OECD Report Signals New Era for Digital VAT and Continuous Transaction Controls
The OECD has published a landmark report on Digital Continuous Transactional Reporting (DCTR), offering a comprehensive blueprint for jurisdictions implementing real-time VAT and e-invoicing systems.
Released in January 2026, the report analyses emerging global trends in Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC), which require near-instant reporting of invoice and transactional data to tax authorities.
The guidance covers six foundational areas: strategic planning, e-invoicing and CTC architecture, compliance facilitation, information security, interoperability, and long-term sustainability. By highlighting technical standards such as UN/CEFACT and ISO UBL, the OECD aims to reduce fragmentation between national systems and make cross-border compliance more manageable for multinational corporations.
The report underscores that transaction-level digital reporting is not a temporary trend but a structural shift, with significant implications for system integration, data quality, and real-time tax risk management. It also addresses SME adoption, recommending simplified onboarding and government-supported portals to reduce compliance barriers.
Experts say the OECD’s framework will influence policy design worldwide, helping governments introduce digital VAT reforms that balance enforcement, transparency, and taxpayer usability.
Taken together, the report feels like a line being drawn under the debate. Real-time digital reporting is no longer a future experiment or a regional quirk — it is now firmly on the OECD’s map as a standard way of running VAT systems. For governments, the message is about building these regimes carefully and sustainably. For businesses, it is a clear signal that structured e-invoicing and transaction-level reporting are here to stay, and that planning now is better than scrambling later.
Read the full OECD Report here
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