A retrospective evaluation of elements of the EU VAT system

In December 2010, the Commission signed a contract for a retrospective evaluation of the consequences, in economic terms, of the functioning of the most pertinent elements of the current EU VAT system, as identified in the "Green Paper on the future of the VAT". The final report was submitted by the external consultants on 5 December 2011. This evaluation looked into the design and implementation of certain VAT arrangements, assessing their effectiveness and efficiency in terms of results and impacts they had created. It examined their relevance and their coherence with the smooth functioning of the single market and the requirement to avoid distortion of competition specified in Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.