DAC7 Implications for an online platform

DAC7 is an EU directive that forces online platforms facilitating business transactions between third parties to report the sales data of those third parties to the national tax authorities.

So for example, if you run a platform that connects sellers and buyers of cars, and the transaction is finalized on your platform, you may have reporting obligations under DAC7 - possibly even if the payment does not flow through your platform directly.

One could be tempted to think this applies only to major platforms like eBay, Amazon, or major car sales platforms - however the thresholds at which the directive is triggered and you become obligated to report are fairly low.

An e-commerce portal approached me about an upcoming overhaul of the way they do business online. They were going to add entirely new features that looked as if they might trigger DAC7 obligations.

I examined parts of the existing PHP-based source code, the database structure, and the planned new flow of information under the new system.

My preliminary analysis and research, while not legal advice, allowed me to give well-grounded opinions on whether the reporting requirement applies to them in the first place, and the programming work required for the reporting.