ECJ RULING ALLOWS REDUCED VAT FOR CONNECTING PROPERTIES TO WATER MAINS
April 1st, 2008
BY KEITH NUTHALL
REDUCED rates of VAT can be charged for connecting properties to main water networks operated by utilities, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. In a German case, the court has decided that "since a mains connection is essential to make water available to the public...[it] forms part of the water supplies referred to" in the EU's Sixth VAT Directive Annex H. This lists the goods and services to which member states can levy reduced rates of VAT. The decision is a legal precedent for all 27 EU countries.
It followed a dispute ...
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