WRITTEN QUESTION P-0361/00 by Florence Kuntz (UEN) to the Commission. Recovery of VAT on cars.
Date: 2000-02-04
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: France, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, VAT, application of EU law, vehicle rental

C 303 E/184

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

24.10.2000

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(28 March 2000)

Acting on a proposal from the Commission, the Council adopted Directive 1999/38/EC (1) on 28 April
1999, amending for the second time Directive 90/394/EEC (2) on the protection of workers from the risks
related to exposure to carcinogens at work and extending it to mutagenic agents.

This Directive adds (cid:145)work involving exposure to hardwood dusts to the processes referred to under Annex
I.(cid:146) Consequently, all the protection and preventive measures provided for by Directive 90/394/EEC must be
applied to workers exposed to such dusts.

Moreover, Council Directive 89/655/EEC, as amended by Directive 95/63/EC of 5 December 1995,
concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at
work (second individual directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391 EEC) (3) lays
down in the second paragraph of point 2.5 of Annex I that (cid:145)work equipment presenting hazards due to
emissions of gas, vapour, liquid or dust must be fitted with appropriate containment and/or extraction
devices near the sources of the hazard.(cid:146) It is for the Member States to define the arrangements for practical
application.

As the task of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and of the European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) is to focus on standardising new equipment, no request in this
context has been made to these organisations.

(1) OJ L 138, 1.6.1999.
(2) OJ L 196, 26.7.1990.
(3) OJ L 335, 30.12.1995.

(2000/C 303 E/209)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0361/00

by Florence Kuntz (UEN) to the Commission

(4 February 2000)

Subject: Recovery of VAT on cars

A Luxembourg company is proposing that a French company should hire cars in the knowledge that
invoices will be drawn up every three months, free of tax but with Luxembourg VAT. The Luxembourg
company claims that the French company will be able to recover the VAT from Luxembourg. The
proposed contract does not suggest a value for the repurchase or retrieval of the vehicles by the French
company; when the contract expires the cars are given back to the Luxembourg company, which intends
to resell them to a second-hand car dealership in Gibraltar, which will then be able to sell them on
wherever it likes, possibly in France.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. Can the French company recover the VAT from Luxembourg?

2. Can French drivers use cars registered in Luxembourg?

3. Can the Luxembourg company recover the VAT on private cars?

4.

If the Gibraltar company sells a car which is over six months old, does it have to pay the VAT in
France or Gibraltar? If so, is VAT payable on the total amount or the margin?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2000)

Under Article 9(1) of the Sixth VAT Directive (1), car hire services are subject to VAT in the Member
1.
State where the supplier has established his business. In the case described, the VAT is therefore payable in
Luxembourg. As the company established in France uses the cars for business purposes, it can recover the
VAT paid in Luxembourg pursuant to the Eighth VAT Directive.

24.10.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 303 E/185

There is no Community tax provision prohibiting the use, as such, in the territory of a Member State
2.
by a person normally resident there, of a car registered in another Member State. However, under Directive
83/182/EEC (2), where a person uses a car registered in another Member State in the Member State where
he is normally resident, taxes applicable in the Member State of normal residence, exemption from which
is allowed by the Directive in cases of temporary importation, become payable in principle (this applies to
road taxes, for example).

3. When acquiring private cars for use in the course of its taxable activities (car hire), the company
established in Luxembourg may deduct VAT on its purchases. The right of deduction is a fundamental
principle of VAT mainly designed to avoid any aggregation of taxation and thus ensure the neutrality of
the system.

The common system of VAT is based on the principle of physical monitoring of goods to determine
4.
the place where their supply should be taxed. The place of taxation of a supply of goods, the sale of cars in
the present case, depends on the place where the goods are when the supply takes place. The Member
State of departure or arrival of the transport of goods, as the case may be, must be taken into account. The
applicable rule also depends on the status of the purchaser (whether or not he is liable to VAT).
Conversely, the place where the seller or purchaser is established need not be taken into account. Whether
tax is payable on the selling price or on the margin also depends on the actual situation. The information
provided is therefore insufficient to answer the question.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977.
(2) Council Directive 83/182/EEC of 28 March 1983 on tax exemptions within the Community for certain means of

transport temporarily imported into one Member State from another (OJ L 105, 23.4.1983).

(2000/C 303 E/210)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0364/00

by Mary Banotti (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 February 2000)

Subject: Recognition of medical qualifications by France

Given the problems faced by graduates in medicine, in particular Spanish graduates, in pursuing their
studies in France, what measures will the Commission take to ensure that the French administration takes
the necessary steps to respect and apply the Community legislation already in place and put an end to the
present obstruction on the part of the French education authorities?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(3 March 2000)

If the matter relates to academic recognition of diplomas, the Commission would like to point out that it
falls within the powers of Member States. Community provisions at the present stage do not cover this
type of recognition. At the present time and in accordance with the EC Treaty, each Member State is solely
responsible for the content of its teaching and the organisation of its own educational system.

The authorities concerned are entitled to make enrolment in a course of education conditional on prior
academic recognition of qualifications acquired in another Member State. They are also free to determine
the rules governing that type of procedure since there are no Community regulations laying down that a
Member State is required to recognise diplomas obtained in another Member State for academic purposes.
As far as the conditions of admission for the purposes of professional training are concerned, however,
Member States must refrain from any direct or indirect discrimination based on nationality, pursuant to
article 12 of the EC Treaty (formerly article 6).