Apple, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber as Deemed Suppliers in EU VAT: Same Obligation, But Not the Same Rights?

This article undertakes a comparative legal analysis of the three distinct sets of deemed supplier rules applicable to platforms under EU VAT law – article 9a of the VAT Implementing Regulation in connection to article 28 of the VAT Directive, and articles 14a and 28a of the VAT Directive – with particular attention to potential inconsistencies in their formulation that may infringe the principle of equality. It critically assesses whether the platforms that are all essentially in a comparable situation, given that they are burdened with deemed supplier rules, are nevertheless subject to divergent treatment. The article formulates targeted legislative recommendations aimed at harmonizing the deemed supplier regimes in the EU VAT system to ensure greater efficiency, legal certainty and equal treatment across sectors.