1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—1
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►B ►M1 COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of19December 1977
concerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the Member States in the fields of
directtaxationandvalueaddedtax
(77/799/EEC) ◄
(OJL336,27.12.1977,p.15)
Amendedby:
OfficialJournal
No page date
►M1CouncilDirective79/1070/EECof6December1979 L331 8 27.12.1979
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of19December 1977
concerning mutual assistance by the competent authorities of the
MemberStatesinthefieldsofdirecttaxationandvalueaddedtax
(77/799/EEC)
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community,andinparticularArticle100thereof,
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission,HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParliament(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Whereas practices of tax evasion and tax avoidance extending across
the frontiers of Member States lead to budget lossesand violations of
theprincipleoffairtaxationandareliabletobringaboutdistortionsofcapital movements and of conditions of competition; whereas theythereforeaffecttheoperationofthecommonmarket;
Whereas,forthesereasonstheCounciladoptedon10February1975a
resolution on the measures to be taken by the Community in order to
combatinternationaltaxevasionandavoidance(
3);
Whereas the international nature the problemm eans that national
measures, whose effect does not extend beyond national frontiers, are
insufficient;whereascollaborationbetweenadministrationsonthebasis
of bilateral agreements is also unable to counter new forms of taxevasion and avoidance, which are increasingly assuming a multina-tionalcharacter;
WhereascollaborationbetweentaxadministrationswithintheCommu-
nity should therefore be strengthened in accordance with common
principlesandrules;
Whereas the Member States should, on request, exchange information
concerning particular cases; whereas the State so requested shouldmakethenecessaryenquiriestoobtainsuchinformation;
Whereas the Member States should exchange, even without any
request,anyinformationwhichappearsrelevantforthecorrectassess-ment of taxes on income and on capital, in particular where thereappears to be an artificial transfer of profits between enterprises in
different Member States or where such transactions are carried out
between enterprises in two Member States through a third country inorder to obtain tax advantages, or where tax has been or may beevadedoravoidedforanyreasonwhatever;
Whereas it is important that officials of the tax administration of one
Member State be allowed to be present in the territory of another
MemberStateifboththeStatesconcernedconsideritdesirable;
Whereascaremustbetakentoensurethatinformationprovidedinthe
course of such collaboration is not disclosed to unauthorized persons,
so that the basic rights of citizens and enterprises are safeguarded;
whereas it is therefore necessary that the Member States receivingsuch information should not use it, without the authorization of theMember State supplying it, other than for the purposes of taxation orto facilitate legal proceedings for failure to observe the tax laws ofthe receiving State: whereas it is also necessary that the receiving1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—2
(1) OJNoC293,13.12.1976,p34.
(2) OJNoC56,7.3.1977,p.66
(3) OJNoC35,14.2.1975,p.1.▼M1
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Statesaffordtheinformation thesamedegree ofconfidentiality which
itenjoyedintheStatewhichprovidedit,ifthelattersorequires;
WhereasaMemberStatewhichiscalledupontocarryoutenquiriesor
toprovideinformationshallhavetherighttorefusetodosowhereits
laws or administrative practice prevent its tax administration from
carryingoutthesenquiriesorfromcollectingorusingthisinformationforitsownpurposes,orwheretheprovisionofsuchinformationwouldbe contrary to public policy or would lead to the disclosure of acommercial, industrial or Professional secret or of a commercial
process, or where the Member State for which the information is
intended is unable for practical or legal reasons to provide similarinformation;
WhereascollaborationbetweentheMemberStatesandtheCommission
isnecessaryforthepermanentstudyofcooperationproceduresandthepoolingofexperience inthefieldsconsidered,andinparticular inthefield of the artifical transfer of profits within groups of enterprises,
with the aimof im proving those procedures and of preparing appro-
priateCommunityrules,
HASADOPTEDTHISDIRECTIVE:
Article 1
General provisions
1. InaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthisDirectivethecompetent
authorities of the Member States shall exchange any information that
may enable them to effect a correct assessment of taxes on incomeandcapitalandalsoofvalueaddedtax.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on capital, irre-
spective ofthe manner inwhichthey are levied, all taxes imposed ontotal income, on total capital, or on elements of income or of capital,
including taxes on gains from the disposal of movable or immovable
property,taxesontheamountsofwagesorsalariespaidbyenterprises,aswellastaxesoncapitalappreciation.
3. Thetaxesreferredtoinparagraph2areatpresent,inparticular:in Belgium:
lmpôtdespersonnesphysiques/Personenbelasting,
Impôtdessociétés/Vennootschapsbelasting,
Impôtdespersonnesmorales/Rechtspersonenbelasting,Impôtdesnon-résidents/Belastingderniet-verblijfhouders;
in Denmark:
Indkomstskattilstaten,Selsskabsskat,
Denkommunaleindkomstskat,
Denamtskommunaleindkomstskat,Folkepensionsbidragene,
Sømandsskat,
Densærligeindkomstskat,Kirkeskat,
Formueskattilstaten,
Bidragtildagpengefonden;
in Germany:
Einkommensteuer,
Körperschaftsteuer,Vermögensteuer,1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—3
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Gewerbesteuer,
Grundsteuer;
in France:
Impôtsurlerevenu,Impôtsurlessociétés,Taxeprofessionnelle,
Taxefoncièresurlespropriétésbâties,
Taxefoncièresurlespropriétésnonbâties;
in Ireland:
Incometax,Corporationtax,
Capitalgainstax,
Wealthtax;
in Italy:
Impostasulredditodellepersonefisiche,
Impostasulredditodellepersonegiuridiche,
Impostalocalesuiredditi;
in Luxembourg:
impôtsurlerevenudespersonnesphysiques,
impôtsurlerevenudescollectivités,
impôtcommercialcommunal,impôtsurlafortune,impôtfoncier;
in the Netherlands:
Inkomstenbelasting,Vennootschapsbelasting,Vermogensbelasting;
in the United Kingdom:
Incometax,
Corporationtax,Capitalgainstax,Petroleumrevenuetax,
Developmentlandtax.
4. Paragraph 1 shall also apply to any identical or similar taxes
imposed subsequently, whether in addition to or in place of the taxeslisted inparagraph3.Thecompetent authorities oftheMemberStatesshallinformoneanotherandtheCommissionofthedateofentryintoforceofsuchtaxes.
5. Theexpression‘competentauthority’means:in Belgium:
DeministervanfinanciënoranauthorizedrepresentativeLeministredesfinancesoranauthorizedrepresentative
in Denmark:
Ministerenforskatterogafgifteroranauthorizedrepresentative
in Germany:
DerBundesministerderFinanzenoranauthorizedrepresentative
in France:
Leministredel'économieoranauthorizedrepresentative
in Ireland:
TheRevenueCommissionersortheirauthorizedrepresentative1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—4
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Italy:
IlMinistroperlefinanzeoranauthorizedrepresentative
in Luxembourg:
Leministredesfinancesoranauthorizedrepresentative
in the Netherlands:
Deministervanfinanciënoranauthorizedrepresentative
in the United Kingdom:
TheCommissionersofCustomsandExciseoranauthorizedrepre-
sentative for information required solely for the purposes of value
addedtax,
TheCommissionersofInlandRevenueoranauthorizedrepresenta-
tiveforallotherinformation.
Article 2
Exchangeonrequest
1. The competent authority of a Member State may request the
competent authority of another Member State to forward the informa-tion referred to in Article 1 (1) in a particular case. The competentauthority oftherequested Stateneednotcomplywiththerequestifit
appears that the competent authority of the State making the request
hasnotexhausteditsownusualsourcesofinformation,whichitcouldhaveutilized,accordingtothecircumstances,toobtaintheinformationrequestedwithoutrunningtheriskofendangeringtheattainmentofthesoughtafterresult.
2. Forthepurposeofforwardingtheinformationreferredtoinpara-
graph 1, the competent authority of the requested Member State shallarrangefortheconductofanyenquiriesnecessarytoobtainsuchinfor-mation.
Article 3
Automaticexchangeofinformation
Forcategories ofcaseswhichtheyshalldetermineundertheconsulta-
tionprocedurelaiddowninArticle9,thecompetent authoritiesofthe
Member States shall regularly exchange the information referred to inArticle1(1)withoutpriorrequest.
Article 4
Spontaneousexchangeofinformation
1. The competent authority of a Member State shall without prior
requestforwardtheinformationreferredtoinArticle1(1)ofwhichit
hasknowledge,tothecompetent authority ofanyotherMemberStateconcerned,inthefollowingcircumstances:
(a) the competent authority of the one Member State has grounds for
supposing that there may be a loss of tax in the other MemberState;
(b) apersonliable totaxobtainsareductioninoranexemptionfrom
taxintheoneMemberStatewhichwould:giverisetoanincreaseintaxortoliabilitytotaxintheotherMemberState;
(c) businessdealingsbetweenapersonliabletotaxinaMemberState
and a person liable to tax in another Member Staid are conductedthrough one or more countries in such a way that a saving in taxmayresultinoneortheotherMemberStateorinboth:
(d) the competent authority of a Member State has grounds for
supposing that a saving of tax may result from artificial transfersofprofitswithingroupsofenterprises;1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—5
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(e) information forwarded to the one Member State by the competent
authorityoftheotherMemberStatehasenabledinformationtobeobtained which may be relevant in assessingliability totax in the
latterMemberState.
2. The competent authorities of the Member States may, under the
consultation procedure laid downinArticle 9,extend the exchange ofinformationprovidedforinparagraph1tocasesotherthanthosespeci-fiedtherein.
3. The competent authoriries of the Member States may forward to
each other in any other case, without prior request, the informationreferredtoinArticle1(1)ofwhichtheyhaveknowledge.
Article 5
Timelimitforforwardinginformation
ThecompetentauthorityofaMemberStatewhich,underthepreceding
Articles, is called upon to furnish information, shall forward it asswiftlyaspossible.Ifitencountersobstaclesinfurnishingtheinforma-
tionorifitrefusestofurbishtheinformation,itshallforthwithinform
the requesting authority to this effect, indicating the nature of theobstaclesorthereasonsforitsrefusal.
Article 6
CollaborationbyofficialsoftheStateconcerned
For the purpose of applying the preceding provisions, the competent
authority of the Member State providing the information and thecompetent authority oftheMemberState forwhichthe information isintended may agree, under the consultation procedure laid down inArticle 9, to authorize the presence in the first Member State of offi-cials of the tax administration of the other Member State. The details
for applying this provision shall be determined under the same proce-
dure.
Article 7
Provisionsrelating tosecrecy
1. AllinformationmadeknowntoaMemberStateunderthisDirec-
tiveshallbekeptsecretinthatStateinthesamemannerasinformation
receivedunderitsdomesticlegislation.
Inanycase,suchinformation:
— maybemadeavailableonlytothepersonsdirectlyinvolvedinthe
assessmentofthetaxorintheadministrativecontrolofthisassess-ment,
— may in addition be made known only in connection with judicial
proceedings or administrative proceedings involving sanctions
undertaken witha viewto,orrelating to, themaking orreviewing
thetaxassessmentandonlytopersonswhoaredirectlyinvolvedinsuch proceedings; such information may, however, be disclosedduring public hearings or in judgments if the competent authorityoftheMemberStatesupplyingtheinformationraisesnoobjection,
— shall in no circumstances be used other than for taxation purposes
or in connection with judicial proceedings or administrativeproceedings involving sanctions undertaken with a view to, or inrelationto,themakingorreviewingthetaxassessment.
2. Paragraph1shallnotobligeaMemberStatewhoselegislationor
administrative practice lays down, for domestic purposes, narrower
limits than those contained in the provisions of that paragraph, toprovide information if the State concerned does not undertake torespectthosenarrowerlimits.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the competent authorities of the
Member State providing the information may pemit it to be used forother purposes in the requesting State, if, under the legislation of the1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—6
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informing State, the information could, in similar circumstances, be
usedintheinformingStateforsimilarpurposes.
4. Where a competent authority of a Member State considers that
information which it has received from the competent authority ofanotherMemberStateislikelytobeusefultothecompetentauthorityof a third Member State, it may transmit it to the latter competentauthoritywiththeagreementofthecompetentauthoritywhichsuppliedtheinformation.
Article 8
Limitstoexchangeofinformation
1. This Directive shall impose no obligation to have enquiries
carried out or to provide information if the Member State, whichshould furnish the information, would be prevented by its laws oradministrative practices from carrying out these enquiries or from
collectingorusingthisinformationforitsownpurposes.
2. Theprovisionofinformationmayberefusedwhereitwouldlead
tothedisclosureofacommercial,industrialorprofessionalsecretorofa commercial process, or of information whose disclosure would becontrarytopublicpolicy.
3. The competent authority of a Member State may refuse to
provide information where the State concerned is unable, forpractical
orlegalreasons,toprovidesimilarinformation.
Article 9
Consultations
1. Forthepurposesoftheimplementation ofthisDirective, consul-
tationsshallbeheld,ifnecessaryinaCommittee,between:
— the competent authorities of the Member States concerned at the
requestofeither,inrespectofbilateralquestions,
— the competent authorities of all the Member States and the
Commission, at the request of one of those authorities or theCommission, in so far as the matters involved are not solely of
bilateralinterest.
2. The competent authorities of the Member States may communi-
cate directly with each other. The compctent authorities of theMemberStatesmaybymutualagreementpermitauthoritiesdesignatedbythem:tocommunicatedirectlywitheachotherinspecifiedcasesor
incertaincategoriesofcases.
3. Where the competent authorities make arrangements on bilateral
matters covered by this Directive other than as regards individualcases, they shall as soon as possible inform the Commission thereof.The Commission shall in turn notify the competent authorities of theotherMemberStates.
Article 10
Poolingofexperience
The Member States shall, together with the Commission, constantly
monitor the cooperation procedure provided for in this Directive andshall pool their experience, especially in the field of transfer pricingwithin groups of enterprises, with a view to improving such coopera-
tion and, where appropriate, drawing up a body of rules in the fields
concerned.
Article 11
Applicabilityofwider-rangingprovisionsofassistance
Theforegoingprovisionsshallnotimpede thefulfilment ofanywider
obligationstoexchangeinformationwhichmightflowfromotherlegalacts.1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—7
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Article 12
Finalprovisions
1. Member States shall bring into force the necessary laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions in order to comply with this
Directive not later than 1 January 1979 and shall forthwith communi-
catethemtotheCommission.
2. MemberStatesshallcommunicatetotheCommissionthetextsof
any important provisions of national law which they subsequentlyadoptinthefieldcoveredbythisDirective.
Article 13
ThisDirectiveisaddressedtotheMemberStates.1977L0799—EN—07.12.1979—001.001—8