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ViDA — VAT in the Digital Age

ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) is the adopted EU reform of VAT rules for the digital economy: a package of three legal acts of 11 March 2025 that phases in real-time digital reporting built on e-invoicing for intra-EU trade, makes accommodation and passenger-transport platforms liable for VAT as deemed suppliers, and expands the One Stop Shop so most businesses need only a single VAT registration in the EU. It was proposed in December 2022, adopted by the Council on 11 March 2025, published in the Official Journal on 25 March 2025, and has been in force since 14 April 2025 — with obligations arriving in waves through 1 January 2035.

The package (EUR-Lex, checked 2026-08-12):

  • Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 — amends the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC); carries the substance.
  • Council Regulation (EU) 2025/517 — amends Regulation 904/2010; builds the administrative cooperation layer including the new central VIES.
  • Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/518 — amends IR 282/2011; information requirements for the special schemes.

Source snapshot — the closing block of Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 in the Official Journal: "Done at Brussels, 11 March 2025 — For the Council" Source snapshot captured 2026-08-12 — the directive's adoption block on EUR-Lex

How it works — the three pillars​

  1. Digital reporting requirements (DRR) on e-invoicing rails. From 1 July 2030, invoices for intra-EU B2B supplies "shall be issued as electronic invoices" in the EN 16931 structured format, within 10 days of the chargeable event, and the invoice data is transmitted to the tax authority per transaction, at issuance — replacing the quarterly recapitulative statements (EC Sales Lists), which are deleted. Authorities feed the data to the central VIES for cross-matching. (Directive Art 5; Art 6(5))
  2. Platform economy — deemed supplier. Platforms facilitating short-term accommodation rental (up to 30 nights) or passenger transport by road are "deemed to have received and supplied those services themselves" — collecting and remitting the VAT — unless the underlying supplier provides a VAT (or scheme) identification number and declares they will charge the VAT themselves. Member states switch this on between 1 July 2028 and 1 January 2030. (Art 28a)
  3. Single VAT registration. From 1 July 2028 the OSS expands (non-established suppliers' domestic B2C supplies, energy, goods with installation, on-board sales), a new Special Scheme for Transfers of Own Goods replaces call-off stock arrangements, and the Article 194 reverse charge becomes mandatory where a non-established, non-identified supplier sells to a VAT-identified customer — together removing most reasons to hold foreign VAT registrations.

Who it affects​

  • Every VAT-identified business trading intra-EU B2B — structured e-invoicing + per-transaction reporting from 1 July 2030.
  • Digital platforms for short-term accommodation and road passenger transport — deemed-supplier VAT liability between mid-2028 and 2030 (member-state choice); marketplaces facilitating ≤EUR 150 imports keep recast deemed-supplier rules from 1 January 2027.
  • Cross-border B2C sellers and businesses moving own stock — expanded OSS, the own-goods scheme, and mandatory reverse charge from 1 July 2028.
  • Businesses under national mandates today — since 14 April 2025 any member state may mandate domestic e-invoicing for established taxpayers without asking the EU for a derogation, and may drop the buyer-consent requirement. That freedom is why national mandates are multiplying now, years before the EU-level 2030 layer. (Art 218 second paragraph, as amended)

Current status and dates​

In force since 14 April 2025 (as at 2026-08-12). The operative deadlines, from Article 6 of the directive — "Member States shall adopt and publish, by 31 December 2026 … They shall apply those measures from 1 January 2027" and the parallel provisions per phase:

Applies fromWhat changesDirective basis
14 Apr 2025Member states may mandate domestic e-invoicing and drop recipient acceptance — no derogation neededArt 1, Art 6(1)
1 Jan 2027E-commerce clarifications: recast Art 14a (≤EUR 150 import deemed supplier), OSS extended to gas, electricity, heating and cooling energyArt 2, Art 6(2)
30 Jun 2028Last day to start new call-off stock arrangementsArt 17a as amended; recital 43
1 Jul 2028Single VAT registration: expanded OSS, Special Scheme for Transfers of Own Goods, mandatory Art 194 reverse chargeArt 3, Art 6(3)
1 Jul 2028 – 1 Jan 2030Platform deemed-supplier rules, per member-state choice within the windowArt 3(1), Art 6(3)
1 Jul 2029Residual call-off-stock reporting provisions deletedArt 4, Art 6(4)
1 Jul 2030DRR + structured e-invoicing for intra-EU B2B: EN 16931 e-invoices by default, 10-day issuance, per-transaction reporting, EC Sales Lists abolished; central VIES receives the dataArt 5, Art 6(5); Reg 2025/517 Art 4
1 Jan 2035Pre-2024 national real-time reporting systems (Italy, Hungary, Poland, France and peers) must align with the EU standardArt 6(5) second subparagraph

Verbatim, the 2035 rule: member states with "a domestic digital real-time transaction-based reporting obligation in place on 1 January 2024", a pre-2024 Article 395 authorisation, or pre-2024 national legislation introducing one, "shall apply the measures … by 1 January 2035, in so far as domestic electronic invoicing and reporting are concerned." (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Art 6(5), checked 2026-08-12)

Detailed OSS/IOSS mechanics for the extended schemes arrived with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1869 of 27 July 2026 (OJ L, 28 July 2026), staging its own provisions 1 January 2027 → 1 July 2028. (EUR-Lex)

National mandates racing ahead of the EU layer​

The 2030 EU layer covers intra-EU transactions; domestic mandates are national choices under the Art 218 freedom, and they are moving fast (all rows verified against official sources; see the e-invoicing status table for the full picture):

CountryDomestic positionStatus
BelgiumStructured B2B e-invoicing via Peppol in force since 1 Jan 2026; near-real-time e-reporting drafted for 1 Jan 2028In force / draft (guide)
FranceReceive from 1 Sep 2026 (all); issuance 1 Sep 2026 (large/ETI), 1 Sep 2027 (SME/micro); accredited platforms onlyEnacted (guide)
GermanyReception mandatory since 1 Jan 2025; issuance transitional until end-2026 (end-2027 if turnover ≤ EUR 800k), universal from 1 Jan 2028 (BMF FAQ, checked 2026-08-12)In force / phasing
PolandKSeF mandatory 1 Feb 2026 (2024 sales above PLN 200m) / 1 Apr 2026 (all other issuers); the smallest micro-issuers — invoiced sales up to PLN 10,000 gross a month — join 1 Jan 2027 (ksef.podatki.gov.pl, checked 2026-08-12). 2035 alignment cohortIn force
SlovakiaeFaktúra domestic B2B/B2G from 1 Jan 2027Enacted
IrelandAdministrative timeline: Nov 2028 (large corporates) → Nov 2029 (cross-border traders) → Jul 2030 (ViDA alignment)Planned
LuxembourgDraft law transposing Article 1 approved 17 Jul 2026Draft
  • 2026-07-28 — Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1869 lays down the OSS/IOSS return and message rules for the ViDA-extended schemes. (EUR-Lex) — see issue
  • 2026-07-27 — Irish Revenue's phased VAT Modernisation Timeline (2028→2030) captured; the page itself carries no publication date. (Revenue.ie) — see issue
  • 2026-07-17/18 — Luxembourg and Belgium approved draft laws transposing ViDA provisions / adding e-reporting. — see issue

Frequently asked questions​

Do I have to issue e-invoices for intra-EU B2B sales yet?

No. The intra-EU structured e-invoicing and digital-reporting obligations apply from 1 July 2030. What exists now is member-state freedom (since 14 April 2025) to mandate domestic e-invoicing — so the deadlines that bind you today are national ones: Belgium since January 2026, France from September 2026, Poland's KSeF from February 2026 for the largest issuers and April 2026 for the rest (smallest micro-issuers January 2027), Slovakia from January 2027, Germany's phase-in to 2028. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Arts 6(1), 6(5); checked 2026-08-12)

What happens to EC Sales Lists (recapitulative statements)?

They are abolished from 1 July 2030 — Articles 265 to 271 of the VAT Directive are deleted — and replaced by per-transaction digital reporting at invoice issuance, flowing into the new central VIES. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Art 5(18); Regulation (EU) 2025/517)

How fast must I invoice and report an intra-EU supply from July 2030?

The invoice must be issued no later than 10 days following the chargeable event, and the invoice data must be transmitted at the time the invoice is issued (or should have been issued); self-billing and purchase-side reporting carry 5-day rules. The 2022 proposal's 2-working-day deadline did not survive negotiation. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Arts 222, 263)

When do accommodation and ride platforms start owing the VAT?

Between 1 July 2028 and 1 January 2030, depending on each member state's choice. The platform is deemed supplier of short-term accommodation (up to 30 nights) and road passenger transport unless the underlying supplier gives the platform a VAT or scheme identification number and declares they will charge the VAT; member states may carve out SME-scheme suppliers. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Arts 28a, 6(3))

Does the call-off stock simplification survive?

No new call-off stock arrangements can start after 30 June 2028. The replacement is the OSS Special Scheme for Transfers of Own Goods (from 1 July 2028) plus the mandatory Article 194 reverse charge on the onward domestic sale. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Art 17a as amended, recital 43)

My country already has real-time reporting (Italy SdI, Hungary RTIR, Poland KSeF) — what changes?

Systems in place, legislated, or authorised before 1 January 2024 are grandfathered, but must align their domestic e-invoicing and reporting with the EU standard (EN 16931 and Arts 271a–271b) by 1 January 2035. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, Art 6(5) second subparagraph)

Why the reform: the VAT gap​

The directive's own recital records the motivation: "In 2020, the VAT gap was estimated at EUR 93 billion in the Union", a substantial part of it missing-trader fraud that per-transaction digital reporting is designed to expose. (Directive (EU) 2025/516, recital 3)

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