EFS Conference: Aligning Value — The Intersection of Transfer Pricing, VAT and Customs
Thursday 12 February 2026 | 13.30 – 18.00 | Erasmus University Rotterdam, Room CB-XX, XX building
EFS Conference: Aligning Value — The Intersection of Transfer Pricing, VAT and Customs
Thursday 12 February 2026 | 13.30 – 18.00 | Erasmus University Rotterdam, Room CB-XX, XX building
On 12 February 2026, EFS is proud to host its annual concluding conference for the two post-master programmes in EU Customs Law and Indirect Taxes. This year’s theme, “Aligning Value: The Intersection of Transfer Pricing, VAT and Customs,” explores the increasingly complex interplay between these domains and the growing need for coherence and legal certainty in related-party transactions.
The choice of this theme is driven by recent developments on the interplay of these domains. In the VAT domain, several new CJEU judgments—Arcomet Towercranes, Weatherford Atlas Gip, and Högkullen AB—have clarified the treatment of intra-group transactions including the treatment of transfer pricing adjustments, raising important questions about alignment with transfer pricing principles. Meanwhile, customs law has seen significant movement with the Tauritus case on post-importation price adjustments and two new case studies from the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation of the World Customs Organisation, which offer new perspectives on the role of transfer price documentation and transfer price adjustments while determining customs values.
During the conference, leading experts from the EU and US will share their insights on these developments and discuss how businesses and advisors can navigate the challenges of aligning value across VAT, customs, and transfer pricing frameworks. The programme will feature keynote presentations followed by an interactive panel discussion, where specialists from industry, advisory firms and academia will reflect on the interplay of these domains in practice.
We are pleased to invite tax professionals from the Netherlands and abroad with a background in consultancy and practice and working for government authorities, tax and customs administrations, international organisations, industry or the academic world to attend this conference, which also officially marks and celebrates the completion of the learning journey of participants in the 2025-edition of the EFS post-master programmes in EU Customs Law and Indirect Taxes.
Participation is free of charge and eligible for 3 Permanent Education points.
Date
12 February 2026, 13.30-18.00
Registration
Programme
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Registrations |
| 14:00 – 14:05 | Welcome address – Madeleine Merkx |
| 14:05 – 14:30 | Transfer pricing – Ronald van den Brekel |
| 14:30 – 14:55 | VAT – Marie Lamensch |
| 14:55 – 15:20 | Customs – Martijn Schippers |
| 15:20 – 15:45 | Refreshment break |
| 15:45 – 16:10 | US perspective– Damon Pike |
| 16:10 – 17:00 | Panel – business perspective– Keiko Iwakawa, Emma van Doornik and Milja Bormann-Bakker |
| 17:00 – 18:00 | Networking drinks |
Chair en Moderator
Prof. dr. Madeleine Merkx
Erasmus School of Law, EFS, BDO
Speakers and panellists
Ronald van den Brekel
Partner Global Transfer Pricing Market and Innovation Leader, EY
Prof. Marie Lamensch
UCLouvain, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Dr. Martijn Schippers
Erasmus School of Law, EFS, EY
Damon Pike
Prinicipal and Technical Practice Leader, BDO
Keiko Iwakawa
Indirect Tax Practice Lead, Hitachi Energy
Emma van Doornik
Counsel – Tax Advisor, Loyens & Loeff
Milja Bormann-Bakker
Partner Indirect Tax, BDO, EFS
Location
Room CB- , Theil-Building
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3062 PA Rotterdam
The Netherlands
About EFS, Erasmus University Rotterdam
EFS, Erasmus University Rotterdam is a partnership between the
tax departments of the Erasmus University Rotterdam’s Schools of Law and Economics.
EFS has been a leading education and research institute in the areas of international and European taxation for 30 years. Its work concentrates on the operation of indirect taxes, covering both VAT and customs duties, and direct taxes, focusing on individual taxation, corporate taxation and source taxation in an international and/or European context. As well as regularly hosting academic symposia, conferences and lectures, EFS offers a wide range of programmes and toplevel seminars.
EFS programmes are taught by renowned professors and guest speakers, whose experience and reputation in their specialised fields guarantee high educational standards. The programmes are designed for tax specialists with several or more years of professional experience, with the diversity in the backgrounds of participants and speakers making EFS a unique network platform for exchanging knowledge.
