REPORT on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2008/9/EC laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax, provided for in Directive 2006/112/EC, to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund but established in another Member State

14.9.2010 - (COM(2010)0381 – C7‑0201/2010 – 2010/0205(CNS)) - *

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Rapporteur: Sharon Bowles

Amendments

• 001-001 (PDF - 94 KB)
• 001-001 (DOC - 39 KB)

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a Council directive amending Directive 2008/9/EC laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax, provided for in Directive 2006/112/EC, to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund but established in another Member State

(COM(2010)0381 – C7‑0201/2010 – 2010/0205(CNS))

(Special legislative procedure – consultation)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2010)0381),

–   having regard to Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C7‑0201/2010),

–   having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[1],

–   having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A7‑0247/2010),

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

3.  Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4.  Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially;

5.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment  1 Proposal for a directive – amending act Recital 6
Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(6) The measures necessary for the implementation of the detailed rules, including common forms where necessary, on the electronic submissions and notifications referred to in Directive 2008/9/EC should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission.	(6) Uniform conditions should be ensured for the implementation of the detailed rules, including common forms where necessary, on the electronic submissions and notifications referred to in Directive 2008/9/EC. Article 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for the control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of its implementing powers be laid down in advance by a regulation adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. Pending the adoption of such a regulation, Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission1 continues to apply, with the exception of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, which is not applicable within the framework of this Directive.
	1 OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
Justification
The amendment recalls the fact that the future regulation on the implementation of article 291 of the TFEU has not yet been adopted. Therefore the regime for the interim period needs to be clarified, in line with the Parliament’s stance in this regard.

• [1]  Opinion of .... (not yet published in the Official Journal).

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Background and grounds of the proposal

The Council Directive 2008/9/EC[1] (VAT refund directive) lays down the detailed rules for the refund of value added tax (VAT) to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund. The Directive aims to simplify the VAT refund process and to reduce administrative burdens, by introducing an electronic procedure allowing the taxpayer to submit a single refund request in his Member State of establishment.

The deadline for submission of the refund application in the Member state of establishment is set for the 30 September of the calendar year following the refund period. The electronic system introduced by the VAT refund directive had to be established by Member states no latter than 1 January 2010.

However, some Member states opened their web portals very late (Mid-May 2010), whilst in others technical problems occurred. Therefore, the effective exercise of the right of deduction of the taxable person has been seriously put at risk.

Further to the abovementioned problem, businesses complain about divergences between Member States as regards some of the technical details relating to the practical operation of the national web portals.

Objectives of the proposal

The proposal aims to amend the VAT refund directive in order to:

§ safeguard the taxpayer's right to deduct VAT, by postponing the deadline for submission of refund requests for 2009 expenses from September 2010 to March 2011;

§ provide scope for certain implementing measures that will improve the functioning of the web portals.

Rapporteur's remarks

The rapporteur supports the Commission's proposal and regrets the delays in the implementation of electronic VAT refund measures by a certain number of Member States. The rapporteur recalls that a late VAT refunding can have can have serious financial consequences for the companies operating in the internal market and can thus have a detrimental effect for the economic recovery in the EU and for the good functioning of the internal market.

Furthermore, the rapporteur proposes an amendment in order to clarify the interim regime, pending the adoption of the regulation that will implement article 291 of the TFEU (post-comitology regime). This amendment, which is based on the EP standing practice, will make sure that the European Parliament’s rights in the framework of the comitology procedure are duly safeguarded during the interim period.

• [1]  Council Directive 2008/9/EC laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax, provided for in Directive 2006/112/EC, to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund but established in another Member State

PROCEDURE

Title	Amendment of Directive 2008/9/EC laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax
References	COM(2010)0381 – C7-0201/2010 – 2010/0205(CNS)
Date of consulting Parliament	17.8.2010
Committee responsible        Date announced in plenary	ECON 7.9.2010
Rapporteur(s)        Date appointed	Sharon Bowles 20.7.2010
Discussed in committee	6.9.2010
Date adopted	13.9.2010
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	35 0 0
Members present for the final vote	Burkhard Balz, Sharon Bowles, Udo Bullmann, Pascal Canfin, Nikolaos Chountis, George Sabin Cutaş, Leonardo Domenici, Derk Jan Eppink, Diogo Feio, Markus Ferber, Elisa Ferreira, Vicky Ford, Jean-Paul Gauzès, Sven Giegold, Liem Hoang Ngoc, Othmar Karas, Wolf Klinz, Jürgen Klute, Werner Langen, Astrid Lulling, Hans-Peter Martin, Alfredo Pallone, Antolín Sánchez Presedo, Edward Scicluna, Kay Swinburne, Marianne Thyssen, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Corien Wortmann-Kool
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Herbert Dorfmann, Sari Essayah, Ashley Fox, Danuta Maria Hübner, Sophia in ‘t Veld, Ramón Jáuregui Atondo, Philippe Lamberts, Olle Ludvigsson, Zoran Thaler
Substitute(s) under Rule 187(2) present for the final vote	Matthias Groote