2000D0185 — EN — 01.01.2004 — 002.002 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DECISION
of 28 February 2000
authorising Member States to apply a reduced rate of VAT to certain labour-intensive services in
accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 28(6) of Directive 77/388/EEC
(2000/185/EC)
(OJ L 59, 4.3.2000, p. 10)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Council Decision 2002/954/EC of 3 December 2002 L 331 28 7.12.2002
►M2 Council Decision of 10 February 2004 L 52 62 21.2.2004
Corrected by:
►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 91, 30.3.2004, p. 60 (2004/161/EC)
▼B
COUNCIL DECISION
of 28 February 2000
authorising Member States to apply a reduced rate of VAT to
certain labour-intensive services in accordance with the procedure
provided for in Article 28(6) of Directive 77/388/EEC
(2000/185/EC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977
on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turn-over taxes — common system of value added tax: uniform basis ofassessment (
1), and in particular Article 28(6) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas:
(1) Under Article 28(6) of Directive 77/388/EEC, the Council,
acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, mayauthorise any Member State that has submitted an applicationin accordance with the procedure and conditions provided for in
that Article, to apply a reduced rate of VAT to certain labour-
intensive services.
(2) The services concerned must meet the conditions provided for inthe Directive and be included in the list in Annex K to theDirective.
(3) This is an experiment limited to a maximum period of three
years running from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2002.
(4) However, the introduction of such a targeted reduction in the
VAT rate entails some risk to the proper operation of the internalmarket and tax neutrality; provision should therefore be madefor an authorisation period for a full and clearly defined three-year period, for the measure to be on an optional basis for
Member States, and for its scope to be made subject to strict
conditions so that it remains verifiable and limited.
(5) In view of the experimental nature of the measure, a detailedassessment of its impact in terms of job creation and efficiencyshould be carried out by the Member States which implement it
and by the Commission.
(6) The Member States that have submitted an application have
complied with the procedure and conditions set out in Directive77/388/EEC.
(7) Three Member States, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlandshave applied for authorisation to apply a reduced rated of VAT
exceptionally to a third category of the services listed in Annex
K; in each case the reduction in rate in the third of the sectorsselected can have only an insignificant economic impact.
(8) The United Kingdom has applied for authorisation to apply areduced rate of VAT to dwelling-related services only in the
Isle of Man; in the light of the specific territorial rules governing
the status of the Isle of Man, including Article 299(6)(c) of theTreaty, the Treaty on the accession of the United Kingdom andArticle 3(4) of Directive 77/388/EEC, and in the light of the factthat the rules on the location of such services will ensure thatthey are taxed where the dwelling is located, applying a reduced
rate of VAT carries no risk of distortion of competition;
however, restricting the reduced rate to the Isle of Man is some-thing which can be authorised only as an exceptional measure. In2000D0185 — EN — 01.01.2004 — 002.002 — 2
(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 1999/85/
EEC (OJ L 277, 28.10.1999, p. 34).
▼B
relation to other territories of Member States where the Treaty
and Directive 77/388/EEC are fully applicable, such a step couldnot be taken without jeopardising the principle of applying
uniform rates in a single Member State.
(9) The other Member States have been informed about the applica-
tions for authorisation.
(10) This Decision will have no impact on the Communities' own
resources derived from VAT,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
In accordance with Article 28(6) of Directive 77/388/EEC, the
following Member States are hereby authorised to apply the reducedrates provided for in the third subparagraph of Article 12(3)(a) for amaximum of ►
M2 six years running from 1 January 2000 to 31
December 2005 ◄to the services for which they have submitted
applications in accordance with the required procedure, and which are
listed under their names below:
1. the Kingdom of Belgium for the sectors listed at points 1 and 2 of
Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— small services for repairing:
(a) bicycles;
(b) shoes and leather goods;
(c) clothing and household linen (including mending and altera-
tion),
— renovation and repairing of private dwellings more than five
years old, excluding materials which form a significant part of
the value of the supply;
2. the Hellenic Republic for the sectors listed at point 1, last indent,
and point 4 of Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— repairing of clothing and household linen (including mending
and alteration),
— domestic care services;
3. the Kingdom of Spain for the sectors listed at points 2 and 5 of
Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— bricklaying for the repair of private dwellings excluding mate-
rials which form a significant part of the value of the supply,
— hairdressing;
4. the French Republic for the sectors listed at points 2, 3 and 4 of
Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— renovation and repairing of private dwellings completed more
than two years ago, excluding materials which form a significantpart of the value of the supply,
— domestic care services,
— window cleaning and cleaning in private households;
5. the Italian Republic for the sectors listed at points 2 and 4 of Annex
K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— renovation and repairing of private dwellings excluding materials
which form a significant part of the value of the supply,
— domestic care services;
6. the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for the sectors listed at points 1, 3
and 5 of Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— small services for repairing:
(a) bicycles;
(b) shoes and leather goods;2000D0185 — EN — 01.01.2004 — 002.002 — 3
▼B
(c) clothing and household linen (including mending and altera-
tion),
— hairdressing,— window cleaning and cleaning in private households;
7. the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the sectors listed at points 1, 2
and 5 of Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— small services for repairing:
(a) bicycles;
(b) shoes and leather goods;
(c) clothing and household linen (including mending and altera-
tion),
— hairdressing,
— painting and plastering services for the renovation and repairing
of private dwellings more than 15 years old, excluding materials
which form a significant part of the value of the supply;
8. the Portuguese Republic for the sectors listed at points 2 and 4 of
Annex K to Directive 77/388/EEC:
— renovation and repairing of private dwellings, excluding mate-
rials which form a significant part of the value of the supply,
— domestic care services;
9. the United Kingdom for one sector, referred to in point 2 of Annex
K to Directive 77/388/EEC, but for the Isle of Man only:
— renovation and repairing of private dwellings, excluding mate-
rials which form a significant part of the value of the supply.
Article 2
Before 1 October 2002 each of the Member States listed in Article 1
shall draw up a detailed report containing an overall assessment of themeasure's effectiveness in terms of job creation and efficiency andforward it to the Commission.
Article 3
This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Offi-
cial Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 January 2000 to ►
M2 31 December 2005 ◄.
Article 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States referred to in Article
1.2000D0185 — EN — 01.01.2004 — 002.002 — 4