Tax measures: Indirect Taxes

• Reduction of the VAT rate from 21% to 6% for the supply and installation of heat pumps for the next 5 years.
• A clear definition will be introduced of what should be understood as 'renovation' and 'reconstruction'; this will be important for, among other things, the application of the 6% reduced rate for buildings older than 10 years.

“As part of the Budget reform, it has been announced that VAT rate changes will be implemented for:

• Hotel and rent of similar accommodation, camping sites: currently subject to the reduced VAT rate of 6%, will be increased to 12%;
• Sport and entertainment: currently subject to the reduced VAT rate of 6%, will be increased to 12%;
• Take-away meals (and take-away non-alcoholic beverages): currently subject to the reduced VAT rate of 6%, will be increased to 12%;
• Consumption of non-alcoholic beverages in a restaurant: currently subject to the standard VAT rate of 21%, will be reduced to 12%;
• Pesticides: currently subject to the reduced VAT rate of 12%, will be increased to 21%;

However, please note that currently no draft legislation texts are available, so the exact scope of these changes in VAT rates is not yet clear. In any case implementation (at the earliest) will take effect as of 01/03/2026.”

• Relaxation of conditions when donating food or non-food items with no adverse VAT effect on the donor.
• Establishing a flat rate right of deduction in case of mixed use of company bicycles: this refers to company bicycles used not only for commuting but also for purely professional trips.

• Introduction of administrative simplification via, among others, My Enterprise (changes in VAT registration, deletion, and adjustment of number of mandatory diaries).
• Streamlining of communication in tax audits with indication of direct contact points at the various competent centres (with telephone and e-mail addresses). 
• Adjusting the penalty regime so that there will be an automatic waiver for a first good-faith offence and revising the proportional fines where there is no financial disadvantage to the Treasury (this could for example be the case for not reporting a reverse charge when the VAT taxpayer has a full right to deduct input VAT).
• Extension of the registered cash register requirements (so-called "GSK") to sectors other than restaurant and catering and an improvement of current systems with a view to audits.
• Plan to introduce a near real-time reporting for transactions between VAT taxable persons (B2B) and transactions covered by the (extended) white box office from 2028 onwards. 

• Abolition of the packaging duties for water and reusable packaging.
• Abolition of excise duties on zero drinks, tea and coffee.
• Examining further reductions to other national excise products to discourage border purchases by consumers.
• Digitising and automating customs processes with a focus on better coordination between customs and other government departments as well as private partners in the context of the war on drugs, facilitating applications for binding tariff information, establishing 24/7 service, improving AEO status, modernising and codifying legislation.