Legal provisions of COM(2007)747 - Amendment of the VAT Directive, as regards the treatment of insurance and financial services - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2007)747 - Amendment of the VAT Directive, as regards the treatment of insurance and financial services. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2007)747  |
| date | November 28, 2007 |
Article 1
(1) Article 135 is amended as follows:
(a) In paragraph 1, points (a) to (g) are replaced by the following:
"(a) insurance and reinsurance;
(b) granting of credit and guaranteeing of debts resulting from the granting of credit;
(c) transactions concerning financial deposits and account operation;
(d) exchange of currency and provision of cash;
(e) supply of securities;
(f) intermediation in insurance and financial transactions as referred to in points (a) to (e);
(g) management of investment funds;"
(b) The following paragraphs 1a, 1b and 1c are inserted:
"1a. The exemption provided for in points (a) to (e) of paragraph 1 shall apply to the supply of any constituent element of an insurance or financial service, which constitutes a distinct whole and has the specific and essential character of the exempt service.
1b. Where a complex transaction includes an element of insurance which is set out separately, the insurance shall be a distinct service exempted under point (a) of paragraph 1.
1c. Where the supply of goods or services includes the granting of credit which is not set out separately, the grant of credit shall not be a distinct service exempted under point (b) of paragraph 1."
(2) The following Article 135a is inserted:
" Article 135a
For the purposes of applying the exemptions provided for in points (a) to (g) of Article 135(1), the following definitions shall apply:
(1) 'insurance and reinsurance' means a commitment whereby a person is obliged, in return for a payment, to provide another person, in the event of materialisation of a risk, with an indemnity or a benefit as determined by the commitment;
(2) 'granting of credit' means the lending of money or the promise to lend money;
(3) 'guaranteeing of debts' means the acceptance of liability for the debt of another person;
(4) 'financial deposit' means a deposit of money held on behalf of the depositor who retains rights to the deposits, which must be repaid under the legal and contractual conditions applicable;
(5) 'account operation' means the operation of a monetary account for a customer;
(6) 'exchange of currency' means the supply of services whereby a person changes the currency of bank notes or coins normally used as legal tender, of deposits or of money in a monetary account on the basis of rates of exchange between currencies of countries;
(7) 'cash' means bank notes and coins normally used as legal tender or negotiable means of payment;
(8) 'supply of securities' means the supply of tradable instruments other than an instrument establishing title to goods or to the rights referred to in Article 15(2), representing financial value and reflecting any one or more of the following:
(a) an equity ownership position in a company or other association;
(b) a creditor's position for debts;
(c) unit ownership in undertakings for collective investment in the securities referred to in points (a) or (b), in other exempted financial instruments referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 135(1) or in other undertakings for collective investment;
(9) 'intermediation in insurance and financial transactions' means the supply of services rendered to, and remunerated by, a contractual party as a distinct act of mediation in relation to the insurance or financial transactions referred to in points (a) to (e) of Article 135(1), by a third party intermediary;
(10) 'investment funds' means undertakings for collective investment in the exempted financial instruments referred to in points (a) to (e) of Article 135(1) and in real estate;
(11) 'management of investment funds' means activities aimed at realising the investment objectives of the investment fund concerned."
(3) In Article 137(1), point (a) is deleted.
(4) The following Articles 137a and 137b are inserted:
"Article 137a
1. From 1 January 2012, Member States shall allow taxable persons a right of option for taxation in respect of the services referred to in points (a) to (g) of Article 135(1).2. The Council shall adopt the measures necessary for the implementation of paragraph 1 pursuant to the procedure provided for in Article 397. So long as the Council has not adopted such measures, Member States may lay down the detailed rules governing exercise of the option under paragraph 1.
Article 137b
Member States shall exempt services supplied by a group of taxable persons to members of the group where the following conditions are fulfilled:(1) the group itself and all its members are established or resident in the Community;
(2) the group carries out an autonomous activity and acts as an independent entity towards its members;
(3) members of the group are supplying services which are exempt under Article 135(1)(a) to (g) or other services in respect of which they are not taxable persons;
(4) the services are supplied by the group only to its members and are necessary to allow members to supply services which are exempt pursuant to Article 135(1)(a) to (g);
(5) the group claims from its members only the exact reimbursement of their share of the joint expenses, excluding any transfer-pricing adjustments made for the purposes of direct taxation."
(5) In Article 174(2), point (c) is replaced by the following:
"(c) the amount of turnover attributable to financial transactions as referred to in points (b) to (g) of Article 135(1) in so far as those transactions are incidental."
Article 2 - Transposition
When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.