§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the European Commission proposal to apply value added tax to all suppliers of postal services in the EU and end the exemption from VAT for Royal Mail and other national universal service providers of postal services under the 6th VAT Directive (77/388/EEC). [128529]
§ Mr. TimmsThis is a matter for the Treasury. I understand that the European Commission proposal (9060/03 COMM(2003)234) for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388 as regards value added tax on services provided in the postal sector was the subject of an Explanatory Memorandum deposited and sent to Scrutiny Committees by the Paymaster General on 19 May. As indicated in the Explanatory Memorandum, a Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Commission proposal will be submitted as soon as possible.