Council Directive 92/111/EEC of 14 December 1992 amending Directive 77/388/EEC and introducing simplification measures with regard to value added tax

Type Directive
Publication 1992-12-30
State Repealed
Department Council of the European Union
Source EUR-Lex
articles 5
Reform history JSON API

1992L0111 — EN — 30.12.1992 — 000.001

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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/111/EEC of 14 December 1992 amending Directive 77/388/EEC and introducing simplification measures with regard to value added tax (OJ L 384, 30.12.1992, p.47)

Amended by:

Official Journal Official Journal Official Journal
No page date

Corrected by:

Corrigendum, OJ L 197, 6.8.1993, p. 57  (92/111)
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of accout and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999 should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) and Coundil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/111/EEC

of 14 December 1992

amending Directive 77/388/EEC and introducing simplification measures with regard to value added tax

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 99 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Whereas Article 3 of Council Directive 91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991 supplementing the common system of valued added tax and amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to the abolition of fiscal frontiers (3) sets 1 January 1993 as the date for the entry into force of these provisions in all the Member States;

Whereas in order to facilitate the application of these provisions and to introduce the simplifications needed, it is necessary to supplement the common system of value added tax, as applicable on 1 January 1993, so as to clarify how the tax shall apply to certain operations carried out with third territories and certain operations carried out inside the Community, as well to define the transitional measures between the provisions in force on 31 December 1992 and those which will enter into force as from 1 January 1993;

Whereas in order to guarantee the neutrality of the common system of turnover tax in respect of the origin of goods, the concept of a third territory and the definition of an import must be supplemented;

Whereas certain territories forming part of the Community customs territory are regarded as third territories for the purposes of applying the common system of value added tax; whereas value added tax is therefore applied to trade between the Member States and those territories according to the same principles as apply to any operation between the Community and third countries; whereas it is necessary to ensure that such trade is subject to fiscal provisions equivalent to those which would be applied to operations carried out under the same conditions with territories which are not part of the Community customs territory; whereas as a result of these provisions the Seventeenth Council Directive 85/362/EEC of 16 July 1985 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Exemption from value added tax on the temporary importation of goods other than means of transport (4), becomes null and void;

Whereas it is necessary to state exactly how the exemptions relating to certain export operations or equivalent operations will be implemented; whereas it is necessary to adapt the other Directives concerned accordingly;

Whereas it is necessary to clarify the definition of the place of taxation of certain operations carried out on board ships, aircraft or trains transporting passengers inside the Community;

Whereas the transitional arrangements for taxation of trade between the Member States must be supplemented to take account both of the Community provisions relating to excise duties and the need to clarify and simplify the detailed rules for the application of the tax of certain operations which will be carried out between the Member States as from 1 January 1993;

Whereas Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products (5) lays down particular procedures and obligations in relation to declarations in the case of shipments of such products to another Member State; whereas as a result the methods of applying tax to certain supplies and intra-Community acquisitons of products liable to excise duties can be simplified to the benefit both of the persons liable to pay tax and the competent administrations;

Whereas it is necessary to define the scope of the exemptions referred to in Article 28c of Directive 77/388/EEC (6); whereas it is also necessary to supplement the provisions concerning the chargeability of the tax and the methods of determining the taxable amount of certain intra-Community operations;

Whereas, for taxable operations in the domestic market linked to intra-Community trade in goods which are carried out during the period laid down in Article 281 of Directive 77/388/EEC by taxable persons not established in the Member State referred to in Article 28b (A) (1) of the said Directive, it is necessary to take simplification measures guaranteeing equivalent treatment in all the Member States; whereas to achieve this, the provisions concerning the taxation system and the person liable to tax in respect of such operations must be harmonized;

Whereas in order to take account of the provisions relating to the person liable to pay tax in the domestic market and to avoid certain forms of tax evasion or avoidance, it is necessary to clarify the Community provisions concerning the repayment to taxable persons not established in the country of the value added tax referred to in Article 17 (3) of Directive 77/388/EEC as amended by Article 28f of the said Directive;

Whereas the abolition as from 1 January 1993 of tax on imports and tax relief on exports for trade between the Member States makes it necessary to have transitional measures in order to ensure the neutrality of the common system of valued added tax and to avoid situations of double-taxation or non-taxation;

Whereas it is therefore necessary to lay down special provisions for cases where a Community procedure, started before 1 January 1993 for the purposes of a supply effected before that date by a taxable person acting as such in respect of goods dispatched or transported to another Member State, is not completed until after 31 December 1992;

Whereas such provisions should also apply to taxable operations carried out before 1 January 1993 to which particular exemptions were applied which as a result delayed the taxable event;

Whereas it is also necessary to lay down special measures for means of transport which, not having been acquired or imported subject to the general domestic tax conditions of a Member State, have benefited, by the application of national measures, from an exemption from tax because of their temporary import from another Member State;

Whereas the application of these transitional measures, both in relation trade between the Member States and to operations with third territories, presupposes supplementing the definition of the operations to be made subject to taxation as from 1 January 1993 and the clarification for such cases of the concepts of the place of taxation, the taxable event and the chargeability of the tax;

Whereas, on account of the current economic situation, the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic have requested that, as a transitional measure, provisions derogating from the principle of immediate deduction laid down in the frist subparagraph of Article 18 (2) of Directive 77/388/EEC be applied; whereas this request should be granted for a period of two years which may not be extended;

Whereas this Directive lays down common provisions for simplifying the treatment of certain intra-Community operations; whereas, in a number of cases, it is for the Member States to determine the conditions for implementing these provisions; whereas certain Member States will not be able to complete the legislative procedure necessary to adapt their legislation on valued added tax within the period laid down; whereas an additional period should therefore be allowed for the implementation of this Directive; whereas a maximum period of twelve months is sufficient for this purpose;

Whereas it is accordingly necessary to amend Directive 77/388/EEC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 77/388/EEC is hereby amended as follows:

2.

In Article 16 (2):

—“intra-Community acquisitions of goods made by a taxable person and” shall be added after “may opt to exempt” and “outside the Community” shall be added after “export them”, —the following subparagraphs shall be added: — “When they take up this option the Member States shall, subject to the consultation provided for in Article 29, extend the benefit of this exemption to intra-Community acquisitions of goods by a taxable person, imports for and supplies of goods to a taxable person intending to supply them, as they are or after processing, under the conditions laid down in Article 28c (A), as well as supplies of services relating to such supplies, up to a maximum equal to the value of his supplies of goods effected under the conditions laid down in Article 28c (A) during the preceding twelve months. Member States may set a common maximum amount for transactions which they exempt under the first and second subparagraphs.”

3.

Member States shall take specific measures to ensure that value added tax is not charged on the intra-Community acquisition of goods effected, within the meaning of Article 28b (A) (1), within its territory when the following conditions are met:

—the intra-Community acquisition of goods is effected by a taxable person who is not established in the territory of the country but who is identified for value added tax purposes in another Member State, —the intra-Community acquisition of goods is effected for the purpose of a subsequent supply of goods made by a taxable person in the territory of the country, —the goods so acquired by this taxable person are directly dispatched or transported from another Member State than that in which he is identified for value added tax purposes and destined for the person for whom he effects the subsequent supply, —the person to whom the subsequent supply is made is a taxable person or a non-taxable legal person who is identified for value added tax purposes within the territory of the country, —the person to whom the subsequent supply is made has been designated in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 21 (1) (a) as the person liable for the tax due on the supplies effected by the taxable person not established within the territory of the country.’ ;

1.

When goods:

—entered the territory of the country within the meaning of Article 3 before 1 January 1993, —and —were placed, on entry into the territory of that country, under one of the regimes referred to in Article 14 (1) (b) or (c), or Article 16 (1) (A), —and —have not left that regime before 1 Jannuary 1993, the provisions in force at the moment the goods were placed under that regime shall continue to apply for the period, as determined by those provisions, the goods remain under that regime.

2.

The following shall be deemed to be an import of goods within the meaning of Article 7 (1):

(a)the removal, including irregular removal, of goods from the regime referred to in Article 14 (1) (c) under which the goods were placed before 1 January 1993 under the conditions set out in paragraph 1; (b)the removal, including irregular removal, of goods from the regime referred to in Article 16 (1) (A) under which the goods were placed before 1 January 1993 under the conditions set out in paragraph 1; (c)the termination of a Community internal transit operation started before 1 January 1993 in the Community for the purpose of supply of goods for consideration made before 1 January 1993 in the Community by a taxable person acting as such; (d)the termination of an external transit operation started before 1 January 1993; (e)any irregularity or offence committed during an external transit operation started under the conditions set out in (c) or any Community external transit operation referred to in (d); (f)the use within the country, by a taxable or non-taxable person, of goods which have been supplied to him, before 1 January 1993, within another Member State, where the following conditions are met: —the supply of these goods has been exempted, or was likely to be exempted, pursuant to Article 15 (1) and (2), —the goods were not imported within the country before 1 January 1993. For the purpose of the application of (c), the expression “Community internal transit operation” shall mean the dispatch or transport of goods under the cover of the internal Community transit arrangement or under the cover of a T2 L document or the intra-Community movement carnet, or the sending of goods by post.

3.

In the cases referred to in paragraph 2 (a) to (e), the place of import, within the meaning of Article 7 (2), shall be the Member State within whose territory the goods cease to be covered by the regime under which they were placed before 1 January 1993.

4.

By way of derogation from Article 10 (3), the import of the goods within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article shall terminate without the occurrence of a chargeable event when:

(a)the imported goods are dispatched or transported outside the Community within the meaning of Article 3; or (b)the imported goods, within the meaning of paragraph 2 (a), are other than a means of transport and are dispatched or transported to the Member State from which they were exported and to the person who exported them; or (c)the imported goods, within the meaning of paragraph 2 (a), are means of transport which were acquired or imported before 1 January 1993, in accordance with the general conditions of taxation in force on the domestic market of a Member State, within the meaning of Article 3, and/or have not been subject by reason of their exportation to any exemption from or refund of value added tax. This condition shall be deemed to be fulfilled when the date of the first use of the means of transport was before 1 January 1985 or when the amount of tax due because of the importation is insignificant.’ ;

2.

Goods not referred to in Article 7 (1) (a) dispatched or transported from a Member State to a destination in a territory that forms parts of the customs territory of the Community but which is considered as a third territory for the purposes of applying this Directive shall be subject to the following provisions:

(a)the formalities relating to the export of those goods outside the territory of the Community shall be the same as the Community customs provisions in force in relation to export of goods outside the customs territory of the Community; (b)for goods which are temporarily exported outside the Community, in order to be reimported, the Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that, on reimportation into the Community, such goods may benefit from the same provisions as if they had been temporarily exported outside the customs territory of the Community.’ ;

Article 2

1.

As from 1 January 1993 and for a period of two years, which may not be extended, the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic shall be authorized to apply provisions derogating from the principle of immediate deduction provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 18 (2). These provisions may not have the effect of delaying by more than one month the time when the right to deduction, having arisen, may be exercised under Article 18 (1).

However, for taxable persons who file the returns provided for in Article 22 (4) for quarterly tax periods, the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic shall be authorized to provide that the right to deduction which has come into being which could, under Article 18 (1), be exercised in a given quarter, may not be exercised until the following quarter. This provision shall only apply where the Kingdom of Spain or the Italian Republic authorizes such taxable persons to opt for the filing of monthly returns.

2.

By way of derogation from the third subparagraph of Article 15 (10), the Portuguese Republic, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany shall be authorized, in regard to contracts concluded after 31 December 1992, to abolish the repayment, procedure, where it is prohibited by this Directive by 1 October 1993 at the lastest.

Article 3

The Council, acting unanimously on a Commission proposal, shall adopt before 30 June 1993, detailed rules for the taxation of chain transactions between taxable persons, so that such rules may enter into force on 1 January 1994.

Article 4

1.

The Member States shall adapt their present value added tax system to the provisions of this Directive.

They shall adopt the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions for their adapted systems to enter into force 1 January 1993.

Member States may, however, provide that information relating to transactions referred to in the last subparagraph of Article 22 (6) (b) for which the tax becomes payable during the first three calendar months of 1993 must appear at the the latest on the summary statement signed for the second calendar quarter of 1993.

2.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, Member States shall be authorized to adopt the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions in order to implement by 1 January 1984 at the latest the provisions laid down in the following paragraphs of Article 1:

Member States which, on 1 January 1993, apply measures equivalent to those mentioned above shall adopt the necessary measaures to ensure that the principles laid down in Article 22 (6) and in current Community provisions on administrative cooperation in the area of indirect taxation are complied with as from 1 January 1993 without fail.

3.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the Federal Repubic of Germany shall be authorized to adopt the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions in order to implement by 1 October 1993 at the latest the provisions laid down in Article 1 (10) with regard to Article 28 a (1a) (a).

4.

Member States shall inform the Commission of the provisions which they adopt to apply this Directive.

5.

Member States shall communicate the provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive to the Commission.

6.

When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

Article 5

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 337, 21. 12. 1992.

(2) Opinion delivered on 24 November 1992 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ No L 376, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1985, p. 20. Directive as last amended by Directive 90/237/EEC (OJ No L 133, 24. 5. 1990, p. 91).

(5) OJ No L 76, 23. 3. 1992, p. 1.

(6) OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1. Directive as amended by Directive 92/77/EEC (OJ No L 316, 31. 10. 1992, p. 1.)

(7) OJ No L 76, 23. 3. 1992, p. 1.

(8) OJ No L 192, 24. 7. 1985, p. 20. Directive as last amended by Directive 90/237/EEC (OJ No L 133, 24. 5. 1990, p. 91).

(9) OJ No L 133, 4. 6. 1969, p. 6. Directive as last amended by Directive 91/680/EEC (OJ No L 376, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1).

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