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Walter de Wit, Martijn Vroom
EC Tax Review
Volume 27, Issue 4 (2018) pp. 196 – 205
https://doi.org/10.54648/ecta2018021
Abstract
The countdown to Brexit has started. Given the short timeframe to Brexit and the large trading volumes, the authors investigate which certainties and uncertainties exist regarding the future trade relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). Certain is that the UK is leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. On the basis of the recently presented draft withdrawal agreement, however, the chances are apparent that the UK will not leave the EU Customs Union and the internal market during a transition period ending in December 2020. Taking into account a possible transition period, the authors discuss the most likely scenarios and their impact on trade between the EU and the UK, in particular from a customs perspective.
Extract
Over the last years, the VAT exemption applicable to transactions concerning payments and transfers has been subject to a strict interpretation by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). What constitutes these transactions has been narrowed down by the CJEU to the function of ‘having the effect of transferring funds and entail changes in the legal and financial character’. This has reduced the opportunity for intermediaries in the supply chain to benefit from the exemption. On 21 March 2018, the Advocate General (AG) handed down his Opinion in DPAS Limited (DPAS) (Case C-5/17), whose conclusions appear to potentially narrow down even further any scope for exemption as regards transactions concerning payments or transfers. According to the AG, the exemption should not apply to a provider that ‘only’ instructs banks to transfer sums of money insofar as it constitutes a ‘mere physical, technical or administrative service’ that is not covered by the exemption. In this article, the author analyses the AG Opinion and provides some alternate views in light of previous case law.
EC Tax Review