The EU Council Working Party on Tax Questions will discuss a new compromise proposal on the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive at its meeting on Thursday 29 February, according to a document published by Euractiv. In particular, the Belgian Presidency is proposing to modify the scope of the text.
Although Spain managed to reach some elements of a compromise, differences between delegations persisted on several crucial issues relating to minimum levels of taxation (see EUROPE 13319/17).
Belgium suggests excluding the taxation of firewood and charcoal, as well as the taxation of hazardous or municipal waste used as fuel.
Article 3 sets out in detail the provisions relating to the exclusion from the scope of application of dual-use energy products or energy products used for purposes other than as fuel. “After analysing the legal elements, there should be no problem in taxing at national level products that do not fall within the scope of this directive”, the Presidency stresses.
The Presidency also provides that the sustainable biofuels and biogas other than food and feed crop biofuels and biogas may be included into category 3 during a transitional period of ten years.
Belgium also suggests adding the possibility of differentiating tax rates according to the quality of the product – as proposed by some delegations – such as diesel with different levels of sulphur content.
The Presidency also proposes to reintroduce, for a period of ten years, the possibility of differentiating between commercial and non-commercial use of energy products used as fuels, as suggested by certain delegations.
Finally, the Belgian authorities plan to retain the concept of indexation in the compromise text, but to change the timeframe; the period would then be extended from two to three years in the first year of indexation, from 2035 to 2036.
Read the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/b15 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)