WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3591/97 by Yves VERWAERDE to the Commission. Films with the biggest box office receipts in Spain
C 196/8 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 6. 98 (98/C 196/13) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3591/97 by Yves Verwaerde (PPE) to the Commission (13 November 1997) Subject: Films with the biggest box office receipts in Spain I should like to be provided with a list of the films, by nationality, which achieved the biggest box office receipts in Spain in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (2 February 1998) The Commission is sending the information requested direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliamentís Secretariat. (98/C 196/14) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3648/97 by Armelle Guinebertie‘re (UPE) to the Commission (19 November 1997) Subject: Unfair competition because of the VAT system A French supplier of material for rabbit breeders is disadvantaged by the VAT system which is applied differently depending on whether the supplier is French or a national of another state of the Union. In the latter case the material is sold tax-free for delivery at the beginning of 1998; the breeder will not declare his VAT until the beginning of 1999 and will not pay the 20. 6% VAT for 12 to 18 months, the French state acting as intermediary. If, however, the material is bought from a French supplier the breeder must pay the VAT on acquisition. There then arises a situation of unfair competition caused by the French tax authorities to the disadvantage of French contractors. How will the Commission ensure more favourable conditions of competition, specifically as regards the application of VAT? Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (6 January 1998) The situation described by the Honourable Member is the result of differences between the rules that apply to intra-Community trade and those that apply to sales effected within the territory of a Member State. Although, in accordance with the basic principles underlying the operation of the VAT system, only the taxable person selling goods or services assumes the charges and obligations necessary to ensure proper application of the system, the transitional VAT arrangements provide for a derogation from those principles in the case of intra-Community sales of goods and render the buyer liable for the VAT payable in the Member State of arrival of the goods. In certain extreme situations, the resulting difference in tax treatment is prejudicial to domestic sales within a Member State. In its report on the transitional VAT arrangements for intra-Community trade (1), the Commission drew attention to the damage done by those arrangements to the essential features of VAT. In its communication A common system of VAT: A programme for the single market (2), the Commission, after describing the limitations