Special regime of gold

 

This Directive intends to complete the system common of the IVA in the Community being introduced a special regime for gold.

ACT

Directive 1998/80/CE of the Council, of 12 of October of 1998, by that the system of the tax is completed on the added value and the Directive modifies 77/388/CEE: special regime applicable to gold [Daily Official L 281 of 17.10.1998].

SYNTHESIS

In order to favor the use of gold like financial instrument, the Directive declares free the gold deliveries investment. Previously, the investment gold was also subject to the normal tax regime. By virtue of the same, the investment gold deliveries were, in principle, subject to the IVA, although it was had authorized to some Member States, with transitory character, to consider them free. The new Directive eliminates these distortions of competition between Member States and at the same time reinforces the competitiveness of the communitarian market of gold.

Definition of investment gold gold in bars or laminae of weight accepted in the markets of ingots, an equal purity or superior to 995 thousandth, represented or not by titles (the Member States can exclude from this regime the bars or laminae of equal weight or inferior a gram);

the gold currencies of an equal purity or superior to 900 thousandth, coined after 1800, that have or have had legal course in the origin country and which they are sold habitually to a price that does not surpass in more of a 80% the value of gold which they contain in the free trade. Every year, the Member States will have to indicate what currencies of these characteristics are commercialized in their territory. The lists will be published in the Official Newspaper. The intracommunity deliveries, acquisitions and imports of investment gold will be free of the tax on the added value in the Member States.

However, a taxation option settles down when it is gold deliveries of investment conducted to other subjects liabilities by: who produce investment gold or transform investment gold gold (in this case, the Member States will have to establish the option right);

subjects liabilities that, in the exercise of their economic activity, provide gold for industrial uses habitually (in this case, the Member States will be able to recognize the option right). The Member States will have to determine the conditions of exercise of these options and for informing into it to the Commission.

The Directive establishes norms that regulate the right to deduction of the subjects liabilities that take part in the provision or the investment gold production or in the investment gold gold transformation, whenever they have not decided on the imposition of his deliveries.

The traders in investment gold will be subject to specific obligations, in particular to prevent the fiscal frauds derived from a double use of gold (industrialist and for investment): they will have to take an accounting of all the operations important and to conserve the documents that allow to identify to their clients during five years, like minimum.

In some cases, the Member States will be able to designate like indebted of the tax to the buyer, instead of the salesman (mechanism of “investment of the passive subject�), with the purpose of to prevent the fiscal fraud and to reduce the financial expenses corresponding to the operation.

With regard to the operations in regulated gold markets, it will be able to be authorized to the Member States not to apply the special regime and to introduce simplification measures.