Judgment_paragraph 4 · Commission of the European Communities v French Republic (C-481/98)

4Two minor amendments were subsequently made to that provision by, in the first place, Council Directive 92/111/EEC of 14 December 1992 amending Directive 77/388 and introducing simplification measures with regard to value added tax (OJ 1992 L 384, p. 47) and, second, by Council Directive 96/95/EC of 20 December 1996 amending, with regard to the level of the standard rate of value added tax, Directive 77/338 (OJ 1996 L 338, p. 89). Article 12(3)(a) of the Sixth Directive, as amended by Directive 96/95, is worded as follows:‘The standard rate of value added tax shall be fixed by each Member State as a percentage of the taxable amount and shall be the same for the supply of goods and for the supply of services. From 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1998, this percentage may not be less than 15%....Member States may also apply either one or two reduced rates. These rates shall be fixed as a percentage of the taxable amount which may not be less than 5% and shall apply only to supplies of the categories of goods and services specified in Annex H.’