Regulatory calendar: November 2026 to June 2027

This briefing lists dated changes between 1 November 2026 and 30 June 2027 that affect commercial contracts, data, consumer sales, tax administration, sustainability reporting and AI in the UK, the EU, Türkiye, the Gulf, Australia and the US. Each entry gives the date, who it reaches and what to prepare. We checked the dates against legislation and the published material of regulators and tax authorities on 15 October 2026. Where a date is announced but not yet legislated, or has been signalled to move, we say so.

This is a planning aid and not legal advice. Which obligations apply to a particular business depends on its structure, markets and contracts, and should be confirmed with its own advisers.

One pattern runs through the calendar. A start date rarely marks the start of the data that counts. Visitor levies apply to bookings already taken, pay reports cover the previous year, emissions reports cover the year before, and new dismissal rules reach staff hired months earlier. For every entry, the useful preparation is to check now whether the records it will rely on exist.

Just before the period opens, on 30 October, UK employers became subject to a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff and a duty not to permit harassment by third parties. Prepare a written prevention plan, training records and a way for staff to report harassment by customers.

In mid-November the twelve-month transition for existing UK directors and people with significant control to verify their identity with Companies House, which began on 18 November 2025, comes to an end, and Companies House has said compliance action will follow. Check every entity in the group for unverified individuals.

On 20 November the revised EU Consumer Credit Directive applies, bringing more instalment and low-value credit products under consumer credit rules. Several member states had not finished their national law by the summer. Ask each pay-later or financing provider which rules it will apply in each country and what changes at checkout.

On 2 December, under the EU AI Act, generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must mark their output in machine-readable form, and new prohibitions apply to AI-generated intimate images made without consent and to child sexual abuse material. Confirm with each generative AI vendor how marking is applied to content you publish.

On 9 December the new EU Product Liability Directive starts to apply to products placed on the market after that date, and software counts as a product. Keep release records showing which version reached which customer, and check that supplier contracts allocate liability.

On 10 December, Australian organizations covered by the Privacy Act must explain in their privacy policy where a computer program makes, or substantially and directly informs, decisions that could significantly affect individuals. Build a register of those decisions and the personal information each uses, then write the policy text from it.

On 30 December the EU Deforestation Regulation applies to large and medium operators, and to traders and downstream operators of any size, for cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood products. Hold due-diligence statement references per lot, where customs brokers and customers can reach them.

On 1 January several UK changes start. For dismissals from that date the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months and the cap on compensatory awards is removed, alongside new fire and rehire protections and a duty to tell workers of their right to join a union. Hold probation reviews, with written records, before month six. Banks and building societies apply the PRA's Basel 3.1 rules, so borrowers with property-secured facilities should have current valuations and asset records ready. The UK carbon border adjustment mechanism starts for imported aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel, with registration required above £50,000 of goods over 12 months. Collect supplier emissions data and take the registration decision.

The same day brings tax and data changes elsewhere. UAE businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must issue e-invoices through an accredited service provider. German businesses with prior-year turnover above €800,000 must issue structured e-invoices for domestic business sales. Spanish companies paying corporation tax are due to use certified invoicing software, although the finance ministry said on 5 October 2026 that it expects to extend the deadline. In California, businesses that use automated decision-making technology for significant decisions must meet the ADMT rules. Clean customer and supplier master data, test credit-note handling, and prepare notices and opt-out routes for automated decisions.

During January the UK subscription contracts regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is due to start. The government has announced the month, but the regulations and guidance were still awaited in early October. Prepare pre-contract information, renewal reminders, cooling-off after trials and an online way to cancel.

On 12 January providers of cloud and other data processing services in the EU lose the right to charge customers for switching. Document a migration route a customer can use without a fee.

On 20 January the EU Machinery Regulation replaces the Machinery Directive. Update technical files and conformity procedures for machines sold into the EU.

On 25 January Glasgow's 5% visitor levy applies to stays from that date, including bookings taken since 1 April 2026, and providers file their first return in April 2027. Check that the levy is calculated on stays already sold.

On 1 February EU importers start buying carbon border certificates on the central platform for emissions embedded in goods imported during 2026, and the first declarations and certificates are due by 30 September 2027. Ask suppliers for actual emissions per product, since default values apply where none are given.

On 18 February every electric vehicle battery, light means of transport battery and industrial battery above 2 kWh placed on the EU market needs a digital battery passport, and batteries must carry a QR code. Map the required data points to each battery model and register the identifiers.

On 19 March EU member states must have transposed the Omnibus I changes, which limit mandatory sustainability reporting to companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than €450 million of net turnover. Confirm scope entity by entity, and prepare a dataset built to the voluntary standard for smaller companies, which is the most that in-scope customers can ask of a supplier below 1,000 employees.

By 31 March UAE businesses with revenue below AED 50 million must appoint an e-invoicing service provider, ahead of a 1 July 2027 go-live.

On 1 April new UK National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect; the Low Pay Commission was asked to recommend them by October 2026. Aberdeen's 7% visitor levy starts on the same day and applies to bookings taken from 1 October 2026. Set rota costs and prices from the confirmed rates.

By 4 April private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain with 250 or more employees publish their gender pay gap for the snapshot date of 5 April 2026.

On 6 April Making Tax Digital for Income Tax extends to sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income in the 2025 to 2026 tax year exceeded £30,000. HMRC estimates that about 1,077,000 more people will join. Owner-managers and directors with personal trading or rental income need compatible software in place.

On 9 April payment institutions and e-money institutions in the euro area must be able to send and receive instant euro credit transfers and must screen their users against sanctions lists at least daily. Reconciliation designed around overnight batches will need to run continuously.

By 30 April installations covered by Türkiye's emissions trading system report verified 2026 emissions and activity levels to the Climate Change Presidency. 2026 is a reporting-only year in the pilot. Book verifiers early and send the verified figures to EU and UK buyers once they are final.

By 7 June employers with 150 or more workers report their gender pay gap for 2026 under the EU Pay Transparency Directive, in member states whose national law follows the directive's timetable. Hold pay data by job category, and an explanation for any gap of 5% or more between women and men doing the same work or work of equal value.

On 14 June Stirling's 3% visitor levy begins, for bookings made from 1 January 2027. On 30 June the EU Deforestation Regulation reaches micro and small operators.

Four items in this calendar may still change. Spain expects to extend its invoicing software deadlines again. The UK subscriptions regime has a month but no published regulations. Many member states had not finished transposing the Consumer Credit Directive or the Product Liability Directive by the autumn, so the rules on the start date may differ by country. The April 2027 UK wage rates were unconfirmed at the time of writing. For each of them, keep the data work on its original timetable and move only the build schedule if the date moves.

Name one owner for customer, supplier and product master data across the ERP, the commerce platform and the CRM, and give that person sign-off on the UAE and German e-invoicing designs.

Build one register of automated decisions about people and use it for the Australian disclosure on 10 December, the Californian rules on 1 January and EU transparency duties.

Ask every supplier of CBAM goods and EUDR commodities, in writing and with a reply date, for actual emissions and due-diligence references per shipment.

Move UK probation reviews well before month six and keep a written record of each.

Tag every new UK subscription and every EU instalment sale with the rules it was sold under, so that 2027 retention and arrears figures can be compared with 2026.