The current European VAT legislation encompassing insurance and financial
services, including intermediation thereof, dates back to the adoption of the
Sixth VAT Directive in 1977. The definitions do not, however, encompass the
current complexity of insurance and financial transactions. This has resulted
in considerable confusion for fiscal authorities and for businesses when
deciding upon the application of the VAT exemption. As the correct VAT
treatment has a significant economic impact on businesses, a great number of
cases have been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This
is also the reason why the European Commission presented its proposal for the
future treatment of insurance and financial services, including intermediation
thereof, in November 2007. The political process has not yet been finalised
and if the Commission’s proposal is agreed upon, the question of understanding
the definitions still exists.
This book deals with the exemption for intermediation of insurance and
financial services within European VAT. This implies analysing the methods of
interpretation applied by the Court of Justice of the European Union when
interpreting the provisions regarding insurance and financial services.
Furthermore, the current definitions for intermediation of insurance and
financial services as provided for in the VAT Directive are analysed and
conclusions are made in order to define a single concept of intermediation.
These analyses are followed by various practical scenarios from case law of
the Member States concerning intermediation of insurance and financial
services. Finally, comments based on the analyses carried out are given on the
European Commission’s proposal for amending the VAT Directive and the
accompanying Regulation regarding intermediation of insurance and financial
services.
Acknowledgements. Chapter 1 Introduction. Part I. Methodology
Chapter 2. Methodology of the thesis. Chapter 3 Methods of
interpretation applied by the ECJ. Part II. Analysis of intermediation of
insurance and financial services Chapter 4 Intermediation of
insurance. Chapter 5 Intermediation of financial services. Chapter 6
Cases from the ECJ on intermediation of insurance and financial services.
Chapter 7 One concept of intermediation of insurance and financial
services. Part III. Under which circumstances does intermediation within
European VAT occur? Chapter 8 Intermediation services. Chapter 9
Sub- and parallel intermediation. Part IV. Intermediation in a practical
perspective Chapter 10 Intermediation of insurance and financial
services in practice. Chapter 11 Administrative, IT and advisory
service. Part V. Future perspectives on intermediation of insurance and
financial services Chapter 12 The proposed legal treatment of
intermediation services. Chapter 13 Closing comments. Appendix.
Literature. List of referencences. List of cases.