KOMISJONI TEATIS NÕUKOGULE vastavalt nõukogu direktiivi 2006/112/EÜ artiklile 395 - COM(2026) 511

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1_EN_ACT_part1_v3.pdf

1_ET_ACT_part1_v2.pdf

1_EN_ACT_part1_v3.pdf

EN EN

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 29.9.2026 COM(2026) 511 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

in accordance with Article 395 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC

1. BACKGROUND

Pursuant to Article 395 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on

the common system of value added tax1 (the VAT Directive), the Council, acting

unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, may authorise any Member State to

introduce special measures for derogation from the provisions of this Directive, in order

to simplify the procedure for collecting VAT or to prevent certain forms of tax evasion

or avoidance. As this procedure provides for a derogation from the general principles

of VAT, in accordance with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union

(CJEU), the national derogating measures referred to in Article 395 of the VAT

Directive which are allowed ‘in order to simplify the procedure for charging the tax or

to prevent certain types of tax evasion or avoidance’, must be interpreted strictly and

those measures must also be necessary and appropriate for realising the specific

objective which they pursue and have as little effect as possible on the objectives and

principles of the VAT Directive2.

By letter registered at the Commission on 28 May 2026, Latvia requested an

authorisation to further extend the authorisation to apply, by derogation of Article 193

of the VAT Directive, the reverse charge mechanism in relation to the supply of timber

or the provision of related services, as initially granted upon Latvia’s accession to the

Union on 1 May 2004, extended by Council Decision 2006/42/EC in 2006, and

prolonged on six further occasions since, most recently until 31 December 2026 by

Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/3207.

In accordance with the second paragraph of Article 395 of the VAT Directive, the

Commission informed the other Member States by letter dated 21 August 2026 of the

request made by Latvia. By letter dated 25 August 2026, the Commission notified

Latvia that it had all the information it considered necessary for appraisal of the request.

2. THE REQUEST

Latvia requests, under Article 395 of the VAT Directive, that the Council, acting upon

a proposal of the Commission, would extend the application of a special measure

derogating from Article 193 of the VAT Directive as regards the application of the

reverse charge mechanism in relation to the supply of timber or the provision of related

services.

As a rule, the person liable for the payment of VAT, pursuant to Article 193 of the VAT

Directive, is the taxable person supplying the goods (or services). The purpose of the

reverse charge mechanism is to shift that liability onto the taxable person to whom the

supplies are made in order to avoid that the supplier would have the possibility to

disappear with the VAT received (missing trader fraud).

The derogation was first granted to Latvia in Chapter 7, point 1(b) of Annex VIII to the

2003 Act of Accession3, until 30 April 2005, and was subsequently extended for the

1 OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1 2 See judgment of 27 January 2011 in case Vandoorne C-489/09, EU:C:2011:33, paragraph 27. 3 Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of

Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the

first time, in relation to Article 21 of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC, by Council

Decision 2006/42/EC of 24 January 20064 until 31 December 2009. It was subsequently

authorised, by way of derogation from Article 193 of the VAT Directive, by Council

Implementing Decision 2009/1008/EU of 7 December 20095 until 31 December 2012,

and was extended on five further occasions, by Council Implementing Decisions

2013/55/EU of 22 January 20136, (EU) 2015/2396 of 10 December 20157, (EU)

2018/2006 of 11 December 20188, (EU) 2022/81 of 18 January 20229 and, most

recently, (EU) 2024/3207 of 12 December 202410, which extended the special measure

until 31 December 2026. The special measure has therefore been in continuous

application for more than two decades and has already been prolonged seven times.

3. THE COMMISSION’S VIEW

When the Commission receives requests in accordance with Article 395 of the VAT

Directive, these are examined with a view to ensure that the basic conditions for

granting a derogation are fulfilled, i.e. whether the proposed specific measure simplifies

procedures for taxable persons and/or the tax administration or whether the proposal

aims to prevent certain types of tax evasion or avoidance. In this context, the

Commission has always taken a restrictive, cautious approach to ensure that

derogations do not undermine the operation of the general VAT system, are limited in

scope and time, and necessary and proportionate. Any derogation from the system of

fractioned payment can, therefore, not be more than a last resort for a limited time and

must offer guarantees as to its necessity and exceptional nature.

Given more than two decades of application, it is the Commission’s view that Latvia

has had ample time to introduce conventional measures, for which no derogation from

the VAT Directive is required, to control the timber sector, which consists of rather high-

volume tangible goods that should allow for an adequate auditing and follow-up.

Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic, and the adjustments to the Treaties on

which the European Union is founded, Annex VIII, Chapter 7, point 1(b), OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33. 4 Council Decision 2006/42/EC of 24 January 2006 authorising Latvia to extend the application of a measure

derogating from Article 21 of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the

Member States relating to turnover taxes, OJ L 25, 28.1.2006, p. 31. 5 Council Implementing Decision 2009/1008/EU of 7 December 2009 authorising the Republic of Latvia to

extend the application of a measure derogating from Article 193 of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common

system of value added tax, OJ L 347, 24.12.2009, p. 30. 6 Council Implementing Decision 2013/55/EU of 22 January 2013 amending Implementing Decision