The Council Implementing Decision to authorize Latvia's derogation from Article 287 of the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC) regarding its VAT registration threshold was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 21 December 2017. The decision authorizes Latvia to apply an annual VAT registration threshold of EUR 40,000 (reduced from EUR 50,000) effective from 1 January 2018 until the earlier of 31 December 2020 or the entry into force of a Directive amending the provisions of the VAT Directive on a special scheme for small enterprises.