On 12 December 2025, a lecture entitled “Value Added Tax in the European Union and North Macedonia: Rules, Challenges, and Digital Compliance” was delivered within the course European Economic Integration, addressing key developments and emerging challenges in VAT policy at both EU and national level. The lecture examined the fundamental structure of the EU VAT system and recent reform initiatives, with particular emphasis on the growing role of digitalisation in VAT compliance, reporting, and enforcement. Special attention was devoted to the EU’s “VAT in the Digital Age” (ViDA) reform package, which aims to modernise VAT rules in response to the expansion of e-commerce, digital services, and platform-based business models.
A central focus of the discussion was the taxation of digital platforms and cross-border online transactions, including the VAT treatment of online marketplaces and streaming services such as TEMU and Spotify, and the evolving obligations imposed on intermediaries facilitating digital trade. From the perspective of North Macedonia, the lecture highlighted recent legislative developments and the country’s ongoing alignment with EU VAT standards. In particular, attention was given to the amendments to the VAT Law adopted in late 2025, which abolished the VAT exemption for low-value online imports (below €22). As a result, VAT is now applied to online purchases from foreign digital platforms, including TEMU and similar marketplaces. This reform brings North Macedonia closer to EU e-commerce VAT practices, strengthens tax neutrality, and contributes to fairer competition between domestic and foreign suppliers.