Fiscora

Since 1 January 2023, the EU’s DAC7 directive requires every digital platform operator — marketplaces, rental platforms, service-matching sites — to collect, verify and report each year the income earned by sellers and service providers active on their platform. The first reporting deadline marked a turning point: many platforms discovered the true scope of this obligation only once data collection was already underway.

Who falls within DAC7’s scope

The directive targets any “platform operator” that, through software, connects users to carry out a relevant activity: sale of goods, rental of immovable property, rental of means of transport, or personal services. The qualification does not depend on the size of the business or its location: a platform established outside the EU that facilitates transactions connected to a member state also falls within scope, subject to a specific registration requirement.

The concrete obligations to put in place

• Due diligence: identify and verify seller data (identity, tax number, address, IBAN) through documented procedures
• Transaction data collection: amount of consideration paid, number of transactions, fees and commissions withheld by the platform, quarter by quarter
• Annual reporting: submission to the tax authority of the relevant member state before 31 January of the following year
• Seller notification: informing each seller of the data reported about them
• Record-keeping of due diligence evidence for the legally required period

The pitfalls we see on the ground

In the cases we handle, three difficulties come up consistently. First, the qualification of “excluded sellers” (large hotel chains, listed entities) is often poorly understood and leads to excessive or incomplete reporting. Second, the interplay between DAC7 and the platform’s other obligations — VAT on service fees, e-invoicing, sector-specific regulation — is rarely anticipated even though it shapes the architecture of information systems. Finally, the standardized XML format required by tax authorities calls for validation testing well ahead of the deadline, or the filing risks rejection.

How Fiscora supports you

We work with platform operators to map their DAC7 exposure, secure due diligence procedures, structure data flows with technical teams, and validate the format of filings before submission. Our approach combines regulatory expertise with an operational understanding of platform architectures.