ZATCA’s reminder of 20 October concerns VAT returns for September and the third quarter of 2026. The announced deadline is 31 October. Businesses should confirm their actual filing period, reconcile the return figures and arrange payment separately. The initiative cancelling certain penalties, extended until 31 December 2026, does not postpone that deadline. Its temporal exclusions prevent businesses from treating the programme as general protection for returns that are now becoming due.

British Virgin Islands

BVI CRS XML 3 and preparation for 2027 reporting

The BVI CRS transition requires a distinction between the effective date of the amended standard, the portal’s file format change and historical corrections. Financial institutions should reconcile their data, classifications and reporting files. The 2026 Act also contains a targeted transitional provision for certain roles of reportable persons. Installing updated software therefore does not, by itself, establish tax compliance. The operational plan should address both the legal classification of accounts and the technical handling of filings.

Slovenia

Slovenia: 2026 CBAM compliance already requires secure emissions, verification and cash planning

The update published by Slovenia’s Financial Administration on 13 October 2026 brings together several milestones for the definitive CBAM regime. The 50-tonne threshold remains unchanged after the Commission’s assessment, but it is neither a free band for the first tonnes nor a reason to defer preparation. Importers must also choose between verified actual emissions and retrospectively corrected default values, then link each 2026 import to the applicable quarterly certificate price before the first declaration and surrender in 2027.

Belgium

Belgium: the future QDMTT deadline remains conditional on publication of the law

On 12 October 2026, the Belgian tax administration announced that a draft law would extend the filing deadline for the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax return to fifteen months, with an eighteen-month transition for fiscal years beginning no later than 31 December 2024. The text adopted in committee on 2 October is not yet in force. Until publication in the Belgian Official Gazette, groups must distinguish the current statutory deadline, the administrative extension to 31 October 2026 and the proposed future timetable.

Oman

Oman expands the lists of goods subject to 0% VAT from 1 October

Three Oman Tax Authority decisions published in the Official Gazette on 27 September 2026 establish or update the lists of food, human healthcare and veterinary products eligible for the 0% VAT rate. They have applied since 1 October. The relief is not a general exemption: customs classification and, for medical categories, clearance by the competent authority remain decisive. Businesses should therefore update their product master data on an item-by-item basis rather than applying an automated category-wide change.

Portugal

Portugal adjusts petrol and diesel ISP rates on 12 October

Portaria No 451-A/2026/1 changes the unit ISP rates applying in mainland Portugal to unleaded petrol and road diesel from 12 October 2026. Compared with the rates effective from 5 October, petrol decreases by EUR 8.67 per 1,000 litres and diesel increases by EUR 0.73. Those tax differences do not determine the pump price: product classification, timing, stocks and the invoicing chain must be reviewed separately before any operational or retrospective adjustment.

European Union

Panama and Viet Nam move out of Annex I of the EU tax list

On 9 October 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted a revision of its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Panama and Viet Nam move to Annex II pending an in-depth Global Forum review. The change calls for a review of affected transactions, but does not automatically remove a withholding tax, a control or a reporting obligation. This analysis distinguishes the adopted decision, its official publication and the rules that must be checked for each transaction.

European Union

EU VAT: anti-fraud reverse charge could run until 2030

The Commission proposes extending two temporary VAT anti-fraud tools until 30 June 2030: the targeted reverse charge under Article 199a and the Quick Reaction Mechanism under Article 199b. COM(2026) 515 has not yet been adopted and does not, by itself, change any invoice. Current EU law sets the expiry at 31 December 2026. Businesses should monitor the Council process, national choices and the transition to VAT in the Digital Age.

United Arab Emirates

UAE: preparing for Top-up Tax registration

The FTA’s guide to the scope of Top-up Tax calls for large groups to review their registration obligations. For relevant entities whose fiscal year ended before 30 April 2026, the application must be submitted by 30 November 2026. Testing consolidated revenue, identifying taxable entities and applying transitional rules therefore comes before calculating the tax. A nil amount payable does not, by itself, remove the registration requirement.

Tax news

Europe

Albania: online trade checks examine the full reporting chain

Andorra: proposed diesel relief makes reimbursement conditional on passing it on

Belgium: the cross-border VAT exemption requires compliance with two turnover ceilings

Czechia: EET 2.0 targets payments involving customer contact, with reduced reporting

Denmark: foreign subcontracting may expose the customer to withholding liability

Estonia: the duty on small consignments depends on the customs declaration

European Union: the VAT consultation does not yet change deduction rights

Finland–France: private pensions require examination of the grandfathering clause

France: certification for renovation works

Germany: another entity's Pillar Two filing does not provide unconditional relief

Greece: ENFIA relief requires examination of both the home and its locality

Iceland: the 21 September deadline concerns company returns for financial year 2025

Italy: the otto per mille allocates collective tax revenue

Latvia: the flat customs charge is calculated per goods item

Luxembourg: the new CRS schema depends on the submission date

Monaco: tax-refund operators must substantiate export and monitor their authorisation

Netherlands: the final assessment reveals differences from provisional tax

Norway: the additional petroleum tax payment remains a payment on account

Poland: the UPO acknowledgement distinguishes tax filing from mere transmission

Portugal: the ISP adjustment concerns specified fuels and territory

Romania: diesel relief depends on two cumulative indicators

Serbia: freelance reporting depends on how the income is taxed

Slovakia: e-invoicing requires a traceable record of corrections

Slovenia: the CRS extension requires reassessment of certain financial products

Spain: La Palma relief for 2026 changes withholding from 10 September

Sweden: a correct proposal does not always remove the need for a property return

Switzerland: FATCA group requests open a period for submitting observations

United Kingdom: a Childcare service failure may support a compensation claim

Asia and Middle East

Azerbaijan: consumer VAT refunds remain limited to eligible purchases

Cambodia: the significance of signing the tax agreement with Myanmar

China: ending the dividend exemption for foreign individuals

Georgia: exceeding the VAT threshold takes effect from the triggering transaction

Hong Kong: the Slovenia treaty remains subject to ratification procedures

Malaysia: the e-invoicing exemption threshold rises to three million ringgit

Oman: preparing for personal income tax without anticipating its application

Pakistan: digital customs assessment does not determine the value of goods

Philippines: tobacco seizures illustrate the risk of counterfeit tax stamps

Qatar: tax stamps are a condition for trading the tobacco products concerned

Saudi Arabia: identifying businesses in Fatoora's twenty-fifth wave

Singapore: actual management of a business at the centre of a tax conviction

Sri Lanka: the date of payment realisation matters when remitting withholding taxes

Taiwan: distinguishing advance payment from the provisional return

Thailand: signing the GloBE agreement prepares exchanges, without itself removing local filings

Timor-Leste: filing early without confusing advice with a statutory deadline

United Arab Emirates: the Corporate Tax filing deadline

Americas

Argentina: employment regularisation requires an ongoing relationship

Brazil: travellers must classify their goods before applying an allowance

British Virgin Islands: the economic substance extension remains targeted

Cayman Islands: the CRS extension concerns two registration details

Chile: reporting creators' income is the responsibility of the platforms concerned

Colombia: distinguishing the Buenaventura customs proposal from an established extension

Curaçao: automatic cancellation concerns assessments issued in error

Dominica: the company return is tied to the financial year-end

Dominican Republic: the tax score indicates the status of monitored obligations

Ecuador: updating projected expenditure to adjust withholding

Guyana: voluntary VAT registration requires demonstrable business activity

Panama: no local income does not exempt a company from registration

Peru: suspending withholding does not remove the need to monitor income

Puerto Rico: providing bank details does not create entitlement to the tax cheque

United States: applying to CAP is not admission to the programme

Uruguay: tax stability opens a compensation route, not a filing exemption

Africa

Mali: electronic stamp-duty payment is not issuance of tax clearance

Mauritius: a targeted extension for the minimum tax return

Senegal: the charter accompanies the tax audit notice

Seychelles: a banking request is no longer sufficient to obtain a TIN

South Africa: diesel refunds require a new registration

Zambia: the wheat-duty suspension remains subject to quotas

Oceania

Australia: the tax proposal would extend the look-back period for the principal asset test

Fiji: using an agent does not by itself eliminate the importer's customs risk

Marshall Islands: distinguishing CRS recommendations from banks' individual obligations

Micronesia: the refund-cheque announcement is not individual approval

New Zealand: the tax bill contains several reforms that remain proposals

Niue: online filing remains separate from payment and tax assessment

Solomon Islands: the tax programme under consultation does not bring VAT into force