AI agents as Intermediaries: The EU VAT Classification of Agentic Commerce
(2025) JURM02 20252Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the EU VAT classification of agentic commerce in relation to goods, with particular focus on the conditions under which deemed supplier treatment may arise. Agentic commerce refers to the use of AI agents to search for, select, and in some configurations complete purchases of goods on behalf of a user through an AI interface. The thesis asks who qualifies as a taxable person, how the supply made through the interface should be characterised, and whether the deemed supplier rules in Art. 14(2)(c) or Art. 14a VAT Directive apply. The thesis employs a legal dogmatic method, applying the VAT Directive, the Implementing Regulation, CJEU case law, and supporting sources to the fact pattern of current consumer-facing... (More)
- This thesis examines the EU VAT classification of agentic commerce in relation to goods, with particular focus on the conditions under which deemed supplier treatment may arise. Agentic commerce refers to the use of AI agents to search for, select, and in some configurations complete purchases of goods on behalf of a user through an AI interface. The thesis asks who qualifies as a taxable person, how the supply made through the interface should be characterised, and whether the deemed supplier rules in Art. 14(2)(c) or Art. 14a VAT Directive apply. The thesis employs a legal dogmatic method, applying the VAT Directive, the Implementing Regulation, CJEU case law, and supporting sources to the fact pattern of current consumer-facing implementations. The analysis establishes that the provider of the AI interface is the taxable person under Art. 9(1) VAT Directive. The provider's service is electronically supplied in its mode of delivery and, where commercial arrangements with vendors exist and consideration is linked to completed transactions, intermediary in function. The commissionaire fiction under Art. 14(2)(c), read conjunctively with Art. 28, does not apply because the provider does not act in its own name in relation to the underlying supply, and does not satisfy the power criterion developed by the Court in Fenix International and confirmed in Xyrality. However, under Art. 14a, the provider satisfies the positive definition of facilitation, but whether it can rely on the cumulative exclusions to escape deemed supplier status is contested, depending on whether the exclusions are read broadly or narrowly. The thesis concludes that neither deemed supplier provision fully captures the AI agent provider's role. The provider occupies a position functionally comparable to platform intermediation, holding transactional information at least as strong as that of a platform, yet the current framework does not clearly capture it as a deemed supplier, raising the question whether the deemed supplier rules adequately reach this type of intermediary. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna uppsats analyserar hur agentbaserad e-handel ska klassificeras inom ramen för EU:s mervärdesskattesystem, med fokus på leveranser av varor. Agentbaserad e-handel innebär att konsumenter använder AI-agenter för att söka efter, välja ut och i vissa fall genomföra köp av varor genom ett AIgränssnitt. Uppsatsen undersöker vem som utgör beskattningsbar person, hur leverantörens tjänst ska karaktäriseras, samt om de fiktioner enligt vilka en förmedlare anses ha tagit emot och levererat varorna själv, i artikel 14(2)(c) och artikel 14a i mervärdesskattedirektivet, kan tillämpas. Uppsatsen tillämpar en rättsdogmatisk metod och prövar mervärdesskattedirektivet, tillämpningsförordningen, EU-domstolens praxis och doktrin mot de faktiska... (More)
- Denna uppsats analyserar hur agentbaserad e-handel ska klassificeras inom ramen för EU:s mervärdesskattesystem, med fokus på leveranser av varor. Agentbaserad e-handel innebär att konsumenter använder AI-agenter för att söka efter, välja ut och i vissa fall genomföra köp av varor genom ett AIgränssnitt. Uppsatsen undersöker vem som utgör beskattningsbar person, hur leverantörens tjänst ska karaktäriseras, samt om de fiktioner enligt vilka en förmedlare anses ha tagit emot och levererat varorna själv, i artikel 14(2)(c) och artikel 14a i mervärdesskattedirektivet, kan tillämpas. Uppsatsen tillämpar en rättsdogmatisk metod och prövar mervärdesskattedirektivet, tillämpningsförordningen, EU-domstolens praxis och doktrin mot de faktiska förhållandena i nuvarande konsumentinriktade implementeringar av agentbaserad e-handel. Analysen fastställer att den som tillhandahåller AI-gränssnittet är den beskattningsbara personen enligt artikel 9.1 i mervärdesskattedirektivet. Tjänsten tillhandahålls på elektronisk väg och har, när kommersiella arrangemang med säljare föreligger och ersättningen är kopplad till genomförda transaktioner, karaktären av en förmedlingstjänst. Kommissionärsfiktionen i artikel 14.2 c, tolkad i förening med artikel 28, är inte tillämplig. Leverantören agerar inte i eget namn i förhållande till den underliggande leveransen, och uppfyller inte heller det maktkriterium som EU-domstolen utvecklade i Fenix International och bekräftade i Xyrality. Vad gäller artikel 14a uppfyller leverantören den positiva definitionen av att möjliggöra en leverans, men huruvida de kumulativa undantagen kan åberopas är omtvistat beroende på om undantagen tolkas extensivt eller restriktivt. Slutsatsen är att ingen av bestämmelserna fullt ut fångar AI-agentleverantörens roll. Leverantören intar en ställning som funktionellt motsvarar plattformsförmedling och förfogar över transaktionsinformation jämförbar med den en plattform innehar. Trots detta fångas leverantören inte tydligt av det nuvarande regelverket, vilket väcker frågan om reglerna i tillräcklig utsträckning omfattar denna typ av förmedlare. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9225120
- author
- Briselius, Andreas LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JURM02 20252
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- VAT, indirect taxation, deemed supplier, Value Added Tax, EU VAT law, e-commerce, agentic commerce, AI-agents, EU tax law.
- language
- English
- id
- 9225120
- date added to LUP
- 2026-05-18 08:36:37
- date last changed
- 2026-05-22 09:37:43
@misc{9225120,
abstract = {{This thesis examines the EU VAT classification of agentic commerce in relation to goods, with particular focus on the conditions under which deemed supplier treatment may arise. Agentic commerce refers to the use of AI agents to search for, select, and in some configurations complete purchases of goods on behalf of a user through an AI interface. The thesis asks who qualifies as a taxable person, how the supply made through the interface should be characterised, and whether the deemed supplier rules in Art. 14(2)(c) or Art. 14a VAT Directive apply. The thesis employs a legal dogmatic method, applying the VAT Directive, the Implementing Regulation, CJEU case law, and supporting sources to the fact pattern of current consumer-facing implementations. The analysis establishes that the provider of the AI interface is the taxable person under Art. 9(1) VAT Directive. The provider's service is electronically supplied in its mode of delivery and, where commercial arrangements with vendors exist and consideration is linked to completed transactions, intermediary in function. The commissionaire fiction under Art. 14(2)(c), read conjunctively with Art. 28, does not apply because the provider does not act in its own name in relation to the underlying supply, and does not satisfy the power criterion developed by the Court in Fenix International and confirmed in Xyrality. However, under Art. 14a, the provider satisfies the positive definition of facilitation, but whether it can rely on the cumulative exclusions to escape deemed supplier status is contested, depending on whether the exclusions are read broadly or narrowly. The thesis concludes that neither deemed supplier provision fully captures the AI agent provider's role. The provider occupies a position functionally comparable to platform intermediation, holding transactional information at least as strong as that of a platform, yet the current framework does not clearly capture it as a deemed supplier, raising the question whether the deemed supplier rules adequately reach this type of intermediary.}},
author = {{Briselius, Andreas}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{AI agents as Intermediaries: The EU VAT Classification of Agentic Commerce}},
year = {{2025}},
}