In March of 2021, while the world was still trying to navigate staying online, the European Commission introduced a new action plan. Named the Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation, it was created to ensure fair and simple taxation in the EU. Today we will specifically be looking into the DAC7 rule, which came into effect January 1st of this year and is a big part of tax compliance.
What is DAC7?
DAC7 is a tax directive in the EU that requires digital platform operators in the EU to report personal and business information about their providers to tax authorities. DAC7 defines digital platforms as any software that allows sellers to connect with buyers. This includes peer-to-peer lending, services, products, and platforms, as well as food delivery apps, car rentals, ride-hailings, and others.
DAC7 was made with tax transparency rules in mind and is meant to ensure that no taxes go unreported as the sharing and gig economy has, until this point, made it easy to hide income tax.
Who is Affected by DAC7?
The platforms affected by the reporting obligations are pretty straightforward:
- Rental of immovable property, both residential and commercial. Examples of this would include Airbnb, Peerspace.
- Rental of any mode of transport. For example, Getaround, Outdoorsy.
- Providing personal services. For example, Uber, Bolt, and Wolt.
- Sale of goods. For example, Etsy, Ebay.
It’s worth noting that non-EU companies are still subject to the reporting obligation as long as they operate in the EU member states or have sellers operating in the EU member states.
There are also two main exceptions:
- Casual sellers. This means people with fewer than 30 transactions in a year that do not exceed 2000 euros.
- High-frequency real estate renters. So hotel chains or tour operators.
What Information is Reportable Under DAC7?
The information that needs to be reported is quite simple. It includes:
- Seller’s identifiable information: name, and date of birth.
- Demographic seller information such as their primary address;
- Tax Identification Number (TIN);
- VAT registration numbers;
- The seller’s financial account identification code;
- Business registration numbers;
- Amounts paid to sellers as well as platform fees for each quarter;
- The number of relevant activities for which the seller has been paid;
- For sellers of rental immovable property: details of the underlying properties that have been rented.
All information needs to be provided before the 31st of January, 2024. And before the 31st of January each year going forward.
Additional DAC7 Requirements
Although straightforward on the surface, DAC7 has a few requirements that need to be kept in mind.
- The reporting platform operator is responsible for determining the primary address of the seller.
- The reporting platform operation must also provide all reportable data to the seller prior to submitting it.
- Reporting platform operators must keep the reportable information for five years after the reportable period ends.
- All reportable information needs to be checked by the platform operator before the 31st of January, which is the deadline to submit the data.
Each EU member state provides a method for information reporting. The affected platform operators will only need to report it to one member state.
GDPR and DAC7
Reporting platform operators are still required to comply with GDPR regulations. This means that sellers must be aware of what data is collected and how it will be used. All reportable data is also considered sensitive, private information.
Possible Penalties for Non-compliance to DAC7
Penalties will include fines if all reportable data is not provided by January 31st. If sellers and marketplace providers do not share the data, operators are obligated to send two reminders. Once 60 days have passed, and the data is still not provided, operators must sever ties with the seller and close their account.
What Should Affected Platform Operators Do?
This is truly a big change for many platform operators. Luckily, there are solutions that can do the work for them. Ondato can easily automate the data-collecting process. This will allow platform operators to outsource the additional workload that comes with DAC7. If your company is affected, you first need to make sure you are aware of the deadline for submitting data. Then, figure out how collection and reporting will be achieved.
