The European Council said yesterday it had reached an agreement on a proposal to update EU rules on rates of value-added tax (VAT) that, if adopted, may give a strong boost to the EU solar sector.
“The new rules reflect member states’ current needs and the EU's present policy objectives, which have changed considerably since the old rules were put in place,” the council said in a statement. “The updates ensure member states are treated equally and give them more flexibility to apply reduced and zero-VAT rates.”
If approved by the European Parliament, the Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards rates of value-added tax will be formally adopted by the council. According to the new provisions, member states will be free to apply a VAT rate of 0 to 5% to a restricted list of goods and services, with solar panels now being included in one of the seven categories described in a document related to the proposal.
The document also specifies that the proposal may apply to the “Supply and installation of solar panels on, and adjacent to, private dwellings, housing and public and other buildings used for activities in the public interest.” Electric bicycles and waste recycling services are also included on the list.
The council said it is appropriate for solar panels to be on the list as this is in line with the EU environmental commitments on decarbonization and the Green Deal, a proposal to make the union the world's first “climate-neutral bloc” by 2050. “To support the transition towards the use of renewable energy sources and to foster the union’s self–sufficiency with regard to energy, it is necessary to allow member states to improve final consumers’ access to green energy sources,” read the council statement.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
2 comments
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.