EACB · Trade and business associations · BE
Šaltinis: Europos Komisijos skelbiami susitikimai, sutapatinti pagal skaidrumo registro numerį. n = 53 susitikimų; x — metai pagal susitikimo datą, y — susitikimų skaičius.
EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF CO-OPERATIVE BANKS The Cooperative Difference : Sustainability, Proximity, Governance The voice of 2.700 local and retail banks, 89 million members, 227 million customers in Europe EACB AISBL – Secretariat • Rue de l’Industrie 26-38 • B-1040 Brussels Tel: (+32 2) 230 11 24 • Enterprise 0896.081.149 • lobbying register 4172526951-19 www.eacb.coop • e-mail : [email protected] Brussels, 3 April 2023 EACB answer to the European Commission’s proposal for a Council Directive as regards VAT rules for the digital age The EACB appreciates the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s proposals for a Council Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards value-added tax (VAT) rules for the digital age and a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards the VAT administrative cooperation arrangements needed for the digital age.
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards the VAT administrative cooperation arrangements needed for the digital age. The comments below regard the proposed introduction of Digital Reporting Requirements (DRR) to modernise VAT reporting obligations. Carve out of VAT exempt supplies In our response to the Commission’s public consultation of May 2022, EACB members crucially underlined the need to carve out of VAT exempt supplies from the DRR. In this respect, we appreciate that in the current proposal for a Directive, Article 272(1)(c) of VAT Directive 2006/112/EC exempting taxable persons carrying out only supplies of goods or of services remains unchanged. Article 272(1)(c) gives Member States an option to exclude tax payers that provide VAT exempt supplies from the EC Sales Listing obligations.
Member States an option to exclude tax payers that provide VAT exempt supplies from the EC Sales Listing obligations. Under the DRR, that are a replacement of the current Sales Listing obligations, this option is maintained. However, for the financial sector the proposal could be optimised by amending Article 272(1)(c) in such a manner that: • it is not an option for Member States but rather a mandatory exclusion; • it does also apply to tax payers that perform both taxable and exempt supplies, naturally limiting the exclusion to those VAT exempt supplies only; • the application can be based on the knowledge of the tax payer about the scope of the VAT exemption in the Member State of its own establishment, and thus not on the basis of a Member State in which the client / recipient of the supply is established.
…and thus not on the basis of a Member State in which the client / recipient of the supply is established. This is because a tax payer cannot know the precise scope of VAT exemptions, which in reality is not fully harmonised across the EU. We believe that the above proposed amendments of Article 272(1)(c) would fit in the overall framework of the DRR as part of the proposals for a Directive / Regulation on VAT rules for the digital age. After all, the DRR’s primary objective is to fight VAT fraud and thus it should focus on reporting relevant information about transactions that are subject to VAT, not VAT exempt supplies. Moreover, should the DRR also include VAT exempt supplies, this would only give rise to mismatches between reported data and VAT filings.
DRR also include VAT exempt supplies, this would only give rise to mismatches between reported data and VAT filings. Ultimately, for VAT exempt supplies, the recipients of goods / services will not apply the local VAT reverse charge mechanism and, as such, they will not include the supplies in their VAT returns. If the suppliers would still include them in their DRR, this would likely give rise to questions about data that cannot be reconciled. Electronic invoices Further to that, we welcome the proposal in Article 218 that the electronic invoices are allowed to be issued according to an already existing European standard on electronic invoicing adopted by the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 according to the request laid down in Ref.
…invoicing adopted by the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1870 according to the request laid down in Ref. Ares(2023)2393597 - 03/04/2023 EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF CO-OPERATIVE BANKS The Cooperative Difference : Sustainability, Proximity, Governance 2 Directive 2014/55/EU. Moreover, it is appropriate that a draft Directive proposes harmonised reporting systems for both domestic and intra-EU transactions. Data related issues However, there is a number of issues that the EACB encourages the European Commission to consider in its future deliberations on the proposal for a Directive as regards VAT rules for the digital age. First of all, we would like to reiterate our concern expressed by the EACB during the 2022 public consultation stage with regards to the amount of data that is required.
…expressed by the EACB during the 2022 public consultation stage with regards to the amount of data that is required. We firmly believe that the reporting obligations have to be reduced to data that is needed to fight tax fraud. Data security has to be ensured and the provisions must clearly state for which purpose the vast volume of data received by the Member States is collected, including how the data can be examined by tax authorities. When it comes to the proposed time limit for the issuance of invoices of two working days after the chargeable event takes place, EACB members are of the opinion that this deadline is too short and unlikely to be feasible for companies, especially for small entities. Further to that, in our understanding of Article 262 of the current proposal for a Directive the supplier as well as the recipient of a service have to submit the invoice data.
…current proposal for a Directive the supplier as well as the recipient of a service have to submit the invoice data. However, it is unclear to us whether the recipient has to audit the invoice data that he has received. Besides the recipient’s verification obligations of an electronic invoice, clear instructions should be provided for cases when a mistake has been identified, for example a wrong number of the supplied goods. Moreover, as regards the content of invoices as stipulated in Article 226, clarity should be provided on what data needs to be reported in cases when no payment has been stipulated, for example in case of an exchange of services.
…data needs to be reported in cases when no payment has been stipulated, for example in case of an exchange of services. Concerning the omission of the possibility to submit a summary invoice for several separate supplies of goods or services instead of many separate invoices, we urge the Commission to reevaluate the deletion of Article 223 of Directive 2014/55/EU with the view to increase the efficiency. Finally, clarification needs to be inserted as regards the situations when invoices are drawn up by the recipient of goods or services instead of a taxable person, if there is a prior agreement between the two parties. Contact: For further information or questions on this paper, please contact: - Mr. Volker Heegemann, Head of Department ([email protected]) - Ms. Maryia Sulik, Senior Adviser ([email protected])