EU VAT proposals and global VAT response to covid-19

21 July 2020

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Please see below table for VAT mitigation measures introduced worldwide. These measures exclude VAT amended VAT rates for PPE and medical equipment.

Country	Description of goods or services	Old VAT rate	New VAT rate	Start date	End date
Austria	Hospitality, cultural events	10%	5%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
	Non-alcoholic drinks	20%	10%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
Belgium	Hospitality, restaurants, cafés, publishing	12%	6%	8 June 2020	31 December 2020
Bulgaria	Hospitality, restaurants, cafés, books	21%	10%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
Colombia	Hospitality, restaurants, cafés	8%	zero	25 May 2020	31 December 2020
Cyprus	Hotels, accommodation, public transport, hospitality, restaurants and cafés	9%	5%	1 July 2020	10 January 2021
Czech Republic	Accommodation, sports and cultural events	15%	10%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
Germany	Standard rate	19%	16%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
	Restaurants and catering services	19%	5%	1 July 2020	30 June 2021
	Reduced rate	7%	5%	1 July 2020	30 June 2021
Greece	Taxis, ferries, public transport and non-alcoholic drinks	24%	13%	1 June 2020	31 October 2020
	Accommodation, hotels, cafés, restaurants.	9%	5%	1 July 2020	9 January 2021
	30% discount on VAT rates for sales in 5 islands			1 July 2020	31 December 2020
Jamaica	Standard rate	16.5%	15%	1 April 2020	31 March 2021
Kenya	Standard rate	16%	14%	1 April 2020	No end date
Lithuania	Hospitality, restaurants and cafés	21%	9%	Unsure	31 December 2020
Malaysia	Hotel service tax	10%	zero	30 March 2020	30 June 2021
	Tourism tax at hotels	RM10 per night	zero	1 July 2020	30 June 2021
Mexico	Standard rate	16%	10%	1 July 2020	31 December 2020
Moldova	Hospitality, restaurants, cafés	20%	15%	1 May 2020	31 December 2020
Norway	Cinemas, hotels, public transport	12%	6%	1 April 2020	31 October 2020
Turkey	Hotels, accommodation and domestic flights	18%	1%	1 April 2020	30 November 2020
UK	Hospitality inc restaurants, cafés, pubs, accommodation and entry to attractions	20%	5%	15 July 2020	12 January 2021
Ukraine	Cultural events and domestic electricity	20%	10%	17 March 2020	31 December 2020

EU VAT proposals

The EU Commission has published proposals in July 2020 for VAT changes, to be debated by the EU Parliament and the EU Council, for possible introduction between 2021 and 2023, including the following. This builds upon the changes due to be introduced in July 2021 for the removal of distance selling thresholds for b2c intra-EU sales of goods, and its replacement with a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) return currently used only for e-services.

Changes to the Tour Operators Margin Scheme (TOMS) including harmonisation throughout the EU;
Increased use of digital reporting of VAT, including real-time submission of e-sales invoices to tax authorities to support VAT returns submitted;
Review of VAT for the gig economy;
A single EU wide VAT registration for all non-resident overseas suppliers;
Extend the OSS (One stop shop) return to the sale of all services, not just those provided electronically.

If you have any questions, please contact the VAT team.