Introduction Recently the European Commission published the long awaited VAT in the Digital Age report. In the following we will discuss and analyse the central finding of the report treating Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR). We argue that the impact of real-time reporting and “e-invoicing” (definition is discussed below) can potentially be quite similar, contrary to the authors of the report. Furthermore, we show how summitto’s solution is a confidential solution for the future VAT system.

Introduction In this episode of VAT Talks we have the honour to speak with Antonino Caccamo who is CTO and co-founder of A-Cube API, an Italian e-invoicing service provider. Previously A-Cube and summitto launched a pilot, showing that summitto’s TX++ could be integrated as corner 5 in a Peppol CTC model. Continue reading to learn more about the Italian e-invoicing system and the Peppol network, and why we should “embrace the revolution” according to Antonino!

Introduction In this episode of VAT Talks we have the honour to speak with Nazar Paradivskyy who is VP Regulatory Affairs at Pagero and CTC Community leader at the OpenPeppol organisation. Therefore Nazar is the perfect person to discuss the latest developments regarding Peppol and CTC. In the article he explains the benefits of e-invoicing and why it is so important for governments to include businesses in discussions around CTC.

Introduction At the beginning of May the Group on the Future of VAT (GFV) gathered to discuss e-invoicing in respect to the VAT in the Digital Age project.[1] In a recent blog post we have already shown how complex this topic is. This also becomes apparent from the minutes of the GFVs meeting, which show the many questions raised by the European Commission (EC) to the delegates. In the following we hope to add to the ongoing discussion by providing our view on the questions raised and the answers provided by the delegates.

Introduction The Peppol network is increasingly being used as the infrastructure to exchange e-invoices by companies all over the world. One of the most recent developments is that Belgium might choose Peppol to implement mandatory e-invoicing. Therefore, in addition to the real-time reporting (or CTC) plans of the OpenPeppol organisation, summitto developed a pilot where real-time reporting is integrated in the Peppol network. In the following we will explain how invoice information is transmitted to the tax authority via this pilot.

Introduction Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have attracted the interest of investors and the public in the last couple of years because of their skyrocketing price and the possibility of producing revenues for the artists. The increasing price of NFTs has made it apparently also interesting enough for governments to try to levy VAT on these digital assets. In the following, we will analyse how the VAT legislation is being extended in Spain to NFTs and the legal feasibility of this purpose.

Introduction France, Italy, Poland. What do these countries have in common? First of all, they are all members of the EU. And second, among many other similarities, they all requested and obtained a derogation to articles 218 and 232 of the 2006 EU VAT directive in order to be able to implement mandatory e-invoicing. In this blogpost, we want to discuss how the EU derogation system works and why it is so important.

Introduction Real-time reporting and digital reporting requirements are advancing all over Europe. We discuss these developments with international indirect tax specialist Aiki Kuldkepp. Aiki has an astonishing career in the world of taxation and currently holds the position of senior manager at Grant Thornton. Come join us in a discussion about the future of VAT in Europe and how technology can help. Aiki is convinced that the “modernisation of reporting systems will help to increase the trust between member states” but she’s also aware of the difficulty of harmonising national DDRs in the EU.

Introduction In the last couple of years we had the honour to speak to many top-tier VAT experts from all over the world in our series VAT Talks. The knowledge they shared is invaluable for any VAT professional. Therefore, after an episode about confidentiality and the advantages of real-time reporting, in the following we will share the experts’ view on how companies can optimally benefit from real-time reporting. Focus on digitalisation of VAT reporting and other business processes Many VAT experts emphasised that by implementing real-time reporting VAT compliance can be fully digitalised and even (to a certain extent) automated.

Introduction Recently the European Parliament called on the Commission “to stand for the expansion of e-invoicing and calls for the introduction of an EU e-invoicing standard [sic] harmonising”.[1] This idea seems to be supported by many EU Member States and also private organisations. But what does this need for harmonisation mean exactly? Isn’t there already the pan-European e-invoicing standard EN 16931? In the following we will try to answer these questions.