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"B COMMISSION DECISION
of 2 July 1998
establishing certain implementing provisions for European Parliament and Council Decision No 888/98/EC
establishing a programme of Community action to improve the functioning of the indirect taxation systems of the
internal market (Fiscalis programme)
(notified under document number C(1998) 1819)
(98/467/EC)
(OJ L 206, 23.7.1998, p. 43)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Decision 2000/565/EC of 7 September 2000 L 236 35 20.9.20001998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 1
COMMISSION DECISION
of 2 July 1998
establishing certain implementing provisions for European Parliament
and Council Decision No 888/98/EC establishing a programme of
Community action to improve the functioning of the indirect taxation
systems of the internal market (Fiscalis programme)
(notified under document number C(1998) 1819)
(98/467/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Decision No 888/98/EC of the European Parliament and
Council of 30 March 1998 establishing a programme of Community action toimprove the functioning of the indirect taxation systems of the internal market(Fiscalis programme) (
1), and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Whereas certain procedures should be established for the implementation of
the exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls referred to in Article 5 ofthe above decision;
Whereas as many officials as possible should benefit from the programme;Whereas the planning and execution of these exchanges, seminars and
multilateral controls must be organised so as to maximise the benefit and
value-for-money for the Community;
Whereas certain financial provisions should be adopted to ensure the sound
financial management and control of the expenditure incurred by the
exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls, as provided for in Article 8 of
the above decision;
Whereas certain procedures should be established to guarantee the continuous
evaluation provided for in Article 12 of the above decision;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the
opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 11 of Decision No 888/98/EC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
This Decision lays down certain implementing provisions in respect of
European Parliament and Council Decision No 888/98/EC establishing a
programme of Community action to improve the functioning of the indirecttaxation systems of the internal market (Fiscalis Programme). Theseprovisions relate to:
— the organisation of the activities referred to in Article 5 of Decision No
888/98/EC,
— the financial management and control in connection with the activities
referred to in Article 4(1) and (2), Article 5 and Article 6(1)(c) ofDecision No 888/98/EC,
— the procedures for continuous evaluation and follow-up of the activities
referred to in Article 5 of Decision No 888/98/EC.
Article 2
Each Member State shall ensure that their representative to the Committee
referred to in Article 11 of Decision No 888/98/EC (‘the Committee’) shall beresponsible for the coordination of their Member State’ s fulfilment of theprovisions of this decision. Where a Member State is represented by two
representatives they shall jointly be so responsible.!B
(1) OJ L 126, 28. 4. 1998, p. 1.!M1
!B1998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 2
TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3
1. The Member States shall ensure that their officials are regularly informed
of the opportunities available under the Fiscalis programme.
2. The Member States shall ensure that all their officials chosen to
participate in exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls are able tocommunicate well in the languages used during these activities.
3. As a general rule, the Member States shall ensure that the Community
does not bear the expenses related to more than:
— one exchange per official during the programme,— one multilateral control per official in a given year,
and
— two seminars per official in a given year.
Exceptions to this general rule should be notified to the Commission in
advance. In the absence of an opinion to the contrary from the Commissionwithin 10 working days of the receipt of the notification, the Community shallbear the expenses related to the activity concerned.
4. The Member States shall choose officials from all appropriate parts of
their administrations to participate in exchanges, seminars and multilateral
controls.
5. The Member States shall ensure that their officials chosen to participate
in exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls are suitably qualified; fully
prepared in advance; and attend and participate fully in the activities involved.
6. The Member States shall communicate each year to the Commission the
number of officials in their administration they consider eligible to participatein exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls. Eligible officials shall bethose defined by Article 2(c) of Decision No 888/98/EC.
Article 4
1. Each Member State shall communicate to the Commission any duties or
tasks carried out by their own officials which their legal system does notpermit to be entrusted to an official from another Member State in the course
of an exchange or a multilateral control. The nature of the specific exclusion
shall also be communicated to the Commission. The Commission shall collatethis information and make it available to all Member States.
2. Each Member State shall ensure that officials from other Member States
shall be entrusted with all appropriate duties and tasks to be carried out during
the exchange or multilateral control that permit the fulfilment of the
objectives of the exchange or multilateral control. Each Member State shallconsider all duties and tasks carried out by their own officials holding a
similar position as potentially appropriate for an official from another
Member State to carry out, except those specifically excluded andcommunicated to the Commission in accordance with Article 4(1).
Article 5
1. The Community may only bear travel and subsistence expenses incurred
by officials in the course of exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls that
take place other than in the Member State of the official. Travel andsubsistence expenses incurred by officials in the course of exchanges,
seminars and multilateral controls that take place in their own Member State
shall be borne by the Member State concerned.
2. As a general rule, exchanges and seminars shall be completed within the
same calendar year as that in which the Community bears the related
expenses. Journeys by officials to or from other Member States related tomultilateral controls shall be completed within a period of time not exceedingeight months. The last journey, within that eight-month period, shall be
completed a the latest during the first calendar year following the year in
which the multilateral control was selected in accordance with Article 5(3) of!B
!M11998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 3
Decision No 888/98/EC for financial support from the Community.
Exceptions to this general rule should be notified to the Commission inadvance. In the absence of an opinion to the contrary from the Commissionwithin 10 working days of the receipt of the notification, the Community shall
bear the expenses related to the activity concerned.
TITLE II
EXCHANGES
Article 6
Member States shall ensure that their choice of Member States to be visited
by their officials (‘host Member States’) is geographically balanced. As a
general rule, each Member State shall send at least three officials to eachother Member State within the duration of the programme and shall ensure
that the average of the duration of all the exchanges on which they send their
officials in a given year shall not be less than two weeks. Exceptions to thisgeneral rule should be notified to the Commission before the end of Augusteach year. In the absence of an opinion to the contrary from the Commission
within 10 working days of the receipt of the notification, the Community shall
bear the expenses related to the activity concerned.
Article 7
1. Each year, the Member States shall choose: the officials to participate in
exchanges (‘exchange officials’); the objective and particular work activity ofeach proposed exchange; and potential host Member States. The number of
exchanges so selected shall be determined in the light of total amount of travel
and subsistence expenses established in accordance with Article 10(1) and (2).The exchanges chosen shall be those where the combination of exchange
official, objective and work activity, and host Member State, are most likely to
meet the general objectives of the programme, as set down in Article 3 ofDecision No 888/98/EC.
2. The Member State of origin shall ensure that each exchange official
completes an exchange proposal form, in accordance with the model
established by the Commission, indicating the objectives of the exchangeand the professional experience of the candidate. The Member State of origin
shall ensure that the objectives and particular work activity of the exchange
have been discussed and agreed with the superior manager of the exchangeofficial.
3. For each selected candidate, the Member State of origin shall send the
completed exchange proposal form to any appropriate host Member States
that have been identified.
4. Within
"M1four weeks 3of receipt of the exchange proposal form,
the host Member State shall, as a general rule, confirm to the origin Member
State that the exchange will take place on the basis of the exchange proposalform. The name and contact details of an official who will organise the
exchange (‘host official’) shall also be communicated to the Member State of
origin. If the host Member State is unable to confirm the exchange within the
"M1four weeks 3, the Commission shall be notified by the host Member
State.
5. Both Member States shall ensure that the exchange official and the host
official reach agreement in advance of the exchange on the objectives andparticular work activity of the exchange; the duties to be entrusted to the
exchange official by the host administration; any linguistic or specific
professional requirements; the date of the exchange and any other relevantdetails.
6. The host Member State shall take any other necessary steps to ensure that
in its planning and execution of the exchange, the exchange official plays an
effective part in the activities of the host administration.!M1
!B1998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 4
7. The host Member State shall take any necessary steps to ensure that
during the exchange, the civil liability of the exchange official in theperformance of his duties shall be treated in the same way as that of officialsof the host Member State. The Member State of origin and the host Member
State shall take any steps they consider necessary to ensure that the exchange
official is bound by the same rules of professional secrecy as officials of thehost Member State during the exchange.
TITLE III
SEMINARS
Article 8
1. No more than 15 seminars may be organised in any given year. Proposals
for seminars may be made by the Member States or the Commission in
accordance with the model established by the Commission. The seminarschosen shall be those which are most likely to meet the general objectives of
the Programme, as set down in Article 3 of Decision No 888/98/EC.
Seminars may be organised jointly with bodies other than indirect taxation
administrations, provided that expenses relating to the organisation of such ajoint seminar are shared pro-rata and that the joint seminar is likely to meet
the general objectives of the Programme, as set down in Article 3 of Decision
No 888/98/EC.
2. Seminars may last between two and three working days, as appropriate.3. The travel and subsistence expenses of two representatives from each
Member State (but not including the host Member State) and no more than
five outside experts may be borne by the Community for each seminar. The
Commission and the host Member State may agree to permit morerepresentatives from any or all of the Member States to attend the seminar,
without their expenses being borne by the Community. In addition the travel
and subsistence expenses for one day for one official from no more than fiveMember States other than the host Member State may also be borne by theCommunity for a preparatory meeting for each seminar. The Commission and
the host Member State shall agree jointly on the need for such a meeting.
4. The Community shall bear other expenses relating to the organisation of
seminars not covered by the travel and subsistence expenses of officials andagreed between the Commission and the host Member State in accordancewith paragraph 5. The Member States’ administrations shall pay the
supplier(s) using funds provided for that purpose for services contracted
relating to the organisation of seminars following the appropriate guidelinesestablished by the Commission.
5. The venue for each seminar and the supply of any equipment or facilities
required shall be agreed between the Commission and the host Member State,
taking into account: accessibility from other Member States; availability ofappropriate facilities and value-for-money; and the rates in force forreimbursement of subsistence expenses for the host Member State.
6. Each seminar shall be jointly planned and executed by the Commission
and the host Member State to ensure the greatest possible active participationand involvement of the participants.
TITLE IV
MULTILATERAL CONTROLS
Article 9
1. As a general rule, the Community may only bear the travel and
subsistence expenses entailed by a maximum of two return journeys toanother Member State, per official, per multilateral control and a total of 10
days subsistence per official per multilateral control. Exceptions to this
general rule should be notified to the Commission in advance. In the absenceof an opinion to the contrary from the Commission within 10 working days of!B
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!B1998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 5
the receipt of the notification, the Community shall bear the expenses related
to the activity concerned. The Community may only bear the travel andsubsistence expenses in this way of two officials per Member State, permultilateral control.
2. The number of multilateral controls chosen, for which the travel and
subsistence expenses shall be borne by the Community, shall be determined in
the light of total amount of travel and subsistence expenses established inaccordance with Article 10(1) and (2). The multilateral controls chosen shallbe those which are most likely to meet the general objectives of the
programme, as set down in Article 3 of Decision No 888/98/EC.
Each proposal for a multilateral control shall be evaluated on the basis of the
following information supplied by the proposing Member State to theCommission and all other Member States:
— the industrial sector and approximate size of the taxable person or
persons to be controlled,
— the justification for a multilateral control,— the justification for the Community to bear some of the expenses, in
relation to the general objectives of the programme, as set down in Article3 of Decision No 888/98/EC,
— and any other relevant information.In addition, the proposing Member State shall simultaneously inform all other
Member States where the taxable person or persons involved have or may
possibly have fiscal obligations, of the identity of the taxable person or
persons to be controlled.
3. For each multilateral control for which it has been agreed that the
Community will bear some of the expenses, the Member State whichproposed the control shall be responsible for the planning and execution of the
multilateral control, in consultation with the other participating Member
States. In accordance with paragraph one, the multilateral controls may not, asa general rule, entail more than two journeys to another Member State for the
officials involved.
TITLE V
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Article 10
1. The total amount incurred by each Member State that may be borne by
the Community in a given year shall be determined by the Commission,taking into account:
— the annual budgetary appropriations authorised for the Fiscalis Pro-
gramme,
— the appropriations required for Fiscalis activities other than exchanges,
seminars and multilateral controls,
— the appropriations required to reimburse the cost of participation of
officials and outside experts at seminars,
— the number of officials in each Member State eligible to participate in the
activities of the Programme (in accordance with Article 3(6)),
— the number of Member States,— any adjustments made in accordance with paragraph 2; and in the light of
the reports referred to in paragraph 10,
— and the number of taxable persons in each Member State making
intra-Community supplies.
2. The total amount of expenses for activities referred to in Article 1, second
indent that may be borne by the Community for each Member State may beadjusted throughout the year. Such adjustments shall be justified in the light
of the reports of actual and forecast expenditure referred to in paragraph 9 of
this Article.!B
!M11998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 6
3. If the total amount of expenses incurred in a given year by the officials of
a Member State in the course of exchanges, seminars and multilateral controlsexceeds the total amount for that Member State determined according toparagraphs 1 and 2, the additional amount of expenses shall be borne by the
Member State concerned, in accordance with Article 8(3)a of Decision
No 888/98/EC.
4. The Member States shall ensure that their officials participating in
exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls are appropriately insured
against any moral, material or bodily harm they may incur in the course of the
journey to or from, or stay in, the place where the exchanges, seminars andmultilateral controls are carried out. In particular, an official using his own car
shall remain liable for any accidents to his car or to third parties in accordance
with the laws in force where any such accident occurs. No moral, material orbodily harm incurred by an official in the course of the journey to or from orstay in the place where the exchanges, seminars and multilateral controls are
carried out may be the subject of a claim against the Community.
5. The Member States shall reimburse on behalf of the Community the
travel and subsistence expenses incurred by officials in the course ofexchanges, seminars or multilateral controls up to the total amount of traveland subsistence expense established in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2.
The Member States shall ensure that only expenses incurred in accordance
with the rules set down in the appropriate guidelines established by theCommission are reimbursed.
6. The Commission shall in turn reimburse the Member States the expenses
they have reimbursed on behalf of the Community in accordance with
paragraph 5. A maximum of 60 % of the total amount that the Communitywill bear for each Member State will be paid to each Member State at the
beginning of the year. Further payments to the Member States may be made
subsequently, as necessary and to cover other actions under Article 1, secondindent, carried out on behalf of the Community by Member States. Thesesubsequent payments may be withheld until the Commission considers that all
the provisions of this Decision, in particular paragraphs 9 and 10 of this
Article and of Article 11, have been fulfilled.
7. All funds paid to the Member States by the Commission shall be made in
the currency of the Community budget for the given year. The Member States
may reimburse the expenses in any appropriate Community currency,
provided that only the official conversion rates established by the Commissionare applied. The Member States shall bear any costs incurred in converting
currency.
8. The Member States shall preserve either in the original or in electronic
form for five years all necessary supporting documentation or relatedinformation.
Inspection shall be carried out, in accordance with the procedures laid down
in the Financial Regulation (
1), by Commission officials representing the
Authorising Officer by means of examination of the files related to themanagement of the funds received in relation to the activities of theProgramme and, if necessary, on the spot.
9. Each Member State shall send to the Commission before the end of
August each year, a report of actual and forecast expenditure on travel andsubsistence, in accordance with a Commission model.
10. Each Member State shall send to the Commission before 20 February
each year, a report of actual expenditure on travel and subsistence in the
preceding year, in accordance with a Commission model.
11. If, in exceptional circumstances, any of the funds paid to a Member State
remain unspent they shall, with the prior agreement of the Commission, be
considered as part of the payment of the amount of the following year. Thefirst payment of the following year shall be reduced by the correspondingamount. The Commission may, alternatively, recover any unspent funds from
the Member States.!B
(1) OJ L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1.!M1
!B
!M1
!B1998D0467 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 7
TITLE VI
REPORTS AND EV ALUATION
Article 11
1."M1The Member States shall ensure that the evaluation forms in
accordance with the model established by the Commission are completed andcountersigned and communicated to the Commission within the deadlinesindicated:
3
— evaluation of the exchange by the exchange official (within two weeks of
the completion of the exchange). This shall also be sent to the host
Member State,
— evaluation of the exchange by the host official (within two weeks of the
completion of the exchange). This shall also be sent to the origin MemberState,
— evaluation of the exchange by the superior manager of the exchange
official (within six months of the completion of the exchange),
— evaluation of the seminar by each participant (before departure from the
seminar),
— evaluation of the seminar by each Member State (within six months of the
completion of the seminar),
— evaluation of each multilateral control by the Member States involved
(within two months of the completion of the control).
2. The Commission and the Member States, as appropriate, shall ensure that
the following reports are completed. The Member States shall ensure that
these reports are circulated throughout their administration, as appropriate.
— report of the exchange by the exchange official,
— report of the seminar by one participant per Member State,— report of the seminar drawn up by the Commission and the host Member
State. This report shall be sent to all Member States within three monthsof the completion of the seminar and shall be subsequently discussed by
the Committee,
— report of each multilateral control by the leading Member State. This
report shall be sent to the Commission before the end of the eighth monthof the second calendar year following the year in which the multilateral
control was selected in accordance with Article 5(3) of Decision No
888/98/EC for financial support from the Community. The Commissionshall forward the report to all Member States and it shall subsequently bediscussed by the Committee.
Article 12
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 January 1998.
Article 13
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.!B
!M1
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