1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No218/92
of27January1992
onadministrativecooperationinthefieldofindirecttaxation(VAT)
(OJ L 24, 1.2.1992, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 792/2002 of 7 May 2002 L 128 1 15.5.2002
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No218/92
of27January1992
on administrative cooperation in the field of indirect taxation
(VAT)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Article 99 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas the establishment of the internal market in accordance with
Article 8a of the Treaty requiresthe creation of an area without internalfrontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services andcapital isens ured; whereasthe internal market requireschangesin the
legislation on value added tax as provided in Article 99 of the Treaty;
Whereas in order to avoid tax revenue losses for Member States the tax
harmonization measures taken to complete the internal market and for
the transitional period must include the establishment of a commonsystem for the exchange of information on intra-Community transac-tionsbetween the competent authoritiesof the Member States ;
Whereasin order to permit the abolition of fis cal controlsat internal
frontiersin accordance with the aimss et out in Article 8a of the Treatythe transitional value added tax system introduced by Directive 91/680/
EEC (
4), amending Directive 77/388/EEC (5), must be effectively estab-
lished without the risk of fraud which might cause distortions ofcompetition;
Whereas this Regulation provides for a common system for the
exchange of information on intra-Community transactions, supple-menting Directive 77/799/EEC (
6), aslas t amended by Directive 79/
1070/EEC (7), and intended to serve tax purposes;
Whereas the Member States should provide the Commission with any
value added tax information which may be of interest at Community
level;
Whereas the establishment of a common system of administrative
cooperation may affect individuals' legal positions, in particular
because of the exchange of information concerning their tax positions;
Whereas care must be taken to ensure that the provisions concerning
the control of indirect taxes are in balance with administrations' needsfor effective control and the administrative burdens imposed on taxablepersons;
Whereas the operation of such a system requires the establishment of a
standing committee on administrative cooperation;
Whereas the Member States and the Commission must establish an
effective system for the electronic storage and transmission of certaindata for value added tax control purposes;
Whereas care must be taken to ensure that information provided in the
course of such collaboration is not disclosed to unauthorized persons,1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 187, 27. 7. 1990, p. 23 and
OJ No C 131, 22. 5. 1991, p. 5.
(2) OJ No C 328, 24. 12. 1990, p. 265 and opinion delivered on 17 January
1992. (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ No C 332, 31. 12. 1990, p. 124.
(4) OJ No L 376, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
(6) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 15.
(7) OJ No L 331, 27. 12. 1979, p. 8.
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so that the basic rights of citizens and undertakings are safeguarded;
whereas it is therefore necessary that an authority receiving such infor-mation should not, without the authorization of the authority supplying
it, use it for purposes other than taxation or to facilitate legal proceed-
ingsfor failure to comply with the tax lawsof the Member Statesconcerned; whereas the receiving authority must also accord suchinformation the same degree of confidentiality as it enjoyed in theMember State which provided it, if the latter so requires;
Whereas the Member States and the Commission must collaborate on
the continuousanalys isof cooperation proceduresand the pooling of
the experience gained in the fieldsin ques tion, with the aimsof
improving those procedures and drawing up appropriate Communityrules,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
ThisRegulation laysdown the waysin which the adminis trative autho-
rities in the Member States responsible for the application of laws on
value added tax shall cooperate with each other and with the Commis-
sion to ensure compliance with those laws.
To that end it laysdown proceduresfor the exchange by electronic
meansof value added tax information on intra-Community trans actionsas well as on services supplied electronically in accordance with thespecial scheme provided for by Article 26c of Directive 77/388/EEC,and also for any subsequent exchange of information and, as far as
services covered by that special scheme are concerned, for the transfer
of money between Member States' competent authorities.
Article 2
1. For the purposes of this Regulation:
— ‘competent authority’ shall mean the authority appointed to act as
correspondent as defined in paragraph 2,
— ‘applicant authority’ shall mean the competent authority of a
Member State which makes a request for assistance,
— ‘requested authority’ shall mean the competent authority of a
Member State to which a request for assistance is made,
— ‘person’ shall mean:
— a natural person,
— a legal person or,
— where the possibility is provided for under the legislation in
force, an association of persons recognized as having the capa-
city to perform legal actsbut lacking the legal s tatusof a legal
person,
— ‘to grant access’ shall mean authorizing access to the relevant elec-
tronic data base and providing data by electronic means,
— ‘value added tax identification number’ shall mean the number
provided for in with Article 22 (1) (c), (d) and (e) of Directive 77/388/EEC,
— ‘intra-Community transactions’ shall mean the intra-Community
supply of goods and the intra-Community supply of services asdefined in thisparagraph,
— ‘intra-Community supply of goods’ shall mean any supply of goods
which must be declared in the recapitulative statement provided forin Article 22 (6) (b) of Directive 77/388/EEC,
— ‘intra-Community supply of services’ shall mean any supply of
services covered by Article 28b (C), (D), (E) or (F) of Directive77/388/EEC;1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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— ‘intra-Community acquisition of goods’ shall mean acquisition of
the right to dispose as owner of movable tangible property asdefined in Article 28a (3) of Directive 77/388/EEC.
2. Each Member State shall notify the other Member States and the
Commission of the competent authorities appointed to act as correspon-dentsfor the purpos e of applying thisRegulation. In addition, eachMember State shall nominate a central office with principal responsi-bility for liaison with other Member States in the field of
administrative cooperation.
3. The Commission shall publish a list of competent authorities in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities and, where neces-
sary, update it.
TITLE I
Exchangeofinformation—General provisions
Article 3
1. The obligation to give assistance provided for in this Regulation
shall not cover the provision of information or documents obtained by
the administrative authorities referred to in Article 1 at the request of a
judicial authority.
However, in cases of applications for assistance, such information and
documentss hall be provided whenever the judicial authority, to whichreference must be made, gives its consent.
2. This Regulation shall not restrict the application of provisions of
other agreements or instruments relating to cooperation on tax matters.
3. ThisRegulation s hall not affect the application in the Member
States of the rules on mutual assistance in criminal matters.
TITLE II
Exchange of information relating to value added tax in connection
withintra-Communitytransactions
Article 4
1. The competent authority of each Member State shall maintain an
electronic data base in which it shall store and process the information
that it collectsin accordance with Article 22 (6) (b) of Directive 77/388/EEC. To allow the use of this information in the proceduresprovided for in this Regulation the information shall be stored for atleast five years after the end of the calendar year in which access to
the information was to be granted. Member States shall ensure that
their data bases are kept up to date, complete and accurate. Under theprocedure laid down in Article 10 criteria shall be defined to determinewhat amendments that are not significant, material or useful need notbe made.
2. From the data collected in accordance with paragraph 1, the
competent authority of a Member State shall obtain directly andwithout delay from each Member State, or may have direct access to,the following information:
— the value added tax identification numbers issued by the Member
State receiving the information, and
— the total value of all intra-Community supplies of goods made to
the persons to whom those numbers were issued by all operatorsidentified for the purposes of value added tax in the Member Stateproviding the information; the values shall be expressed in the
currency of the Member State providing the information and shall
relate to calendar quarters.
3. From the data collected in accordance with paragraph 1 and
solely in order to combat tax fraud, the competent authority of aMember State shall, wherever it considers it necessary for the control1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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of intra-Community acquisitions of goods, obtain directly and without
delay, or have direct access to, the following information:
— the value added tax identification numbersof all pers onswho have
made the supplies referred to in the second indent of paragraph 2,
and
— the total value of such supplies from each such person to each
person to whom one of the value added tax identification numbersreferred to in the first indent of paragraph 2 has been issued; thevalues shall be expressed in the currency of the Member State
providing the information and shall relate to calendar quarters.
4. Where the competent authority of a Member State isobliged to
grant access to information under this Article it shall, as regards theinformation referred to in paragraphs2 and 3, do s o within three
monthsof the end of the calendar quarter to which the information
relates. By way of derogation from this rule, where information isadded to a data base in the circumstances provided for in paragraph 1,access to such additions shall be granted as quickly as possible and inany event no more than three monthsafter the end of the quarter in
which the additional information wascollected; the conditionsunder
which access to the corrected information may be granted shall bedefined by meansof the procedure laid down in Article 10.
5. Where, for purposes of the application of this Article, the compe-
tent authoritiesof the Member Stateskeep information in electronic
data bases and exchange such information by electronic means theyshall take all measures necessary to ensure compliance with Article 9.
Article 5
1. Where the information provided under Article 4 isins ufficient,
the competent authority of a Member State may at any time and inspecific cases request further information. The requested authority shallprovide the information as quickly as possible and in any event no
more than three monthsafter receipt of the reques t.
2. In the circumstances described in paragraph 1 the requested
authority shall at least provide the applicant authority with invoicenumbers, dates and values in relation to individual transactions between
persons in the Member States concerned.
Article 6
1. The competent authority of each Member State shall maintain an
electronic data base which shall contain a register of persons to whomvalue added tax identification numbers have been issued in thatMember State.
2. At any time the competent authority of a Member State may
obtain directly or have communicated to it, from the data collected inaccordance with Article 4 (1), confirmation of the validity of the valueadded tax identification number under which a person effected orreceived an intra-Community supply of goods or of services. On
specific request the requested authority shall also communicate the
date of issue and, where appropriate, the date of cessation of thevalidity of the value added tax identification number.
3. Where it is so requested a competent authority shall also provide
without delay the name and address of the person to whom a number
has been issued, provided that such information is not stored by theapplicant authority with a view to its possible use at some future time.
4. The competent authority of each Member State shall ensure that
persons involved in the intra-Community supply of goods or of services
and persons supplying services referred to in the last indent of Article
9(2)e of Directive 77/388/EEC are allowed to obtain confirmation ofthe validity of the value added tax identification number of any speci-fied person. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 10,Member States shall, in particular, provide such confirmation by elec-tronic means.1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 5
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5. Where, for purposes of the application of this Article, the compe-
tent authoritiesof the Member Stateskeep information in electronicdata bases and exchange such information by electronic means they
shall take all measures necessary to ensure compliance with Article 9.
TITLE III
Conditionsgoverningtheexchangeofinformation
Article 7
1. A requested authority in one Member State shall provide an appli-
cant authority in another Member State with the information referred to
in Article 5 (2) provided that:
— the number and the nature of the requests for information made by
the applicant authority within a specific period of time do notimpose a disproportionate administrative burden on that requestedauthority,
— that applicant authority exhausts the usual sources of information
which it can use in the circumstances to obtain the informationrequested, without running the risk of jeopardizing the achievementof the desired end,
— that applicant authority requests assistance only if it would be able
to provide similar assistance to the applicant authority of anotherMember State.
In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10 and taking
into account experience of the new administrative cooperation system
during its first year of operation, the Commission shall submit generalcriteria for the definition of the scope of these commitments beforeJuly 1994.
2. If an applicant authority isunable to comply with the general
provisions of paragraph 1 it shall notify the requested authority accord-ingly without delay, stating its reasons. If a requested authorityconsiders that the general provisions of paragraph 1 are not complied
with and that it istherefore not obliged to provide the information, it
shall notify the applicant authority accordingly without delay, statingits reasons. The applicant authority and the requested authority shallattempt to reach agreement. If they fail to reach agreement within onemonth of notification either authority may request that the matter be
examined under Article 11.
3. ThisArticle s hall be without prejudice to the application of
Directive 77/799/EEC asregardsthe exchange of information referred
to in Article 5 (1).
Article 8
In cases of exchanges of information as defined in Article 5, where the
national legislation in force in a Member State provides for notification
of the person concerned of the exchange of information, those provi-sions may continue to apply except where their application wouldprejudice the investigation of tax evasion in another Member State. Inthe latter event, at the express request of the applicant authority, therequested authority shall refrain from such notification.
Article 9
1. Any information communicated in whatever form pursuant to this
Regulation shall be of a confidential nature. It shall be covered by theobligation of professional secrecy and shall enjoy the protection
extended to similar information under both the national law of the
Member State which received it and the corresponding provisionsapplicable to Community authorities.
In any case, such information:
— may be made available only to the persons directly concerned with
the bases of assessment, collection or administrative control oftaxes for the purspose of the assessment of taxes, or to persons1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 6
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employed by Community institutions whose duties require that they
have access to it,
— may in addition be used in connection with judicial or administra-
tive proceedings that may involve sanctions, initiated as a result ofinfringementsof tax law.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authority
of the Member State providing the information shall permit its use for
other purposes in the Member State of the applicant authority, if, underthe legislation of the Member State of the requested authority, theinformation could be used in the Member State of the requestedauthority for similar purposes.
3. Where the applicant authority considers that information which it
has received from the requested authority is likely to be useful to the
competent authority of a third Member State, it may transmit it to thelatter with the agreement of the requested authority.
TITLE III A
ProvisionsconcerningthespecialschemeinArticle26cofDirective
77/388/EEC
Article 9a
The following provisions shall apply concerning the special scheme
provided for in Article 26c in Directive 77/388/EEC. The definitions
contained in point A of that Article shall also apply for the purpose of
thisTitle.
Article 9b
1. The information from the non-established taxable person to the
Member State of identification when hisactivitiescommencess et outin the second subparagraph of Article 26c(B)(2) of Directive 77/388/EEC is to be submitted in an electronic manner. The technical details,including a common electronic message, shall be determined in accor-dance with the procedure provided for in Article 10.
2. The Member State of identification shall transmit this information
by electronic meansto the competent authoritiesof the other Member
Stateswithin 10 daysfrom the end of the month during which theinformation was received from the non-established taxable person. Inthe same manner, the competent authorities of the other Member Statesshall be informed of the allocated identification number. The technical
details, including a common electronic message, by which this infor-
mation is to be transmitted shall be determined in accordance with theprocedure provided for in Article 10.
3. The Member State of identification shall without delay inform by
electronic meansthe competent authoritiesof the other MembersStatesif a non-established taxable person is excluded from the identificationregister.
Article 9c
1. The return with the details set out in the second subparagraph of
Article 26c(B)(5) of Directive 77/388/EEC isto be s ubmitted in an
electronic manner. The technical details, including a common elec-
tronic message, shall be determined in accordance with the procedureprovided for in Article 10.
2. The Member State of identification shall transmit this information
by electronic meansto the competent authority of the Member Stateconcerned at the latest 10 days after the end of the month that the
return wasreceived. Member Stateswhich have required the tax return
to be made in a national currency other than euro shall convert theamounts into euro using the exchange rate valid for the last date ofthe reporting period. The exchange shall be done following theexchange ratespublis hed by the European Central Bank for that day,or, if there isno publication on that day, on the next day of publication.1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 7
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The technical detailsby which thisinformation isto be trans mitted
shall be determined in accordance with the procedure provided for inArticle 10.
3. The Member State of identification shall transmit by electronic
meansto the Member State of cons umption the information needed tolink each payment with a relevant quarterly tax return.
Article 9d
The provisions in Article 4(1) shall apply also to information collected
by the Member State of identification in accordance with Article26c(B)(2) and (5) of Directive 77/388/EEC.
Article 9e
The Member State of identification shall ensure that the amount the
non-established taxable person has paid is transferred to the bankaccount denominated in euro, which hasbeen des ignated by theMember State of consumption to which the payment is due. Member
Stateswhich required the paymentsin a national currency other than
euro shall convert the amounts into euro using the exchange rate validfor the last date of the reporting period. The exchange shall be donefollowing the exchange ratespublis hed by the European Central Bankfor that day, or, if there isno publication on that day, on the next day
of publication. The transfer shall take place at the latest 10 days after
the end of the month that the payment wasreceived.
If the non-established taxable person does not pay the total tax due, the
Member State of identification shall ensure that the payment is trans-ferred to the Member Statesof cons umption in proportion to the tax
due in each Member State. The Member State of identification shall
inform by electronic meansthe competent authoritiesof the MemberStatesof cons umption thereof.
Article 9f
1. Member Statess hall notify by electronic meansthe competent
authoritiesof the other Member Statesof the relevant bank accountnumbersfor receiving paymentsaccording to Article 9e.
2. Member Statess hall without delay notify by electronic meansthe
competent authorities of the other Member States and the Commission
of changesin the s tandard tax rate.
TITLE IV
Consultationandcoordinationprocedures
Article 10
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Standing Committee on
Administrative Cooperation in the field of Indirect Taxation, herein-after referred to as ‘the Committee’. It shall consist of representativesof the Member States and have a representative of the Commission as
chairman.
2. The measures required for the application of Articles 4 and 7 (1)
shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in para-graphs3 and 4 of thisArticle.
3. The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee a
draft of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver itsopinion on that draft within a time limit which the chairman may laydown according to the urgency of the matter. The Committee'sopinionshall be delivered by a majority, the Member States' votes being
weighted in accordance with Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The
chairman shall not vote.
4. The Commission shall adopt the measures contemplated where
they are in accordance with the Committee'sopinion.1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 8
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Where those measures are not in accordance with the Committee's
opinion or if the Committee doesnot deliver an opinion, the Commis -sion shall without delay submit to the Council a proposal on the
measures to be adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If within three months of the proposal's being submitted to it the
Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by theCommission, unless the Council has decided against those measures bya simple majority.
Article 11
The Member States and the Commission shall examine and evaluate
the operation of the arrangementsfor adminis trative cooperation
provided for in this Regulation and the Commission shall pool the
Member States' experience, in particular that concerning new meansof tax avoidance and evasion, with the aim of improving the operationof those arrangements. To that end the Member States shall alsocommunicate to the Commission any value added tax information onintra-Community transactions that may be of interest at Community
level.
Article 12
1. On mattersof bilateral interes t, the competent authoritiesof the
Member Statesmay communicate directly with each other. The compe-tent authoritiesof the Member Statesmay by mutual agreement permitauthoritiesdes ignated by them to communicate directly with each otherin specified cases or categories of cases.
2. For the purpose of applying this Regulation, member States shall
take all necessary steps to:
(a) ensure efficient internal coordination between the competent autho-
ritiesreferred to in Article 1;
(b) establish direct cooperation between the authorities specially
empowered for the purposes of such coordination;
(c) make suitable arrangements to ensure the smooth operation of the
arrangementsfor the exchange of information provided for in thisRegulation.
3. The Commission shall communicate to the competent authority of
each Member State, asquickly aspos s ible, any information which it
receivesand which it isable to s upply.
TITLE V
Finalprovisions
Article 13
1. The Commission and the Member States shall ensure that such
existing or new communication and information exchange systemswhich are necessary to provide for the exchanges of information
described in Articles 9b and 9c are operational by the date specified
in Article 3(1) of Directive 2002/38/EC. The Commission will beresponsible for whatever development of the common communicationnetwork/common system interface (CCN/CSI) is necessary to permitthe exchange of thisinformation between Member States . MemberStates will be responsible for whatever development of their systems
is necessary to permit this information to be exchanged using the
CCN/CSI.
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M12.◄Member Statess hall waive all claimsfor the reimbur-
sement of expenses incurred in applying this Regulation except, asappropriate, in respect of fees paid to experts.1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 9
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Article 14
1. Every two yearsafter the date of entry into force of thisRegula-
tion, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the
Council on the conditionsof application of thisRegulation on the
basis, in particular, of the continuous monitoring procedures providedfor in Article 11.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
any provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governedby thisRegulation.
Article 15
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
No exchange of information under thisRegulation s hall take place
before 1 January 1993.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1992R0218 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 10