Information about DAC7 for platform operators

Are you a platform operator? If so, you may be affected by the new Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7). In that case, you will have to collect, verify and report data to us about sellers on your platform as of 1 January 2024. On this page you can read whether you must report, which sellers you must report on, what data you must report. And how you can report.

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  • What is a digital platform, and what is not?

    A digital platform is any software, such as a website or an app, that enables sellers to be connected to users of that software to carry out a relevant activity. It also includes anything required for payment (collection and payment) of a consideration related to the relevant activity.

    There is no digital platform if the software is only used to

    • process payments
    • advertise
    • redirect users to a platform, as in case of search engines
  • What is a platform operator?

    A platform operator is an entity that enters into an agreement with sellers to make all or part of the platform available to the sellers.

  • When are you required to report?

    If you are a resident for tax purposes of an EU Member State, you are required to collect, verify and report information on sellers using your digital platform.

    If you are not a resident for tax purposes of an EU Member State, you are required to collect, verify and report information on sellers if:

    • the platform is incorporated under the laws of an EU Member State
    • the (effective) management of the platform is located in an EU Member State
    • the platform has a permanent establishment in an EU Member State

    If you are not a resident of an EU Member State and the sellers active on your platform have EU nexus, the reporting requirement does apply. EU Nexus means that these sellers are residents of an EU Member State, or rent out immovable property located in an EU Member State.

    The reporting requirement applies to cross-border as well as non-cross-border activities.

  • When are you not required to report?

    If you can demonstrate that based on the platform’s business model, no reportable sellers are active on your platform, you can apply for 'excluded platform operator' status. 'Excluded platform operator' status must be established by 31 January of the year following the calendar year you have to report on. You can also apply for 'excluded platform operator' status earlier, so that you do not have to carry out collection and verification activities.

    Apply for excluded platform operator status (only available in Dutch)

  • What is a relevant activity?

    You must report on sellers who perform the following relevant activities on your platform:

    • rental of immovable property
    • provision of personal services
    • sale of goods
    • rental of means of transport

      Activities of sellers who are employees of the platform operator or of an entity affiliated with the platform operator do not count as relevant activities that must be reported.
  • What is a consideration?

    A consideration is a payment in any form paid or credited to a seller for a relevant activity from which all fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by you have been deducted.

    For a compensation to be considered 'paid' or 'credited', the amount paid or credited to the seller must be in an account specified by the seller, even if this account is not in the seller's name.

    An important condition is that the amount of the consideration is known or could reasonably be known to you. To assess this, we draw on knowledge from relevant service providers and other platform operators.

    If you are not aware, or cannot reasonably be aware, of the amount of the consideration paid or credited to a seller for the relevant activity, the conditions applicable to a consideration are not met. If there is no consideration, there is also no relevant activity.

  • What is the switch off mechanism for registering and reporting?

    As tax authorities worldwide face challenges related to the ever growing digital platform economy, international cooperation with countries outside the EU is essential. Similar rules apply to platform operators in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). There is a 'switch-off mechanism' to avoid duplicate information and reduce the administrative burden on digital platform operators.

    Full switch off

    The full switch off applies to foreign platform operators who are residents for tax purposes in a non-Union jurisdiction that is an OECD Member State, if that jurisdiction has concluded an agreement on automatic exchange of information:

    • equivalent to the information exchanged under DAC7, and
    • with the competent authorities of all EU Member States

    The full switch-off means that these foreign platform operators do not have to register in an EU Member State or report to an EU Member State.

    A foreign platform operator only needs to pass on information about sellers to the tax authority of the non-Union jurisdiction where the platform operator is established. Those authorities automatically exchange this information with the tax authorities of EU Member States in which the sellers are resident.

    Partial switch off

    The partial switch off applies to foreign platform operators who are residents for tax purposes in a non-Union jurisdiction that is an OECD Member State, if that jurisdiction has concluded an agreement on automatic exchange of information:

    • with some, but not all, EU Member States
    • on some relevant but not all activities covered by Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7)

    This means that while these foreign platform operators must register in an EU Member State, they do not have to report overlapping information twice (i.e. to both the competent authority of the non-Union jurisdiction and to the EU Member State where they are registered).
    The partial switch-off is designed to prevent platform operators from providing the same type of data more than once.

  • Which data must you report?

    You must report both your own data and that of the sellers.

    Own data includes:

    • name
    • address
    • tax identification number
    • trade name or names of the platform
    • web address of the platform

    Details of the seller include

    • First and last name or legal name of the seller
    • The seller's primary address
    • The seller's date of birth (if applicable)
    • The seller's VAT identification number
    • The seller’s financial account identifier
    • The seller's tax identification number (bsn, RSIN) indicating the Member State where it was issued
    • The seller's business registration number (if applicable)
    • The existence of any permanent establishment through which relevant activities are carried out in the Union by the seller
    • Details of the address of the immovable property and the land registration number if you rent out immovable property in the EU
    • Total consideration paid or credited per quarter
    • The number of relevant activities paid or credited for
    • Any fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by you as the reporting platform operator

      You must send the collected data to the sellers. This enables them to check whether the data you report is correct.
  • What is a reportable seller?

    A seller on a platform is a natural person or an entity who is a resident in an EU Member State or rents out property located in an EU Member State. That person is registered on your platform and performs a relevant activity for a consideration during the reportable period.

    Please note!

    It makes no difference to the reporting requirement whether a seller uses your platform as an entrepreneur or as an individual. Nor whether the seller makes a profit or a loss.

  • On which sellers is reporting not required?

    You are not required to report on specific categories of sellers.

    It concerns:

    • Governmental entities.
    • Listed companies or an affiliated (>50% interest) entity thereof.
      Sellers who have conducted more than 2,000 relevant activities per platform during the reportable period in the form of rental of immovable property at the same street address.
    • Sellers who performed fewer than 30 relevant activities with an equivalent value of less than € 2,000 during the reportable period. This condition only applies if it involves the sale of goods, i.e. not the provision of personal services or the rental of means of transport.
    You are also not required to report on
    • Sellers who receive no compensation (there is no consideration).
    • Sellers who have agreed with the buyer on a fee that the platform is not aware of (or cannot reasonably be aware of).
    • Sellers performing a relevant activity as an employee of a platform operator or of an entity affiliated to the platform operator.
  • When do you have to report to the tax authorities?

    You must report information on your sellers per calendar year to the tax authority of the EU Member State where the platform is based. You must have collected and verified this information by 31 December of the calendar year on which you report. After that, you must report this information to the tax authority by 31 January of the following calendar year.

    You must therefore report information on your sellers to a tax authority by 31 January 2024 for the calendar year 2023.

    One-time different reportable period for existing sellers

    There is a one-time different reportable period for existing sellers. These are sellers who are already registered on a digital platform on 1 January 2023. Or sellers who are already registered on a digital platform at the time an entity becomes a reporting platform operator.

    The collection and verification requirements on sellers already registered on the platform as of 1 January 2023 (so-called 'existing sellers') must be completed by 31 December 2024. You must report information on these sellers by 31 January 2025.

    The information to be reported only concerns the year in which the seller is identified as a reportable seller. If that is the case in 2024, the reporting requirement will only cover 2024. If the collection and verification requirements are already met in 2023, and the existing seller is therefore already classified as a reportable seller in that year, the reporting obligation will also cover that year.

    When must you inform your sellers?

    You must disclose to sellers on their digital platforms which information you pass on to the tax authorities of the relevant EU Member State. You must do so no later than 31 January of the year following the calendar year in which the seller carried out relevant activities for a consideration on the platform. This is the same time the platform operator must provide the information to the tax authorities, at the latest.

    This way, sellers know what information about them has been reported to the tax authority. This information includes a summary of the total consideration paid or credited to the seller, shown by quarter of the reportable period. The seller can use this statement as an aid for tax returns.

    Correcting data

    If you have submitted incorrect data, You can submit a correction notice (only available in Dutch). To be able to submit a correction, the original report must first be accepted by us (this refers to the technical validation, not the substantive assessment of the report). A correction means that the entire notification (i.e. including the unchanged fields) must be resubmitted.

  • How should you report?

    From January  2024, you can provide data and information about sellers via Digipoort. More information about Digipoort can be found on the Logius website.

    Registering as a foreign platform operator

    To ensure the data-sharing system works properly, to create a level playing field and to counter unfair competition, the reporting requirement may also apply to digital platforms that are not residents for tax purposes in an EU Member State but operate within the EU. This is the case if they facilitate sellers from a non-Union jurisdiction to carry out relevant activities.

    In short, this involves sellers who are resident in an EU Member State or rent out immovable property located in an EU Member State. Foreign platform operators who must report on the activities of these sellers must register in one EU Member State. After that they fulfil their reporting obligations there.

    Notification

    If you, as a platform operator, are required to report data and information about sellers and you are a tax resident of more than one EU Member State, you must choose one EU Member State where you will submit your reports. You must notify the tax authorities of all EU Member States affected by this choice (notification).

  • What happens if you fail to report?

    If you do not submit a report even though you are required to do so, you risk a (hefty) fine. You may also face criminal prosecution.

  • What happens with the reports?

    After you make a notification, you will receive a message from us.

    Once your report has been received, we will exchange the data you transmitted with the tax authorities of EU Member States where your sellers are based or where the property your sellers rent out is located.

    We may also use the information from your report for our supervisory task. We receive additional information about sellers. We can use this data to check whether sellers incorporate this information in their tax returns.

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