2008/84/EC: Council Decision of 22 January 2008 authorising the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland to apply measures derogating from Article 5 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax
Date: 2008-01-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Germany, Poland, VAT, derogation from EU law

31.1.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 27/17

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 22 January 2008

authorising the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland to apply measures
derogating from Article 5 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of
value added tax

(Only the German and the Polish texts are authentic)

(2008/84/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Federal Republic of
the Commission notified the
Germany and the Republic of Poland that it had all the
information necessary to consider the requests.

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28
November 2006 on the common system of value added
tax (1), and in particular Article 395(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

By letters registered with the General Secretariat of the
Commission on 22 October 2007 and 27 July 2007, the
Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland
requested authorisation to apply special tax measures in
relation to the construction and maintenance of certain
border bridges between the two countries.

accordance with Article

of Directive
395(2)
In
2006/112/EC,
the Commission informed the other
Member States by letter dated 24 October 2007 of the
requests made by the Federal Republic of Germany and
the Republic of Poland. By letter dated 25 October 2007,

(1) OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive

2005/75/EC (OJ L 346, 29.12.2007, p. 13).

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

the

cross-border bridges,

The purpose of the special measure is, for supplies of
goods or services and intra-Community acquisitions of
goods intended for the construction and maintenance
of
and its
should be
construction site
regarded as being entirely within the territory of one of
the Member States in accordance with an agreement
concluded between them on the division of responsibility
those cross-
for the construction or maintenance of
border bridges.

in case of building,

the bridges,

for each supply of goods or

it would be
In the absence of a special measure,
services or
necessary,
intra-Community acquisition of goods,
to ascertain
whether the place of taxation was the Federal Republic
of Germany or the Republic of Poland. Work at a border
bridge carried out within Germany’s territory would be
subject to value added tax in Germany while that carried
out within Poland’s territory would be subject to Polish
value added tax.

The purpose of the derogation is therefore to simplify the
procedure for charging the tax on the construction and
maintenance of the bridges in question.

The derogation will have no negative impact on the
Community’s own resources provided from value added
tax,

L 27/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

31.1.2008

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland
are hereby authorised, under
the conditions laid down in
Articles 2 and 3, to apply measures derogating from Directive
2006/112/EC in relation to the construction and subsequent
maintenance of one border bridge crossing the Oder (Odra)
and one border bridge crossing the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa
Łużycka), and the maintenance of two existing border bridges
over the Oder (Odra) and nine existing border bridges over the
Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka), all of which are partly within
the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and partly
within the territory of the Republic of Poland. Details of the
bridges in question are given in the Annex to this Decision. This
authorisation shall also apply to any additional bridges which
are brought
the Agreement concluded
between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of
Poland on the responsibility for the construction or main-
tenance of trans-border bridges by an exchange of diplomatic
notes.

into the scope of

Article 2

By way of derogation from Article 5 of Directive 2006/112/EC,
with regard to the border bridges for which the Federal Republic
of Germany is responsible for the construction and maintenance
and with regard to the border bridges for which the Federal
Republic of Germany is solely responsible for maintenance,
those bridges and, where appropriate,
the construction site
insofar as it is within Polish territory, shall be deemed to be

part of Germany’s territory for the purposes of supplies of
goods
and intra-Community acquisitions of
goods intended for the construction or maintenance of those
bridges.

and services

Article 3

By way of derogation from Article 5 of Directive 2006/112/EC,
with regard to the border bridges for which the Republic of
Poland is responsible for the construction and maintenance and
with regard to the border bridges for which the Republic of
Poland is solely responsible for maintenance, those bridges and,
where appropriate, the construction site insofar as it is within
Germany’s territory, shall be deemed to be part of Poland’s
territory for the purposes of supplies of goods and services
and intra-Community acquisitions of goods intended for the
construction or maintenance of those bridges.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany
and to the Republic of Poland.

Done at Brussels, 22 January 2008.

For the Council
The President

A. BAJUK

31.1.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 27/19

Bridges referred to in Article 1:

ANNEX

1. The Federal Republic of Germany shall be responsible for the construction of the following border bridge:

(a) the border bridge over the Oder (Odra) between Frankfurt (Oder) and Kunowice at marker 580,640.

2. The Republic of Poland shall be responsible for the construction of the following border bridge:

(a) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Horka and Węgliniec at marker 130,470.

3. The Federal Republic of Germany shall be responsible for maintaining the following border bridges:

(a)

the border bridge over the Oder (Odra) between Neurüdnitz and Siekierki at marker 653,903;

(b) the border bridge over the Oder (Odra) between Küstrin Kietz and Küstrin Kostrzyn at marker 615,102;

(c)

the border bridge over the Oder (Odra) between Frankfurt (Oder) and Kunowice at marker 580,640;

(d) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Hagenwerder and Ręczyn at marker 169,611;

(e)

the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Hirschfelde and Trzciniec Zgorzelecki at
marker 186,281.

4. The Republic of Poland shall be responsible for maintaining the following border bridges:

(a)

the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Guben and Gubin at marker 13,375;

(b) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Guben and Gubinek at marker 17,625;

(c)

the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Forst and Tuplice at marker 51,935;

(d) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Bad Muskau und Łęknica at marker 80,530;

(e)

the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Horka and Wegliniec at marker 130,470;

(f)

the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Görlitz and Zgorzelec at marker 153,885;

(g) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Krzewina Zgorzelecka and Trzciniec

Zgorzelecki at marker 184,220;

(h) the border bridge over the Lausitzer Neiße (Nysa Łużycka) between Krzewina Zgorzelecka and Trzciniec

Zgorzelecki at marker 184,780.