EU takes Britain to top court over commodities tax breaks

BRUSSELS, Jan 27 (AFP): The European Commission recently took Britain to the bloc's top court for allegedly breaching rules on tax breaks in commodities trading, just two months before Brexit day.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, said it acted because Britain has improperly broadened a Value Added Tax exemption to commodities that were not originally covered under decades-old rules.

"The Commission decided to refer the United Kingdom (UK) to the Court of Justice of the EU for extending the scope of a VAT measure which allows VAT derogations for certain commodity markets," the Commission said.

The decision comes amid growing doubts over whether Prime Minister Theresa May can win support for the Brexit deal she negotiated with the EU and avoid having Britain crash out of the bloc without a deal on March 29 deadline.