The Advisory Council in Bangladesh has approved a waiver of the 7.5% VAT and 2% advance tax on domestic LPG at local production and trading stages, effective from 5 February 2026. The waiver retains only a 7.5% VAT at the import stage, aiming to reduce the overall tax burden on LPG and potentially lower retail prices.

KPMG’s weekly update highlights two contrasting VAT rulings on hair loss treatments and a key import‑VAT recovery case. The UK Tax Tribunal zero‑rated the Kinsey system for female hair loss as a service of adapting goods for a disabled person, while a surgical hair transplant was standard‑rated as cosmetic. The Yourway Transport decision clarified that a taxpayer can recover import VAT on drugs moved to other Member States when acting as an agent and deemed owner under s47.

China’s Ministry of Finance issued Announcement No. 11 on 31 January 2026, establishing new VAT and consumption tax rules for exported goods and cross‑border services. The announcement, effective 1 January 2026, sets criteria for VAT exemption, outlines refund rates and formulas, specifies consumption‑tax exemptions, and requires export tax refunds to be claimed within 36 months. It also repeals earlier notices.

China’s government has reclassified mobile data, broadband access, SMS and MMS as basic telecom services, raising the VAT rate from 6% to 9%. HSBC estimates the hike will reduce China Mobile’s 2026 net profit by 6%, China Telecom’s by 12% and China Unicom’s by 13%, with overall earnings for operators falling 6% to 13%. The change is expected to affect mobile operators’ revenue streams significantly in 2026.

A leading global SaaS provider discovered that 10% of its customer tax IDs were missing or invalid, exposing over $9 million in potential annual VAT shortfalls. The article highlights gaps in the EU VIES system, varying validation frequency requirements across jurisdictions, and the operational benefits of automated tax ID validation.

Reform UK has proposed cutting the VAT rate on hospitality from 20% to 10% as part of a rescue package for pubs and restaurants. The article argues that the move would undermine VAT neutrality, add administrative complexity, and likely fail to lower consumer prices. It also notes that Germany announced a similar 7% hospitality VAT cut in January 2026.

Poland has submitted a draft digital services tax to the legislative programme. The proposal would levy a 3% compensatory tax on digital services in Poland, applying to entities with global revenue over EUR 1 billion and Polish taxable revenue over PLN 25 million. Public consultations are set to start 2 Feb 2026, with no implementation date yet announced.