2001/244/EC: Council Decision of 19 March 2001 amending Article 1 of Decision 1999/80/EC authorising the Italian Republic to apply a measure derogating from Articles 2 and 10 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: Italy, VAT, approximation of laws, derogation from EU law, tax harmonisation, waste

28.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 88/17

COUNCIL DECISION

of 19 March 2001

amending Article 1 of Decision 1999/80/EC authorising the Italian Republic to apply a measure
derogating from Articles 2 and 10 of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the
laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes

(2001/244/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 (1) on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member
States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value
added tax: uniform basis of assessment, 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 19 September 2000, the Italian Republic
requested authorisation to extend the application of the
derogation previously granted to it by Decision 1999/
80/EC (2).

(c) to apply the VAT suspension arrangements with the
right to deduct input tax, to supplies of non-ferrous
scrap, irrespective of the turnover excluding VAT of
the firm making them.

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 countering of abuse of
the current rules while
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)

(3)

The other Member States were informed on 17 October
2000 of the said request.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(4)

The derogation in question is designed:

(a) to exempt, without granting a right to deduction of
input tax, supplies of scrap metal and other recyc-
lable materials made either by firms which have a
fixed establishment
generated turnover
and a
excluding tax of not more than ITL 2 billion during
the previous year or by firms which do not have a
fixed establishment;

(b) to grant to firms which have a fixed establishment
and a generated turnover excluding tax of between
ITL 150 million and ITL 2 thousand million during
the previous year, the right to opt for the normal
taxation arrangements;

Article 1

Article 1 of Decision 1999/80/EC shall be replaced by the
following:

‘Article 1

Italian Republic

The
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 and
3 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. 24.

Article 2

This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2001.

L 88/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

28.3.2001

This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic.

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 19 March 2001.

For the Council

The President

A. LINDH