Global Daily Tax News, UK Amending Digital Platform Reporting Rules, (Nov 15, 2024)

The Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will come into force on November 25, 2024.

The regulation will amend the Platform Operators (Due Diligence and Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2023, which brought into effect the OECD Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms (MRDP).

Regulation 4 of the 2023 regulations provided that a Reporting Platform Operator (RPO) does not have to report information about a seller to HMRC if it has obtained adequate assurances that another Platform Operator (PO) will report the information required to HMRC or to a tax authority in a partner jurisdiction with substantially similar rules.

These rules are being changed, as HMRC is concerned that, where UK seller information is reported to another tax authority, rather than to HMRC, this will result in a delay in HMRC receiving information.

In such circumstances, HMRC would have to wait to receive the information from another jurisdiction. Further, HMRC said, where UK seller information is received from a partner jurisdiction, depending on the precise wording of the relevant agreement under which exchange takes place, there may be limitations to the way HMRC is allowed to use the data received.

The 2023 regulations are therefore being amended to provide that all UK reporting platform operators must report UK seller information to HMRC.

Further, regulation 10 of the 2023 regulations is to be repealed. This regulation provided that various thresholds pertaining to whether a seller is an "excluded seller" should be proportionally reduced in certain circumstances.

Explaining the decision to repeal the regulation, HMRC said: "That apportionment may result in the unintended effect of bringing into scope sellers that would not otherwise be reportable. Applying the apportionment could also create unnecessary additional burdens on platform operators."