--- --- Blog — Cyril Bray
Insights

Notes on tax, regulation
& cross-border strategy

One Hub, Twenty-Seven Systems: How the EU Customs Data Hub Actually Works

How the EU Customs Data Hub replaces national customs IT, phases in from 2028, and changes who's liable for import duties.

Indirect Tax Projects Don't Fail on Strategy — They Fail on Execution

An interim VAT and customs director on multi-country EU compliance projects — twenty-two years in, execution beats strategy.

New Resource: Who Owes What Under the EU's 2026 Low-Value Import Rules

VAT, customs duties, product safety and product liability are all moving at once for non-EU sellers, on four different timelines. A reading grid to keep track of who's actually on...

Two Months In: Untangling the €3 Customs Duty From the Fee Nobody's Charged Yet

1 July to 1 September: two months since the EU's flat €3 customs duty on small parcels took effect. A look at what it actually is, what it isn't, and...

Back to Work, on the Day France's E-Invoicing Mandate Actually Starts

Today is the first day back at the desk after the summer break — and, as it happens, day one of mandatory e-invoicing for large and mid-size companies in France....

Wiring In the Fourth OSS Scheme: What Implementing Regulation 2026/1869 Actually Changes

ViDA's new transfer of own goods scheme just got its OSS plumbing: what Implementing Regulation 2026/1869 changes, article by article.

Seven Regimes, One Trajectory: The Compliance Squeeze on Non-EU E-Commerce Sellers

A seller established outside the EU already navigates six regulatory regimes. By 2028, there will be a seventh — and the pattern behind them matters more than any single text....

In Memoriam: The EU De Minimis Exemption (2021-2026)

For five years, a €150 threshold let billions of low-value parcels enter the EU duty-free. As of 1 July 2026, that exemption is gone, and the economics of cross-border e-commerce...

Welcome to the blog

First post: why this blog, and what you'll find here.