Twenty-three changes this week. The EU’s EUR 2 handling fee on low-value parcels is now law and applies from 1 November. The Netherlands published its VAT in the Digital Age act, and Ukraine signed its law taxing low-value parcels, though that tax will not start before July 2027. Cyprus keeps more everyday goods at zero VAT through 2027, and Chile sets new transport-document rules from 1 November. Four corrections fix earlier entries for Nepal, Pakistan and the two Congos.
What changed
EU — the EUR 2 handling fee on parcels applies from 1 November
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 was published in the Official Journal on 22 October 2026. It sets the Union handling fee at EUR 2 per item for goods sold at a distance and released for free circulation, and applies from 1 November 2026. Our earlier entry reported the act when it had been adopted but not yet published.
The regulation, the fee amount and the start date →
Netherlands — the VAT in the Digital Age act is published, in force 1 January 2027
The Act of 7 October 2026 implementing the single VAT registration part of VAT in the Digital Age (bill 36 920) was published in the Staatsblad on 19 October (Stb. 2026, 327). It enters into force on 1 January 2027. Until 30 June 2028, network supplies of gas, electricity, heating and cooling to non-business customers by non-established suppliers are treated as intra-Community distance sales. From 1 July 2028 those supplies are reverse-charged to a Dutch-registered customer, and the call-off stock rules lapse from 1 July 2029.
The three commencement dates and the source →
Ukraine — parcel VAT is law, but starts no earlier than 1 July 2027
Law No. 5025-IX of 15 October 2026, now signed by the President, makes the marketplace or platform liable for 20% VAT on distance sales of goods worth up to EUR 150 sent to individuals in Ukraine, with a monthly report and no border VAT on those imports. The law is in force, but its parcel-VAT provisions apply only 45 days after the Cabinet publishes a readiness decision, and not before 1 July 2027. Gifts between individuals up to EUR 45 stay exempt. Our earlier entry reported the bill’s adoption by the Rada.
Who pays, the reporting cycle and the deferred start →
Cyprus — more everyday goods at zero VAT throughout 2027
Order K.D.P. 362/2026, published on 16 October, zero-rates infant milk, children’s and adult nappies, feminine hygiene products, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit from 1 January to 31 December 2027. The goods move out of the reduced-rate food paragraph for that year.
The product list, the CN headings and the order →
Chile — new invoice and dispatch-note rules for goods in transport from 1 November
SII Resolución Exenta N° 144 of 23 October requires invoices and dispatch notes covering transported goods to show origin and destination, the driver’s name and ID, the carrier’s RUT, the vehicle plate and a precise description of the goods. It adds a third-party dispatch note for outsourced transport and replaces Resolution 154 of 2025. The obligations apply from 1 November 2026; the third-party note and interoperability options can be phased in until 1 May 2027.
The required fields, the transport categories and the dates →
Philippines — invoices must show creditable withholding tax as a separate line
Revenue Regulations No. 006-2026 adds a new required invoice item: the amount of creditable withholding tax, where applicable, shown separately. Existing invoice stock can be used up if “Less: Withholding Tax” is stamped on it. The rule takes effect 15 days after publication.
The new item 22 and the rule for old invoice stock →
Belgium — the Chamber passes the VAT in the Digital Age bill
The bill is not law yet. The Chamber of Representatives adopted DOC 56 1718 in plenary on 22 October, and it now goes for royal assent and publication in the Moniteur belge. It covers the VAT in the Digital Age rules applying from 1 January 2027 and 1 July 2029, including the end of call-off stock transfers after 30 June 2028.
What the bill changes and its remaining steps →
Poland — a bill would push KSeF penalties to 2028
The bill is not law yet. Government bill print 3245, sent to the Sejm on 20 October and read for the first time on 21 October, would start the KSeF e-invoicing penalties on 1 January 2028 instead of 1 January 2027. It would also extend the reverse charge on gas, electricity and emission allowances from 31 December 2026 to 30 June 2030.
The two amendments and the bill’s progress →
In short
- Chile — SII Resolución Exenta N° 146 sets the procedure for sellers to reclaim VAT on new-home sales covered by Law 21.850, from 1 December 2026. Full record →
- Uruguay — Ley 20.531 exempts beverage-container deposit and refund operations from IVA and gives housing cooperatives an IVA credit on construction costs, from 1 January 2027. Full record →
- New Zealand — Government agencies must require large suppliers to send Peppol e-invoices from 1 January 2027. Full record →
- Switzerland — Parliament extended the 3.8% accommodation rate to the end of 2031; it takes effect on 1 January 2028 unless a referendum is called by 21 January 2027. Full record →
- Portugal — The 2027 budget bill would keep the VAT exemption on fertilisers, feed and other farm inputs until 31 December 2027. Full record →
- Poland — The Sejm passed the bill raising VAT to 23% on certain non-alcoholic and energy drinks; it goes to the Senate. Full record →
- Poland — The VAT in the Digital Age bill (print 3074) went to the President for signature on 23 October. Full record →
- Poland — The import-declaration bill awaiting signature would also accept carrier, postal and third-country import documents as proof for the 0% export rate. Full record →
- Cyprus — Order K.D.P. 363/2026 adds residential photovoltaic systems for self-consumption to the Twelfth Schedule of the VAT Law. Full record →
- Italy — A new Agenzia delle Entrate provvedimento updates how inactive VAT numbers are closed: closure takes effect 60 days after the notice is received. Full record →
- Ukraine — Law 4967-IX exempts from VAT imports of defence goods brought in for domestic defence production, in force since 17 September. Full record →
Corrections
Nepal — the ride-sharing VAT rule started on 17 July 2026, not 15 June (correction)
Nepal’s Finance Act 2083 was published in the Nepal Gazette on 30 Asar 2083, which is 14 July 2026. Its new section 7(1Kha) of the VAT Act requires resident ride-sharing operators to collect VAT at 5% of the taxable value on transport and delivery services supplied through their platforms. The Act brings that provision into force from 1 Shrawan 2083 (17 July 2026). Our earlier entry gave 15 June 2026.
The commencement clause and the gazette date →
Pakistan — failing to integrate with FBR systems means penalties and sealing, not blacklisting (correction)
The Finance Act, 2026 sets a penalty of up to Rs 1 million for failing to integrate with the FBR’s systems within the time the Board notifies, a second penalty of up to Rs 5 million if the failure continues a month later, and sealing of business premises. Our earlier entry said the Act provided for suspension or blacklisting; it does not.
The penalty entry and the Act →
DR Congo — the normalised invoice has been mandatory since 1 December 2025 (correction)
The DGI fixed the obligation to issue and to demand a facture normalisée, produced by an approved fiscal device, at 1 December 2025 for all VAT taxpayers. On 5 October 2026 it said the Minister had ended the moratoria and that the obligation is fully effective, with checks under way nationwide. Our earlier entry gave 1 April 2026 as the start and dated the end of the moratorium to 12 and 15 May 2026; no DGI or Ministry document carries those dates.
The start date, the end of the moratoria and the sources →
Republic of the Congo — 18% VAT on non-residents’ digital services since 1 July 2026 (correction)
The instruction we reported in June as a DR Congo rule is the Republic of the Congo’s: Instruction N° 0339 of the Brazzaville tax directorate, applying the 2024 Finance Law. Non-resident providers of digital services to customers in the Congo charge 18%, with no registration threshold, and have filed through the regulator ARPCE’s portal since 1 July 2026. The first quarterly return was due on 20 October 2026. We found no equivalent rule in the DR Congo.