AmCham EU: Recommendations to the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU

• VAT / e‑invoicing — make ViDA work in practice: AmCham EU asks the Irish Presidency to use the second half of 2026 to push a harmonised, interoperable EU framework for B2G and B2B e‑invoicing, by mandating a common standard (EN 16931) and a limited number of syntaxes, common transmission methods and consistent validation rules — so that the simplification potential of VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) and the Public Procurement Directive revision is not lost to 27 divergent national mandates that drive up SME compliance costs. [amchameu.eu], [taxation-c….europa.eu]
• Customs — deliver the Union Customs Code reform without re‑opening it: AmCham EU urges the Presidency to keep momentum on the EU Customs Reform politically agreed on 26 March 2026 (new UCC, EU Customs Authority in Lille, EU Customs Data Hub, “Trust & Check” trader, deemed‑importer rules for online platforms, removal of the €150 de minimis from 2028 and the interim €3/parcel duty as of 1 July 2026), focusing the Irish semester on practical, business‑friendly implementing acts rather than re‑opening the deal. [taxation-c….europa.eu], [globalimpo…kenzie.com], [amchameu.eu]
• Tax simplification & transatlantic context: The recommendations sit inside Ireland’s broader tax agenda — the Tax Simplification Omnibus, recast of DAC, OECD Pillar Two monitoring, CBAM extension, Tobacco Tax Directive and progressing the EU VAT framework — and call for these workstreams to be aligned with the EU–US Joint Statement so that EU indirect‑tax and customs policy supports, rather than undermines, transatlantic investment by US companies in Europe. [chartereda…untants.ie], [irish-pres….europa.eu], [amchameu.eu]

Article

Context — why this matters now

On 25 June 2026, AmCham EU — the voice of US companies invested in Europe — published its Recommendations to the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, six days before Ireland takes over the rotating Presidency on 1 July 2026. The paper frames the Irish semester as a “decisive moment for Europe’s competitiveness agenda”, coinciding with the One Europe, One Market roadmap, the Tax Simplification Omnibus and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. [amchameu.eu], [irish-pres….europa.eu]

For indirect‑tax and customs leaders, the relevant chapters of the document echo two existing AmCham EU position papers: Harmonising electronic invoicing in the EU (18 February 2026) and Adapting Europe’s Customs Union to the new reality (still in the Library as the reference text for the UCC reform). [amchameu.eu], [amchameu.eu]

VAT — what AmCham EU wants from Dublin

1. A genuinely harmonised EU e‑invoicing architecture. AmCham EU’s core VAT message is that the EU’s e‑invoicing landscape is “increasingly fragmented”, with Member States imposing divergent formats, extra data fields, inconsistent definitions, validation rules and implementation timelines that drive up compliance costs — especially for SMEs — and undermine the Single Market. The Presidency is asked to:

• mandate the CEN EN 16931 standard and a limited number of syntaxes for B2G and B2B flows;
• establish common transmission methods (interoperable 4/5‑corner models);
• support efficient implementation of ViDA and the revised Public Procurement Directive. [amchameu.eu]

This matters because ViDA was adopted on 11 March 2025 (Directive 2025/516, Regulation 2025/517, Implementing Regulation 2025/518) and rolls out progressively until 2035, with Digital Reporting Requirements for cross‑border B2B becoming mandatory from 1 July 2030 and domestic systems converging by 1 January 2035. AmCham EU’s point is that without a tight harmonisation push during the Irish Presidency, Member States that already have (or are launching) domestic mandates — Italy, France, Poland, Germany, Romania, Spain VeriFactu, Belgium 2026, Ireland’s phased B2B rollout announced for Budget 2026, etc. — will entrench divergence ahead of 2030. [taxation-c….europa.eu] [kpmg.com], [vatupdate.com]

2. Progressing the EU VAT framework. AmCham EU aligns here with the Irish Presidency’s own published tax priorities, which include “progress work amending the EU VAT Framework and progress any proposals made by the Commission during the Presidency“, as well as the VAT data‑exchange dossier that the Presidency aims to close before end‑2026 (broader Eurofisc cooperation, EPPO/OLAF access to VAT data, customs/FIU/Europol interoperability). [chartereda…untants.ie], [vatcalc.com]

3. Simplification of the indirect‑tax acquis. Beyond e‑invoicing, the recommendations are consistent with AmCham EU’s general tax line: support for the Tax Simplification Omnibus, the DAC recast and the OECD Pillar Two side‑by‑side solution, and a call for the Council not to add new tax‑based EU own resources in the next MFF — all of which condition the political space for VAT reform. [chartereda…untants.ie]

Customs — what AmCham EU wants from Dublin

The customs recommendations build directly on AmCham EU’s“Adapting Europe’s Customs Union to the new reality” paper, which welcomed the most ambitious reform of EU customs rules since 1968 and called for a framework that “aligns with the future of supply chains while accounting for new realities of the global economy”. Translated into the Irish semester, that means: [amchameu.eu]

• Lock in, don’t re‑open, the political agreement of 26 March 2026 between Parliament and Council on the new Union Customs Code (nUCC). That deal establishes the EU Customs Authority (headquartered in Lille), the EU Customs Data Hub, the“Trust & Check” trader authorisation (with self‑assessment, EIDR‑style release and fewer interventions), and a fundamental shift from a declaration‑based to a data‑driven, risk‑focused model. [taxation-c….europa.eu], [globalimpo…kenzie.com]
• Operationalise the e‑commerce overhaul: removal of the €150 customs duty de minimis, the temporary €3 per‑item duty applicable from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, and the deemed‑importer regime for online platforms — areas where US‑headquartered marketplaces have a direct interest in workable implementing acts, IOSS interoperability and predictable risk‑management rules. [taxation-c….europa.eu], [vatcalc.com]
• Single rulebook, fewer national variations: consistent with the Customs Union paper, AmCham EU pushes for the Data Hub to actually replace the 111+ national customs IT systems and for the Customs Authority to issue EU‑level risk analyses and control recommendations, so that Trusted Traders see real procedural benefits instead of 27 parallel implementations. [globalimpo…kenzie.com], [amchameu.eu]
• CBAM coherence. Although CBAM sits outside the UCC, AmCham EU’s recommendations track the Irish Presidency’s plan to progress the CBAM extension and the Temporary Decarbonisation Fund, asking for proportionate, predictable rules to avoid double burdens on importers under both customs and CBAM regimes. [chartereda…untants.ie]

Transatlantic frame

Throughout the document, the VAT and customs asks are anchored in AmCham EU’s broader mission — keeping Europe an attractive place for American companies invested in Europe (“the largest source of income outside the US, accounting for 55% of foreign affiliate earnings; an investment stronghold, home to 64% of US foreign assets”). In a year when the EU has just locked in zero tariffs on US industrial goods under PE‑CONS 32/26 and the US has capped its tariffs on EU goods at 15%, AmCham EU’s indirect‑tax message is consistent: don’t let e‑invoicing divergence or a fragmented customs roll‑out become the new non‑tariff barrier behind the headline tariff deal. [amchameu.eu] [amchameu.eu]

What this means for an EU iTx / Customs team

• E‑invoicing programme: treat AmCham EU’s call as supportive of an internal “EN 16931 + Peppol BIS” baseline architecture, with country‑specific syntaxes only where legally required (FR, IT, PL, RO, BE, ES VeriFactu, IE phased B2B, DE growth opportunities act, etc.).
• Customs: prepare now for the 1 July 2026 €3 duty on low‑value parcels, the gradual phasing‑in of Trust & Check and the deemed‑importer regime, and start mapping data flows toward the future EU Customs Data Hub.
• Stakeholder engagement: if your company is an AmCham EU member, the Irish semester is the right window to push amendments through implementing acts and Council working‑party positions — both on ViDA implementation and on UCC secondary legislation.

External links

• AmCham EU – Recommendations to the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU (landing page & PDF download, 25 June 2026): amchameu.eu [amchameu.eu]
• AmCham EU – Harmonising electronic invoicing in the EU (Position Paper, 18 Feb 2026): amchameu.eu/policy/topics/tax [amchameu.eu]
• AmCham EU – Adapting Europe’s Customs Union to the new reality: amchameu.eu [amchameu.eu]
• Irish Presidency 2026 – official Policy Programme (PDF): irish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu [irish-pres….europa.eu]
• Chartered Accountants Ireland – Irish presidency of the Council of the EU launched (tax priorities, 15 June 2026): charteredaccountants.ie [chartereda…untants.ie]
• European Commission – VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu [taxation-c….europa.eu]
• European Commission – EU Customs Reform (political agreement of 26 March 2026): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu [taxation-c….europa.eu]
• Baker McKenzie Global Import Blog – EU: EP and Council reach agreement on the EU customs reform (24 April 2026): globalimportblog.bakermckenzie.com [globalimpo…kenzie.com]
• vatcalc.com – EU states aim to agree VAT data exchange 2026: vatcalc.com [vatcalc.com]