Over the last few years, there has been a marked upturn in the level of European Union (EU) VAT fraud, with material tax losses estimated at some 15% of net tax revenues. Several Member States have recently taken steps to combat this growing problem, with varying degrees of success, by attempting to introduce the reverse charge mechanism. The French government has recently introduced that mechanism in respect of supplies made by non-resident suppliers. In the article, the author describes the effects of that mechanism.