EU not doing enough to stop e-commerce VAT fraud, say auditors

By Sara Lewis, in Brussels

European Unioncontrols on value added tax (VAT) and customs duties are insufficient to prevent fraud as well as detect abuse for goods and services traded over the internet, according to the EU’s financial watchdog, the European Court of Auditors. It has assessed how member states implemented the EU’s ‘e-commerce package’ [1] of reforms that took effect on 1 January 2019 and found e-commerce is still vulnerable to VAT and customs duty evasion.