First Council Directive 67/227/EEC of 11 April 1967 on the harmonisation of legislation of Member States concerning turnover taxes
Modified by
Third Council Directiveof 9 December 1969on the harmonisation of legislation of Member States concerning turnover taxes — introduction of value added tax in Member States(69/463/EEC), 31969L0463, December 20, 1969
Sixth Council Directiveof 17 May 1977on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment(77/388/EEC), 31977L0388, June 13, 1977
Council Directive 2006/112/ECof 28 November 2006on the common system of value added tax, 32006L0112, December 11, 2006
First Council Directiveof 11 April 1967on the harmonisation of legislation of Member States concerning turnover taxes(67/227/EEC)THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 99 and 100 thereof;Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament;Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;Whereas the main objective of the Treaty is to establish, within the framework of an economic union, a common market within which there is healthy competition and whose characteristics are similar to those of a domestic market;Whereas the attainment of this objective presupposes the prior application in Member States of legislation concerning turnover taxes such as will not distort conditions of competition or hinder the free movement of goods and services within the common market;Whereas the legislation at present in force does not meet these requirements; whereas it is therefore in the interest of the commom market to achieve such harmonisation of legislation concerning turnover taxes as will eliminate, as far as possible, factors which may distort conditions of competition, whether at national or Community level, and make it possible subsequently to achieve the aim of abolishing the imposition of tax on importation and the remission of tax on exportation in trade between Member States;Whereas, in the light of the studies made, it has become clear that such harmonisation must result in the abolition of cumulative multi-stage taxes and in the adoption by all Member States of a common system of value added tax;Whereas a system of value added tax achieves the highest degree of simplicity and of neutrality when the tax is levied in as general a manner as possible and when its scope covers all stages of production and distribution and the provision of services; whereas it is therefore in the interest of the common market and of Member States to adopt a common system which shall also apply to the retail trade;Whereas, however, the application of that tax to retail trade might in some Member States meet with practical and political difficulties; whereas, therefore, Member States should be permitted, subject to prior consultation, to apply the commom system only up to and including the wholesale trade stage, and to apply, as appropriate, a separate complementary tax at the retail trade stage, or at the preceding stage;Whereas it is necessary to proceed by stages, since the harmonisation of turnover taxes will lead in Member States to substantial alterations in tax structure and will have appreciable consequences in the budgetary, economic and social fields;Whereas the replacement of the cumulative multistage tax systems in force in the majority of Member States by the common system of value added tax is bound, even if the rates and exemptions are not harmonised at the same time, to result in neutrality in competition, in that within each country similar goods bear the same tax burden, whatever the length of the production and distribution chain, and that in international trade the amount of the tax burden borne by goods is known so that an exact equalisation of that amount may be ensured; whereas therefore, provision should be made, in the first stage, for adoption by all Member States of the common system of value added tax, without an accompanying harmonisation of rates and exemptions;Whereas it is not possible to foresee at present how and within what period the harmonisation of turnover taxes can achieve the aim of abolishing the imposition of tax on importation and the remission of tax on exportation in trade between Member States; whereas it is therefore preferable that the second stage and the measures to be taken in respect of that stage should be determined later on the basis of proposals made by the Commission to the Council;HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: