What began as a pioneering step to regulate the impact of online commerce delivery has turned into a challenging journey for Barcelona. The famous “Amazon Tax”, officially known as the Tribute for the Distribution of Electronic Commerce (TREC), which was implemented in March to “regulate the use of public space”, is currently facing several appeals and a ruling from the National Court that could leave Amazon, the e-commerce giant, out of the levy.
When Barcelona approved TREC in February, its municipal leaders were proud to be pioneers in Spain. The initiative was presented as a measure to compensate the city for the impact of growing e-commerce and the resulting increase in delivery vans on its streets.
However, as the levy has been in place for nearly a year, it has accumulated a number of challenges that could jeopardize its implementation as planned.
Amazon Tax: Tribute for the Distribution of Electronic Commerce (TREC)
The TREC, which applies to large parcel delivery platforms with gross revenues of more than one million euros and dedicated to home delivery, has met with opposition from several fronts.
The logistics and transport employers’ association, UNO, has described the measure as “discriminatory”, warning of possible negative effects on trade. The Open University of Catalonia (UOC) also pointed out in a report that the tax could affect small businesses and have an impact on the end consumer.
In addition, the TREC has faced appeals from the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) and the Autoritat Catalana de Competència (ACCO). The CNMC argues that the tax distorts competition by only taxing the delivery of products purchased over the Internet, excluding other purchase channels.
The ACCO, on the other hand, has filed an appeal before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), considering that the fee hinders competition and “unjustifiably discriminates between competitors”.
About the sentence
Perhaps most surprising in the history of the TREC is that, despite its nickname “Amazon tax”, the recent ruling of the National Court recognizes that Amazon is not a postal operator and therefore, would not be subject to payment of the tax.
Although the ruling does not directly relate to TREC, it could have significant implications, excluding the e-commerce giant from the scope of the levy.
The National Court determined that Amazon engages in “activities of a logistical nature”, such as warehousing, handling and packaging, and that transportation services are contracted with third party carriers.
This decision has generated discussions about the distinction between logistics and postal operator, raising questions about the applicability of TREC to companies with similar business models.
