Avalara Acquires European VAT System, Expands Global Presence

Avalara, Inc., has acquired VAT Applications NV (iVAT), a renowned developer of the iVAT suite of VAT compliance software and services for businesses of all sizes. Avalara is a provider of cloud-based compliance solutions for VAT, sales tax, excise tax, and other taxes.

Based in Belgium, iVAT is an important acquisition for Avalara as it expands its global reach and accelerates its ability to provide accurate VAT content to support merchants in Europe and worldwide.

“This deal is a great win for Avalara and businesses dealing with the burdens of tax compliance around the world,” said Scott McFarlane, founder and CEO of Avalara. “Our goal is to offer the most comprehensive portfolio of cloud-based tax compliance solutions on the planet, and adding the iVAT portfolio is a big step in that direction.

“Over the past 14 months Avalara has extended our leadership in the US sales tax compliance industry with acquisitions of leading content and technology providers for US telecommunications, hospitality, fuel and other excise taxes, digital goods, as well as internationally with the addition of Brazil and now European VAT,” McFarlane continued. “We have surpassed every competitor that existed when we began disrupting this marketplace more than 10 years ago and now stand alone in the market with the breadth and depth of our coverage.”

iVAT offers a comprehensive array of VAT determination and compliance solutions, including a cloud-based tax determination and invoice preparation solution and an automated VAT compliance service for filing returns in all EU countries in the required formats and appropriate languages. iVAT customers range from small and medium enterprises to some of the largest firms in Europe. Although iVAT solutions will improve Avalara’s determination service offering – Avalara already provides calculation in more than 190 countries worldwide – the major advance comes from the addition of automated compliance services, alleviating significant burdens for any international business.

“As a market leader for cloud-based tax compliance automation, Avalara is an ideal match for VAT Applications,” said Prof. Patrick Wille, founder and CEO of iVAT and a recognized expert in VAT legislation. “Our extensive library of statutory tax content incorporates the rules and provisions that govern the determination of the applicable VAT regime. Joining forces with Avalara will help advance our business and meet the demands of today’s fast-growing global marketplace.”

iVAT solutions will soon be featured on Avalara’s online service called VATLive.com, a global resource for timely tax news, insight, and accurate VAT rates acquired by Avalara in 2014. VATLive.com is a free online resource that helps multi-national businesses understand the complexities of cross-border trading and includes country-specific guides on ever-changing tax rates, returns, registrations, and filings from across the world. The site is used by thousands of visitors every day.

“Filing VAT returns for goods and services sold in a single EU country is pretty straightforward, but cross-border transactions are extremely complex,” said Richard Asquith, vice president of Global Tax at Avalara. “We are very excited about extending the reach of iVAT to help businesses of all sizes reduce the risks and simplify the complexities inherent in this process.”

Avalara maintains one of the largest libraries of statutory VAT and sales tax content, enabling tax decisions on millions of products in multiple industries worldwide. In addition to providing manual lookup services, Avalara provides a variety of automated and fully outsourced tax management solutions to thousands of businesses across the globe.

DLA Piper in Belgium advised Avalara on the share capital acquisition of VAT Applications. The primary DLA Piper work team included Corporate Partner Caroline Daout, Corporate Associate Diewertje Castelein and HR Associate Soetkin Lateur.