Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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217. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount of revenue is collected from VAT on public service obligation levies in energy bills; and if it is possible to remove this VAT. [5709/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the information furnished on VAT returns does not require the yield from particular activities or sectors of trade to be identified. The amount of VAT collected in respect of public service obligation levies cannot be identified in the overall yield of VAT.

I am further advised by the Revenue Commissioners that VAT is an EU-wide tax and Irish VAT law must comply with the EU VAT Directives. Article 78 of EU Council Directive 2006/112/EC provides that the taxable amount shall include "taxes, duties, levies and charges, excluding the VAT itself". This is transposed in section 37(1) of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 which provides that the amount on which Value-Added Tax is chargeable is the total consideration receivable by the supplier, "including all taxes, commissions, costs and charges whatsoever" but not including the Value-Added Tax itself.  Accordingly, it is not possible to change Irish VAT law to exclude the public service obligation levies from the application of VAT.