Check the VAT rates applicable in 2026 to your products and services in Europe, in the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Ordinance No. 2026-671 of 27 July 2026 Following its recent publication in the Official Journal on 28 July 2026, Ordinance No. 2026-671 of 27 July 2026 officially confirms the postponement of the recodification of VAT provisions into the Code of Taxation on Goods and Services (CIBS) to 1 January 2027, instead of the previously scheduled...
BOFIP, 9 July 2026 – BOI-TVA-CHAMP-10-10-40-10 In a recent update to its guidance, the French tax authorities have clarified the VAT treatment of leasing agreements and hire-purchase agreements with an option to purchase (LOA) involving tangible movable property and real estate. The BOFiP confirms that the transfer of possession of the asset to the lessee...
From 1 July 2026, France suspended its national small parcel tax (introduced in March 2026) and replaced it with a standardised European customs duty of €3 per product category. This duty applies to all parcels valued at €150 or less imported from countries outside the EU. Collected at EU level, it now harmonises the rules...
The Council of the European Union announced on 5 May 2026 an agreement to strengthen cooperation between Member States, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office in tackling cross-border VAT fraud. The aim is to give investigation authorities better access to the data they need to detect and prosecute fraud schemes, including...
Not established in France but VAT-registered? Learn which transactions are in scope for French e-reporting, the applicable timelines, and how to prepare ahead.
European Parliament study, 22 June 2026 The European Parliament has published a study examining the effects of the reverse charge mechanism under articles 199a and 199b of VAT Directive 2006/112/CE. These provisions allow Member States to depart from the normal rule that the supplier collects VAT. In situations presenting a particular fraud risk, they can...
Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal judgment, 19 May 2026, no. 25BX00295 The court confirmed that VAT reverse charge applicable to building works carried out as a subcontractor (French Tax Code article 283, 2 nonies) requires demonstrating genuine subcontractor status. A construction company had applied the reverse charge mechanism to services provided as part of building...
EU : General Court of the European Union, 3 June 2026, T-198/25, G Kft The General Court of the European Union ruled on whether a national rule is compatible with the VAT Directive when it prevents a taxable person from correcting their VAT position once a tax audit becomes final. A company discovered after a...
From 1 July 2026, Austria has introduced a reduced VAT rate of 4.9% for a selection of essential food products, replacing the previous reduced rate of 10%. The 4.9% rate applies only to products that correspond exactly to the tariff codes listed in the new Schedule 3. Processed or composite products not falling within those...
Not established in France but VAT-registered? Learn which transactions are in scope for French e-reporting, the applicable timelines, and how to prepare ahead.
The Italian Tax Authority published a ruling on 29 May 2026 setting out how the simplified regime for intra-EU triangular transactions applies. Under this regime, an intermediary established in one Member State can buy goods from a supplier in another Member State and resell them to a customer in a third Member State. Provided the...
Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal Judgement, 21 May 2026, no 24BX01030 This judgment clarifies the criteria for determining whether furnished holiday lettings fall under VAT exemption or must be taxed due to their hotel-like characteristics. In this case, a French property management company was letting furnished apartments in a ski resort and had claimed VAT...
Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal Judgement, 7 May 2026, no 24MA03071 In this case, the court confirmed that missing invoices alone are not sufficient to challenge VAT deduction rights when the taxable person demonstrates that the substantive conditions for that right are met. In this instance, the Tax Authority had refused VAT deduction on the...
As part of the EU Customs Union reform, the European Commission published clarifications in May 2026 on the practical workings of the forthcoming €3 flat-rate Customs duty on low-value e-commerce imports. The measure applies to parcels with a value not exceeding €150. The Commission confirms that the €3 flat-rate duty will apply to each HS...
The transfer of VAT provisions from the French Tax Code (CGI) into the new Code on Taxation of Goods and Services (CIBS) has been pushed back. Book II of the CIBS, originally due to come into force on 1 September 2026, is now expected to take effect on 1 January 2027, giving administrations, businesses and...
On 30 April 2026, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, DG TAXUD, published a guidance note aimed at harmonising the interpretation of the rules governing the Customs and VAT status of pleasure vessels within the EU. The note does not change the existing legal framework but addresses questions that have long been...
Since 1 January 2026, foreign companies carrying out imports or intra-Community acquisitions of goods in the Czech Republic can recover the VAT paid on those operations without having to register for Czech VAT. The new mechanism, introduced under Article 83a of the Czech VAT Act, applies where the goods are subsequently supplied to a Czech-established...
In a ruling dated 13 May 2026 (CJEU, C-603/24), the Court of Justice of the EU has clarified the VAT treatment of transfer pricing adjustments within international groups. The case concerned a Portuguese car distributor whose profit margin was adjusted at year-end to meet the target return set by the group’s transfer pricing policy. The...
