BETA


2016/2033(INI) Towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead ECON LANGEN Werner (icon: PPE PPE) SZANYI Tibor (icon: S&D S&D), LUCKE Bernd (icon: ECR ECR), JEŽEK Petr (icon: ALDE ALDE), SCOTT CATO Molly (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), ZANNI Marco (icon: EFDD EFDD), KAPPEL Barbara (icon: ENF ENF)
Committee Opinion BUDG
Committee Opinion LIBE LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando (icon: S&D S&D)
Committee Opinion CONT ALI Nedzhmi (icon: ALDE ALDE) Cătălin Sorin IVAN (icon: S&D S&D), Barbara KAPPEL (icon: ENF ENF), Patricija ŠULIN (icon: PPE PPE), Marco VALLI (icon: EFDD EFDD)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2016/11/24
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2016/11/24
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 459 votes to 87, with 74 abstentions, a resolution concerning a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud.

Members recalled that VAT, the proceeds of which yielded almost EUR 1 trillion in 2014, is a major and growing source of revenue in the Member States and contributes to EU own resources, the EU's total revenue from the VAT own resource standing at EUR 17 667 million and accounting for 12.27% of the total revenue of the EU in 2014.

The fraud challenge : the current VAT system, in particular as it is applied by large corporations to cross-border transactions, is vulnerable to fraud. According to a Commission study, MTIC fraud (Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud) alone is responsible for a VAT revenue loss of approximately EUR 45 billion to EUR 53 billion annually . The estimated 'VAT gap' amounts to around EUR 170 billion annually, and better digital technologies are becoming available to help close this gap.

Towards a simple, fair, robust and efficient system: Parliament welcomed the Commission’s intention to propose a definitive VAT system by 2017 and welcomed the Commission communication of 7 April 2016 and the projected additional measures designed to prevent fraud.

Members noted that concerted efforts between Member States are needed to reach agreement on a definitive VAT system, while recognising that unanimity will be a necessary precondition for an agreement on this issue. They called for fewer exemptions to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible .

Country-of-destination principle : Members shared the Commission's view that the VAT system decided upon should be based on the principle of taxation in the country which is the final destination of the goods and services, given that the country-of-origin principle could not be implemented. They are in favour of the country-of-destination principle being applied as a general rule in the case of distance sales to individuals, and of introducing harmonised measures for small businesses.

Parliament supported the aim of the action plan to establish a single European VAT area to buttress a deeper and more equitable single market. It called in this regard for services to be incorporated fully into the new system as soon as possible and called, in particular, for financial services to be subject to VAT.

Noting that the current plethora of VAT rates causes great uncertainty for companies involved in cross-border trading, the report called on the Commission to study the impact by mid2017 of missing trader fraud and on the Member States to agree on increasing convergence in VAT rate .

Reduced tax rates : Members took the view that the complete abolition of minimum tax rates as an alternative, as advocated by the Commission, might cause considerable distortions of competition and problems in the single market. They called for an examination of whether a single European list of reduced goods and services could be compiled with the aim of finding an alternative to the current system of reduced VAT rates. They stated that fewer exemptions are important to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible.

Reverse charge mechanism : Parliament called on the Commission to study carefully the consequences of the reverse charge mechanism and to examine whether this procedure will simplify the situation for SMEs and reduce VAT fraud. The Commission is called upon to evaluate the effects of the reverse charge procedure , and not only for individual sectors which are particularly susceptible to fraud, in terms of benefits, compliance costs, fraud, effectiveness and implementation problems and long-term advantages and disadvantages through pilot projects.

One stop shop : Members noted that a 'one-stop shop' is essential if the country-of-destination principle is to be imposed and made less prone to fraud. They noted that even with the Mini One-Stop Shop, small and micro-businesses can face a significant administrative burden under the new destination principle. They noted that creating a one-stop-shop would alleviate administrative burdens that prevent companies from operating across borders and reduce costs for SMEs.

The Commission is called upon to further facilitate the payment of VAT obligations by companies across the EU.

The report stressed that a new simplified system for VAT must be designed in such a way that SMEs can easily follow the rules on cross border trade and can find support in each Member State not only on how to adapt to them but also on managing the VAT procedures. Members noted that, for e-commerce sales , the lack of harmonisation in the VAT threshold entails high transaction costs for SMEs operating in e-commerce activities.

Information on VAT rates : Parliament called in the short term for a comprehensive and publicly accessible internet portal for companies and end-users to find, clearly and easily, detailed information on the VAT rates applicable to individual products and services in the Member States.

Own resources : Members are concerned that the goal of simplifying the system of accountability for VAT as an own resource has not been totally achieved. They recalled the need for further simplification of the management system related to own resources in order to reduce the possibilities of errors and fraud; regrets that the new action plan does not address the impact on the VAT own resources.

Administrative cooperation between the Member States : Members regretted that administrative cooperation among Member States in fighting VAT fraud is still not efficient when it comes to coping with intra-EU VAT evasion and fraud mechanisms, or to managing cross-border transactions or trading. They called therefore on the Commission to carry out more monitoring visits to Member States, selected on a risk basis, when assessing administrative cooperation agreements and stressed that the information exchanged through Eurofisc is targeted on fraud.

The Commission is called upon to make proposals enabling effective cross-checks of data from customs and tax authorities.

Members deemed it crucial that the Member States use multilateral controls (MLCs) – a coordinated control by two or more Member States of the tax liability of one or more related taxable persons – as a useful tool for combating VAT fraud. They also encouraged the Member States to exchange information received from non-EU countries among themselves in order to facilitate the enforcement of VAT collection, particularly in e-commerce.

Documents
2016/11/24
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2016/11/23
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2016/10/19
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Werner LANGEN (EPP, DE) concerning a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud.

The Committee on Budgetary Control as well as the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, exercising their prerogatives as associated committees in accordance with Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure, also gave their opinions on the report.

Members recalled that VAT, the proceeds of which yielded almost EUR 1 trillion in 2014, is a major and growing source of revenue in the Member States and contributes to EU own resources, the EU's total revenue from the VAT own resource standing at EUR 17 667 million and accounting for 12.27% of the total revenue of the EU in 2014.

The current VAT system, in particular as it is applied by large corporations to cross-border transactions, is vulnerable to fraud. According to a Commission study, MTIC fraud (Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud) alone is responsible for a VAT revenue loss of approximately €45 billion to €53 billion annually. The estimated 'VAT gap' amounts to around EUR 170 billion annually, and better digital technologies are becoming available to help close this gap.

The report welcomed the Commission’s intention to propose a definitive VAT system by 2017 that is simple, fair, robust, efficient and less susceptible to fraud. It also welcomed the Commission communication of 7 April 2016 and the projected additional measures designed to prevent fraud and help improve the existing VAT system.

Country-of-destination principle : Members shared the Commission's view that the VAT system decided upon should be based on the principle of taxation in the country which is the final destination of the goods and services, given that the country-of-origin principle could not be implemented. They are in favour of the country-of-destination principle being applied as a general rule in the case of distance sales to individuals, and of introducing harmonised measures for small businesses.

Noting that the current plethora of VAT rates causes great uncertainty for companies involved in cross-border trading, the report called on the Commission to study the impact by mid2017 of missing trader fraud and on the Member States to agree on increasing convergence in VAT rate .

Reduced tax rates : Members took the view that the complete abolition of minimum tax rates as an alternative, as advocated by the Commission, might cause considerable distortions of competition and problems in the single market. They called for an examination of whether a single European list of reduced goods and services could be compiled with the aim of finding an alternative to the current system of reduced VAT rates which could significantly improve the efficiency of the VAT system. They stated that fewer exemptions are important to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible .

Reverse charge mechanism : Members called on the Commission to study carefully the consequences of the reverse charge mechanism and to examine whether this procedure will simplify the situation for SMEs and reduce VAT fraud.

The Commission is called upon to evaluate the effects of the reverse charge procedure , and not only for individual sectors which are particularly susceptible to fraud, in terms of benefits, compliance costs, fraud, effectiveness and implementation problems and long-term advantages and disadvantages through pilot projects.

One stop shop : Members noted that a 'one-stop shop' is essential if the country-of-destination principle is to be imposed and made less prone to fraud. They noted that even with the Mini One-Stop Shop, small and micro-businesses can face a significant administrative burden under the new destination principle. The Commission is called upon to further facilitate the payment of VAT obligations by companies across the EU.

The report stressed that a new simplified system for VAT must be designed in such a way that SMEs can easily follow the rules on cross border trade and can find support in each Member State not only on how to adapt to them but also on managing the VAT procedures. Members noted that, for e-commerce sales , the lack of harmonisation in the VAT threshold entails high transaction costs for SMEs operating in e-commerce activities.

Information on VAT rates : Members called in the short term for a comprehensive and publicly accessible internet portal for companies and end-users to find, clearly and easily, detailed information on the VAT rates applicable to individual products and services in the Member States. Member States should urgently provide the Commission with information regarding their respective VAT rates, special requirements and exemptions so that the Commission can make it available to companies and consumers.

Own resources : Members are concerned that the goal of simplifying the system of accountability for VAT as an own resource has not been totally achieved. They recalled the need for further simplification of the management system related to own resources in order to reduce the possibilities of errors and fraud; regrets that the new action plan does not address the impact on the VAT own resources.

Administrative cooperation between the Member States : Members regretted that administrative cooperation among Member States in fighting VAT fraud is still not efficient when it comes to coping with intra-EU VAT evasion and fraud mechanisms, or to managing cross-border transactions or trading. They called therefore on the Commission to carry out more monitoring visits to Member States, selected on a risk basis, when assessing administrative cooperation agreements and stressed that the information exchanged through Eurofisc is targeted on fraud.

The Commission is called upon to make proposals enabling effective cross-checks of data from customs and tax authorities. They deemed it crucial that the Member States use multilateral controls (MLCs) – a coordinated control by two or more Member States of the tax liability of one or more related taxable persons – as a useful tool for combating VAT fraud. They also encouraged the Member States to exchange information received from non-EU countries among themselves in order to facilitate the enforcement of VAT collection, particularly in e-commerce.

Documents
2016/10/11
   EP - Vote in committee
2016/07/08
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2016/07/06
   EP - Committee opinion
Documents
2016/06/02
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2016/05/25
   CSL - Debate in Council
Documents
2016/05/25
   CSL - Council Meeting
2016/04/27
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2016/04/25
   EP - LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando (S&D) appointed as rapporteur in LIBE
2016/03/21
   EP - ALI Nedzhmi (ALDE) appointed as rapporteur in CONT
2016/03/10
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2016/03/10
   EP - Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament
2015/12/17
   EP - LANGEN Werner (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in ECON

Documents

Activities

Votes

A8-0307/2016 - Werner Langen - Résolution #

2016/11/24 Outcome: +: 459, -: 87, 0: 74
DE FR RO IT ES AT HU BG NL BE PT FI GB CZ HR SE SK LT LV LU EE DK MT SI IE CY PL EL
Total
83
65
28
59
45
18
15
14
23
18
19
12
51
17
10
15
11
8
7
6
6
11
6
5
7
5
41
14
icon: PPE PPE
181

Finland PPE

2

Luxembourg PPE

3

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Ireland PPE

3

Cyprus PPE

1
icon: S&D S&D
158

Netherlands S&D

3

Czechia S&D

3

Croatia S&D

2
3

Lithuania S&D

1

Latvia S&D

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

For (1)

1

Malta S&D

3

Ireland S&D

For (1)

1

Cyprus S&D

2
icon: ALDE ALDE
61

Romania ALDE

2

Austria ALDE

For (1)

1

Bulgaria ALDE

3

United Kingdom ALDE

1

Croatia ALDE

2

Sweden ALDE

2

Latvia ALDE

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

3

Denmark ALDE

2

Slovenia ALDE

For (1)

1

Ireland ALDE

For (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
43

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Hungary Verts/ALE

2

Netherlands Verts/ALE

2

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

3

Croatia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Sweden Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Estonia Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
14

Germany NI

For (1)

Against (1)

2

France NI

2

Hungary NI

2

United Kingdom NI

Against (2)

Abstain (1)

3

Poland NI

Against (1)

1
icon: ENF ENF
32

Romania ENF

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ENF

3

Belgium ENF

Against (1)

1

United Kingdom ENF

Against (1)

1

Poland ENF

Against (1)

1
icon: EFDD EFDD
29

Germany EFDD

Against (1)

1

France EFDD

1

Sweden EFDD

2

Poland EFDD

1
icon: ECR ECR
59

Romania ECR

For (1)

1

Italy ECR

2

Bulgaria ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

2

Belgium ECR

2

Finland ECR

Abstain (1)

2

Czechia ECR

2

Lithuania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Greece ECR

Against (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
42

Italy GUE/NGL

3

Netherlands GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

4

Finland GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Czechia GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Sweden GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

2

Cyprus GUE/NGL

Against (1)

2
AmendmentsDossier
324 2016/2033(INI)
2016/06/02 ECON 239 amendments...
source: 583.949
2016/06/09 LIBE 23 amendments...
source: 584.192
2016/06/13 CONT 62 amendments...
source: 583.960

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(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
True
committee_full
Budgetary Control
committee
CONT
date
2016-03-21T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: ALI Nedzhmi group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe abbr: ALDE
committees/2
body
EP
shadows
responsible
True
committee
ECON
date
2015-12-17T00:00:00
committee_full
Economic and Monetary Affairs (Associated committee)
rapporteur
group: EPP name: LANGEN Werner
committees/3
type
Committee Opinion
body
EP
associated
True
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
committee
LIBE
date
2016-04-25T00:00:00
rapporteur
name: LÓPEZ AGUILAR Doktor Professor Juan Fernando group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats abbr: S&D
committees/3
body
EP
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False
committee
LIBE
date
2016-04-25T00:00:00
committee_full
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (Associated committee)
rapporteur
group: S&D name: LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando
council
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3468 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3468*&MEET_DATE=25/05/2016 date: 2016-05-25T00:00:00
docs
  • date: 2016-04-27T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE582.077 title: PE582.077 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2016-06-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE583.949 title: PE583.949 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2016-07-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE580.680&secondRef=02 title: PE580.680 committee: CONT type: Committee opinion body: EP
  • date: 2016-07-08T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE582.410&secondRef=02 title: PE582.410 committee: LIBE type: Committee opinion body: EP
events
  • date: 2016-03-10T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2016-03-10T00:00:00 type: Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2016-05-25T00:00:00 type: Debate in Council body: CSL docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3468*&MEET_DATE=25/05/2016 title: 3468
  • date: 2016-10-11T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2016-10-19T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2016-0307&language=EN title: A8-0307/2016 summary: The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted an own-initiative report by Werner LANGEN (EPP, DE) concerning a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud. The Committee on Budgetary Control as well as the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, exercising their prerogatives as associated committees in accordance with Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure, also gave their opinions on the report. Members recalled that VAT, the proceeds of which yielded almost EUR 1 trillion in 2014, is a major and growing source of revenue in the Member States and contributes to EU own resources, the EU's total revenue from the VAT own resource standing at EUR 17 667 million and accounting for 12.27% of the total revenue of the EU in 2014. The current VAT system, in particular as it is applied by large corporations to cross-border transactions, is vulnerable to fraud. According to a Commission study, MTIC fraud (Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud) alone is responsible for a VAT revenue loss of approximately €45 billion to €53 billion annually. The estimated 'VAT gap' amounts to around EUR 170 billion annually, and better digital technologies are becoming available to help close this gap. The report welcomed the Commission’s intention to propose a definitive VAT system by 2017 that is simple, fair, robust, efficient and less susceptible to fraud. It also welcomed the Commission communication of 7 April 2016 and the projected additional measures designed to prevent fraud and help improve the existing VAT system. Country-of-destination principle : Members shared the Commission's view that the VAT system decided upon should be based on the principle of taxation in the country which is the final destination of the goods and services, given that the country-of-origin principle could not be implemented. They are in favour of the country-of-destination principle being applied as a general rule in the case of distance sales to individuals, and of introducing harmonised measures for small businesses. Noting that the current plethora of VAT rates causes great uncertainty for companies involved in cross-border trading, the report called on the Commission to study the impact by mid2017 of missing trader fraud and on the Member States to agree on increasing convergence in VAT rate . Reduced tax rates : Members took the view that the complete abolition of minimum tax rates as an alternative, as advocated by the Commission, might cause considerable distortions of competition and problems in the single market. They called for an examination of whether a single European list of reduced goods and services could be compiled with the aim of finding an alternative to the current system of reduced VAT rates which could significantly improve the efficiency of the VAT system. They stated that fewer exemptions are important to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible . Reverse charge mechanism : Members called on the Commission to study carefully the consequences of the reverse charge mechanism and to examine whether this procedure will simplify the situation for SMEs and reduce VAT fraud. The Commission is called upon to evaluate the effects of the reverse charge procedure , and not only for individual sectors which are particularly susceptible to fraud, in terms of benefits, compliance costs, fraud, effectiveness and implementation problems and long-term advantages and disadvantages through pilot projects. One stop shop : Members noted that a 'one-stop shop' is essential if the country-of-destination principle is to be imposed and made less prone to fraud. They noted that even with the Mini One-Stop Shop, small and micro-businesses can face a significant administrative burden under the new destination principle. The Commission is called upon to further facilitate the payment of VAT obligations by companies across the EU. The report stressed that a new simplified system for VAT must be designed in such a way that SMEs can easily follow the rules on cross border trade and can find support in each Member State not only on how to adapt to them but also on managing the VAT procedures. Members noted that, for e-commerce sales , the lack of harmonisation in the VAT threshold entails high transaction costs for SMEs operating in e-commerce activities. Information on VAT rates : Members called in the short term for a comprehensive and publicly accessible internet portal for companies and end-users to find, clearly and easily, detailed information on the VAT rates applicable to individual products and services in the Member States. Member States should urgently provide the Commission with information regarding their respective VAT rates, special requirements and exemptions so that the Commission can make it available to companies and consumers. Own resources : Members are concerned that the goal of simplifying the system of accountability for VAT as an own resource has not been totally achieved. They recalled the need for further simplification of the management system related to own resources in order to reduce the possibilities of errors and fraud; regrets that the new action plan does not address the impact on the VAT own resources. Administrative cooperation between the Member States : Members regretted that administrative cooperation among Member States in fighting VAT fraud is still not efficient when it comes to coping with intra-EU VAT evasion and fraud mechanisms, or to managing cross-border transactions or trading. They called therefore on the Commission to carry out more monitoring visits to Member States, selected on a risk basis, when assessing administrative cooperation agreements and stressed that the information exchanged through Eurofisc is targeted on fraud. The Commission is called upon to make proposals enabling effective cross-checks of data from customs and tax authorities. They deemed it crucial that the Member States use multilateral controls (MLCs) – a coordinated control by two or more Member States of the tax liability of one or more related taxable persons – as a useful tool for combating VAT fraud. They also encouraged the Member States to exchange information received from non-EU countries among themselves in order to facilitate the enforcement of VAT collection, particularly in e-commerce.
  • date: 2016-11-23T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20161123&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
  • date: 2016-11-24T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=27733&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2016-11-24T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P8-TA-2016-0453 title: T8-0453/2016 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 459 votes to 87, with 74 abstentions, a resolution concerning a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud. Members recalled that VAT, the proceeds of which yielded almost EUR 1 trillion in 2014, is a major and growing source of revenue in the Member States and contributes to EU own resources, the EU's total revenue from the VAT own resource standing at EUR 17 667 million and accounting for 12.27% of the total revenue of the EU in 2014. The fraud challenge : the current VAT system, in particular as it is applied by large corporations to cross-border transactions, is vulnerable to fraud. According to a Commission study, MTIC fraud (Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud, commonly called carousel fraud) alone is responsible for a VAT revenue loss of approximately EUR 45 billion to EUR 53 billion annually . The estimated 'VAT gap' amounts to around EUR 170 billion annually, and better digital technologies are becoming available to help close this gap. Towards a simple, fair, robust and efficient system: Parliament welcomed the Commission’s intention to propose a definitive VAT system by 2017 and welcomed the Commission communication of 7 April 2016 and the projected additional measures designed to prevent fraud. Members noted that concerted efforts between Member States are needed to reach agreement on a definitive VAT system, while recognising that unanimity will be a necessary precondition for an agreement on this issue. They called for fewer exemptions to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible . Country-of-destination principle : Members shared the Commission's view that the VAT system decided upon should be based on the principle of taxation in the country which is the final destination of the goods and services, given that the country-of-origin principle could not be implemented. They are in favour of the country-of-destination principle being applied as a general rule in the case of distance sales to individuals, and of introducing harmonised measures for small businesses. Parliament supported the aim of the action plan to establish a single European VAT area to buttress a deeper and more equitable single market. It called in this regard for services to be incorporated fully into the new system as soon as possible and called, in particular, for financial services to be subject to VAT. Noting that the current plethora of VAT rates causes great uncertainty for companies involved in cross-border trading, the report called on the Commission to study the impact by mid2017 of missing trader fraud and on the Member States to agree on increasing convergence in VAT rate . Reduced tax rates : Members took the view that the complete abolition of minimum tax rates as an alternative, as advocated by the Commission, might cause considerable distortions of competition and problems in the single market. They called for an examination of whether a single European list of reduced goods and services could be compiled with the aim of finding an alternative to the current system of reduced VAT rates. They stated that fewer exemptions are important to fight VAT fraud and that the best and most efficient way to tackle fraud is a simple VAT system with as low a rate as possible. Reverse charge mechanism : Parliament called on the Commission to study carefully the consequences of the reverse charge mechanism and to examine whether this procedure will simplify the situation for SMEs and reduce VAT fraud. The Commission is called upon to evaluate the effects of the reverse charge procedure , and not only for individual sectors which are particularly susceptible to fraud, in terms of benefits, compliance costs, fraud, effectiveness and implementation problems and long-term advantages and disadvantages through pilot projects. One stop shop : Members noted that a 'one-stop shop' is essential if the country-of-destination principle is to be imposed and made less prone to fraud. They noted that even with the Mini One-Stop Shop, small and micro-businesses can face a significant administrative burden under the new destination principle. They noted that creating a one-stop-shop would alleviate administrative burdens that prevent companies from operating across borders and reduce costs for SMEs. The Commission is called upon to further facilitate the payment of VAT obligations by companies across the EU. The report stressed that a new simplified system for VAT must be designed in such a way that SMEs can easily follow the rules on cross border trade and can find support in each Member State not only on how to adapt to them but also on managing the VAT procedures. Members noted that, for e-commerce sales , the lack of harmonisation in the VAT threshold entails high transaction costs for SMEs operating in e-commerce activities. Information on VAT rates : Parliament called in the short term for a comprehensive and publicly accessible internet portal for companies and end-users to find, clearly and easily, detailed information on the VAT rates applicable to individual products and services in the Member States. Own resources : Members are concerned that the goal of simplifying the system of accountability for VAT as an own resource has not been totally achieved. They recalled the need for further simplification of the management system related to own resources in order to reduce the possibilities of errors and fraud; regrets that the new action plan does not address the impact on the VAT own resources. Administrative cooperation between the Member States : Members regretted that administrative cooperation among Member States in fighting VAT fraud is still not efficient when it comes to coping with intra-EU VAT evasion and fraud mechanisms, or to managing cross-border transactions or trading. They called therefore on the Commission to carry out more monitoring visits to Member States, selected on a risk basis, when assessing administrative cooperation agreements and stressed that the information exchanged through Eurofisc is targeted on fraud. The Commission is called upon to make proposals enabling effective cross-checks of data from customs and tax authorities. Members deemed it crucial that the Member States use multilateral controls (MLCs) – a coordinated control by two or more Member States of the tax liability of one or more related taxable persons – as a useful tool for combating VAT fraud. They also encouraged the Member States to exchange information received from non-EU countries among themselves in order to facilitate the enforcement of VAT collection, particularly in e-commerce.
  • date: 2016-11-24T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/index_en.htm title: Taxation and Customs Union commissioner: MOSCOVICI Pierre
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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
procedure/subject
Old
  • 2.70.02 Indirect taxation, VAT, excise duties
  • 7.30.30.06 Action to combat economic fraud
New
2.70.02
Indirect taxation, VAT, excise duties
7.30.30.06
Action to combat economic fraud and corruption
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date
2016-11-24T00:00:00
docs
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  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: CONT date: 2016-03-21T00:00:00 committee_full: Budgetary Control (Associated committee) rapporteur: group: ALDE name: ALI Nedzhmi
  • body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: SZANYI Tibor group: ECR name: LUCKE Bernd group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr group: GUE/NGL name: LÓPEZ BERMEJO Paloma group: Verts/ALE name: SCOTT CATO Molly group: EFD name: ZANNI Marco group: ENF name: KAPPEL Barbara responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2015-12-17T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs (Associated committee) rapporteur: group: EPP name: LANGEN Werner
  • body: EP responsible: False committee: LIBE date: 2016-04-25T00:00:00 committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (Associated committee) rapporteur: group: S&D name: LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando
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  • group: S&D name: LÓPEZ AGUILAR Juan Fernando
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  • date: 2016-06-13T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
committees
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgets committee: BUDG
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Budgetary Control (Associated committee) committee: CONT
  • body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: SZANYI Tibor group: ECR name: LUCKE Bernd group: ALDE name: JEŽEK Petr group: GUE/NGL name: LÓPEZ BERMEJO Paloma group: Verts/ALE name: SCOTT CATO Molly responsible: True committee: ECON date: 2015-12-17T00:00:00 committee_full: Economic and Monetary Affairs (Associated committee) rapporteur: group: EPP name: LANGEN Werner
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (Associated committee) committee: LIBE
links
other
  • body: EC dg: url: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/index_en.htm title: Taxation and Customs Union commissioner: MOSCOVICI Pierre
procedure
reference
2016/2033(INI)
title
Towards a definitive VAT system and fighting VAT fraud
legal_basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 052
stage_reached
Preparatory phase in Parliament
subtype
Initiative
type
INI - Own-initiative procedure
subject