L_2008044EN.01001101.xml
| 20.2.2008 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 44/11 |
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2008/8/EC
of 12 February 2008
amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the place of supply of services
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 93 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (2),
Whereas:
| (1) | The realisation of the internal market, globalisation, deregulation and technology change have all combined to create enormous changes in the volume and pattern of trade in services. It is increasingly possible for a number of services to be supplied at a distance. In response, piece-meal steps have been taken to address this over the years and many defined services are in fact at present taxed on the basis of the destination principle. |
| (2) | The proper functioning of the internal market requires the amendment of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (3) as regards the place of supply of services, following the Commission's strategy of modernisation and simplification of the operation of the common VAT system. |
| (3) | For all supplies of services the place of taxation should, in principle, be the place where the actual consumption takes place. If the general rule for the place of supply of services were to be altered in this way, certain exceptions to this general rule would still be necessary for both administrative and policy reasons. |
| (4) | For supplies of services to taxable persons, the general rule with respect to the place of supply of services should be based on the place where the recipient is established, rather than where the supplier is established. For the purposes of rules determining the place of supply of services and to minimise burdens on business, taxable persons who also have non-taxable activities should be treated as taxable for all services rendered to them. Similarly, non-taxable legal persons who are identified for VAT purposes should be regarded as taxable persons. These provisions, in accordance with normal rules, should not extend to supplies of services received by a taxable person for his own personal use or that of his staff. |
| (5) | Where services are supplied to non-taxable persons, the general rule should continue to be that the place of supply of services is the place where the supplier has established his business. |
| (6) | In certain circumstances, the general rules as regards the place of supply of services for both taxable and non-taxable persons are not applicable and specified exclusions should apply instead. These exclusions should be largely based on existing criteria and reflect the principle of taxation at the place of consumption, while not imposing disproportionate administrative burdens upon certain traders. |
| (7) | Where a taxable person receives services from a person not established in the same Member State, the reverse charge mechanism should be obligatory in certain cases, meaning that the taxable person should self-assess the appropriate amount of VAT on the acquired service. |
| (8) | To simplify the obligations on businesses engaging in activities in Member States where they are not established, a scheme should be set up enabling them to have a single point of electronic contact for VAT identification and declaration. Until such a scheme is established, use should be made of the scheme introduced to facilitate compliance with fiscal obligations by taxable persons not established within the Community. |
| (9) | In order to further the correct application of this Directive every taxable person identified for VAT purposes should submit a recapitulative statement of the taxable persons and the non-taxable legal persons identified for VAT purposes to whom he has supplied taxable services which fall under the reverse charge mechanism. |
| (10) | Some of the changes made to the place of supply of services could have a considerable impact on the budget of Member States. To ensure a smooth transition these changes should be introduced over time. |
| (11) | In accordance with point 34 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making (4), Member States are encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interests of the Community, their own tables illustrating, as far as possible, the correlation between this Directive and the transposition measures, and to make them public. |
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
From 1 January 2009, Directive 2006/112/EC is hereby amended as follows:
| 1. | in Article 56, paragraph 3 shall be replaced by the following: ‘3. Points (j) and (k) of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 shall apply until 31 December 2009.’; |
| 2. | in Article 57, paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following: ‘2. Paragraph 1 shall apply until 31 December 2009.’; |
| 3. | in Article 59, paragraph 2 shall be replaced by the following: ‘2. Until 31 December 2009, Member States shall apply Article 58(b) to radio and television broadcasting services, as referred to in Article 56(1)(j), supplied to non-taxable persons who are established in a Member State, or who have their permanent address or usually reside in a Member State, by a taxable person who has established his business outside the Community or who has a fixed establishment there from which the services are supplied, or who, in the absence of such a place of business or fixed establishment, has his permanent address or usually resides outside the Community.’; |
| 4. | Article 357 shall be replaced by the following: ‘Article 357 This Chapter shall apply until 31 December 2014.’. |
Article 2
From 1 January 2010, Directive 2006/112/EC is hereby amended as follows:
| 1. | Chapter 3 of Title V shall be replaced by the following: ‘CHAPTER 3 Place of supply of services Section 1 Definitions Article 43 For the purpose of applying the rules concerning the place of supply of services:
| 1. | a taxable person who also carries out activities or transactions that are not considered to be taxable supplies of goods or services in accordance with Article 2(1) shall be regarded as a taxable person in respect of all services rendered to him; |
| 2. | a non-taxable legal person who is identified for VAT purposes shall be regarded as a taxable person. | Section 2 General rules Article 44 The place of supply of services to a taxable person acting as such shall be the place where that person has established his business. However, if those services are provided to a fixed establishment of the taxable person located in a place other than the place where he has established his business, the place of supply of those services shall be the place where that fixed establishment is located. In the absence of such place of establishment or fixed establishment, the place of supply of services shall be the place where the taxable person who receives such services has his permanent address or usually resides. Article 45 The place of supply of services to a non-taxable person shall be the place where the supplier has established his business. However, if those services are provided from a fixed establishment of the supplier located in a place other than the place where he has established his business, the place of supply of those services shall be the place where that fixed establishment is located. In the absence of such place of establishment or fixed establishment, the place of supply of services shall be the place where the supplier has his permanent address or usually resides. Section 3 Particular provisions Subsection 1 Supply of services by intermediaries Article 46 The place of supply of services rendered to a non-taxable person by an intermediary acting in the name and on behalf of another person shall be the place where the underlying transaction is supplied in accordance with this Directive. Subsection 2 Supply of services connected with immovable property Article 47 The place of supply of services connected with immovable property, including the services of experts and estate agents, the provision of accommodation in the hotel sector or in sectors with a similar function, such as holiday camps or sites developed for use as camping sites, the granting of rights to use immovable property and services for the preparation and coordination of construction work, such as the services of architects and of firms providing on-site supervision, shall be the place where the immovable property is located. Subsection 3 Supply of transport Article 48 The place of supply of passenger transport shall be the place where the transport takes place, proportionate to the distances covered. Article 49 The place of supply of the transport of goods, other than the intra-Community transport of goods, to non-taxable persons shall be the place where the transport takes place, proportionate to the distances covered. Article 50 The place of supply of the intra-Community transport of goods to non-taxable persons shall be the place of departure. Article 51 “Intra-Community transport of goods” shall mean any transport of goods in respect of which the place of departure and the place of arrival are situated within the territories of two different Member States. “Place of departure” shall mean the place where transport of the goods actually begins, irrespective of distances covered in order to reach the place where the goods are located and “place of arrival” shall mean the place where transport of the goods actually ends. Article 52 Member States need not apply |
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