Decision (EU) 2015/2348 amending Decision 2013/53/EU authorising Belgium to introduce a special measure derogating from Article 285 of Directive 2006/112/EC

Summary:

On 6 November 2015 the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council Implementing Decision authorising Belgium to continue to apply a special measure derogating from Article 285 of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (the VAT Directive). The Council of the European Union adopted the Decision on 10 December.

Further information:

The VAT Directive allows for the possibility of Member States to apply special schemes for small enterprises, including the possibility of exempting taxable persons below a certain annual turnover. This exemption implies that a taxable person does not have to charge VAT on his supplies and, consequently, he cannot deduct the VAT on his inputs.

Under Article 285 of the VAT Directive, Member States can exempt taxable persons whose threshold is no higher than €5,000. In 2012, Belgium requested a derogation in order to simplify VAT obligations for small traders and to ease the collection of the tax for the national tax administration.

By Decision 2013/53/EU, the Council authorised Belgium to exempt from VAT taxable persons whose annual turnover is no higher than €25,000 until 31 December 2015. Belgium has now requested an extension of that measure.

Belgium considers that the derogating measure has brought simplification, both for taxable persons and for the tax administration. It is therefore proposed to extend the derogation for another period until 31 December 2018.

Official

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)552: Proposal to amend Decision 2013/53/EU authorising Belgium to introduce a special measure derogating from Article 285 of Directive 2006/112/EC http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:552:FIN

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