Communication in accordance with Article 395 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC

Summary:

Communication presented on 17 June 2019 by the European Commission regarding a request by Lithuania to apply a measure derogating from Article 193 of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax (the VAT Directive).

Further information:

In November 2018, Lithuania requested authorisation to introduce a special measure applying the reverse charge mechanism in relation to domestic supplies of petroleum products including additives. According to Lithuania approximately 5-6% of petrol and gas oil on the Lithuanian market is traded fraudulently, depriving the Lithuanian state budget of around €20 million per year.

After examining the request, the Commission has come to the conclusion that a derogation allowing the reverse charge mechanism to be applied in the sector of petroleum products and additives could have adverse impacts on fraud at the retail level and on other Member States. Therefore, it is not considered an appropriate solution to tackle the fraud occurring in this sector.