Government policy, regulations, and legal developments affecting global commerce and retail.
Online marketplaces including Amazon, eBay and Temu are expected to be told to collect VAT for business sellers with platform sales above £90,000 in the 28 October Budget. The Treasury could raise up to £1bn, reportedly earmarked for business rates cuts on the high street.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has designated Aldi, Lidl GB and Lidl NI as Large Grocery Retailers under the 2010 Controlled Land Order. The discounters can no longer use restrictive covenants or long exclusivity deals to block rival supermarkets from opening nearby.
A final CPSC safety rule for lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards is unlikely to reach the Federal Register before June 30, 2027. The hearing record, the cost-benefit math and a thin commission point to mandatory compliance in 2028 at the earliest.
The UK competition regulator proposed on October 20 that Apple must open iPhone NFC to rival wallets through both HCE and secure element routes, at fees substantially lower than today. The consultation closes November 17, and a final rule would apply three months after a decision.
Whatnot likely restricts or retires random-allocation card break formats before 1 July 2027, with a California-only carve-out the probable first step. Three signals from late September and early October 2026 point the same way, and 7 December 2026 is the first hard checkpoint.
Indonesia’s four largest marketplaces began withholding 0.5% income tax from sellers on October 1, a month ahead of the announced schedule. Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada and Blibli now deduct at source, with an exemption for merchants under Rp 500 million a year who file a declaration.
The EU General Court dismissed Zalando’s bid to see how Brussels calculated its Digital Services Act supervisory fee, finding disclosure would harm data suppliers and the Commission’s defence. Designated platforms must now pay a levy whose arithmetic they cannot inspect.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson says the agency is preparing Section 6(b) personalized pricing orders, naming delivery, rideshare and air travel as the first targets rather than retail. Walmart answered a patent report the same week by pledging not to use or renew US11687872B2.
California enacted its first state monopolization law on September 30, 2026, and the COMPETE Act takes effect January 1, 2027. It reaches single-firm conduct including monopsony, and only the Attorney General and district attorneys can enforce it.
Korea’s Fair Trade Commission published consolidated dark pattern guidelines on October 6, covering 13 manipulative interface practices with worked examples and a compliance Q&A. The headline rule requires subscription cancellation buttons to sit one click from the post-login screen.