European Commission proposes standard VAT return

The European Commission has made a proposal for a new standardized VAT return for within the EU. The aim of the proposal is to reduce red tape for businesses and make compliance with the VAT rules easier.

In the proposal is a uniform set of obligations which companies must fulfill when completing and filing their VAT returns, regardless of which Member State they file in. The standard VAT return would replace the national VAT returns. Therefore all companies in the EU would have to provide the same basic information within the same deadlines.

The standard VAT return will only contain five compulsory fields. The Member States do have the option of requiring a number of additional standardized fields. However, the total number of additional standardized fields is limited to 26. The standard VAT return must be filed monthly. Small businesses may be able to file on a quarterly basis. The obligation to file a yearly VAT overview is abolished. The standard VAT return will be able to be filed electronically from everywhere in the EU.