VAT – Cross Border Ruling
In June 2013, the European Commission launched a pilot scheme (within the framework of the EU VAT Forum) designed to reduce the amount of cross-border VAT disputes. The pilot scheme allows for private VAT ruling requests relating to cross-border situations (CBR) and for participating EU member states to settle cross-border VAT transaction disputes without the need for complex legal action.
A CBR can only be requested if the transaction(s) envisaged are complex and have a cross-border aspect involving two or more Member States participating in the pilot. The UK is participating in the pilot together with Belgium, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Finland and Slovenia. It should be noted that participation in the scheme does not guarantee that a CBR will be given.
The pilot was initially meant to run until 31 December 2013 but has been extended till the end of 2014. A mid-term review of the experiment will be made in June 2014 and if the results are positive, the European Commission may recommend further development of this practice.