2003/544/EC: Council Decision of 15 July 2003 authorising Germany to conclude an agreement with Switzerland that includes provisions derogating from Articles 2 and 3 of Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes
Date: 2003-07-15
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Germany, Switzerland, VAT, building subsidy, derogation from EU law, engineering structure, road building, tax convention, tax harmonisation

L 186/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.7.2003

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 15 July 2003

authorising Germany to conclude an agreement with Switzerland that includes provisions dero-
gating from Articles 2 and 3 of Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the
Member States relating to turnover taxes

(2003/544/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 30 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In a letter registered at the Commission's Secretariat-
General on 13 December 2002, Germany requested
authorisation to conclude an agreement with Switzer-
land on the building and maintenance of a frontier
bridge across the Rhine between Rheinfelden (in Baden
Württemberg, Germany) and Rheinfelden (in Aargau,
Switzerland) which will provide access from either end
to German motorway A 861 and Swiss Route Nationale
N3.

The other Member States were informed of Germany's
request in a letter dated 4 February 2003.

The agreement is to contain provisions on VAT dero-
gating from Articles 2(2) and (3) of the Sixth VAT Direc-
tive 77/388/EEC in respect of goods and services
supplied for the building and maintenance of the frontier
bridge and of goods imported for the building or main-
tenance of the bridge.

If the derogations to the Sixth VAT Directive 77/388/
EEC were not granted, building and maintenance works
carried out in German territory would be subject to

German VAT whereas those carried out in Swiss terri-
tory would not be subject to the provisions of the Sixth
VAT Directive; also, any goods imported from Switzer-
land into Germany for use in building and maintaining
the frontier bridge would be subject to German VAT.

Application of these normal rules would therefore mean
serious tax complications for the entrepreneurs respon-
sible for carrying out the works.

This derogation is intended to simplify the collection of
taxes on the works involved in building and maintaining
the bridge in question.

The derogation will have only a minor, but positive,
incidence on Community own resources obtained from
VAT,

(5)

(6)

(7)

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Germany is hereby authorised to conclude an Agreement with
Switzerland that includes provisions derogating from the Sixth
VAT Directive 77/388/EEC and covers the building and mainte-
nance of a frontier bridge across the Rhine between Rhein-
felden (in Baden Württemberg, Germany) and Rheinfelden (in
Aargau, Switzerland). The bridge is to provide access from
either end to German motorway A 861 and Swiss Route Natio-
nale N3.

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive
2002/93/EC (OJ L 331, 7.12.2002, p. 27 and corrigendum OJ L 18,
23.1.2003, p. 55).

The derogating tax provisions of the Agreement are set out in
Articles 2 and 3.

25.7.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Article 2

By way of derogation from Article 3 of the Sixth VAT Directive
77/388/EEC, those parts of the construction site of the frontier
bridge referred to in Article 1, and of the frontier bridge itself
once work has been completed, that are situated in Swiss terri-
tory shall be deemed to be part of German territory for the
purposes of goods and services supplied for the building and
maintenance of the frontier bridge.

to in Article 1. However, this derogation shall not apply to
goods imported for the same purpose by a public administra-
tion.

This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany.

Article 4

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 15 July 2003.

By way of derogation from Article 2(2) of the Sixth VAT Direc-
tive 77/388/EEC, goods
imported from Switzerland into
Germany shall not be subject to value added tax, provided they
are used for the building or maintenance of the bridge referred

For the Council

The President

G. TREMONTI