The Council of the European Union reached an agreement on a new set of rules relating to exchanges of value-added tax payment data, which will help detect tax fraud in cross border transactions and simplify reporting obligations, the council said Nov. 8. The new rules will allow EU countries to collect electronic records of “payment service providers” and will create a new “central electronic system” for processing by anti-fraud officials. The measures are expected to increase compliance with EU VAT obligations, the council said.

The United Kingdom has been “far too slow” in imposing unilateral sanctions against human rights abusers and should appoint a senior official responsible for implementing sanctions policy, Britain's House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said in a Nov. 4 report. The report, which was the committee’s second of 2019, makes several sanctions-related recommendations to Britain's Foreign Commonwealth Office and is critical of the country’s approach to sanctions. The committee asked for updates to its suggestions by May 2020.

Kazakhstan implemented a value-added tax pilot program that aims to improve VAT administration procedures, including electronic VAT invoices, according to a Nov. 6 KPMG post. Under the program, the government may conduct “a desktop review” of participants before the tax reporting deadline and request “that taxpayers with a high degree of tax risk … provide documentation confirming the transaction or service performance,” KPMG said. Participants are required to resolve violations uncovered by the government within five business days and must submit copies of requested documents. If the taxpayer does not comply with the government, tax authorities can limit the taxpayer’s access “to the information system for electronic VAT invoices,” KPMG said. Taxpayers with a high degree of “tax risk” or that purchase goods from VAT-payers with a high degree of tax risk may participate in the program, the post said. The program was launched in October and will end July 1, 2021.

In the Nov. 4-6 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

Britain's Department for International Trade updated its export control training bulletin for November through April, the DIT said Nov. 5. The bulletin provides details of courses, seminars and workshops from the country’s Export Control Joint Unit aimed at giving industry more guidance and training.

The United Kingdom's Department for International Trade released a Nov. 4 policy paper on the country’s approach to continuing trade with Georgia after Brexit. The paper provides an overview of the agreement and explains “significant differences” between the deal and the current agreement between the European Union and Georgia. The paper also includes information on tariff rates, customs procedures, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and more.

In the Oct. 30-31 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Union published the 2020 edition of its Combined Nomenclature tariff schedule in the Nov. 1 Official Journal. Changes include the tariff reductions under the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, as well as amendments to tariff provisions to keep up with technological and commercial developments, the EU Commission said in its preamble to the new edition.

The State Department approved a potential $115 million military sale to Croatia, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in an Oct. 30 press release. The sale includes two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, engines and navigation systems. The principal contractors are General Electric Aircraft Company of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft Company.

Italy recently introduced a series of new value-added tax measures, including some that increase penalties for violations, KPMG said in an Oct. 30 post. Among several changes, the measures increase penalties for criminal violations of VAT rules, including filing false VAT returns, failing to file a return, fraudulent reporting on invoices and “concealment or destruction” of documents, the post said. The increased penalties include longer prison sentences.