I lavori del Consiglio UE su Omnibus fiscalità diretta e rifusione della DAC, l'adozione del nuovo Codice doganale dell'Unione, la preparazione dell'aggiornamento della lista UE delle giurisdizioni non cooperative, il rapporto OCSE Tax Policy Reforms 2026 e l'Opinion Statement CFE sulle linee guida AMLA.
Council Examines Direct Tax Omnibus and DAC Recast
Council preparatory bodies continued their examination of the European Commission's Tax Simplification Package on 3 and 4 September. The Antici Group on Simplification held an exchange of views on the Direct Taxation Omnibus, which would amend the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the Interest and Royalties Directive, the Merger Directive and the Tax Dispute Resolution Directive. The stated aims are lower compliance burdens, greater legal certainty and support for investment and competitiveness. No public account of the positions expressed has been released. The Working Party on Tax Questions separately reviewed the Presidency compromise text on the DAC Recast together with the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor.
The EDPS backs the consolidation of the DAC framework but recommends keeping foreseeable relevance as a governing condition for exchanges of information, clarifying how the receiving Member State is identified and reinforcing feedback mechanisms covering both systemic data-quality problems and errors affecting individual taxpayers. It also considers that access to financial and anti-money laundering databases must stay necessary and proportionate, that statistical uses should rely on anonymised or aggregated data and that any restriction of data-subject rights should be set out in the Directive itself. Further direct tax meetings of the Working Party are scheduled for 17 and 30 September.
Council Approves New Union Customs Code
On 3 September the Council adopted its first-reading position on the new Union Customs Code, the most far-reaching reform of the EU customs framework in decades. The European Parliament is expected to approve the agreed text later in September, before signature and publication in the Official Journal. The reform creates a central EU Customs Data Hub for the submission of customs information and establishes an EU Customs Authority, to be based in Lille and operational from 2027. A new "trust and check" trader status will give simplified procedures to businesses granting customs authorities comprehensive access to supply-chain data.
Non-EU e-commerce platforms selling into the EU will be treated as the importer and will therefore bear responsibility for customs formalities, compliance with EU product requirements and payment of duties. Serious non-compliance may attract penalties of up to 6% of annual import value, withdrawal of customs privileges or restrictions on access to online platforms. An EU-wide handling fee for small parcels will apply by 1 November 2026, separately from the removal of the duty exemption for consignments below EUR 150. Use of the Customs Data Hub becomes mandatory for e-commerce operators from 1 July 2028 and for all other traders from 1 March 2034.
Code of Conduct Group to Prepare EU Tax Blacklist Update
The Council's Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation met on 8 September to start preparing the next update of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. According to the provisional agenda, the subgroup was to review the position of jurisdictions listed in Annex I and Annex II and consider a draft report to the Council on the forthcoming update. Monitoring of the actual effects of individual tax measures and the Group's work programme under the Irish Presidency were also on the agenda. The meeting was preparatory in nature and no decision on listing or delisting individual jurisdictions was expected. The subgroup was also to be informed of the resignation of the Chair of the Code of Conduct Group and to discuss the election of a successor, with the full Group meeting on 22 September.
OECD to Publish Tax Policy Reforms 2026 Report
The OECD was due to release its Tax Policy Reforms 2026 report on 8 September. The annual publication compares tax reforms introduced or announced during 2025 across 92 jurisdictions and analyses the main trends shaping national tax-policy choices. This edition considers how governments are financing public services, social protection and investment against a backdrop of slower growth and rising public debt. It compares developments in corporate and personal income taxation, social security contributions, consumption taxes, environmental taxation and property taxes. The findings offer a broad indication of the direction of international tax policy beyond the Two-Pillar Solution and speak directly to the debate on raising revenue while preserving competitiveness, resilience and fairness.
CFE Publishes Opinion Statement on AMLA Ongoing Monitoring Guidelines
CFE Tax Advisers Europe published an Opinion Statement responding to the AMLA consultation on draft Guidelines concerning the ongoing monitoring of business relationships under Article 26(5) of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. CFE welcomes the emphasis on proportionality, risk sensitivity and technological neutrality, while stressing that monitoring requirements must reflect the different ways in which financial institutions and professional service providers identify changes in customer risk. Tax advisers do not execute transactions or operate payment systems; their monitoring rests on professional knowledge of clients' activities, ownership arrangements, governance structures and commercial circumstances.
The Statement welcomes the distinction between periodic and event-driven reviews, noting that changes in beneficial ownership, corporate structures, business models or geographic exposure can signal changing risk more meaningfully than the passage of time. It supports the recognition of activity monitoring alongside transaction monitoring and the confirmation that manual monitoring may be used where business models do not justify automated systems. Suspension measures for professional engagements may take the form of pausing advisory work or withholding a deliverable, and any termination should respect notice requirements, file-transfer obligations, professional secrecy and legal professional privilege. AMLA also held further public hearings on 9 and 10 September concerning draft technical standards on reporting to Financial Intelligence Units and on supervisory risk-profiling methodology for the non-financial sector.
Fonte: CFE Tax Advisers Europe