2006/126/EC: Council Decision of  14 February 2006  amending Decisions 98/161/EC, 2004/228/EC and 2004/295/EC, as regards the extension of measures to prevent evasion of value added tax in the waste sector
Date: 2006-02-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Italy, Netherlands, Spain, VAT, derogation from EU law, tax avoidance, tax evasion, waste recycling

22.2.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 51/17

COUNCIL DECISION

of 14 February 2006

amending Decisions 98/161/EC, 2004/228/EC and 2004/295/EC, as regards the extension of
measures to prevent evasion of value added tax in the waste sector

(Only the Dutch, Spanish and Italian versions are authentic)

(2006/126/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

(4)

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

the laws of

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Under Article 27(1) of Directive 77/388/EEC,
the
Council, acting unanimously on a proposal
from the
to
Commission, may authorise
introduce special measures for derogation from that
Directive,
for
charging the valued added tax (VAT) or to prevent
certain types of tax evasion or avoidance.

to simplify the procedure

any Member State

in order

(hereinafter Netherlands)

By letter registered by the Secretariat-General of
the
Commission on 25 October 2005, the Kingdom of the
Netherlands
an
extension of Council Decision 98/161/EC of 16
February 1998 authorising the Kingdom of the Neth-
erlands to apply a measure derogating from Articles 2
and 28a(1) of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC on
the harmonisation of
the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (2).

the laws of

requested

By letter registered by the Secretariat-General of
the
Commission on 3 August 2005, the Kingdom of Spain
(hereinafter Spain) requested an extension of Council
Decision 2004/228/EC of 26 February 2004 authorising
Spain to apply a measure derogating from Article 21 of
the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmo-
nisation of the laws of the Member States relating to
turnover taxes (3).

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

2005/92/EC (OJ L 345, 28.12.2005, p. 19).

(2) OJ L 53, 24.2.1998, p. 19. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/514/EC (OJ L 219, 19.6.2004, p. 11).

(3) OJ L 70, 9.3.2004, p. 37.

the
By letter registered by the Secretariat-General of
Commission on 26 September 2005,
Italian
Republic (hereinafter Italy) requested an extension of
Council Decision 2004/295/EC of 22 March 2004
authorising Italy to apply a measure derogating from
Article 21 of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC
on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States
relating to turnover taxes (4).

the

27(2)

the mentioned requests.

accordance with Article

In
of Directive
77/388/EEC,
the Commission informed the other
In letters
Member States of
dated 27 October 2005, 7 September 2005 and 25
October 2005,
the Commission respectively notified
the Netherlands, Spain and Italy that it had all the infor-
mation it considered necessary for the appraisal of their
individual requests.

the

and

supply

connected with

Decision 98/161/EC authorised the Netherlands to apply,
until 31 December 1999, certain measures to prevent
evasion
intra-
community acquisition of used and waste materials.
Council Decision 2000/435/EC (5) extended the expiry
date of Decision 98/161/EC until 31 December 2003.
It was
subsequently followed by Council Decision
2004/514/EC (6), which further extended the authori-
sation given under Decision 98/161/EC until the earlier
of the date of entry into force of a special scheme for the
application of VAT to the recycled waste sector or
31 December 2005.

Decision 2004/228/EC authorised Spain to apply a
measure to prevent evasion of VAT in the waste
recycling sector. The said Decision expires on the
the date of entry into force of a special
earlier of
the application of VAT to the recycled
scheme for
waste sector or 31 December 2005.

Decision 2004/295/EC authorised Italy to apply a
measure to prevent evasion of VAT in the waste
recycling sector. The said Decision expires on the
the date of entry into force of a special
earlier of
the application of VAT to the recycled
scheme for
waste sector or 31 December 2005.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(4) OJ L 97, 1.4.2004, p. 63.
(5) OJ L 172, 12.7.2000, p. 24.
(6) OJ L 219, 19.6.2004, p. 11.

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Official Journal of the European Union

22.2.2006

The measures are proportionate to the objectives pursued
since they are intended to apply to specific supplies
which pose considerable risks of tax evasion.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

(9)

(10)

The matters of law and of fact which justified the appli-
cation of the special measures in question have not been
changed and still pertain. However, on 16 March 2005,
the Commission submitted a proposal
for a Council
regards
Directive amending Directive 77/388/EEC as
certain measures to simplify the procedure for charging
value added tax and to assist in countering tax evasion
and avoidance, and repealing certain Decisions granting
derogations. The proposed Directive would,
if adopted,
empower Member States to designate the recipient of
certain goods and services in the waste sector as the
person liable to pay the tax.

(11)

Consequently, it is necessary to extend the application of
Decisions 98/161/EC, 2004/228/EC and 2004/295/EC,
until 31 December 2009 or until
the date of entry
into force of a special scheme for the application of
VAT to the recycled waste sector amending Directive
77/388/EEC, whichever is the earlier.

In Article 1 of Decision 98/161/EC, ‘31 December 2005’ shall
be replaced by ‘31 December 2009’.

Article 2

In Article 3 of Decision 2004/228/EC,
shall be replaced by ‘31 December 2009’.

‘31 December 2005’

Article 3

In Article 3 of Decision 2004/295/EC,
shall be replaced by ‘31 December 2009’.

‘31 December 2005’

Article 4

This Decision shall apply as from 1 January 2006.

Article 5

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of Spain, the Italian
Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

(12)

The extension of the derogation has no adverse impact
on the Communities’ own resources accruing from VAT,
nor does it have any effect on the amount of VAT
charged at the final stage of consumption.

Done at Brussels, 14 February 2006.

(13)

In order to ensure legal continuity, this Decision should
apply as from 1 January 2006,

For the Council
The President

K.-H. GRASSER