On 10 September 2026, the European Commission opened a consultation on VAT and the circular economy. Three subjects are expressly covered: second-hand goods, destruction of goods still usable and VAT deduction for company cars.
These subjects concern different tax mechanisms. The treatment of a resale does not resolve that of goods removed from stock for destruction; vehicle expenditure raises a separate question of entitlement to deduct. A useful contribution must therefore identify the rule creating the obstacle and the transactions actually concerned.
A reuse business may, for example, describe a product's journey from recovery to resale and isolate the stage at which VAT creates a difficulty. Stock intended for destruction involves a different transaction and calls for different evidence. The value of the consultation is to bring out these distinctions in proposals submitted to the Commission, without anticipating the solution a future text might adopt.
The consultation runs until 4 November 2026 and is intended to inform an impact assessment before any legislative proposal. It currently authorises neither a new deduction nor a change in the sales regime. Businesses may document their difficulties but must continue applying the rules in force in the competent State.