Sofia runs a PrestaShop store selling handmade furniture from a workshop outside Porto, and she also rents two rooms above the workshop through a short-term accommodation platform to cover slow months. Her accountant flagged something in a routine year-end call she'd never heard of: "VAT in the Digital Age," or ViDA, adopted by the Council in March 2025. Nothing changes for her this quarter. But two separate parts of her business — the intra-EU B2B furniture sales she occasionally makes to interior design firms, and the room rentals through the platform — are both directly named in a reform that starts reshaping EU VAT obligations from roughly 2028 onward. Ignoring it until it's mandatory would mean rebuilding her invoicing process under deadline pressure instead of on her own schedule.
Why ViDA landed on merchants' radar in 2025
ViDA isn't a single new rule — it's a package: a directive, a regulation, and an implementing regulation, adopted together by the Council in March 2025, that amend the existing EU VAT framework across three connected areas. None of it replaces OSS; it builds on top of the reporting infrastructure OSS already established, extending digital-first processes further into B2B trade and platform transactions. The rollout is phased over roughly a decade, from 2025 through 2035, which is exactly why it's easy to file under "not my problem yet" — and exactly why doing that is a mistake for merchants who trade B2B across borders or sell through platforms.
The three pillars of ViDA
Digital Reporting Requirements and e-invoicing
The biggest structural change is a move toward mandatory structured e-invoicing and near-real-time Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) for intra-EU B2B transactions. Instead of issuing a PDF invoice and separately filing periodic VAT summaries, businesses will generate invoices in a structured digital format that can feed tax authorities transaction-level data close to real time. Harmonisation of these digital reporting requirements across member states is expected by around 2035, with earlier milestones building toward it through the late 2020s. For a furniture maker like Sofia who occasionally invoices a Belgian design studio, this eventually means her invoicing software needs to produce a structured e-invoice format rather than a plain PDF — a software and process change, not a tax-rate change.
Platform economy: deemed supplier rules
This is the pillar that touches Sofia's room rentals directly. Under the deemed supplier model, platforms facilitating certain services — short-term accommodation rental and passenger transport are the two sectors explicitly targeted — become responsible for charging and remitting VAT on transactions they facilitate, in situations where the underlying host or driver doesn't. This is expected to apply from roughly 2028 to 2030, phased. Practically, it shifts VAT collection responsibility onto the platform rather than the individual host in a growing share of cases, which simplifies things for small-scale hosts but means the platform's own VAT treatment of the transaction becomes something worth understanding rather than assuming.
Single VAT Registration
The third pillar extends the OSS logic further, aiming to reduce the number of separate VAT registrations a business needs across the EU by widening what can be reported through a single registration, alongside a broader mandatory reverse charge mechanism for certain B2B transactions where the supplier isn't established in the customer's country. This is expected to phase in around 2028. For merchants who currently hold multiple national VAT registrations because certain transaction types fall outside OSS's current scope, this pillar is the one most likely to reduce that administrative footprint over time.
Phased timeline: what happens when
| Milestone | Expected timing | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| ViDA package adopted by the Council | March 2025 (confirmed) | Directive, regulation, and implementing regulation adopted as a package |
| Single VAT Registration & extended reverse charge | From ~2028 (scheduled/phased) | Wider single-registration scope, mandatory reverse charge for certain non-established suppliers |
| Platform deemed-supplier rules | From ~2028–2030 (scheduled/phased) | Short-term accommodation and passenger transport platforms |
| Digital Reporting Requirements & e-invoicing harmonisation | Building through the late 2020s, harmonised by ~2035 (scheduled/phased) | Structured e-invoicing and near-real-time reporting for intra-EU B2B |
Treat the dates in the "expected timing" column as scheduled and phased rather than fixed to a specific day — the Council's adoption in March 2025 is the confirmed anchor point; the rollout dates that follow are subject to member-state implementation timelines within the agreed framework.
What this means for a PrestaShop store specifically
PrestaShop itself doesn't generate structured e-invoices or handle deemed-supplier platform logic natively — those are accounting-stack and platform-side concerns respectively, not storefront settings. What's relevant for a PrestaShop merchant is upstream of the storefront:
- If you invoice B2B customers across EU borders, your invoicing or accounting software vendor's roadmap for structured e-invoicing support is worth a direct question now, not in 2029.
- If you sell through any platform in addition to your own store — particularly accommodation or transport-adjacent services — understand which party is treated as the deemed supplier for VAT purposes once that rule applies to your sector.
- Your existing OSS setup, covered in our audit-readiness guide, doesn't go away — ViDA extends and digitises the reporting infrastructure around it rather than replacing it.
- If you currently hold VAT registrations in multiple member states for transaction types OSS doesn't cover, keep an eye on how Single VAT Registration's expanded scope develops, since it may eventually let you consolidate some of those.
Preparing now instead of later
None of ViDA's phases require action from most merchants this year. But "no action required yet" is different from "nothing to do."
Checklist: getting ahead of ViDA
- [ ] Ask your invoicing/accounting software vendor whether structured e-invoicing is on their roadmap, and by when
- [ ] List every platform you sell or rent through, and flag any in the short-term accommodation or passenger transport categories
- [ ] Note any B2B intra-EU transactions currently handled outside OSS, as candidates for future Single VAT Registration scope
- [ ] Set a recurring annual review (not more often — this doesn't move fast) to re-check ViDA implementation guidance from the European Commission
- [ ] Avoid vendor contracts that lock you into a non-upgradeable invoicing format for multi-year terms
Ask your invoicing vendor about their roadmap
Pull up your current invoicing software's public roadmap or ask your account manager directly whether structured e-invoicing support is planned, and by roughly when. That single conversation is the most useful thing a merchant like Sofia can do this year — it costs nothing and it means the eventual transition is a software update rather than a scramble. For the reporting fundamentals ViDA builds on top of, see breaking down the OSS declaration step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Is ViDA already law?
The ViDA package — a directive, a regulation, and an implementing regulation — was adopted by the Council in March 2025. It's confirmed and adopted, but its individual measures phase in over roughly a decade, so "adopted" doesn't mean every rule already applies.
Do I need to switch to e-invoicing immediately?
No. Structured e-invoicing and digital reporting requirements for intra-EU B2B transactions build in gradually through the late 2020s, with harmonisation across member states expected by around 2035. There's no immediate mandatory switch for most merchants, but it's worth confirming your software vendor's roadmap now rather than waiting.
How does the deemed supplier rule affect small platform sellers?
If you sell through a platform in the short-term accommodation or passenger transport sectors, the platform is expected to take on VAT charging and remittance responsibility for facilitated transactions in a growing share of cases from roughly 2028–2030, which can simplify VAT handling for individual hosts or drivers, though the exact mechanics depend on the platform's implementation.
Does Single VAT Registration replace OSS?
No — it extends OSS's logic to cover more transaction types under a single registration, alongside a wider mandatory reverse charge mechanism, expected from around 2028. Your existing OSS registration and quarterly filing process continues to apply to what it currently covers.
Does PrestaShop need an update to support ViDA?
Not directly — PrestaShop's tax rules groups handle checkout-level VAT calculation, while e-invoicing and digital reporting are typically handled by accounting or invoicing software sitting alongside the storefront. The relevant readiness question is aimed at that software, not your PrestaShop configuration.
What's the single most useful thing to do about ViDA this year?
Confirm your invoicing or accounting software's roadmap for structured e-invoicing support, and ask directly when it's expected to ship. It's a low-effort question now that avoids a forced, urgent migration later, once the requirement becomes mandatory for your transaction types and everyone else is asking the same vendor at once.
Compliance glossary
ViDA: "VAT in the Digital Age" — an EU package (directive, regulation, and implementing regulation) adopted by the Council in March 2025, phasing in digital reporting, e-invoicing, platform deemed-supplier rules, and single VAT registration through roughly 2035.
E-invoicing: Structured, machine-readable digital invoice formats (rather than PDFs or paper) that ViDA moves toward requiring for intra-EU B2B transactions, enabling automated tax authority reporting.
Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR): The near-real-time transaction reporting obligations ViDA introduces for intra-EU B2B supplies, replacing periodic summary filings with structured, ongoing digital data.
Deemed Supplier: A platform treated, for VAT purposes, as the entity responsible for charging and remitting VAT on a transaction it facilitates — under ViDA, this applies to short-term accommodation and passenger transport platforms in a growing share of cases.
Single VAT Registration: A ViDA measure extending OSS-style reporting to reduce the number of separate national VAT registrations a business needs, alongside a wider mandatory reverse charge mechanism, expected from around 2028.
One-Stop Shop (OSS): The existing EU scheme for declaring cross-border B2C VAT through a single quarterly return — the reporting infrastructure ViDA builds on and extends rather than replaces.
Related reading
- The 2026 Guide to EU OSS: Is Your Store's VAT Reporting Audit-Ready?
- Preparing for Future VAT & OSS Changes in Europe
- Breaking Down the OSS Declaration: A Step-by-Step for E-commerce
- Intra-EU Sales: Why Tax Rules Aren't the Same as Tax Reporting
- Preparing for 2030: The Long-Term Roadmap for EU Packaging Recyclability
