Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision authorising the United Kingdom to apply a special measure derogating from Articles 26(1)(a), 168 and 168a of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax

Pursuant to Article 395(1) of Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (‘the VAT Directive’), the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, may authorise any Member State to apply special measures for derogation from the provisions of that Directive in order to simplify the procedure for collecting VAT or to prevent certain forms of tax evasion or avoidance.

Council Decision 2006/659/EC of 25 September 2006 authorised the United Kingdom to introduce a special measure derogating from Articles 5(6) and 11(A)(1)(b) of Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, introducing a flat rate taxation of the private use of company cars on the basis of the car’s CO2 emission rating.

By letter registered with the Commission on 22 May 2015, the United Kingdom requested to extend the application of the derogation.

The above-mentioned Decision, which ends on 31 December 2015, was granted on the basis of the so-called Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment which, without substantial changes as regards its content, was replaced by the VAT Directive which therefore forms the basis for the current Decision.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)494: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:494:FIN

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