Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying, modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax
Date: 2000-11-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: VAT, approximation of laws, electronic mail, invoicing

27.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96 E/145

Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying,
modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax

(2001/C 96 E/07)

COM(2000) 650 final (cid:151) 2000/0289(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 17 November 2000)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 93 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Whereas:

the laws of

(1) The current conditions laid down for invoicing and listed
under Article 22(3), in the version given in Article 28h, of
the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on
the harmonisation of
the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (cid:151) Common system of value
last
added tax: uniform basis of
amended by Directive 2000/17/EC (2), are relatively few
in number, thus leaving the Member States to define the
most important such conditions. At the same time, the
conditions are no longer appropriate given the devel-
opment of new invoicing technologies and methods.

assessment (1),

as

(2) The Commission report on the second phase of the SLIM
the Single Market) (3)
exercise (Simpler Legislation for
to determine
recommends that a study be carried out
which statements should be required for VAT purposes
when drawing up an invoice and what
the legal and
technical requirements are as regards electronic invoicing.

June 1998
(3) The conclusions of
underlined the fact
the development of electronic
commerce has made it necessary to establish a legal
framework for the use of electronic invoicing to enable
tax administrations to continue to perform their controls.

the Ecofin Council of
that

(4) It is therefore necessary,

the internal market,

in order to ensure the proper
to lay down at
functioning of
Community level a harmonised list of statements required
on invoices for VAT purposes and to establish a number of
common arrangements governing the use of electronic
invoicing and the electronic storage of invoices, as well
invoicing
self-billing and the outsourcing of
as

for

operations. The authenticity of the origin of such electronic
invoicing must be guaranteed by an advanced electronic
signature, within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Directive
1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for
electronic signatures (4).

(5) It should be provided that

the Member States may no
longer require their traders to submit their invoices, or a
summary of their invoices, on paper, if traders send the
invoices in electronic form.

(6) Lastly,

the storing of

laid down by Directive 95/46/EC of

invoices should comply with the
conditions
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October
1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the
processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data (5).

(7) Directive 77/388/EEC should therefore be

amended

accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

At Article 28h of Directive 77/388/EEC, Article 22 is amended
as follows:

1. Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

(cid:145)3. (a) Every taxable person shall ensure that an invoice, or
other document serving as invoice, is issued, either
by himself or by a third party, in his name and on
his behalf, in respect of goods and services which he
has supplied or rendered to another taxable person
or
to a non-taxable legal person. Every taxable
person shall also ensure that an invoice, or other
is issued, either by
document serving as invoice,
in his name and on
himself or by a third party,
his behalf,
the supplies of goods
referred to in Article 28b(B)(1) and in respect of
goods supplied under the conditions laid down in
Article 28c(A).

in respect of

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 84, 5.4.2000, p. 24.
(3) COM(97) 618 final of 24 November 1997.

(4) OJ L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12.
(5) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

C 96 E/146

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.3.2001

likewise ensure that an
Every taxable person shall
invoice, or other document serving as invoice,
is
issued, either by himself or by a third party, in his
name and on his behalf, in respect of any payment
on account made to him before any supplies of
goods referred to in the first subparagraph and in
respect of any payment on account made to him by
another taxable person or by a non-taxable legal
person before the provision of services is completed.

(cid:151) description of the goods or services;

(cid:151) quantity of goods supplied or,

if necessary, of

services rendered;

(cid:151) date of supply of goods or rendering of services;

(cid:151) place of supply of goods or rendering of services;

All credit and debit notes are to be treated as
invoices and must comply with the same conditions.

(cid:151) taxable amount per rate;

Summary invoices may be drawn up, on condition
that this is done at least once a month.

there is at

Invoices may be drawn up in the name of a taxable
person by a third party or by his customer, on
condition that
the outset an explicit
agreement between the two parties, which may be
referred to if the tax administration so requests, and
on condition that an arrangement exists for the
explicit or implicit acceptance of each invoice by
the taxable person performing the operation.

(cid:151) VAT rate;

(cid:151) VAT amount payable;

(cid:151) total amount payable;

(cid:151) where an exemption is involved, reference to the
this Directive which justifies the

provision of
exemption;

impose

States may

to notification of

the Commission in
Subject
advance, Member
further
conditions on taxable persons carrying out trans-
actions on their territory regarding the issuing of
invoices in their name and on their behalf by their
customers. Such conditions must always be the same
whatever the place in which the customer is estab-
lished.

to notification of

Subject
the Commission in
advance, additional conditions may also be laid
down in cases where the third party, or
the
customer, who issues invoices in the name and on
the taxable person is established in a
behalf of
country with which there is no agreement organising
mutual assistance similar to that which exists within
the Community.

(b) Without prejudice to the specific arrangements laid
following
required for VAT purposes on

down by
statements
invoices issued under point (a):

this Directive,
are

only

the

(cid:151) date of issue;

(cid:151) a specific number;

(cid:151) where necessary, the VAT identification number
the taxable

referred to in paragraph 1(c) of
person and his customer;

(cid:151) full name and address of the taxable person and

his customer;

(cid:151) where the supply of new means of transport is
specified in Article

the particulars

involved,
28a(2);

(cid:151) where the margin scheme is applied, reference to

Article 26 or 26a;

(cid:151) where the provisions of Article 28c(E)(3) are
applied, an explicit reference to that provision
as well as the identification number for value
added tax purposes under which the taxable
person has carried out
the intra-Community
acquisition and the subsequent supply of goods
and the number by which the person to whom
this supply is made is identified for value added
tax purposes.

to notification of

the Commission in
Subject
in certain
advance, Member States may, however,
cases which they shall determine, dispense with
some of the compulsory statements set out in the
first subparagraph for invoices for smaller amounts.

Member States accept that when batches containing
several invoices are sent simultaneously to the same
recipient, the statements which are common to the
various invoices may be mentioned only once.

Without prejudice to the provisions of point (c), they
shall
lay down no conditions as to the signing of
invoices.

They accept that the amounts which appear on the
invoice may be indicated in any currency, on
condition that
tax to be paid is
converted into the national currency.

the amount of

27.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 96 E/147

to notification of

the Commission in
Subject
advance, additional conditions may be laid down
concerning the language to be used in drawing up
invoices by or on behalf of taxable persons carrying
out transactions on their territory.

(c) Invoices issued pursuant to point (a) may be sent
either on paper or, subject to the notification of
the customer in advance of the transaction, by elec-
tronic means.

The authenticity of the origin and integrity of the
contents of invoices sent by electronic means must
be guaranteed by means of an advanced electronic
signature within the meaning of Article 2(2) of
Directive 1999/93/EC of
the European Parliament
and of the Council (1).

Member States may not impose on taxable persons
carrying out transactions on their territory any other
obligations or formalities relating to the transmission
of invoices by electronic means. However, they may
provide, until 31 December 2005, that the use of
to prior notification,
such a system is
inform the
without suspensive effect. They shall
Commission when they no longer
impose this
compulsory notification.

subject

to notification of

the Commission in
Subject
advance, additional conditions may be laid down
where taxable persons carrying out operations on
their territory issue invoices from a country with
which there is no agreement organising mutual
assistance similar to that which exists within the
Community.

(d) Every taxable person shall ensure the storage of the
invoices issued by himself or by a third party, in his
name and on his behalf, along with that of all the
invoices which he has received.

The Member States shall determine the period for
which taxable persons carrying out operations on
their territories are subject
to this obligation to
store, and shall inform the Commission thereof.

Storage may be carried out at any place and on any
the taxable
medium, on the sole condition that
person can access all the information stored at any
time and without delay and that the integrity and
readability of the data is guaranteed throughout the

storage period. Every invoice transmitted by elec-
tronic means shall also be stored, together with its
advanced electronic signature, by electronic means.

to notification of

the Commission in
Subject
advance, Member States
can impose additional
conditions regarding the storage by taxable persons
carrying out transactions on their territories of their
invoices
in a country with which there is no
agreement organising mutual assistance similar to
that which exists within the Community.

(e) For the purposes of points (c) and (d), transmission
and storage of invoices (cid:147)by electronic means(cid:148) shall
mean transmission and storage using electronic
equipment
digital
compression) and storage of data, and employing
wires, radio transmission, optical
technologies or
other electromagnetic means.

processing

(including

for

___________
(1) OJ L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12.(cid:146)

2. The following subparagraph is added to paragraph 8:

(cid:145)The faculty laid down in the first subparagraph can not be
used to impose additional obligations over and above those
laid down in paragraph 3(cid:146).

Article 2

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive before 1 July 2001. They shall forthwith inform the
Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.