New mandatory automatic exchange of information rules for Digital Platforms "DAC7"

On 15 July 2020, the EU Commission published a directive proposal (the “DAC7 Proposal”), amending, for the 6th time, Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation (the “DAC”) in the field of taxation. The DAC7 Proposal is part of the EU Commission’s Tax Package that aims to ensure that the European tax policy supports Europe’s economic recovery and long-term growth following the COVID-19 crisis.

The DAC7 Proposal aims to extend the scope of automatic exchange of information to digital platforms by placing an obligation on them to report on the income earned by sellers of goods and services who make use of the relevant platforms. It introduces new reporting obligations for platforms acting as “digital intermediaries” like CRS and DAC6 place obligations respectively on financial or tax intermediaries.

The DAC7 Proposal also includes clarifications and improvements of the existing rules on administrative cooperation and introduces notably, for that purpose, a definition of the “foreseeable relevance” required for an information request.