THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 113 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament [OJ C,, p..],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee [OJ C,, p..],

Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) The rise of the digital economy has significantly impacted on the operation of the Union VAT system, as it is unsuited to the new digital business models, and does not allow for the full use of the data generated by digitalisation. Council Directive 2006/112/EC [Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1).] should be amended to take account of this evolution.

(2) The VAT reporting obligations should be adapted to address the challenges of the platform economy and to reduce the need for multiple VAT registrations in the Union.