Council Regulation (EC) No 1777/2005 of 17 October 2005 laying down implementing measures for Directive 77/388/EEC on the common system of value added tax
Council Regulation (EC) No 1777/2005of 17 October 2005laying down implementing measures for Directive 77/388/EEC on the common system of value added taxTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to the 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 assessmentOJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/66/EC (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 35)., hereinafter referred to as "Directive 77/388/EEC", and in particular Article 29a thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas:(1)Directive 77/388/EEC contains rules on value added tax which, in some cases, are subject to interpretation by the Member States. The adoption of common provisions implementing Directive 77/388/EEC should ensure that application of the value added tax system complies more fully with the objective of the internal market, in cases where divergences in application have arisen or may arise which are incompatible with the proper functioning of the said market. These implementing measures are legally binding only from the date of the entry into force of this Regulation and are without prejudice to the validity of the legislation and interpretation previously adopted by the Member States.(2)It is necessary for the achievement of the basic objective of ensuring a more uniform application of the current value added tax system to lay down rules implementing Directive 77/388/EEC, in particular in respect of taxable persons, the supply of goods and services, and the place of their supply. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in the third subparagraph of Article 5 of the Treaty, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective pursued. Since it is binding and directly applicable in all Member States, uniformity of application will be best ensured by a Regulation.(3)These implementing provisions contain specific rules in response to selective questions of application and are designed to bring uniform treatment throughout the Community to those specific circumstances only. They are therefore not conclusive for other cases and, in view of their formulation, are to be applied restrictively.(4)The further integration of the internal market has led to an increased need for cooperation by economic operators established in different Member States across internal borders and the development of European economic interest groupings (EEIGs), constituted in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2137/85OJ L 199, 31.7.1985, p. 1., it should therefore be provided that such EEIGs are also taxable persons where they supply goods or services for consideration.(5)The sale of an option as a financial instrument should be treated as a supply of services separate from the underlying transactions to which the option relates.(6)It is necessary, on the one hand, to establish that a transaction which consists solely of assembling the various parts of a machine provided by a customer must be considered as a supply of services, and, on the other hand, to establish the place of such supply.(7)Where various services supplied in the framework of organising a funeral form a part of a single service, the rule on the place of supply should also be determined.(8)Certain specific services such as the assignment of television broadcasting rights in respect of football matches, the translation of texts, services for claiming value added tax refunds, certain services as an agent, the hiring of means of transport and certain electronic services involve cross-border scenarios or even the participation of economic operators established in third countries. The place of supply of these services needs to be clearly determined in order to create greater legal certainty. It should be noted that the services identified as electronic services or otherwise do not constitute a definitive, exhaustive list.(9)In certain specific circumstances a credit or debit card handling fee which is paid in connection with a transaction should not reduce the taxable amount for the latter.(10)Vocational training or retraining should include instruction relating directly to a trade or profession as well as any instruction aimed at acquiring or updating knowledge for vocational purposes, regardless of the duration of a course.(11)"Platinum nobles" should be treated as being excluded from the exemptions for currency, bank notes and coins.(12)Goods transported outside the Community by the purchaser thereof and used for the equipping, fuelling or provisioning of means of transport used for non-business purposes by persons other than natural persons, such as bodies governed by public law and associations, should be excluded from the exemption for export transactions.(13)To guarantee uniform administrative practices for the calculation of the minimum value for exemption on exportation of goods carried in the personal luggage of travellers, the provisions on such calculations should be harmonised.(14)Electronic import documents should also be admitted to exercise the right to deduct, where they fulfil the same requirements as paper-based documents.(15)Weights for investment gold which are definitely accepted by the bullion market should be named and a common date for establishing the value of gold coins be determined to ensure equal treatment of economic operators.(16)The special scheme for taxable persons not established in the Community, supplying electronic services to non-taxable persons established or resident within the Community is subject to certain conditions. Where those conditions are no longer fulfilled, the consequences thereof should, in particular, be made clear.(17)In the case of intra-Community acquisition of goods, the right of the Member State of acquisition to tax the acquisition should remain unaffected by the value added tax treatment of the transaction in other Member States.(18)Rules should be established to ensure the uniform treatment of supplies of goods once a supplier has exceeded the distance selling threshold for supplies to another Member State,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: