In brief — five changes this week:
- Spain — the temporary reduced 10% VAT on electricity and gas reverted to 21% from 1 June 2026.
- Bangladesh — the FY2026-27 budget proposes cutting manufacturing VAT on ACs and fridges from 15% to 7.5%.
- Guatemala — monthly VAT returns move to SAT’s Agencia Virtual, off the DeclaraGuate portal, from 2 June 2026.
- Botswana — VAT on non-resident remote (digital) services and a mandatory EFD regime take effect from 1 June 2026.
- North Macedonia — the UJP launched the third pilot phase of its e-Faktura platform (4 June 2026) ahead of the mandatory e-invoicing go-live on 1 October 2026.
A budget-season week with a base-broadening move: an energy-driven VAT rate reversion (Spain up), one consumer-goods rate cut proposed in the Bangladesh budget, a filing-channel switch in Guatemala, Botswana extending VAT to cross-border digital services, and North Macedonia advancing its e-Faktura pilot toward an October mandate. One of the five is still a proposal; read the status before you plan around them.
Europe
Spain — VAT: electricity and gas relief reverts to 21% from 1 June 2026
The temporary reduced 10% VAT rate on electricity and natural gas supplies, introduced by Real Decreto-ley 7/2026, reverted automatically to the standard 21% rate from 1 June 2026 after final April 2026 CPI data triggered the decree’s expiry condition. The reduced VAT on road fuels under the same decree continues until 30 June 2026. (AEAT)
What it means: This is a reversion, not a new measure — the relief was always conditional on inflation, and easing April CPI met the trigger. Spanish energy supplies are back at 21% from 1 June; only road fuels keep the reduced rate, and only until 30 June 2026. Verify a Spanish NIF with the Spain validator.
North Macedonia — VAT e-invoicing: e-Faktura pilot advances toward the 1 October 2026 mandate
North Macedonia’s Public Revenue Office (UJP) launched the third pilot phase of the e-Faktura platform on 4 June 2026, moving from API testing to end-user business-process testing. The mandatory e-Faktura clearance system — enacted via VAT Law amendments published in the Official Gazette (Sluzben Vesnik) in late 2025 — will require all VAT-registered businesses to issue structured XML e-invoices via the central UJP platform for all non-cash B2B and B2G transactions from 1 October 2026, with invoices legally valid only once cleared by the UJP in real time. (Public Revenue Office (UJP) — e-Faktura)
What it means: This is a clearance (real-time approval) model, not just structured invoicing — closer to Italy’s SdI than to a post-audit regime. With the mandate set for 1 October 2026 and pilot testing now reaching end users, businesses operating in North Macedonia have a short runway: confirm your systems can produce the required XML and integrate with the UJP platform before invoices stop being valid without UJP clearance.
South Asia
Bangladesh — VAT: budget proposes a manufacturing rate cut on ACs and fridges
The FY2026-27 national budget (presented 11 June 2026) proposes cutting the manufacturing-stage VAT on locally produced air conditioners and refrigerators from 15% to 7.5%, with the concessionary rate extended through 2030. (NBR)
What it means: A budget proposal, targeted at 1 July 2026 (the start of the fiscal year), aimed at domestic appliance manufacturers. It is not enacted until the Finance Act passes, so the 15%→7.5% figure is the proposed rate, not yet the law. Verify a Bangladesh BIN with the Bangladesh validator.
Latin America
Guatemala — VAT: monthly filing moves to the Agencia Virtual
From 2 June 2026, the SAT-2237 IVA General monthly VAT return — along with ISR forms SAT-1311, SAT-1361, SAT-1411 and ISO form SAT-1608 — must be filed exclusively through SAT’s Agencia Virtual. These forms were disabled on the public DeclaraGuate portal for 6,438 special taxpayers (large and medium), with extension to the general IVA regime from 1 September 2026. (SAT)
What it means: A compliance-channel change, not a rate change — but it affects how you file. Special (large and medium) taxpayers must use the Agencia Virtual from 2 June 2026; the general IVA regime follows from 1 September 2026. Verify a Guatemalan NIT with the Guatemala validator.
Africa
Botswana — VAT: non-resident digital services come into the base, EFDs become mandatory
Under the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2025 — published in the Government Extraordinary Gazette on 31 October 2025 — Botswana extends its VAT base to remote (digital) services supplied by non-residents and introduces a mandatory electronic fiscal device (EFD) regime for VAT-registered persons. BURS’s implementation of VAT on remote services takes effect from 1 June 2026; non-resident suppliers whose taxable supplies reach BWP 500,000 over 12 months must register and collect VAT at the standard 14% rate from 1 October 2026. (BURS)
What it means: This is base-broadening, not a rate change — the standard rate stays at 14%. The 1 June 2026 commencement starts the clock, but non-resident suppliers don’t have to charge VAT until 1 October 2026, giving a transition window to register (above the BWP 500,000 threshold) and appoint a resident VAT representative. The parallel EFD mandate affects all VAT-registered businesses, with penalties for non-use or tampering.
Themes this week
- Budget season drives the rate moves. Spain’s reversion to 21% and Bangladesh’s proposed appliance VAT cut both trace back to fiscal-policy timing — an inflation trigger and the FY2026-27 budget cycle respectively.
- One of five is not yet law. Bangladesh’s cut is a budget proposal awaiting the Finance Act. Spain, Guatemala and Botswana (all in force) plus North Macedonia (enacted, with a firm 1 October date) are the four you can plan around today.
- Energy is on the rate side. Spain raises VAT on electricity and gas as its inflation-linked relief lapses — a sector under fiscal pressure.
- Digital base-broadening reaches Africa. Botswana brings non-resident remote services into VAT and mandates electronic fiscal devices — the same cross-border-digital and e-invoicing playbook now showing up well beyond the EU.
- Clearance e-invoicing arrives in the Western Balkans. North Macedonia’s e-Faktura moves toward a real-time UJP-clearance mandate on 1 October 2026 — the continuous-transaction-control model continuing its spread into South-Eastern Europe.
Sources
- Spain: AEAT — medidas en materia de tributación (RDL 7/2026).
- North Macedonia: Public Revenue Office (UJP) — e-Faktura project page and wiki.
- Bangladesh: NBR — National Budget Speech FY2026-27.
- Guatemala: SAT — Planilla IVA FEL / Agencia Virtual.
- Botswana: BURS — VAT on Remote Services (implementation public notice); Grant Thornton Botswana — VAT on remote services and mandatory EFDs.