WRITTEN QUESTION P-3836/03 by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. VAT for transport service providers.
Date: 2003-12-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: VAT, application of EU law, carriage of passengers, intra-EU transport, provision of services, services company, subcontracting, tax system

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/655

2. What steps are being implemented for the professional certification of these workers at EU level?

3. What measures are planned to prevent companies which win international competitions from

recruiting workers via workforce recruitment agencies?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2004)

It is not clear from the question whether the situations referred to fall within the scope of Directive 96/71/
EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of
workers in the framework of the provision of services (1). Where this is the case, the workers concerned
must be covered by a ‘hard core’ of protective rules concerning the working and employment conditions in
force in the host country; these must include,
in particular, rules on maximum working periods, the
minimum wage, and health, safety and hygiene at work.

If, however, the situations in question are placements with the objective of having the workers habitually
perform their work in the EU Member States or EEA countries mentioned, Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/
68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community (2) stipulates that a
worker who is a national of a Member State may not, in the territory of another Member State, be treated
differently from national workers in respect of any conditions of employment and work.

It goes without saying that the Commission deplores situations where these rules are disregarded. It would,
however, point out that the monitoring of compliance with working and employment conditions is
primarily the responsibility of the national authorities.

(1) OJ L 18, 21.1.1997.
(2) OJ L 257, 19.10.1968.

(2004/C 78 E/0697)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3836/03

by Emmanouil Bakopoulos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(8 December 2003)

Subject: VAT for transport service providers

The transport sector in the European Union is governed by various tax regimes. For instance, a Belgian
transport service provider may transport its customers to Athens in a coach belonging to a Greek
company, transport them from there to Vienna with an Austrian company and take them to their final
destination in the Netherlands in a coach belonging to a Dutch company. The problem facing this service
provider (cid:1) which is essentially providing its customers with a package and therefore uses subcontractors
(cid:1) is the how to calculate VAT for such a service.

In this specific example, will the Commission say how VAT is to be levied so that all the subcontractors
involved in providing services meet their tax obligations?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(20 January 2004)

Since Community VAT legislation is based on a Directive (the Sixth VAT Directive (cid:1) Directive 77/388/
EEC of 17 May 1977) each Member State is responsible for the transposition of these provisions into
national legislation and their correct application within its territory. In the light of this, and the basic
principle of subsidiarity, national tax administrations have the principal responsibility for informing their
taxable persons about the interpretation and application of these provisions.

C 78 E/656

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

According to Article 9(2)(b) of the Sixth VAT Directive the place of supply of transport services is the
place where the transport takes place, having regards of the distances covered. Therefore, in the example
quoted,
it is up to each individual Member State to determine how VAT is to be levied and which
obligations each subcontractor has to fulfil on its territory.

The Commission is aware of the problems which can occur in the field of taxation of passenger transport
services and in the framework of its review and update of VAT Strategy priorities (1), it has undertaken to
look at the simplification of the obligations for traders in the field of VAT in the third quarter of 2004 as
well as at the issue of the place of taxation of passenger transport services in 2005.

(1) COM(2003) 614 final of 20.10.2003.

(2004/C 78 E/0698)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3839/03

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE)
and Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 December 2003)

Subject: Marmara Earthquake Rehabilitation Programme (MERP):

‘An Integrated Intervention for the

Rehabilitation of Düzce’ (cid:1) Turkey

The European Commission’s Europe-Aid Cooperation Office has co-financed, under the MERP, budget line
B7-411, the project mentioned in the reference (cid:1) Contract identification number: PIU-ID-MERP-2002-
0004 (cid:1) Contracting Authority: Prime Ministry of Turkey, Project Implementation Unit (PIU) (cid:1) Duration:
1.12.2002 to 30.11.2004. Within the project, procurements subject to tenders, referring to supplies,
services and works, total a value of EUR 1 130 000.

The forecasts were submitted on 22 January 2003 and although they are supposed to be examined and
approved within 4 weeks, the first remarks by the PIU arrived only on 13 March 2003. Immediately
afterwards, tender dossiers (7 out of 10 in the initial stage) were submitted, at different stages reacting to
additional remarks received, between 19 March and 27 June 2003.

On 1 July the project leader, the PIU representatives and the Tender and Procurement Advisor hired by the
European Commission met in Düzce to discuss specific remarks expressed. On that occasion it was
announced that in the meantime the template documents used by Europe-Aid for procurement had
changed, and all the tender dossiers had to be revised in order to meet the new requirements. New tender
dossiers were submitted on 8 July 2003.

No answer on them has been received until today, although the stagnation regarding official provision of
VAT exemption by the Turkish Treasury was finally overcome during November. The delays by the
European Commission services supervising the tender procurement procedures are threatening the very
implementation of the project.

What urgent action will the Commission take to remove existing obstacles and allow the successful
continuation of the MERP Düzce project?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(30 January 2004)

Whereas the details elaborated in the question are broadly correct, it should be noted that the MERP is not
implemented by the Commission but by the Turkish government (decentralised management). As set out
in the first paragraph of the question, the contracting authority is the Prime Ministry of Turkey Project
Implementation Unit
(PIU). The procurement advisor referred to was therefore not hired by the
Commission and indeed has no contractual relationship with the Commission but only with the Turkish
contracting authority.