COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
C0M(92) 448 final 
Brussels, 4 November 1992 
PROPOSAL FOR A 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
AMENDING DIRECTIVE 77/388/EEC 
AND INTRODUCING SIMPLIFICATION MEASURES 
(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
I. INTRODUCTION 
Council Directive 91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991 (-1) 
supplemented, with a view to completing the intentai market, 
the common system of value added tax with tla provisions 
necessary Co: the abolition of all the checks and formalities 
that now have to be carried out when an internal frontier of 
the Conuaunity is crossed: on 1 January 1993, the concepts of 
Importation and exportation will be definitively abolished for 
all transactions between Member States and will be limited 
solely to trade with third territories. The Directive also 
^ntroducas transitional arrangements for taxation of intra-
Communifcy trade: for a limited period and by way of derogation 
from ; lie principle of taxation in the Member State of origin 
o£ the. goods or services supplied, intra*-Community 
transactions - essentially transactions carried out between 
taxable: traders - will be subject to the tax at the rates and 
on v.he conditions obtaining in the Member State of destination 
of the goods and services supplied. Major changes have thus 
been made to the sixth Directive (77/388/EEC).*2' In order to 
facilitate implementation on 1 January 1993, it is appropriate 
to refine and expand some of these new provisions. 
The common purpose of the additional measures which are the 
SUDjact of this proposal is to simplify taxation procedures, 
for both traders and Member States' administrations, without 
altering the principles of taxation and the rules for 
declaring taxable transactions laid down by the Directive of 
16 December 1991. Five sets of provisions are proposed. 
First, these additional measures clarify the wording of some 
of the provisions of the sixth Directive, as amended by 
Directive 91/680/EEC. 
Simplification measures are also introduced for the tax 
treatment of transactions effected with third territories 
under the common system of value added tax but relating to 
goods which rank as Community goods under customs legislation. 
The proposed simplifications relate to both the presentation 
of the principles of taxation and the application to these 
1 OJ No L 376 of 31 December 1991. 
2 OJ No L 145 of 13 June 1977, p. 1. 
transactions of the same tax provisions as those applicable 
to any non-Community goods entering the customs territory of 
the Community. 
For intra-Community trade in products subject to excise 
duty, the rules for the imposition of value added tax are 
adapted to the provisions of Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 
February 1992*3' on the general arrangements for products 
subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and 
monitoring of such products. These new measures obviate the 
need for traders who are not subject to the general 
arrangements for taxing their intra-Community acquisitions 
to be identified for VAT purposes solely because they buy 
products subject to excise duty from other Kember States « 
The procedures introduced for the purpose of applying axcise 
duties are used for the purpose of applying VAT. This 
results not only in an easing of the obligations regarding 
declarations to which traders are subject but also in a 
reduction of the burden facing Member Statesc 
administrations in connection with VAT identifications. 
For supplies of goods and services'4' taxable within a 
Member State on the territory of which the trader is not 
established, the present text of the sixth Directive imposes 
obligations which differ depending on the Member State in 
which these transactions are effected. The purpose of the 
new proposals is to guarantee that these transactions are 
treated in the same way whatever the Member State concerned 
To this end, the provisions relating to the parson liable 
for payment of the tax are amended: the principles set out 
in Directive 77/388/EEC are confirmed but it is proposed 
that the provisions which at present are only options, 
available to each Member State, under Article 21(1)(a) apply 
throughout the Community. Traders can thus choose between 
one of the following arrangements: either they designate a 
tax representative who will fulfil on their behalf the 
obligations incumbent on all persons liable for payment of 
VAT, or the person for whom the goods or services are 
supplied is designated as the person liable for payment of 
the tax. In the latter case, it would thus be possible for 
the taxable supplier not to have to be identified for VAT 
purposes in a Member State where he is not established. 
The last set of additional measures relates to the 
changeover from the provisions in force until 31 December 
1992 to those which will enter into force on 1 January 1993. 
They concern all transactions which give rise to a movement 
of goods between Member States and which, although they 
began before 1 January 1993, i.e. under cover of an 
3 OJ No L 76 of 23 March 1992. 
4 Other than supplies of services referred to in Article 
21(1)(b). 
import/export procedure, will not be completed until after 
31 December 1992, when the concepts of importation and 
exportation will have disappeared for the Community's 
internal regime. Without extra common measures ensuring 
this changeover, such transactions could result in 
definitive situations of either double taxation or non-
taxation, thereby creating distortions of treatment within 
the Community. 
II. PRESENTATION OF EACH OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1 
Point 1 
In view of the amendments made to the definition of 
importation of goods (see point 2), Article 3(4) has been 
made more explicit so as to avoid any risk of confusion with 
regard to the treatment applicable to transactivons effected 
with the Principality of Monaco or the Isle of Man, due 
regard being had to the conventions and treaties applicable 
to them. 
Point 2 
The definition of importation of goods is expanded so as to 
take account of all transactions with territories within 
which the common system of value added tax is not applied, 
irrespective of the way in which these transactions are 
treated and classified under the Community customs 
provisions. 
Point 3 
The first subparagraph of Article 7(3) can, by definition, 
relate only to goods from third countries which are placed 
under a customs regime involving suspension of the import 
duties to which they are subject. Only points (a), (b), (c) 
and (d) of Article 16(1)(B) refer to these arrangements. 
The second amendment concerns the provisions applicable to 
goods which, while ranking as Community goods under customs 
legislation, must give rise to the charging of VAT as 
imports in that they come from territories within which the 
common system of value added tax is not applied (parts of 
the territory of the Member States to which the tax 
provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community do not apply or which are excluded from the 
territorial coverage of the sixth Directive; territories -
or parts of the territory - of countries which are not 
members of the Community but are included in its customs 
territory). 
The new wording makes it possible to ensure more effectively 
that these transactions are covered by the same provisions 
as apply to any non-Community goods temporarily admitted to 
the Community's customs territory. This combines in one and 
the samr subparagraph provisions which at present appear in 
articles 14 and 33a. This amendment represents a major 
simplification of the principles and rules for applying VAT 
to these transactions and, at the same time, makes the legal 
text less cumbersome (see points 7 and 24) . 
Point 4 
Since the present definition of the place of supply in 
relation to goods supplied on board ships, aircraft or 
trains during intra-Community transport could give rise to 
confusion, it has been amended in order to clarify the 
transactions to which the provision applies. 
Point 5 
The purpose of the amendment is to confirm that, at 
importation, the value for customs purposes is used to 
determine the taxable amount for VAT purposes, including 
imports of goods from territories which, while forming part 
of the customs territory of the Community, are third 
territories in the common VAT system. 
Point 6 
This amendment is merely an adjustment reflecting the new 
wording of Article 10(3). 
Point 7 
This amendment follows from point 3. 
Point 8 
This amendment, which follows the logic of the completion of 
the internal market, adapts the exemptions on exportation 
solely to relations with third countries or territories. 
Points 9, io and 11 
The text proposed under these points is a rearrangement of 
the provisions which currently appear in the second 
subparagraph of Article 28a(1)(a). The purpose of these 
amendments is twofold: (i) to simplify the text by 
distinguishing between the definition of acquisitions on 
which tax is not to be charged and the provisions relating 
to the determination and operation of the threshold at which 
this derogation applies, and (ii) with regard to taxable 
acquisitions, to make a clear distinction between those to 
which the general scheme applies and those covered by 
5 e. 
special schemes (acquisitions of products subject to excise 
duty and of new means of transport made by traders "below 
the threshold", acquisitions of new means of transport by 
individuals) . A new paragraph la sets out the conditions 
governing the derogation from the principle of taxation of 
all acquisitions made by a trader. In addition, within this 
new paragraph, a distinction is made between the actual 
conditions for application of the derogation and the 
information to be taken into account in determining the 
threshold at which the derogation applies. These drafting 
changes also make it possible to confine the obligation of 
identification for VAT purposes solely to traders who are, 
automatically or by choice, covered by the general scheme 
for the taxation of acquisitions, thereby excluding traders 
taxable at destination solely in respect of acquisitions of 
products subject to excise duty. These amendments explain 
the provisions presented in points 13 and 21. 
Point 12 
This provision supplements the simplification measures 
adopted in respect of the person liable for payment of the 
ta tax and allows them to be effectively implemented 
taxable person makes in a Member State in which he is not 
established an intra-Community acquisition of goods for the 
purposes of a supply within that Member State. 
Point 13 
Because traders who are taxable solely in respect of 
acquisitions of products subject to excise duty are no 
longer required to be identified for VAT purposes, it was 
necessary to amend the conditions under which such 
purchasers may receive the products exempt of the tax due in 
the Member State from which the goods are dispatched or 
transported. The wording of new point (c) of Article 28c(A) 
now refers directly to the formalities laid down by 
Directive 92/13/EEC with regard to the movement of products 
subject to excise duty. These provisions thus enable 
traders, and Member States' administrations, to make use of 
the obligations laid down with regard to excise duties for 
the purposes of applying VAT. 
Point (d) added to Article 28c(A) clarifies and adapts the 
exemptions provided for under (a) , (b) and (c) to cases of 
transfers of goods treated as supplies effected for 
consideration. 
Point 14 
This rearrangement of Title E is designed to clarify the 
conditions under which the exemptions that Member States 
implement pursuant to Article 16(1) or (2) also apply to 
intra-Community trade. 
6 r. 
Points 15 and 16 
These provisions define the moment at which the tax becomes 
chargeable for both intra-Community acquisitions of goods 
and intra-Community supplies of goods effected exempt of 
VAT. 
Points 17 and 18 
Additions are made to the references to Article 11 
concerning the elements to be taken into account in 
establishing the taxable amount, in particular for intra-
Community transfers of goods on which the tax is chargeable. 
For acquisitions of products subject to excise duty affected 
outside the duty-suspension regime, a new provision is 
introduced which reduces the taxable amount where the person 
acquiring the goods obtains a refund of the excise duties 
paid in the Member State in which the products are released 
for consumption. 
Point 19 
During the period in which the transitional arrangements for 
taxing trade between Member States apply, the tax due or 
paid in one Member State may not be deducted In another 
Member State; it may be refunded only under the conditions 
laid down in Article 17(3) and (4)« Article 17(4) b-s h&en 
expanded in order to guarantee this right to a refund in the 
case of traders who purchase goods or services in, or import 
goods into, a Member State in which they are not themselves 
liable to tax. In order to avoid certain forms of tax 
evasion or avoidance, the benefit of these provisions does 
not, however, extend to supplies of goods transported to 
another Member State by or on behalf of the person acquiring 
the goods. 
Point 20 
The purpose of the amendments made to Article 21(1)(a) is to 
make it possible throughout the Community for caxable 
persons not established in the Member State in which they 
effect taxable transactions to designate a tax 
representative or the person for whom the transaction is 
effected as the person liable for payment of the tax, As a 
result of this provision, such traders' obligations 
regarding declarations can be eased without any dilution of 
the principles adopted with regard to the definition of 
transactions subject to VAT and the place of taxation of 
such transactions. Nevertheless, this option should not 
permit an individual to be designated as the person liable 
for payment of the tax. 
7 &. 
Similarly, with respect to supplies of services for which 
the transitional arrangements alter the place of taxation, 
the customer may not be the person liable for payment of the 
tax unless he is a taxable person or a non-taxable legal 
person identified for VAT purposes. 
Point 21 
The purpose of these amendments is to ensure that any trader 
covered by the general scheme for taxation of intra 
Community acquisitions of goods is given a VAT 
identification number and is thus able to receive from 
another Member State goods exempt from the tax due in that 
other Member State. 
The amendment to Article 22(11) follows from points 9, 10 
and 11. 
Point 22 
Traders not established within a Member State do not qualify 
for the tax exemption under Article 24(2) in order to ensure 
that no limitation is imposed on their right to deduct input 
tax which they exercise in the Member State in which they 
are established. 
Point 23 
Article 28n implements the measures necessary for the 
changeover from the provisions in force until 31 December 
1992 to those which will enter into force on 1 January 1993. 
However, VAT will not have been charged on certain 
importations of goods effected prior to 1 January 1993: for 
example, in the case of goods placed under a transit or 
temporary importation regime, the chargeable event for the 
tax on importation would have been deferred until the goods 
were removed from that régime t in accordance with the 
provisions in force before 1 January 1993, These provisions 
concern not only goods imported from third countries, but 
also intra-Community trade. So as to avoid a hiatus in the 
conditions governing the taxation of these transactions, the 
benefit of the provisions in force prior to 1 January 1993 
i» prolonged until the goods are removed from these 
"suspensive" regimes (paragraph 1) , At the same time, and 
in order to avoid situations of non-taxation, paragraph 2 
treats the removal from these regimes as an importation of 
goods in accordance with the provisions applicable with 
effect from 1 January 1993, while paragraph 3 defines the 
place where this importation takes place. 
8 H 
These provisions ensure that transactions effected in 
similar conditions do receive equivalent treatment. All 
importations of goods from other Member States, by 
definition effected before 1 January 1993, are taxed in the 
same way, whether or not the chargeable event giving rise to 
the tax has been deferred. As for importations of goods 
from third countries effected before 1 January 1993 but not 
yet taxed at that date, the same provisions apply as if they 
had been effected after 31 December 1992: these goods are 
deemed not to have entered the Community until the moment at 
which the regime under which they were placed in 1992 - or 
before - comes to an end. Consequently, Article 7(3) can 
be applied to them. 
Paragraph 2 also treats the end of certain internal 
Community transit operations in the same way as an 
importation of goods. This treatment is nevertheless 
subject to several limitations. First, it applies only to 
transit operations initiated for the purposes of a supply of 
taxable goods effected prior to 1 January 1993. Any supply 
of goods effected after 31 December 1992 by a taxable person 
is automatically covered by the transitional arrangements 
for the taxation of trade between Member States. In 
addition, such treatment applies only to supplies of goods 
which have qualified, or are eligible, for an exemption in 
the Member State from which the transport leaves, by virtue 
of the fact that the goods are being exported to another 
Member State. This restriction consequently avoids 
situations of double taxation. 
By way of derogation from these principles of taxation, 
special measures are taken so that the tax is not charged in 
cases where goods are re-exported outside the Community or 
redispatched to the Member State from which they were 
temporarily exported. These measures also apply to means of 
transport (i) where these have been acquired or imported in 
accordance with the general conditions of taxation in force 
on the domestic market of a Member State, (ii) where they 
were first put into service before 1 January 1988, or 
(iii) where the amount of the tax due is insignificant. 
These special measures make for considerable simplification 
of the rules for taxing means of transport which are placed 
under a national VAT-exempt temporary importation regime 
prior to 1 January 1993 and which are not removed from this 
regime by 31 December 1992. 
Point 24 
This amendment follows from the provisions added to Article 
7(3). 
<M 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DffiECTTVE 
amending Directive 77/388/EEC 
and introducing simplification measures 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in 
particular Article 99 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 3 of Directive 91/680/EEC* amending the Sixth Directive 
77/388/EEC of 17 May 19772 sets 1 January 1993 as the date of the entry into force 
of these provision in all the Member States; 
Whereas in order to facilitate the application of these provisions and to introduce the 
simplifications needed, it is necessary to complete the common system of value added 
tax, as applicable on 1 January 1993, so as to clarify how the tax shall apply to certain 
operations carried out with third territories and certain operations carried out inside 
the Community, as well to define the transitional measures between the provisions in 
force on 31 December 1992 and those which will enter into force on 1 January 1993; 
^J No L 376 of 31.12. 1991 
2OJ No L 145 of 13.6.1977, p 1 
2i-
Whereas in order to guarantee the neutrality of the common system of value added tax 
in respect of the origin of goods the concept of a third territory and the definition of 
an import must be completed; 
Whereas goods which for customs purposes do not satisfy the conditions laid down in 
Articles 9 and 10 of the Treaty and to which customs duty suspension arrangements 
also apply in respect of value added tax, remain subject to the specific value added tax 
rules when leaving the duty suspension arrangements; whereas for reasons of 
transparency it would appear necessary to specify the application of this principle; 
Whereas it is necessary to state the definition of the place of taxation of goods sold on 
board a vessel, aircraft or train carrying out a movement inside the Community; 
Whereas the transitional regime of taxation of trade between the Member States must 
be completed to take account both of the Community provisions relating to excise 
duties and the need to clarify and simplify the modalities of the application of the tax 
to certain operations carried out between the Member States as from 1 January 1993; 
Whereas Directive 92/12/EEC1 of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for 
products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such 
products lays down the procedures and obligations in relation to declarations 
particular to the shipment of such products to another Member State; whereas as a 
result the method of applying tax to certain supplies and intra-Community acquisitions 
of products liable to excise duties can be simplified to the benefit both of the persons 
liable to pay tax and the competent administrations; 
Whereas it is necessary to define the field of application of the exemptions referred to 
in Article 28c; whereas it is also necessary to add to the provisions concerning the 
chargeability of the tax and the means for determining the taxable amount of certain 
intra-Community operations; 
Whereas for the taxable operations in the domestic market which are carried out 
during the period laid down in Article 281 by taxable persons not established in that 
country, other than supplies of services for which the user is liable, it is necessary to 
guarantee an equivalent treatment in all the Member States; whereas to achieve this it 
is necessary that the provisions concerning the person liable to tax are harmonised and 
that all the Member States apply the normal regime of taxation to these operations; 
whereas these provisions allow, under certain conditions, to simplify taxation of intra-
Community acquisitions of goods made in the Member State referred to in Article 
28b(A)(l); 
1 OJ No L 76 of 23.3.92 
Whereas in order to take account of the provisions relating to the person liable to pay 
tax in the domestic market and to avoid certain forms of fiscal fraud or evasion, it is 
necessary to lay down the Community provisions concerning the repayment of the tax 
to taxable persons not resident in the country referred to in Article 17(3) as modified 
by Article 28f ; 
Whereas the suppression as from 1 January 1993 of taxation at import and détaxation 
at export for trade between the Member States makes it necessary to have transitional 
measures in order to assure the neutrality of the common system of value added tax 
and to avoid situations of double-taxation or non-taxation; 
Whereas consequently it is necessary to lay down special provisions for the case 
where a Community procedure, started before 1 January 1993 for the purposes of a 
supply effected before that date by a taxable person acting as such in respect of goods 
dispatched or transported to another Member State, is not completed until after 31 
December 1992; 
Whereas these provisions should also apply to taxable operations made before 1 
January 1993 to which particular exemptions were applied which as a result delayed 
the taxable event; 
Whereas it is also necessary to lay down special measures for means of transport 
which, not having been acquired or imported subject to the general domestic tax 
conditions of a Member State, have benefited, by the application of national 
measures, from an exemption from tax because of their temporary import from 
another Member State; 
Whereas the application of these transitional measures, both in relation to trade 
between the Member States and operations with third territories, supposes the 
finalising of the definition of the operations to be submitted to taxation as from 1 
January 1993 and to lay down for them the concepts of the place of taxation, the 
taxable event and the chargeability of the tax, 
Whereas it is accordingly necessary to amend Directive 77/388/EEC, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Directive 77/388/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
(1) Article 3 (4) shall be replaced by the following: 
H4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in view of the conventions and treaties 
applicable to them, the Principality of Monaco and the Isle of Man shall not be 
treated as third territories. 
Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that transactions 
originating in or intended for: 
-the Principality of Monaco are treated as transactions originating in or intended 
for the French Republic, 
-the Isle of Man are treated as transactions originating in or intended for the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." 
(2) Article 7(l)(b) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(b) the entry into the Community of goods from a third territory, other than the 
goods covered by (a)." 
(3) In Article 7(3): 
• first sub-paragraph add "(a),(b), (c) and (d)H after "Article 16(1)(B)"; 
second sub-paragraph, the expression "under a temporary import regime in 
exemption from value added tax or" shall be added after the expression "on 
entry into the Community,"; 
the following sub-paragraph shall be added 
"For the application of the second sub-paragraph, "a temporary import regime 
with exemption from VAT" refers to Directive 85/362/EEC 0) as well as to 
the customs regime of temporary importation in total exemption to import 
duties which the goods could have benefited from if they had been imported 
within the meaning of paragraph 1(a). 
(!) OJ No L 192 of 24.7.85, p 20' 
(4) Article 8(l)(c) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(c) in the case where the supply is made to passengers on board a ship, aircraft or 
train during an intra-Community transport of passengers: at the place of the 
departure of the transport. In the case of a return trip, the return leg is considered 
to be a seperate transport. 
For the purposes of applying this provision: 
• "intra-Community transport of passengers" shall mean any transport of 
passengers where the place of departure and the point of arrival are situated 
on the territory of different Member States; 
• "the place of departure of an intra-Community transport of passengers" shall 
mean the first point of passenger embarkation foreseen within the 
Community; 
• "the point of arrival of an intra-Community transport of passengers" shall 
mean the last point of disembarkation of passengers foreseen within the 
Community 
(5) Article 11(B)(1) shall be replaced by the following: 
"1. The taxable amount shall be the value for customs purposes, determined in 
accordance with the Community provisions in force, this shall also apply for the 
import of goods referred to in Article 7(l)(b)." 
(6) Article 12(l)(b) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(b) In the cases provided for in the second and third sub-paragraphs of Article 
10(3), the rate applicable shall be that in force at the time when the tax becomes 
chargeable.", 
(7) Article 14(l)(c) shall be deleted. 
(8) In Article 15 point 2 "The supply of goods dispatched or transported to a 
destination outside the Community by on behalf of a purchaser not established 
within the territory of the country" shall be replaced by "The supply of goods 
dispatched or transported to a destination outside the Community by on behalf of 
a purchaser not established within the Community", 
(9) Article 28a(l)(a) second sub-paragraph shall be replaced by the following: 
"By way of derogation from the first sub-paragraph intra-Community 
acquisitions of goods made under the conditions set out in paragraph la by a 
taxable person or non-taxable legal person shall not be subject to value added 
tax;" 
(10) In Article 28a (1) a new point (c) shall be added as follows; 
"(c) The intra-Community acquisition of goods which are subject to excise duties 
effected for consideration within the territory of the country by a taxable 
person, or a non-taxable legal person, who qualifies for the derogation referred 
to in point (a) second sub-paragraph, and for which the excise duties become 
chargeable within the territory of the country pursuant to Directive 
92/12/EEC<1). 
(*)OJNoL24of23.3.1992' 
(11) In Article 28a the following paragraph shall be inserted: 
"(la) The derogation provided for in the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 1(a) 
applies to intra-Community acquisitions of goods effected: 
» by a taxable person who is eligible for the flat rate scheme provided for in 
Article 25, by a taxable person who carries out only supplies of goods or 
services in respect of which value added tax is not deductible, or by a non­
taxable legal person, 
10 
• for a total amount not exceeding, during the current calendar year, a threshold 
which the Member States shall determine but which may not be less than the 
equivalent in national currency of ECU 10 000, 
and 
• provided that the total amount of intra-Community acquisitions of goods did 
not, during the previous calendar year, exceed the threshold referred to in the 
second indent. 
The threshold which serves as the reference for the application of the above 
shall consist of the total amount, exclusive of value added tax due or paid in the 
Member State from which the goods are dispatched or transported, of intra-
Community acquisitions of goods other than new means of transport and other 
than goods subject to excise duty." 
(12) In Article 28b A(2) the following sub-paragraph shall be added: 
" For the application of the first sub-paragraph, the intra-Community acquisition of 
goods is deemed to have been subject to tax in the Member State of arrival of the 
dispatch or transport of the goods insofar as the person acquiring the goods establishes 
that he has made a subsequent taxable supply in that Member State for which the 
purchaser has been designated liable for the tax due. " 
11 
(13) In Article 28c (A): 
• point (c) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(c) the supply of goods subject to excise duty dispatched or transported to 
the purchaser, by the vendor, by the purchaser or on his behalf, outside 
the territory referred to in Article 3 but inside the Community, effected 
for taxable persons or non-taxable legal persons who qualify for the 
derogation set out in Article 28a(l)(a) second sub-paragraph, when the 
dispatch or transport of the goods is carried out in conformity with 
Article 7(4) and (5), or Article 16 of Directive 92/12/EEC. 
This exemption shall not apply to supplies of goods subject to excise 
duty effected by taxable persons who benefit from the exemption from 
tax set out in Article 24"; 
• the following shall be added: 
"(d) the supply of goods, in the sense of Article 28a(5)(b), which 
benefit from the exemptions set out above if they have been made 
on behalf of another taxable person. " 
12 
14) Article 28c(E) shall be replaced by the following: 
"E. Other Exemptions 
(1) The following paragraph shall be added to Article 16: 
"(la) When they take up the option provided for in paragraph 1, the Member 
States shall take the measures necessary in order to ensure that the intra-
Community acquisitions of goods placed under one of the regimes or in 
one of the situations foreseen in Article 16(1)(B) benefit from the same 
provisions as supplies of goods carried out within the territory of the 
country under the same conditions." 
(2) In Article 16(2): 
• -"intra-Community acquisitions of goods made by a taxable person and" shall be 
added after "may opt to exempt" and "outside the Community" shall be added 
after "export them"; 
• -the following sub-paragraphs shall be added: 
"When they take up this option the Member States shall, subject to the 
consultation provided for in Article 29, extend the benefit of this exemption to 
intra-Community acquisitions of goods by a taxable person, imports for and 
supplies of goods to a taxable person intending to supply them, as they are or 
after processing, under the conditions laid down in Article 28c(A), as well as 
supplies of services relating to such supplies, up to a maximum equal to the 
value of his supplies of goods effected under the conditions laid down in Article 
28c(A) during the preceding 12 months. 
13 
The Member States may set a unique maximum amount for transactions which 
they exempt under the previous sub-paragraphs." 
(15) Article 28d(3) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(3) By way of derogation from paragraph 2, tax shall become chargeable on 
the issue of the invoice provided for in Article 22(3)(a) first sub­
paragraph where the invoice is issued to the person acquiring the goods 
after the date of the taxable event but before the 15th day of the month 
following that during which the taxable event occurs." 
(16) In Article 28d(4) second sub-paragraph "after the date of the taxable event but" 
shall be added after "the invoke is issued". 
14 
(17) In Article 28e(l); 
-first sub-paragraph, the second sentence shall be replaced by: 
"In particular, in the case of the intra-Community acquisition of goods 
referred to in Article 28a(6), the taxable amount shall be determined in 
accordance with Article 11 (A)(1)(b),(2) and (3)." 
-second sub-paragraph, the following sentence shall be added: 
"When, after the moment the intra-Community acquisition of goods was 
effected, the acquirer obtains the refund of excise duties paid in the 
Member State from which the goods were dispatched or transported, the 
taxable amount shall be reduced accordingly in the Member State where 
the acquisition took place. " 
(18) In Article 28e paragraphs(2) and (3) shall be renumbered (3) and (4) and a 
new paragraph (2) shall be inserted as follows: 
"(2) For the supply of goods referred to in Article 28d(A)(d), the taxable 
amount shall be determined in accordance with Article 11(A)(1)(b), (2) and 
(3)." 
15 
(19)The following sub-paragraph shall be added to Article 17(4) as modified by 
Article 28f: 
"For the application of the above: 
(a) the taxable persons referred to in Article 1 of Directive 79/1072/EEC 
shall also be considered for the application of the said Directive as 
taxable persons who are not established in the country when, inside the 
territory of the country, they only carry out supplies of goods and 
services to a person who has been designated as the person liable to pay 
the tax in accordance with Article 21(l)(a), 
(b) the taxable persons referred to in Article 1 of Directive 86/560/EEC 
shall also be considered for the application of the said Directive as 
taxable persons who are not established in the Community when, inside 
the territory of the country, they only carry out supplies of goods and 
services to a person who has been designated as the person liable to pay 
the tax in accordance with Article 21(l)(a), 
(c) Directives 79/1072/EEC and 86/560/EEC shall not apply to supplies of 
goods which are, or may be exempted under Article 28c(A) when the 
goods supplied are dispatched or transported by the acquirer or for his 
account." 
16 
(20) In Article 28g: 
.— Article 21(l)(a) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(a) taxable persons who carry out taxable transactions other than supplies of 
services referred to in (b). 
Where the taxable supply of goods or services is effected by a taxable person 
not established in the country : 
-the Member States shall authorise this taxable person to designate another 
taxable person, or a non taxable legal entity, established or identified for 
value added tax purposes in that country as liable for the tax. A tax 
representative or the person for whom the taxable transaction was carried 
out may be designated for this purpose; 
-if this designation is not made the Member States may take measures to 
ensure that the tax is payable by another taxable person, or a non taxable 
legal entity, established or identified for value added tax purposes in that 
country. Inter alia a tax representative or the person for whom the 
taxable transaction was carried out may be designated for this purpose. 
Member States may also provide that someone other than the taxable person 
shall be held jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax;" 
17 
- Article 21(l)(b) shall be replaced by the following; 
"(b) persons to whom services covered by Article 9(2)(e) are supplied, or 
persons, identified for value added tax purposes in the country, to whom 
services referred to in Article 28b (C),(D) or (E) are supplied, when the service 
is carried out by a taxable person established abroad; however, Member States 
may require that the supplier of the service shall be held jointly and severally 
liable for payment of the tax;" 
~ Article 21(l)(d) shall be replaced by the following: 
"(d) any person effecting a taxable intra-Community acquisition of goods. 
Where an intra-Community acquisition of goods is effected by a taxable person 
or a non-taxable person established abroad: 
- the Member States shall authorise this person to designate another taxable 
person, or non taxable legal entity, established or identified for value 
added tax purposes in that country as liable for the tax. A tax 
representative may be designated as that other person; 
- if this designation is not made, the Member States may take measures to 
ensure that the tax is payable by another taxable person, or a non taxable 
legal entity, established or identified for value added tax purposes in that 
country. Inter alia a tax representative may be designated for this 
purpose. 
18 
Member States may also provide that someone other than the person who has 
carried out the intra-Community acquisition shall be held jointly and severally 
liable for payment of the tax;" 
(21) In Article 28h: 
— in Article 22(l)(c) first indent "and other than a supply of goods or 
services to a person who has been designated as the person liable for the 
tax in accordance with Article 21(l)(a)" shall be added after "in 
accordance with Article 21(l)(b)"; 
- in Article 22(l)(c) the following indent shall be inserted after the second indent: 
"-every taxable person who, within the territory of the country, effects 
intra-Community acquisitions of goods for the purposes of his operations 
relating to the economic activities referred to in Article 4(2) carried out 
abroad," 
~ in Article 22(11) the following shall be added at the start of the 
paragraph: 
"In the case of intra-Community acquisitions of products subject to 
excise duty referred to in Article 28a(l)(c) as well as" 
(22) Article 23? shall be replaced by the following: 
"Article 28i 
Special scheme for small undertakings 
The following sub-paragraph shall be added to Article 24(3): 
"In all circumstances supplies of new means of transport effected under 
the conditions laid down in Article 28c (A) as well as supplies of goods 
and services effected by a taxable person who is not established in the 
territory of the country shall be excluded from the exemption from tax 
under paragraph 2." 
(23) The following Article shall be added: 
"Article 28n 
Transitional measures 
1. When goods: 
—entered the territory of the country within the meaning of Article 
3 before 1 January 1993, 
and 
—were placed, on entry into the territory of that country, under one 
of the arrangements referred to in Article 14(l)(b) or (c), or 
under one of the regimes referred to under Article 16(1)(A), 
20 
and 
—have not left this regime before 1 January 1993, 
the provisions in force at the moment the goods were placed 
under that regime shall continue to apply for the period, as 
determined by those provisions, the goods remain under that 
regime. 
2. The following shall be deemed to be an import within the meaning of Article 
7(1): 
(a) the removal, including irregular removal, of goods from the regime 
referred to in Articlel4(l)(c) under which the goods were placed before 
1 January 1993 under the conditions set out in paragraph 1; 
(b) the removal, including irregular removal, of goods from the regime 
referred to in Article 16(1)(A) under which the goods were placed before 
1 January 1993 under the conditions set out in paragraph 1; 
(c) the termination of a Community internal transit operation started before 
1 January 1993 in the Community for the purpose of the supply of goods 
for consideration made before 1 January 1993 in the Community by a 
taxable person acting as such, 
(d) the termination of an external Community transit operation started 
before 1 January 1993; 
21 
(e) any irregularity or offence committed during a Community internal 
transit operation entered into under the conditions set out in (c)) or any 
Community external transit operation referred to in (d). 
3. In the cases referred to in paragraph 2, the place of import, in the 
meaning of Article 7(2), shall be the Member State within the territory 
of which the goods cease to be covered by the regime under which they 
were placed before 1 January 1993. 
4. By derogation to Article 10(3), the import of the goods in the sense of 
paragraph 2 shall terminate without the occurrence of chargeable event 
when: 
(a) the imported goods are dispatched or transported outside the 
Community within the meaning of Article 3; 
or 
(b) the imported goods, within the meaning of paragraph 2(a), are 
other than a means of transport and are dispatched or transported 
to the Member State from which they were exported and to the 
person who exported them; 
or 
(c) the imported goods, within the meaning of paragraph 2(a), are 
means of transport which were acquired or imported, before 1 
January 1993 in accordance with the general conditions of 
taxation in force on the domestic market of a Member State, 
within the meaning of Article 3, and/or have not been subject by 
reason of their exportation to any exemption from or refund of 
VAT. 
22 
This condition is deemed to be fulfilled when the date of the first 
use of the means of transport was before 1 January 1988 or when 
the amount of tax due because of the importation is insignificant. 
(24) The third indent of Article 33a (l)(b) shall be deleted. 
Article 2 
1. The Member States shall bring into force such laws, regulations 
and administrative provisions as are necessary to conform with 
this Directive on 1 January 1993. 
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the provisions 
which they adopt to apply this Directive. 
3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts 
of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field 
governed by this Directive. 
4. When Member States adopt such measures they shall include a 
reference to this Directive or shall accompany them by such a 
reference on the occasion of their official publication. The 
manner in which such references shall be made shall be laid down 
by the Member States. 
23 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 
For the Council 
The President 
ÎA -
STATEMENT OF IMPACT ON SMEs AND EMPLOYMENT 
Council Directive 91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991 
supplemented, with a view to completing the internal 
market, the common sustem of value added tax with the 
provisions necessary for the abolition of the fiscal 
frontiers. Major changes have thus been made to the 
sixth VAT Directive (77/388/EEC). In order to facilitate 
implementation on 1 January 1993, it is appropriate to 
refine and expand some of these new provisions. 
This is purpose of this Directive. Therefore, the impact 
on SMEs of the proposed Directive is identical to that 
set out in the proposal for a Directive on the removal of 
fiscal frontiers (see statements of impact annexed to the 
documents COM(87)S22 final/2 and COM(90) 182 final). 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
Application of this Directive will not affect the 
Community's own ressources. 

ïï. 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM (92) 448 final 
DOCUMENTS 
09 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-466-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-48692-9 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
Lr2985 Luxembourg