Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two similar type sections in the Bill. Section 30 deals with excise duties and this section deals with VAT. Both cover the same issue. This section amends the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act to align Irish VAT legislation with the provision for the EU VAT directive. The purpose of this is to align with a long-established EU VAT directive. The VAT directive requires member states to apply a zero rate of VAT to certain supplies of goods and services to NATO forces and, with effect from 1 July 2022, to forces of member states undertaking a common defence effort under the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy. The requirement to apply a zero rating to such supplies exists under the VAT directive at EU level. The amendment is therefore necessary to correctly transpose relevant provisions of the VAT directive into Irish legislation, irrespective of their application or otherwise within the State. This is a commitment that Ireland has to a long-standing EU directive arising from our involvement in the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Our involvement in that requires us to do this and that comes in under this particular measure.