1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B ►M4 COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of15March1976
on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain levies, duties, taxes and other
measures
(76/308/EEC) ◄
(OJ L 73, 19.3.1976, p. 18)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 79/1071/EEC of 6 December 1979 L 331 10 27.12.1979
►M2Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 L 76 1 23.3.1992
►M3 amended by Council Directive 92/108/EEC of 14 December 1992 L 390 124 31.12.1992
►M4Council Directive 2001/44/EC of 15 June 2001 L 175 17 28.6.2001
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A2Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A3Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
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►M4 COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of15March1976
on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain
levies,duties,taxesandothermeasures
(76/308/EEC) ◄
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April
1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(1), aslas t
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2788/72(2), and in particular Article
8 (3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(
3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(4),
Whereas it is not at present possible to enforce in one Member State a
claim for recovery substantiated by a document drawn up by the autho-
ritiesof another Member State;
Whereasthe fact that national provis ionsrelating to recovery are
applicable only within national territories is in itself an obstacle to theestablishment and functioning of the common market; whereas thissituation prevents Community rules from being fully and fairly applied,particularly in the area of the common agricultural policy, and facili-
tatesfraudulent operations ;
Whereas it is therefore necessary to adopt common rules on mutual
assistance for recovery;
Whereas these rules must apply both to the recovery of claims resulting
from the various measures which form part of the system of total orpartial financing of the European Agricultural Guidance and GuaranteeFund and to the recovery of agricultural leviesand cus tomsdutieswithin the meaning of Article 2 of Decision 70/243/ECSC, EEC,
Euratom of 21 April 1970 on the replacement of financial contributions
from Member States by the Communities' own resources(
5), and of
Article 128 of the Act of Accession; whereas they must also apply tothe recovery of interest and costs incidental to such claims;
Whereas mutual assistance must consist of the following: the requested
authority must on the one hand supply the applicant authority with the
information which the latter needsin order to recover claimsaris ing in
the Member State in which it iss ituated and notify the debtor of allinstruments relating to such claims emanating from that Member State,and on the other hand it must recover, at the request of the applicantauthority, the claimsaris ing in the Member State in which the latter issituated;
Whereas these different forms of assistance must be afforded by the
requested authority in compliance with the laws, regulations andadministrative provisions governing such matters in the Member Statein which it iss ituated;
Whereas it is necessary to lay down the conditions in accordance with
which requests for assistance must be drawn up by the applicantauthority and to give a limitative definition of the particular circum-1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.
(2) OJ No L 295, 30. 12. 1972, p. 1.
(3) OJ No C 19, 12. 4. 1973, p. 38.
(4) OJ No C 69, 28. 8. 1973, p. 3.
(5) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 19.
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stances in which the requested authority may refuse assistance in any
given case;
Whereaswhen the reques ted authority isrequired to act on behalf of
the applicant authority to recover a claim, it must be able, if the provi-
sions in force in the Member State in which it is situated so permit and
with the agreement of the applicant authority, to allow the debtor timeto pay or authorize payment by instalment; whereas any interestcharged on such payment facilities must also be remitted to theMember State in which the applicant authority iss ituated;
Whereas, upon a reasoned request from the applicant authority, the
requested authority must also be able, in so far as the provisions in
force in the Member State in which it is situated so permit, to take
precautionary measures to guarantee the recovery of claims arising inthe applicant Member State; whereas such claims must not howeverbe given any preferential treatment in the Member State in which therequested authority is situated;
Whereas it is possible that during the recovery procedure in the
Member State in which the requested authority is situated the claim orthe instrument authorizing its enforcement issued in the Member State
in which the applicant authority is situated may be contested by the
person concerned; whereas it should be laid down in such cases thatthe person concerned must bring the action contesting the claim beforethe competent body of the Member State in which the applicantauthority is situated and that the requested authority must suspend any
enforcement proceedingswhich it hasbegun until a decis ion istaken
by the aforementioned body;
Whereasit s hould be laid down that documentsand information
communicated in the course of mutual assistance for recovery maynot be used for other purposes;
Whereas this Directive should not curtail mutual assistance between
particular Member Statesunder bilateral or multilateral agreementsorarrangements;
Whereas it is necessary to ensure that mutual assistance functions
smoothly and to this end to lay down a Community procedure fordetermining the detailed rules for the application of such assistance
within an appropriate period; whereas it is necessary to set up a
committee to organize close and effective collaboration between theMember States and the Commission in this area,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
ThisDirective laysdown the rulesto be incorporated into the laws ,
regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States toensure the recovery in each Member State of the claims referred to inArticle 2 which arise in another Member State.
Article 2
ThisDirective s hall apply to all claimsrelating to:
(a) refunds, interventions and other measures forming part of the
system of total or partial financing of the European AgriculturalGuidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), including sums to becollected in connection with these actions;
(b) leviesand other dutiesprovided for under the common organis ation
of the market for the sugar sector;
(c) import duties;
(d) export duties;
(e) value added tax;1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 3
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(f) excise duties on:
— manufactured tobacco,
— alcohol and alcoholic beverages,
— mineral oils;
(g) taxeson income and capital;
(h) taxes on insurance premiums;
(i) interest, administrative penalties and fines, and costs incidental to
the claimsreferred to in points(a) to (h), with the exclus ion of
any sanction of a criminal nature as determined by the laws inforce in the Member State in which the requested authority is situ-ated.
Article 3
In thisDirective:
— ‘applicant authority’ meansthe competent authority of a Member
State which makes a request for assistance concerning a claimreferred to in Article 2;
— ‘requested authority’ means the competent authority of a Member
State to which a request for assistance is made;
— ‘import duties’ means customs duties and charges having equivalent
effect on imports, and import charges laid down within the frame-work of the common agricultural policy or in that of specificarrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the proces-
sing of agricultural products;
— ‘export duties’ means customs duties and charges having equivalent
effect on exports, and export charges laid down within the frame-
work of the common agricultural policy or in that of specific
arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the proces-sing of agricultural products;
— ‘taxeson income and capital’ meansthos e enumerated in Article
1(3) of Directive 77/799/EEC(
1), read in conjunction with Article
1(4) of that Directive;
— ‘taxes on insurance premiums’ means:
in Austria: (i) Versicherungssteuer
(ii) Feuerschutzsteuer
in Belgium: (i) Taxe annuelle sur les contrats
d'assurance
(ii) Jaarlijkse taks op de verzekerings-
contracten
in Germany: (i) Versicherungssteuer
(ii) Feuerschutzsteuer
in Denmark: (i) Afgift af lystfartøjsforsikringer
(ii) Afgift af ansvarsforsikringer for
motorkøretøjer m.v.
(iii) Stempelafgift af forsikringspræ-
mier
in Spain: Impuesto sobre la prima de segurosin Greece: (i) Φòρος κύκλου εργασιών
(Φ.Κ.Ε)
(ii)Τέλη Χαρτοσήµου
in France: Taxe sur les conventions d'assurances1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 4
(1) Council Directive 77/799/EEC of 19 December 1977 concerning mutual
assistance by the competent authorities of the Member States in the field
of direct taxation (OJ L 336, 27.12.1977, p. 15). Directive aslas t amended
by the 1994 Act of Accession.▼B
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in Finland: (i) Eräistä vakuutusmaksuista suoritet-
tava vero/skatt på vissaförsäkringspremier
(ii) Palosuojelumaksu/brandskyddsav-
gift
in Italy: Imposte sulle assicurazioni private ed i
contratti vitalizi di cui alla legge29.10.1967 No 1216
in Ireland: levy on insurance premiumsin Luxembourg: (i) Impôt sur les assurances
(ii) Impôt dansl'interêt du s ervice
d'incendie
in the Netherlands: Assurantiebelastingin Portugal: Imposto de selo sobre os prémios de
seguros
in Sweden: nonein the United Kingdom: insurance premium tax (IPT).
This Directive shall also apply to claims relating to identical or
analogoustaxeswhich s upplement or replace the taxeson ins urancepremiumsreferred to in the s ixth indent. The competent authoritiesof the Member Statess hall communicate to each other and to theCommission the dates of entry into force of such taxes.
Article 4
1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority
shall provide any information which would be useful to the applicantauthority in the recovery of itsclaim.
In order to obtain this information, the requested authority shall make
use of the powers provided under the laws, regulations or administra-tive provisions applying to the recovery of similar claims arising inthe Member State where that authority iss ituated.
2. The request for information shall indicate ►
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address and any other relevant information relating to the identificationto which the applicant authority normally hasacces s ◄of the person
to whom the information to be provided relatesand the nature andamount of the claim in respect of which the request is made.
3. The requested authority shall not be obliged to supply informa-
tion:
(a) which it would not be able to obtain for the purpose of recovering
similar claims arising in the Member State in which it is situated;
(b) which would disclose any commercial, industrial or professional
secrets; or
(c) the disclosure of which would be liable to prejudice the security of
or be contrary to the public policy of the State.
4. The requested authority shall inform the applicant authority of the
grounds for refusing a request for information.
Article 5
1. The requested authority shall, at the request of the applicant
authority, and in accordance with the rulesof law in force for the noti-
fication of similar instruments or decisions in the Member State inwhich the requested authority is situated, notify to the addressee allinstruments and decisions, including those of a judicial nature, whichemanate from the Member State in which the applicant authority issituated and which relate to a claim and/or to its recovery.1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 5
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2. The request for notification shall indicate ►M4the name,
address and any other relevant information relating to the identificationto which the applicant authority normally hasacces s ◄of the
addressee concerned, the nature and the subject of the instrument or
decision to be notified, if necessary ►
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other relevant information relating to the identification to which theapplicant authority normally hasacces s ◄of the debtor and the claim
to which the instrument or decision relates, and any other useful infor-
mation.
3. The requested authority shall promptly inform the applicant
authority of the action taken on itsreques t for notification and, moreespecially, of the date on which the instrument or decision wasforwarded to the addressee.
Article 6
1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority
shall, in accordance with the laws, regulations or administrative provi-sions applying to the recovery of similar claims arising in the MemberState in which the requested authority is situated, recover claims whichare the subject of an instrument permitting their enforcement.
2. For this purpose any claim in respect of which a request for
recovery hasbeen made s hall be treated asa claim of the Member
State in which the requested authority is situated, except where Article12 applies.
Article 7
1. The request for recovery of a claim which the applicant authority
addresses to the requested authority must be accompanied by an offi-cial or certified copy of the instrument permitting its enforcement,issued in the Member State in which the applicant authority is situatedand, if appropriate, by the original or a certified copy of other docu-
ments necessary for recovery.
2. The applicant authority may not make a request for recovery
unless:
(a) the claim and/or the instrument permitting its enforcement are not
contested in the Member State in which it is situated, except incases where the second subparagraph of Article 12(2) is applied,
(b) it has, in the Member State in which it is situated, applied appro-
priate recovery proceduresavailable to it on the bas isof theinstrument referred to in paragraph 1, and the measures taken will
not result in the payment in full of the claim.
3. The request for recovery shall indicate:
(a) the name, address and any other relevant information relating to the
identification of the person concerned and/or to the third partyholding his or her assets;
(b) the name, address and any other relevant information relating to the
identification of the applicant authority;
(c) a reference to the instrument permitting its enforcement issued in
the Member State in which the applicant authority iss ituated;
(d) the nature and the amount of the claim, including the principal, the
interest, and any other penalties, fines and costs due indicated inthe currenciesof the Member Statesin which both authoritiesaresituated;
(e) the date of notification of the instrument to the addressee by the
applicant authority and/or by the requested authority;
(f) the date from which and the period during which enforcement is
possible under the laws in force in the Member State in which the
applicant authority iss ituated;
(g) any other relevant information.1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 6
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4. The request for recovery shall also contain a declaration by the
applicant authority confirming that the conditionss et out in paragraph2 have been fulfilled.
5. Ass oon asany relevant information relating to the matter which
gave rise to the request for recovery comes to the knowledge of theapplicant authority it shall forward it to the requested authority.
Article 8
1. The instrument permitting enforcement of the claim shall be
directly recognised and automatically treated as an instrument permit-
ting enforcement of a claim of the Member State in which therequested authority is situated.
2. Notwithstanding the first paragraph, the instrument permitting
enforcement of the claim may, where appropriate and in accordance
with the provisions in force in the Member State in which the
requested authority is situated, be accepted as, recognised as, supple-mented with, or replaced by an instrument authorising enforcement inthe territory of that Member State.
Within three monthsof the date of receipt of the reques t for recovery,
Member States shall endeavour to complete such acceptance, recogni-
tion, supplementing or replacement, except in cases where the thirdsubparagraph is applied. They may not be refused if the instrumentpermitting enforcement isproperly drawn up. The reques ted authorityshall inform the applicant authority of the grounds for exceeding theperiod of three months.
If any of these formalities should give rise to contestation in connec-
tion with the claim and/or the instrument permitting enforcementissued by the applicant authority, Article 12 shall apply.
Article 9
1. Claimss hall be recovered in the currency of the Member State in
which the requested authority is situated. The entire amount of the
claim that is recovered by the requested authority shall be remitted bythe requested authority to the applicant authority.
2. The requested authority may, where the laws, regulations or
administrative provisions in force in the Member State in which it is
situated so permit, and after consultations with the applicant authority,
allow the debtor time to pay or authorise payment by instalment. Anyinterest charged by the requested authority in respect of such extra timeto pay shall also be remitted to the Member State in which the appli-cant authority iss ituated.
From the date on which the instrument permitting enforcement of
recovery of the claim hasbeen directly recognis ed or accepted, recog-nised, supplemented or replaced in accordance with Article 8, interestwill be charged for late payment under the laws, regulations andadministrative provisions in force in the Member State in which therequested authority is situated and shall also be remitted to the Member
State in which the applicant authority iss ituated.
Article 10
Notwithstanding Article 6(2), the claims to be recovered shall not
necessarily benefit from the privileges accorded to similar claimsarising in the Member State in which the requested authority is situ-ated.
Article 11
The requested authority shall inform the applicant authority immedi-
ately of the action it hastaken on the reques t for recovery.1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 7
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Article 12
1. If, in the course of the recovery procedure, the claim and/or the
instrument permitting its enforcement issued in the Member State inwhich the applicant authority is situated are contested by an interested
party, the action shall be brought by the latter before the competent
body of the Member State in which the applicant authority iss ituated,in accordance with the lawsin force there. Thisaction mus t be notifiedby the applicant authority to the requested authority. The partyconcerned may also notify the requested authority of the action.
2. As soon as the requested authority has received the notification
referred to in paragraph 1 either from the applicant authority or from
the interested party, it shall suspend the enforcement procedure pending
the decision of the body competent in the matter ►
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applicant authority requests otherwise in accordance with the secondsubparagraph ◄. Should the requested authority deem it necessary,
and without prejudice to Article 13, that authority may take precau-tionary measures to guarantee recovery in so far as the laws or
regulationsin force in the Member State in which it iss ituated allow
such action for similar claims.
Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, the applicant
authority may in accordance with the law, regulationsand adminis tra-tive practicesin force in the Member State in which it iss ituated,request the requested authority to recover a contested claim, in so far
as the relevant laws, regulations and administrative practices in force
in the Member State in which the requested authority is situated allowsuch action. If the result of contestation is subsequently favourable tothe debtor, the applicant authority shall be liable for the reimbursementof any sums recovered, together with any compensation due, in accor-dance with the lawsin force in the Member State in which the
requested authority is situated.
3. Where it isthe enforcement meas urestaken in the Member State
in which the requested authority is situated that are being contested theaction shall be brought before the competent body of that MemberState in accordance with itslawsand regulations .
4. Where the competent body before which the action hasbeen
brought in accordance with paragraph 1 isa judicial or adminis trativetribunal, the decision of that tribunal, in so far as it is favourable to the
applicant authority and permitsrecovery of the claim in the Member
State in which the applicant authority is situated shall constitute the‘instrument permitting enforcement’ within the meaning of Articles 6,7 and 8 and the recovery of the claim shall proceed on the basis of thatdecision.
Article 13
On a reasoned request by the applicant authority, the requested
authority shall take precautionary measures to ensure recovery of aclaim in so far as the laws or regulations in force in the Member State
in which it is situated so permit.
In order to give effect to the provisions of the first paragraph, Articles
6, 7 (1), (3) and (5), 8, 11, 12 and 14 shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Article 14
The requested authority shall not be obliged:
(a) to grant the assistance provided for in Articles 6 to 13 if recovery
of the claim would, because of the situation of the debtor, create
serious economic or social difficulties in the Member State inwhich that authority is situated, in so far as the laws, regulationsand administrative practices in force in the Member State in whichthe requested authority is situated allow such action for similarnational claims;1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 8
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(b) to grant the assistance provided for in Articles 4 to 13, if the initial
request under Article 4, 5 or 6 applies to claims more than fiveyearsold, dating from the moment the ins trument permitting the
recovery is established in accordance with the laws, regulations or
administrative practices in force in the Member State in which theapplicant authority is situated, to the date of the request. However,in cases where the claim or the instrument is contested, the timelimit beginsfrom the moment at which the applicant State es tab-
lishes that the claim or the enforcement order permitting recovery
may no longer be contested.
The requested authority shall inform the applicant authority of the
grounds for refusing a request for assistance. Such reasoned refusal
shall also be communicated to the Commission.
Article 15
1. Questions concerning periods of limitation shall be governed
solely by the laws in force in the Member State in which the applicantauthority iss ituated.
2. Stepstaken in the recovery of claimsby the reques ted authority
in pursuance of a request for assistance, which, if they had been carried
out by the applicant authority, would have had the effect of suspendingor interrupting the period of limitation according to the lawsin force inthe Member State in which the applicant authority is situated, shall bedeemed to have been taken in the latter State, in so far as that effect isconcerned.
Article 16
Documents and information sent to the requested authority pursuant to
thisDirective may only be communicated by the latter to:
(a) the person mentioned in the request for assistance;
(b) those persons and authorities responsible for the recovery of the
claims, and solely for that purpose;
(c) the judicial authoritiesdealing with mattersconcerning the
recovery of the claims.
Article 17
Requests for assistance ►
M4the instrument permitting the enforce-
ment and other relevant documents ◄shall be accompanied by a
translation in the official language, or one of the official languages ofthe Member State in which the requested authority is situated, withoutprejudice to the latter authority'sright to waive the trans lation.
Article 18
1. The requested authority shall recover from the person concerned
and retain any costs linked to recovery which it incurs, in accordancewith the lawsand regulationsof the Member State in which it iss itu-ated that apply to similar claims.
2. Member Statess hall renounce all claimson each other for the
refund of costs resulting from mutual assistance which they grant eachother pursuant to this Directive.
3. Where recovery poses a specific problem, concerns a very large
amount in costs or relates to the fight against organised crime, the
applicant and requested authorities may agree reimbursement arrange-
ments specific to the cases in question.
4. The Member State in which the applicant authority iss ituated
shall remain liable to the Member State in which the requestedauthority is situated for any costs and any losses incurred as a resultof actions held to be unfounded, as far as either the substance of the1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 9
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claim or the validity of the instrument issued by the applicant authority
are concerned.
Article 19
Member States shall provide each other with a list of authorities
authorized to make or receive requests for assistance.
Article 20
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a recovery committee (here-
inafter referred to as ‘the Committee’), composed of representatives of
the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commis-
sion.
2. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.
The period referred to in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
Article 21
The committee may examine any matter concerning the application of
thisDirective rais ed by itschairman either on hisown initiative or atthe request of the representative of a Member State.
Article 22
The detailed rulesfor implementing Articles4(2) and (4), 5(2) and (3)
and Articles7, 8, 9, 11, 12(1) and (2), 14, 18(3) and 25 and for deter-
mining the meansby which communicationsbetween the authoritiesmay be transmitted, the rules on conversion, transfer of sums recov-ered, and the fixing of a minimum amount for claimswhich may giverise to a request for assistance, shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 20(2).
Article 23
The provisions of this Directive shall not prevent a greater measure of
mutual assistance being afforded either now or in the future by parti-cular Member Statesunder any agreementsor arrangements , includingthose for the notification of legal or extralegal acts.
Article 24
Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to comply
with thisDirective not later than 1 January 1978.
Article 25
Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the measures
which it has adopted to implement this Directive. The Commission
shall forward this information to the other Member States.
Each Member State shall inform the Commission annually of the
number of requests for information, notification and recovery sent and
received each year, the amount of the claimsinvolved and the amountsrecovered. The Commission shall report biennially to the EuropeanParliament and the Council on the use made of these arrangementsand on the results achieved.1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 10
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Article 26
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1976L0308 — EN — 18.07.2001 — 006.001 — 11