Lobbying by Spanish VAT Services Asesores SL

Spanish VAT Services Asesores SL

Spanish VAT Services is a VAT advisory services firm, mainly focused on International VAT.

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ID: 901464532390-38

Lobbying Activity

24 Mar 2023

Feedback given by: Spanish VAT Services Asesores, SL (Transparency Register number 901464532390-38) We are attaching a document with comments and feedback on the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) proposal. Kind regards

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Response to Conferring implementing powers on the Commission in the area of value added tax

2 Oct 2020

Those of us who are dedicated to tax advice in the field of VAT carefully read the conclusions issued by VAT Committee. However, the Committee's findings are not binding. It is currently an advisory body without any legislative power that cannot make binding legal decisions, but rather guides and advises on the correct application of the VAT Directive. The above means that, although the conclusion, guidelines and minutes from the VAT Committee are very helpful, they are not an instruction or order that the different Tax Administration and businesses are obliged to follow. This is, in our view, not a good thing for the purpose of a simple, unanimous and harmonized implementation of the VAT rules EU wide. We suggest that the VAT Committee becomes a group that can decide and give its approval to the application of VAT measures. The Committee should have the authority to approve and implement VAT regulations at an EU level in a uniform and harmonized manner and its decisions should bind the Tax Authorities to some extent just like if they were a VAT ruling. This will give a big volume of legal certainty to businesses operating in the EU. For achieving the above, the ideal situation would be that the VAT Committee adopted the rules in a unanimous way. However, when we read the minutes from the Committee´s meetings we realize that this is something not realistic (many of their conclusions are reach “almost unanimously”). Therefore, we suggest that the agreements from the Committee should be reached with some sort of qualified majority. We do suggest that before the new Committee reaches its decision, it consults stakeholders. For this, we suggest that the Committee consults other existing Commission´s groups in the field of VAT like the EU VAT Forum and the VAT Expert Group. Both groups are made up of business representatives, tax officials and academics. They will be able to give their feedback before the new VAT Committee reaches its decisions. By doing so, it will make sure that when the new VAT Committee publishes its binding decisions, the opinions and implications of said decisions for all stakeholders have been taken into consideration. We do think that the above will help to give the VAT Committee the role it deserves on the process of the implementation of the VAT rules at an EU level. Thank you.

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