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EU Agrees To End Country-Specific Limits For Online Retailers (reuters.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: The European Union has agreed a plan obliging online retailers operating in the bloc to make electrical goods, concert tickets or car rental available to all EU consumers regardless of where they live. Putting an end to "geoblocking", whereby consumers in one EU country cannot buy a good or service sold online in another, has been a priority for the EU as it tries to create a digital single market with 24 legislative proposals. The agreement late on Monday between the European Parliament, the EU's 28 member states and the Commission will allow EU consumers to buy products and services online from any EU country. The agreement applies to e-commerce sites including Amazon and eBay.

2 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Catch 22 for small companies by Carewolf · · Score: 4, Informative

    They have to sell to every EU country. At the same time they are not allowed to sell to other EU countries unless they have a tax (and depending on the type of goods also a recycling) representative in those countries.

    Small retailers are excempt from having to handle tax in other countries. Generally it is up to the consumer to declare the goods for taxation in those cases (which is a commonly used loophole to get things "taxfree" over the internet)

  2. Re:Catch 22 for small companies by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Isn't VAT charged in the member state where the retailer is based, irrespective of where the buyer is, assuming the goods are being shipped inside the EU."

    No that has changed a couple of years ago. Now it's the buyer's country that is relevant.