Brussels, 10/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has sent formal requests for information to the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden on the VAT application of postal services. The United Kingdom and Germany exempt from VAT all or most postal services supplied by their former postal monopolies on the grounds that those operators have been assigned particular obligations with regards to the provision of the universal postal service. This creates a distortion in competition between former monopolies and market entrants. Unlike the United Kingdom and Germany, Sweden does not exempt postal services. All operators, including the one entrusted with the provision of the universal service - Posten AB - must charge VAT. While in this way ensuring that VAT does not distort competition, Sweden has nevertheless failed to apply an exemption which remains in Community legislation and must be applied in a harmonised manner across the Community. Since VAT rules on postal services are not yet modernised due to no agreement yet reached in the Council on the Commission's proposals, the European Commission argues that the postal VAT exemption should only apply as far as the strict discharge of the universal service obligation is concerned. While awaiting revisions of the legislation, the Commission is continuing to monitor effective application of the VAT exoneration on postal services to prevent distortions to competition between the former monopolies and new market entrants.