2001/243/EC: Council Decision of 19 March 2001 amending Article 1 of Decision 1999/81/EC authorising the Kingdom of Spain to apply a measure derogating from Article 2 and Article 28a(1) of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes
Date: 2001-03-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Spain, VAT, approximation of laws, derogation from EU law, tax harmonisation, waste

28.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 88/15

COUNCIL DECISION

of 19 March 2001

amending Article 1 of Decision 1999/81/EC authorising the Kingdom of Spain to apply a measure
derogating from Article 2 and Article 28a(1) of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisa-
tion of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes

(2001/243/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17
May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member
States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment (1), and in particular
Article 27 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Pursuant to Article 27(1) of the Sixth VAT Directive, the
Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, may authorise any Member State to intro-
duce or extend special measures for derogation from
that Directive in order to simplify the procedure for
charging the tax or to prevent certain types of
tax
evasion or avoidance.

By letter registered with the Commission's Secretariat-
General on 27 October 2000, the Kingdom of Spain
requested authorisation to extend the application of the
derogation previously granted to it by Decision 1999/
81/EC (2).

(c) to exempt the supply and intra-Community acquisi-
tion of waste non-ferrous metals, irrespective of the
turnover for sales of such goods.

This measure has proven to be an effective means of
combating the evasion or fraud and the legal and factual
circumstances which justified granting authorisation to
apply a derogation have not changed and still obtain.

On 7 June 2000 the Commission published a strategy to
improve the operation of the VAT system in the short
including the modernisation, simplification and
term,
the current rules while
the countering of abuse of
moving towards greater uniform application.

In the context of this strategy the Commission would
expect fewer derogations but pending reflection on this
area, the Commission accepts that this measure signifi-
cantly counters abuse of the VAT system.

It is appropriate, therefore, to extend the period of the
authorisation granted until 31 December 2003 pending
an assessment of the compatibility of this measure with
the overall approach to the system of VAT.

The derogation has no adverse impact on the European
Communities' own resources accruing from VAT,

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(3)

The other Member States were
November 2000 the said request.

informed on 27

Article 1

(4)

The derogation in question is designed:

Article 1 of Decision 1999/81/EC shall be replaced by the
following:

(a) to exempt the supply and intra-Community acquisi-
tion of used and waste materials consisting of glass,
paper and board,
in the case of taxable persons
whose sales of such products in the previous year
were not worth more than PTA 50 million;

(b) to exempt the supply and intra-Community acquisi-
tion of used and waste materials consisting of
ferrous metals, in the case of taxable persons whose
sales of such products in the previous year were not
worth more than PTA 200 million;

‘Article 1

The Kingdom of Spain is hereby authorised until 31
December 2003 to apply a special measure for taxation of
used and waste materials that contains provisions derog-
ating from the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC.

The provisions in question are laid down in Articles 2, 3
and 4 below.’

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive

2001/41/EC (OJ L 22, 24.1.2001, p. 17).

(2) OJ L 27, 2.2.1999, p. 26.

Article 2

This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2001.

L 88/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

28.3.2001

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain.

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 19 March 2001.

For the Council

The President

A. LINDH