Introduction Background Note
4.Currently, Council Directive 2006/112/EC (‘the Principal VAT Directive’) requires a taxpayer who makes cross border supplies of goods to submit a recapitulative statement (‘EC Sales List’) which provides information about those supplies.
5.The Principal VAT Directive has been amended by Council Directive 2008/8/EC (the amending directive). The amending directive makes changes to the rules governing the place of supply of services. In addition from 1 January 2010 the recipients of the majority of cross border supplies of services between taxable persons will be required to account for VAT on them under the reverse charge mechanism in accordance with Article 196 of the Principal VAT Directive and a taxpayer who supplies such services will be required to submit an EC Sales List in respect of them.
6.The requirement to submit an EC Sales List is implemented in UK legislation by Part IV of the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995. The power to make those regulations is contained in paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 11 to VATA. That power only applies to supplies of goods. This section extends the application of the power to supplies of services and enables the Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs to implement the amendments to the EC sales list requirements in the Principal VAT Directive by amending the Value Added Tax Regulations.