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Sales and use tax updates

1. Alabama

Alabama temporarily suspends state sales and use tax on qualifying food (May 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026)

EAlabama will temporarily suspend the state portion of sales and use tax on qualifying food items from May 1 to June 30, 2026, under Act 2026-604. The suspension applies to taxes imposed under § 40-23-2(6) and § 40-23-61(d).

The exemption applies to qualifying food items as defined under the federal SNAP program (7 U.S.C. § 2011). Generally, this includes food and food products intended for home consumption, while items such as alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot prepared foods, and ready-to-eat hot food items remain taxable. A detailed list of eligible and ineligible items is available at Eligible and Ineligible List of Food items.

The temporary suspension applies only to the state portion of the tax. Applicable city and county sales and use taxes on food remain in effect unless separately exempted by the local jurisdiction.

2. Illinois

Illinois municipalities and counties adopt 1% Local Grocery Occupation Tax from July 1, 2026

EThe Illinois Department of Revenue has announced that multiple Illinois municipalities and counties will begin imposing a 1% Local Grocery Occupation Tax effective July 1, 2026, as outlined in Informational Bulletin FY 2026-25.

The tax applies to qualifying grocery items sold for off-premises consumption and is imposed in addition to applicable state taxes. Under Illinois law, the combined local grocery occupation tax rate remains capped at 1%, when both a county and municipality adopt the tax.

3. Minnesota

Meeker County to impose 0.5% Transit Sales and Use Tax (Effective July 1, 2026)

Effective July 1, 2026, Meeker County will impose a 0.5% Transit Sales and Use Tax. The 0.5% transit sales tax applies to retail sales made into Meeker County, while the transit use tax applies to taxable items used in Meeker County if the local sales tax was not paid. 

4. Mississippi

Tupelo expands local Water Procurement Facility Tax to groceries taxed at reduced state sales tax rate (Effective May 1, 2026)

Effective May 1, 2026, the 0.25% Tupelo Water Procurement Facility Tax applies to retail sales of groceries, food, and drinks for human consumption that are subject to Mississippi’s reduced 5% state sales tax rate.

As a result, the prior exemption treatment for qualifying grocery items no longer applies for purposes of the local Tupelo tax. These items are now subject to the city’s local water procurement facility tax when sold within the City of Tupelo. Please refer to this document.

The update reflects changes enacted under Mississippi House Bill 4112 related to funding for the Northeast Mississippi Regional Water Supply District.

5. New Jersey

Spring Lake Heights Borough adopts 3% municipal Occupancy Tax (Effective July 1, 2026)

Effective July 1, 2026, Spring Lake Heights Borough will impose a 3% municipal occupancy tax on transient accommodations within the borough. The tax applies to transient accommodations subject to New Jersey tax rules, including accommodations obtained through a transient space marketplace or treated as professionally managed units. The tax is in addition to other applicable state and local taxes and fees. Please refer to the official state list here

6. New York

New York updates motor fuel and diesel tax-rate election publication from June 2026

Effective June 1, 2026, certain New York counties have elected to impose local sales and compensating use taxes on qualified motor fuel, highway diesel motor fuel, and B20 biodiesel using a fixed cents-per-gallon rate rather than a percentage-based local sales tax rate. The counties listed under the cents-per-gallon method are Chemung, Dutchess, Onondaga, Rockland, Seneca, and Ulster.

Under this election, qualifying motor fuel and diesel fuel sales within these counties will be taxed at a specified per-gallon amount rather than applying local sales tax as a percentage of the sales price.

7. Vermont

Vermont implementation of new 1% Local Option Tax (Effective July 1, 2026)

Effective July 1, 2026, several Vermont municipalities will begin imposing newly approved local option taxes. Depending on the municipality, the approved tax may include a 1% Local Option Sales Tax, a 1% Local Option Meals, Rooms and Alcoholic Beverage Tax, or a 1% Local Option Rooms Tax. Businesses should review the Vermont Department of Taxes publication to determine the specific tax categories adopted by each municipality. 

VAT updates

1. Austria

Austria approves 4.9% VAT rate for essential foods effective July 2026

Austria’s National Council has approved an amendment to the VAT Act introducing a proposed reduction in the VAT rate for certain staple foodstuffs from 10% to 4.9%, with the measure intended to apply from July 1, 2026, subject to completion of the remaining legislative process.

The reduced rate would apply to a defined list of essential goods, including milk, yoghurt, butter, fresh chicken eggs, fresh chilled/frozen vegetables and fruit, rice, wheat flour and semolina, unfilled uncooked pasta, bread, and table salt, while catering/restaurant services would be excluded.

2. Argentina

Argentina defers part of scheduled fuel and carbon tax increases to June 2026

Argentina has further deferred part of the pending increases to the tax on liquid fuels and the carbon dioxide tax for unleaded petrol, virgin petrol and diesel.

Under Decree 302/2026, limited fixed-amount increases apply for taxable events occurring from 1 May to 31 May 2026, while the remaining deferred increases - previously scheduled to apply from 1 May 2026 - are postponed to 1 June 2026. The decree entered into force on 1 May 2026.

3. Estonia

Estonia Data-based KMD reporting development planned for VAT returns from Jan 2027

Estonia is developing data-based reporting for monthly tax and reporting obligations, including VAT transaction data linked to the KMD VAT return.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board’s data-based reporting program covers TSD, KMD, and TÖR, with the official timeline indicating that submission of VAT transaction data for KMD is planned from 1 January 2027.

The change is part of Estonia’s wider move toward data-based/real-time-economy reporting and is relevant for VAT compliance system readiness ahead of the planned 2027 developments.

4. Moldova

Moldova rejects proposal to apply a reduced VAT rate to fuel

On 29 April 2026, Moldova’s Government issued an opinion declining to support a draft law proposing temporary fiscal relief for petroleum products. The draft law would have introduced a preferential 12% VAT rate on the import and supply of gasoline and diesel and reduced excise duties on those products by 50% compared with the 2026 approved level.

The Government did not support the initiative, citing budget sustainability concerns, the absence of identified financing sources, and uncertainty that the tax reduction would proportionally reduce final consumer prices. No change to the VAT or excise treatment of petroleum products follows from this Government opinion unless a related measure is later enacted.

5. Poland

Poland extends reduced VAT and excise measures for motor fuels to May 31, 2026

The Ministry of finance vide announcement on May 13, 2026, further extended reduced VAT and excise measures for motor fuels through May 31, 2026, which was previously extended until May 15, 2026.

The reduced 8% VAT rate continues to apply instead of the standard 23% rate to petrol, diesel and qualifying biocomponents used as standalone fuels, as part of the government's package to limit fuel price increases. 

6. United Kingdom

UK announces temporary 5% VAT rate for selected children's meals and family attractions

HMRC’s Revenue and Customs Brief 5 (2026) sets out a temporary 5% VAT rate for certain children’s meals, children’s admission tickets, and qualifying family attractions from June 25 to September 1, 2026, inclusive, subject to the relevant statutory instrument coming into force. The reduced rate replaces the standard 20% VAT rate for in-scope supplies and excludes takeaway meals, sporting activities, standalone adult admissions to cinemas, theatres, concerts, exhibitions or shows, or goods and services supplied separately from qualifying admissions, such as food, merchandise, or upgrades.

E-invoicing and live reporting updates

1. Serbia

Serbia clarifies use of security hologram stickers for paper consignment notes

Serbia has published guidance on obtaining security hologram stickers used for paper-form electronic consignment notes where there is a temporary system or internet connection interruption. In such cases, the sender must print three copies with matching stickers for the sender, carrier, and recipient. Stickers are issued by the National Bank of Serbia’s Topčider Banknote and Coin Production Plant and are available in sets of three, in packages of 100 or 1,000. Stickers are collected after advance payment by an authorized representative.  

2. Poland

Poland enables scam-invoice reporting through KSeF 2.0 Taxpayer Application 

Poland’s Ministry of Finance has enabled taxpayers to report suspected fraudulent or abusive invoices directly through the KSeF 2.0 Taxpayer Application from April 24, 2026. Users can now flag the invoice, provide a reason and justification, confirm the declaration, and submit it to the tax administration. The Ministry has clarified that such invoices should no longer be reported through the KSeF reporting form. 

3. Greece

Greece postpones Phase 2 of Digital Dispatch Note reporting

Greece’s AADE has postponed Phase 2 of digital dispatch note / stock movement reporting under myDATA to allow additional time for technical implementation. Phase 1 remains mandatory from December 1, 2025. Phase 2 will now be implemented in stages, with loading, transshipment, receipt, stock traceability, and inventory control data required from October 12, 2026, followed by Combined Nomenclature commodity-coding data from January 1, 2027. The temporary exception for certain olive movements to olive mills will remain valid until October 11, 2026.

4. Denmark

Denmark releases OIOUBL 2.1 Schematron 1.17.2 hotfix for invoice validation

The Danish Business Authority has released OIOUBL 2.1 Schematron version 1.17.2 to correct an invoice validation issue in version 1.17.1. The hotfix prevents invoices from being incorrectly rejected when VAT codes differ between invoice lines and document-level allowances or charges. The update also improves VAT-code consistency checks, expands VAT-code support for Peppol invoice conversion, and strengthens currency-code validation across amount fields. Implementation was scheduled for May 18, 2026. 

7. Romania

Qatar cabinet approves draft e-invoicing law and executive regulations

Qatar’s Cabinet has approved a draft e-invoicing law and its executive regulations, marking a significant step toward a formal legal framework for the issuance of electronic invoices and related notices. Prepared by the Ministry of Finance in coordination with the General Tax Authority, the framework supports Qatar’s digital transformation agenda and aims to improve transparency, strengthen compliance monitoring, and establish reliable regulatory data.

6. United Arab Emirates

UAE extends ASP appointment deadline under E-Invoicing system

The UAE Ministry of Finance has extended the deadline for businesses with annual revenue above AED 50 million to appoint an Accredited Service Provider under the UAE Electronic Invoicing System from July 31, 2026, to October 30, 2026. This change reflects market-readiness assessments and stakeholder feedback; the mandatory go-live date remains unchanged, with affected businesses required to fully implement the eInvoicing system by no later than 1 January 2027. 

7. Romania

Romania advances targeted simplification of RO e-Factura obligations for CNP-identified individuals

Romania’s Budget-Finance Committee announced an amendment making RO e-Factura optional for taxpayers identified by Personal Numeric Code (CNP), removing the mandatory requirement after the June 1, 2026, transition period. The measure also applies to CNP-identified individuals earning copyright income and removes mandatory RO e-Factura use for certain individual farmers and foreign cultural institutes. Eligible taxpayers may request removal from the RO e-Invoice Register. 

Romania's Ministry of Finance supported an amendment adopted by the Budget-Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to simplify RO e-Factura obligations for taxpayers identified by personal numeric code (CNP) and certain other taxpayer categories. The proposal would make RO e-Factura optional for relevant CNP-identified individuals, including certain copyright-income earners, individual farmers and foreign cultural institutes, and would allow eligible taxpayers already registered  to request removal from the RO e-Invoice Register.

Cross border tariff updates

1. The United States

USITC published April 2026 revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, including Revision 7 on April 29, 2026, under chapter 99 for goods for special use; goods subject to certain conditions or limitations.

Click here for official release

2. Turkey

Turkey's customs department has published preferential tariff changes for fertilizer products effective from 25th April 2026.

Click here for official release

3. South African Customs Union

South African Customs Union has published preferential tariff changes effective from 30th April 2026 for plastic products.

Click here for official release

4. Switzerland

Switzerland customs department has published tariff changes for product categories including vegetable, fruits, nuts, cereals and animal fodder effective from 1st May 2026.

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5. Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein customs department has published tariff changes for product categories including vegetable, fruits, nuts, cereals and animal fodder effective from 1st May 2026.

6. Ecuador

Ecuador customs department has published tariff changes for animal fodder and plastics products effective from 8th May 2026.

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7. Norway

Norway customs department has published preferential tariff changes for vegetable products effective from 1st May 2026.

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8. United Kingdom

Update 1

The United Kingdom has implemented changes in import duty and HS classification codes for electrical machinery and works of art product categories and nut products effective from 1st May 2026.

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Update 2

The United Kingdom has implemented changes in import duty and HS classification for organic chemicals and plastic products effective from 7th May 2026.

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9. Israel

Israel's customs department has published import tariff changes across multiple product categories including beverages, spirits, and stone-related products effective from 19th May 2026.

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10. Argentina

Argentina customs department published tariff changes for prepared food products, chemical products, footwear products, and vehicles and automobile products effective from 4th May 2026.

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11. Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan customs department has published import tariff changes for seafood products, vegetable products, coffee and spice products, agricultural products, sugar products, industrial minerals, plastics products, rubber products, textiles, footwear products, ceramics, aluminum products, industrial machinery, electrical machinery, and optical instruments effective from 5th May 2026.

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12. Serbia

Serbian customs department has published complete tariff structure changes effective from 22nd May 2026.

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