Introducing certain requirements for payment service providers - BusinessEurope position paper on the European Commission directive

Key messages

• We welcome the European Commission’s efforts to fight VAT fraud, as VAT fraud creates strong competitive distortions at the expense of the vast majority of businesses who pay their taxes in full.

• It is essential that the Commission’s action targets fraudsters, is proportionate and does not put more administrative burden on payment service providers (PSPs) than necessary. In this light, we oppose the Commission’s proposal unless the requested data can be restricted to that which is readily available without extensive efforts and costs for EU-based PSPs. Otherwise, the current proposal can create a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis third-country PSPs and could lead to higher transaction fees for all EU customers without significantly reducing overall VAT fraud.

• As the Commission’s proposal will imply new exchanges and processing of VAT-related personal information, it is important that the Commission ensures that the data are only used with the sole objective of fighting VAT fraud, whilst fully guaranteeing the provisions of the EU’s privacy rules on personal data.