The main European associations in the sector maritime-port, air and logistics and various organizations national teams in the sector today expressed their full support for the Petition 0276/2022 on VAT exemption on the transport of Exported goods presented in the middle of last year to the European Parliament by Belgian Ine Lejeune on behalf of the association Danish shipowner Danish Shipping. With the request you are invited Parliament to ask the European Commission and all Member States not to levy VAT on the transport of goods exported outside the EU throughout the chain commercial, in application of the "economic" exemption, and to abolish the guidelines of the VAT Committee and those of the Member States members allegedly infringing Article 146(1)(e), and Article 153 of the VAT Directive, and - specifies the petition - the disused practice of accepting only a declaration customs and not any evidence from which the authorities competent can deduce with a degree of probability sufficiently high that the goods transported have been exported from the EU.

Pointing out that the application of VAT to transport services For the export of goods concerns not only the companies of transport and ports and airports, but also companies that organize their global supply chain from one of Member States through a logistics service centre shared, with the petition it is intended to emphasize that this application is contrary to the principle of neutrality, and results in additional costs that are passed on to each ring of the supply chain.

Earlier this year, the European Commission sent the reference to judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union quoted by Lejeune - the effect of the pronouncements is that the Supply of transport services and ancillary operations carried out by a subcontractor of the main contractor who provides such services to the consignor or recipient of the goods which are not may be exempt and are subject to VAT pursuant to Article Articles 2(1)(c), 44 and 196 of the VAT Directive, which means that they are subject to VAT where the main contractor ordering the Subcontractor's services: if the main contractor is established in a Member State other than that of the subcontractor - specified the Commission - VAT is payable by the contractor principal in its periodic VAT return; if the contractor main is established outside the EU (e.g. a transport undertaking established in a third country acting to account of the recipient), the provision of services by the subcontractor does not fall within the scope and therefore does not is subject to VAT in the EU.

In a joint statement published today, the associations of the maritime-port, air and logistics sector ask 'pragmatic and coherent' EU guidelines. The declaration was signed by European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA), International VAT Association (IVA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), Federation of European Private Port Companies and Terminals (FEPORT), European Shippers' Council (ESC), European Community Association of Ship Brokers and Agents (ECASBA), European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services (CLECAT), Danish Shipping, Swedish Shipowners' Association, Royal Association of Netherlands' Shipowners, Assarmatori, Confederation of Danish Industry, Danish Chamber of Commerce, Danish Shipbrokers and Port Operators, Danske Speditører, Nordic Logistics Association and ITD.

The declaration notes that, following one of the judgments issued by the Court of Justice of the EU cited in the petition (Case L.C.' IK, C-288/16 of 29 June 2017), Member States have started to limit VAT exemption for services transport when exporting goods if the services are not invoiced neither to the exporter nor to the importer. "We believe - explain the 18 signatories - that this interpretation of those Member States and the European Commission is legally incorrect. Not only has it been surpassed by the More recent jurisprudence, but it is also in contrast with other Community legislation, in particular the Customs Code of the Union. In fact, the misinterpretation of the judgment, of the EU guidelines and the disharmonious implementation between Member States create not only administrative burdens and costs disproportionate to all parts of the transport supply chain, and for the tax authorities of the Member States, but also considerable legal uncertainty, in particular for many SMEs involved in this sector'.

In the declaration, the signatories express their support for the Dialogue of the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions with the Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union of the European Commission in order "to start a constructive dialogue with the transport sector and establish more guidelines pragmatic practices restoring full application of the exemption economic and standardize the conditions of global competition for this sector of the EU'.

In addition, in the declaration the associations urge between the other Member States and the European Commission to take into account of the most recent case law and not to charge VAT on transport of goods and other services directly linked to a export service along the entire trade chain, thus limiting the VAT exemption to the final part of the chain, with value added tax being levied in the country to which the goods are exported, and therefore only on the basis of contractual issues and not on who the carrier is.