The European Commission earlier proposed a package of cross-border e-commerce VAT reforms with a clear direction: shift the VAT collection point from import to final sale.
For sellers on European marketplaces, the signal this reform sends matters more than its specific clauses. It means three things will gradually tighten:
- Authenticity of VAT numbers — borrowed or attached numbers will become harder to use;
- Continuity of filing records — data with long-term output tax but no input tax will stand out more and more;
- Platform responsibility — marketplaces will be required to take on more withholding obligations.
A common practice in the industry back then was "tax-inclusive clearance" — sellers did not hold their own VAT numbers or filing records, with clearance handled entirely by the forwarder. It was convenient in a lax regulatory period, but it has a structural problem: the seller has no import data under their own name. Once regulators ask the platform to verify or customs traces back, the seller can hardly prove anything.
Compliance is not a cost item, but an asset that keeps appreciating as regulation tightens. Making "self-tax deferment" our flagship channel later was a direction we set starting from this document.
This proposal went through several rounds of revision before landing, but the direction it set never changed — by 2026, when the EU mandates MRN + EORI, this thread looks very clear in hindsight.
Send us the product name, pieces/weight/volume, pickup address, destination country and postal code — we will get back to you within one working day.