EU “New” Inquiry: e-Commerce Showdown Coming Soon

According to a recent EU Communiqué:

“The European Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager announced today at a conference in Berlin a forthcoming proposal to launch a competition inquiry in the e-commerce sector. More and more goods and services are traded over the internet in Europe. At the same time, cross-border online sales within the EU are only growing slowly. This is partly due to language barriers, consumer preferences and differences in legislation across Member States. However, there are also indications that some companies may be taking measures to restrict cross-border e-commerce. The sector inquiry would focus on better identifying and addressing these measures, in line with the Commission’s priorities to create a connected Digital Single Market. Commissioner Vestager will table her proposal to the Commission in the coming weeks.”

More details are available here.

The EU has already performed competition inquiries in various sectors, including energy, financial services and pharmaceuticals. More information is available here.

Robert Robillard, Ph.D., CPA, CGA, MBA, M.Sc. Econ.
Senior Partner, DRTP Consulting Inc.
514-742-8086; robertrobillard “at” drtp.ca
www.drtp.ca

DRTP Consulting Inc. solutions go beyond transfer pricing and international tax solutions. The information in this blog post is general information only. Data and information come from sources believed to be reliable but complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. DRTP Consulting Inc. or the author are not responsible or liable for any error, omission or inaccuracy in such information. The opinions expressed in this blogpost are those of the author. Readers should seek advice and counsel from DRTP Consulting Inc. as required.

Posted by drtp On 31 March 2015