New VAT Rules for SMEs Agreed

The Council of the EU has reached an agreement on the amendments to the VAT Directive in relation to SMEs. The objective of the amendments is to reduce the administrative burden and compliance costs for SMES, and in particular addresses SMEs operating in a cross-border context. The revised rules will allow businesses which qualify as Small Undertakings to apply the VAT exemption across the EU (currently the exemption for small undertakings only applies in a domestic context).