Poland is likely to cut VAT to zero on basic food products in February, the prime minister said on Monday, as part of a package of measures to soften the blow from surging inflation.
Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) has launched a package of tax cuts on petrol, gas, heating and electricity combined with cash handouts to households, but says it has been unable to cut VAT on food to zero because of European Union rules.
"There is a very high chance that from February we will cut VAT on basic food items to zero for at least six months," Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.
VAT On Food
Poland has been pushing the EU to allow food to be sold without VAT, but Morawiecki did not elaborate on whether the bloc had given ground on this issue.
Inflation in Poland was 7.8% in November, according to statistics office data.
Elsewhere, Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce have launched an awareness campaign highlighting the importance of a single VAT ID registration, introduced by the European Commission in July for e-commerce sales.
The new rules extend the VAT One Stop Shop system to e-commerce distance selling and have introduced an Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS).
In practice, e-merchants still have to maintain their foreign VAT registrations in every EU country where they are sending or holding stock.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
