French General Tax Code
In forceI. - Intra-Community acquisitions of new means of transport made by persons mentioned in 2° of I of article 256 bis or by any other non-taxable person.
II. - The supply by a taxable person of a new means of transport dispatched or transported within the territory of another Member State of the European Community is exempt from value added tax.
III. - (1) The following are considered to be means of transport: boats with a length of more than 7.5 metres, aircraft with a total take-off weight of more than 1,550 kilograms and motorised land vehicles with a cubic capacity of more than 48 cubic centimetres or a power of more than 7.2 kilowatts, intended for the transport of persons or goods, with the exception of the boats and aircraft referred to in 2° and 4° of II of Article 262.
2. The following are considered to be new means of transport:
a. boats and aircraft delivered within three months of first entry into service or which have sailed less than 100 hours or flown less than 40 hours respectively;
b. land vehicles delivered within six months of first entry into service or which have travelled less than 6,000 kilometres.
IV. - Any person who occasionally supplies a new means of transport dispatched or transported within the territory of another Member State of the European Community, to the purchaser, by the vendor, by the purchaser or on their behalf, in accordance with the conditions set out in II, shall be deemed to be a taxable person.
V. - The right to deduct arises at the time of supply of the new means of transport.
The taxable person may obtain a refund of the value added tax invoiced or paid in respect of the supply, importation or intra-Community acquisition of this new means of transport. The refund may not exceed the amount of value added tax that would be due if the supply were not exempt.
Va. - Any taxable person or non-taxable legal entity, other than a person benefiting from the derogation scheme provided for in 2° of I of Article 256 bis, who makes intra-Community acquisitions of means of transport mentioned in 1 of III is required, in order to obtain the tax certificate before actually paying the tax, to present a solvent surety who undertakes, jointly and severally with the taxable person or non-taxable legal entity, to pay the value added tax due in respect of the intra-Community acquisition.
The taxable person or non-taxable legal entity referred to in the first paragraph may, however, request to be exempted from the obligation to present proof if he offers sufficient guarantees of solvency. A decision shall be taken on the request for exemption within thirty days.
In the event that the taxable person or non-taxable legal entity has not presented a solvent surety or offered sufficient guarantees of solvency, the tax certificate shall not be issued to him until the tax has actually been paid.
V ter. - Payment of the value added tax due in respect of the intra-Community acquisition, by a non-taxable individual, of a new means of transport mentioned in 2 of III, must be made to the Treasury, or by a cheque made payable to the Treasury, by the purchaser. If an agent is used, the agent must inform the principal of this obligation, in writing, when the contract is signed, failing which the contract will be null and void, under conditions set by decree.
VI. - The provisions of article 297 A do not apply to the supply of new means of transport referred to in II.
VII. - A Conseil d'Etat decree sets out the conditions for applying the provisions of this article and, in particular, where necessary, the measures enabling new means of transport to be identified in order to ensure control.
>VII.
