Council Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax

Summary:

Directive 2006/112/EC - adopted by the Council of the European Union on 18 November 2006 - concerning the European Union's common system of Value Added Tax (VAT).

Further information:

This Council Directive recasts and repeals the so-called Sixth VAT Directive in order to clarify the existing VAT legislation in the European Union (EU).

The Sixth Directive was adopted in 1977 and it set out detailed rules for the common VAT system. It underwent a number of amendments, most of which brought about by the establishment of the internal market and the corresponding abolition of fiscal frontiers between Member States. Transitional arrangements for the taxation of trade between Member States were introduced in 1991, but the basic rules remained in place.

In order to provide a clear overview of the legislation in this field, it became essential to rid the text of provisions which do not apply anymore, and to adapt the structure accordingly. The European Commission therefore decided to recast the Directive, in order to leave intact the great majority of the provisions of the Sixth Directive. The draft Council Directive was tabled on 15 April 2004 and adopted by the Council of the European Union on 18 November 2006. The Act was published in the Official Journal on 11 December 2006.

Official

EUR-LEX: COM(2004)246: Proposal for a Council Directive on the common system of value added tax (Recast) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2004:246:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Common system of value added tax (VAT) (2004/0079(CNS)) https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2004/0079(CNS)

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