European Parliament legislative resolution of 8 July 2020 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2454 as regards the dates of application due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis (COM(2020)0201 — C9-0136/2020 — 2020/0084(CNS))
Date: 2020-07-08
Institutions: Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: VAT, administrative cooperation, application of EU law, coronavirus disease, electronic commerce, epidemic, exchange of information, import (EU), tax offence, third country








C_2021371EN.01011901.xml










15.9.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 371/119






P9_TA(2020)0181
Amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2454 as regards the dates of application due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis *
European Parliament legislative resolution of 8 July 2020 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2454 as regards the dates of application due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis (COM(2020)0201 — C9-0136/2020 — 2020/0084(CNS))
(Special legislative procedure — consultation)
(2021/C 371/19)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2020)0201),










—


having regard to Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C9-0136/2020),










—


having regard to Rule 82 of its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A9-0123/2020),












1.


Approves the Commission proposal as amended;












2.


Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;












3.


Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;












4.


Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;












5.


Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.





Amendment 1


Proposal for a regulation


Recital 4 a (new)








Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment





 










(4a)






Although the COVID-19 outbreak creates genuine difficulties for national administrations, it should not be used as an excuse to further delay the implementation of commonly agreed rules. Before the outbreak, some Member States had signalled that they would encounter delays in the implementation of the new system. Beyond the immediate difficulties linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, governments should spare no efforts to implement the new system. Member States which are facing issues which could cause a delay in the full implementation of the rules should use the technical assistance provided by the Commission to ensure correct and complete implementation of the e-commerce package. The e-commerce package’s goals of facilitating the global competitiveness of European SMEs, easing the administrative pressure on Union sellers and ensuring that online platforms contribute to a fairer VAT collection system while combatting tax fraud are key aspects of a level playing field for all businesses, which is particularly important in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery.











Amendment 2


Proposal for a regulation


Recital 5








Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment











(5)


Taking into consideration the challenges 
that
 Member States 
are facing to tackle the
 COVID-19 
crisis
 and the fact that the new provisions are based on the principle that all Member States have to update their IT systems in order to be able to apply the provisions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/2454, thus ensuring the collection and transmission of information and payments under the modified schemes, it 
is
 necessary to postpone the dates of application of this Regulation by 
six
 months. 
A postponement of six months is appropriate, because the delay should be kept as short as possible to minimise additional budgetary losses for Member States.














(5)


Taking into consideration the 
new
 challenges 
faced by
 Member States 
as a result of
 the COVID-19 
outbreak
 and the fact that the new provisions are based on the principle that all Member States have to update their IT systems in order to be able to apply the provisions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/2454, thus ensuring the collection and transmission of information and payments under the modified schemes, it 
might be
 necessary to postpone the dates of application of this Regulation by 
three
 months. 
Postponement is not desirable, as it will lead to a loss of revenue and an increased VAT gap, while prolonging unfair competition between non-EU and Union sellers. However, a postponement of three months might be appropriate as it aligns with the period of lockdown across most Member States. An even longer postponement would extend the risk of VAT fraud at a time when public finances should be replenished in order to fight the pandemic and its economic and social consequences. A longer delay of six months could lead to a loss of revenue of between EUR 2,5  billion and EUR 3,5  billion for Member States. In light of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, it is of the utmost importance to avoid further loss of revenues.











Amendment 3


Proposal for a regulation


Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point 1 — point a

Regulation (EU) 2017/2454
Article 1 — point 7 — point a — heading — section 2







Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment





Provisions applicable from 1 January 2015 until 
30 June 2021




Provisions applicable from 1 January 2015 until 
31 March 2021







Amendment 4


Proposal for a regulation


Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point 1 — point b — point i

Regulation (EU) 2017/2454
Article 1 — point 7 — point b — heading — section 3







Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment





Provisions applicable from 
1 July 2021




Provisions applicable from 
1 April 2021







Amendment 5


Proposal for a regulation


Article 1 — paragraph 1 — point 2

Regulation (EU) 2017/2454
Article 2 — paragraph 2







Text proposed by the Commission




Amendment





It shall apply from 
1 July 2021
.


It shall apply from 
1 April 2021
.