UK anti-VAT fraud split payments on e-commerce

30 March 2017

The UK government has announced that it will hold a public consultation relating to the introduction of an anti-VAT fraud spilt payment system.

This measure will apply to e-commerce sales made by non-established suppliers to consumers in the UK. If brought in, this will mean that the UK consumer purchasing the goods will be required to pay the VAT element of their purchase directly to HMRC. The net amount will then be paid to the supplier in the normal way.

It is hoped that this measure will help to eliminate the growing problem of VAT fraud by non-established online sellers who are charging the VAT on these sales, but are not remitting this to HMRC.

In 2016, the UK introduced a range of other measures to try to deal with the problem of non-EU sellers failing to VAT register and charge VAT. Read our article which details the changes in full here.

LATEST NEWS

France introduces €2 customs charge on a per item...

From 1 March 2026, France will levy a €2 “taxe sur les petits colis” charge on low‑value imports (under €150) brought into France from non‑EU...

SEE MORE
VAT news
LATEST NEWS

EU confirms €3 flat rate customs duty on low value...

In February 2026, the Council of the EU formally approved the removal of the EU’s threshold‑based customs duty relief (the €150 de‑minimis) with effect...

SEE MORE
VAT news
LATEST NEWS

Azerbaijan introduces mandatory VAT Registration for...

Azerbaijan has approved significant reforms to its VAT rules for non‑resident digital service providers, moving from a withholding‑based model to a...

SEE MORE
VAT news

Gated Content

The following email providers are not accepted: gmail, hotmail, yahoo. Please use proper company email.