Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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178. To ask the Minister for Finance if, following a recent ruling of the European Court of Justice that VAT should not be applied to tolls on State owned motorways, he will consider calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to postpone an increase in toll charges planned from 1 April 2017 in view of the fact they are no longer liable for VAT; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that such an increase would be damaging to the road haulage sector, which is already severely impacted by insurance costs threatening the viability of many of its businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16310/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the Court of Justice of the EU in the National Roads Authority v The Revenue Commissioners judgment decided key questions of principle in relation to the liability to VAT of tolls charged to road users by a public authority for the making available of road infrastructure (the Dublin Tunnel and the Westlink (M50) toll road), which were referred by the Appeal Commissioners.

While the case has not yet been concluded, the effect of the judgment is that VAT does not apply to tolls collected from road users by a body governed by public law which carries on an activity consisting of providing access to a road on payment of a toll. Prior to the judgment, Revenue's position was that tolls were liable to VAT at the rate of 23%, which was collected from road users by toll operators regardless of whether they were a public body or a private operator.

Following the judgment it remains that tolls collected by a body other than a body governed by public law which is engaged in the activity of making road infrastructure available on payment of a toll under national statutory provisions are liable to VAT.      

With regard to pricing of tolls charged by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, I am informed by my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, that the statutory power to levy tolls on national roads, to make toll bye-laws and to enter into agreements relating to tolls on national roads is vested in Transport Infrastructure Ireland under Part V of the Roads Act 1993 as amended.