Instead of abolishing internal border controls in 1992, the European Union (EU) replaced them with VAT and statistical requirements that appear to be just as onerous and costly. This paper shows that the compliance costs of the new requirements are on average 5 percent of the value of intra-EU trade of Dutch businesses. Clearly, the costs constitute a (differentiated) border tax that impedes intra-EU trade and violates the Treaty of Rome. The paper analyses the magnitude and determinants of the compliance costs, as well as their effects on intra-EU trade intensity. It is shown that even minor additional compliance costs have a significant negative effect on intra-EU trade