VATupdate Newsletter Week 50 2025

DELAY

This week’s VATupdate arrives fashionably late: the tax equivalent of hitting the snooze button once too often. With inboxes already half-closed and attention spans in pre-holiday mode, this is not the moment for a deep dive or a 40-page analysis. So, we kept it lean: fewer words, fewer footnotes, same global VAT chaos.

This week’s Top 5:

E-invoicing keeps marching on (whether you’re ready or not)

From Angola, Mozambique and Vietnam to Belgium, Germany coordinating with France, and yet another round of KSeF updates in Poland: e-invoicing is no longer a future project but a rolling compliance reality. With timelines shifting, scopes expanding and grace periods quietly disappearing.

Platforms firmly in the VAT spotlight

Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam, the EU and the UK all had platform-related VAT developments this week. The direction is clear: digital platforms are increasingly treated as responsible VAT collectors, not neutral intermediaries.

ECJ continues to fine-tune VAT fundamentals

Several new judgments and pending cases touch on triangulation, invoice corrections, proof of transport, deduction rights and liability in insolvency scenarios. Subtle changes, big consequences, especially for cross-border structures that rely on “accepted practice”.

VAT gaps, thresholds and rates under political pressure

Finland cuts VAT on essentials, Belgium postpones rate hikes, Zimbabwe debates increases, Greece celebrates its shrinking VAT gap, while others (South Africa, Azerbaijan, Cyprus) tweak thresholds. VAT remains a favourite fiscal lever – pulled in very different directions.

Refunds remain a global pain point

From Egypt, Rwanda and Ghana to India, Vietnam and the Philippines: VAT refunds continue to cause cash-flow stress, court cases and policy promises. Digitalisation helps but does not magically solve trust issues between taxpayers and tax authorities.

That’s it for this slightly delayed but fully compliant Week 50 update. If you’d like to stay ahead of the curve (or at least know what’s coming before it hits your VAT return), make sure to visit www.vatupdate.com: your one-stop shop for the latest VAT news from around the world.

Next week, we’ll be back on time. Probably.

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas that you want to share with us, please send us an email at [email protected] or leave a comment under the posts of this newsletter on LinkedIn.

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