will break the one‑order‑one‑delivery rule, add B2B‑specific fields, and will not be backward compatible with XRechnung 3.0. Businesses must plan for the transition as the German e‑invoicing mandate requires all e‑invoices by 1 January 2028, likely using XRechnung 4.0.

The Belgian Court of Appeal ruled that the 2000 amendment removing the explicit VAT exemption for travel agencies providing services outside the EU does not alter the tax status of those services. The court confirmed that, under the EU standstill provision, services remain taxable even without an explicit national deviation. Travel agencies must therefore account for Belgian VAT on services such as hotels and flights for trips outside the EU.

This article outlines the tax and compliance requirements for online stores operating in Bulgaria, including mandatory registration with the National Revenue Agency, submission of monthly audit files, and conditions triggering VAT registration. It also explains cross‑border obligations such as OSS, VIES, and Intrastat for EU and non‑EU transactions.

This article argues that e‑invoicing does not create new problems but instead exposes existing process failures. It highlights how structured invoices enforce strict validation rules in countries such as Italy, India, and Germany, and cites adoption statistics following Italy’s 2019 mandate. The piece also discusses the impact of e‑invoicing on exception rates, processing costs, and cycle times.