- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has provided insights on the role of transport initiation in e-commerce, particularly concerning VAT and excise duty obligations.
- In e-commerce, especially in B2C transactions, sellers often bear the tax burden as prices are typically inclusive of taxes.
- VAT obligations are defined under Art. 33 of the EU VAT Directive, which states that intra-Community B2C supplies are taxed in the destination country if the seller is involved in transportation.
- Excise duty is applicable under Directive 2008/118 and Directive 2020/262 if excise goods are transported across EU borders with the seller’s assistance, even if indirect.
- A specific case involved an online shop selling alcoholic beverages across EU borders, where the seller facilitated the choice of transport service providers but did not handle the transport directly.
- The ECJ ruled that indirect involvement in choosing a transport company makes the seller liable for excise duty in the destination country, emphasizing the importance of how transport assistance is interpreted in tax liability.
Source: kmlz.de
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
