To this end, it has presented a proposal for a Council Regulation that would ensure more uniform application of the common VAT rules in the Community, thus providing transparency and legal certainty both for traders and for national administrations.
EU Member States working with the Commission in a Committee have over the years agreed on guidelines concerning these points. However, the guidelines have no legal force and are not published.
The so-called VAT Sixth Directive provides the general framework for an EU-wide system of VAT, but does not contain rules concerning the interpretation and application of the VAT system. According to the Commission, differences in the practical application by the Member States of the common VAT rules constitute major obstacles for firms wishing to take advantage of the Internal Market.
"This proposal is an element of the Commission's strategy to improve the operation of the VAT system" said Taxation Commissioner Frits Bolkestein. "Traders, particularly those operating across borders, suffer as a result of lack of clarity of VAT rules and different interpretations of those rules by different Member States."
The proposal
The proposal for a Regulation would help to ensure that all Member States apply the common VAT rules, as laid down in the Sixth VAT Directive, in the same way.
The proposed Regulation would ensure consistent interpretation of VAT law relevant to, amongst other things the place of supply, and therefore taxation, of various types of services; specific goods and services which should be exempt from VAT; the amount that should be considered the "taxable amount" for VAT purposes; the definition of electronically supplied services; and the accounting details for the special simplified arrangements for the application of VAT by non-EU suppliers of electronic services.
Until now, consistency in the VAT treatment of a limited number of specific cases has been reached through guidelines drawn up by an Advisory Committee of experts of Member States working with the Commission, the "VAT Committee". Some of those guidelines form the basis of the present proposal. However these guidelines have no legal status and are not, therefore, binding on tax administrations. Furthermore, the guidelines are not published, so traders do not have access to them.
The proposal to translate the guidelines into a legally binding Regulation has been made possible by a Directive of 2004 which gave the Council the power to adopt measures necessary to ensure the correct implementation of existing VAT rules. See: