E-commerce Taxation Treaty Characterization Issues: Direct Taxation

Introduction

There is no internationally accepted definition of e-commerce. The department of trade and industry have proposed to the OECD the following definition:

"Using an electronic network to simplify and speed up all stages of the business process, from designed and making to buying, selling and delivery e-commerce is the exchange of information across electronic networks, at any stage in the supply chain, whether within an organisation, between business, between business and consumers, or between the public and the private sectors, whether paid or unpaid".

It seems from the above definition that, internet is used not just as a marketing tool but it is also used to simplify and speed up all stages of the business process.