CLECAT has been informed by DG TAXUD that no objection had been raised by the European Parliament and the Council regarding the UCC Delegated Act. Neither the EP nor the Council have asked for an additional two months for review. Both the EP and Council had the possibility to reject the proposed Delegated Act until the 21st of October 2015.
The Commission is now expecting the adoption of the Implementing Act by Member States in the coming weeks. A final draft has been circulated amongst national administrations for consideration and will be discussed in the Customs Code Committee on the 29th and 30th of October. According to the Commission, some minor changes may be included but nothing of substance.
The Commission foresees the formal adoption of the Implementing Act by the Customs Code Committee on the 6th of November. The IA/DA will then be translated and is expected to be ready for publication before the end of 2015.
GUIDANCE GIVEN BY THE VAT COMMITTEE ON “DISTANCE SELLING”
The VAT Committee has published an updated version of its Guidelines which includes its clarifications on “Distance selling” (art. 32, 33, 34 of the VAT Directive). The VAT Committee gives its opinion on the cases where the goods are considered as having been “dispatched or transported by or on behalf of the supplier”. It also gives examples on cases where the supplier is considered as having intervened indirectly in the dispatch or transport of goods.
As a reminder, the VAT Committee was set up under the VAT Directive to promote the uniform application of the provisions of the VAT Directive. Because it is an Advisory Committee only and has not been attributed any legislative powers, the VAT Committee cannot take legally binding decisions. It can however provide guidance on the application of the Directive.
The updated Guidelines are available HERE. The clarification on “Distance selling” can be found p. 200 (last page of the document).