REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE EXECUTION OF THE MATTHAEUS- TAX PROGRAMME FROM 1 JANUARY 1995 TO 31 DECEMBER 1995 (ARTICLE 11 OF THE COUNCIL DECISION OF 29 OCTOBER 1993)
Date: 1996-11-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, administrative cooperation, civil servant, tax system, vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 04.11.1996 
COM(96) 543  final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

ON THE EXECUTION OF THE  M A T T H A E U S - T AX  PROGRAMME FROM 

1  JANUARY  1995  TO 31  DECEMBER  1995 

(ARTICLE 11  OF THE COUNCIL DECISION  OF 29  OCTOBER  1993) 

INTRODUCTION 

1.  The  Matthaeus-Tax  programme  is  a  small  but  important  cog  in  the  Internal  Market 
machine.  Since July  1993,  it has proved  to be a vital  tool  in fostering  the mutual  assistance 
and  administrative  cooperation  between  national  indirect  tax  administrations,  without 
which the Internal Market  in the indirect tax area would  not  work. 

BACKGROUND 

2.  The achievement  of the Single Market  in the indirect  taxation  area from  1 January  1993 
was  based  on  the  establishment  of  the  Value  Added  Tax  (VAT)  transitional  regime1,  the 
harmonised  Excise  regime2,  and  the  regulation  on  VAT  administrative  cooperation3.  To 
ensure  that  the  removal  of  frontier  controls  which  the  Single  Market  entailed  did  not 
encourage fraud,  evasion  and distortions  of competition,  it was  necessary  to  foster  a deep 
and  enduring  cooperation  between  national  indirect  tax  administrations  at  all  levels. 
Mutual  understanding,  which  leads  to  mutual  confidence, 
is  central  to  this  better 
cooperation.  There  was  therefore  a need  to  deepen  the  understanding  of  national  indirect 
tax officials,  both  of the  Community  dimension  of their  work  and  of  the  organisation  and 
procedures of other Member States. 

3.  To  this  end,  the  Commission  proposed  a pilot  project  for  the  organisation  of  seminars 
and the exchange of indirect taxation officials4,  which took  place from  1991  to  early  1993. 
The  experience  of  this  pilot  programme  and  the  similar  Matthaeus  programme  in  the 
Customs  area  led  the  Commission  to  propose  an  action  programme  for  the  training  of 
indirect tax officials.  This "Matthaeus-Tax" programme was adopted  by the Council  on  29 
October  1993-\ 

4.  The  objectives  of  the  programme,  set  out  in  Article  3  of  the  decision,  were,  in 
summary. 

to  prepare  national  officials  for  the implications  of the  Internal  Market  and 
administrative  cooperation; 

to make national  officials  aware of the Community  dimension  of their work 
and to build mutual  confidence  between  administrations; 

to  provide supplementary  training for national  officials; 

to  spread  understanding  of  the 
Community,  thereby improving the management  of the Internal Market; 

indirect  tax  administrations  of  the 

to  stimulate cooperation  at all levels of national  administrations. 

1 Council Directive 91/680/CEE of 16.12.1991. OJ n° L376 of 31.12.91 
2 Council Directive 92/12/CEE of 25.2.1992. OJ n° L76 of 23.2.1992 
3 Council Regulation 218/92/CEE of 27.1.1992. OJ n° L24 of 1.2.1992 
4 Interfisc programme COM (89) 422 
5 Council Decision of 29.10.1993. OJ n° L280 of 13.11.1993 

3 

5.  These  objectives  were  to  be  achieved  through  four  means:  exchanges  of  officials; 
training  seminars; coordinated  vocational  training  programmes;  and  language  training  for 
officials  likely to  participate  in exchanges. 

6.  These  activities  began  on  1  July  1993.  The  Commission  report  to  Council  and 
Parliament  COM  (95)  663  covered  the  programme  from  1 July  1993  to  31  December 
1994. 

MATTHAEUS-TAX  ACTIVITIES  IN  1995 

7.  The  most  important  innovation  in  1995  was  the  integration  of  the  three  new  Member 
States fully  into the programme.  The details of this are set out below under each activity. 

Exchanges 

Objectives 

8.  The  main  objective  of  the  exchanges  is  to  provide  to  indirect  tax  officials  a  better 
mutual  understanding  of  the  organisation,  methods  and  procedures  applied  in  different 
Member  States.  This  understanding  should  be  on  both  a practical  and  a theoretical  level. 
This encourages better cooperation  and the dissemination  of best  practice. 

Organisation 

9.  For  1993  and  1994,  the Commission  and the  Member  States  agreed,  for  each  Member 
State,  both  the  officials  to  be  sent  and  the  officials  to  be  received.  For  1995,  the 
Commission  and the  Member  States  decided  that  only  half of  all  the  exchanges  would  be 
pre-arranged  in  this  way.  The  remaining  exchanges  were  allocated  between  the  Member 
States  on  a pro-rata  basis but  the choice  of  host  destination  was  left  open  to  the  Member 
State  to  agree  bilaterally.  This  added  flexibility,  reported  in  the  1993-94  Annual  report, 
has  permitted  the  Member  States  to  focus  their  use  of  the  exchange  programme  more 
accurately on their priorities. 

10.  To  ensure  that  the  exchanges  better  met  the  needs  of  the  officials  participating,  the 
Commission  and the  Member  States  agreed  on  changes  to  the  preparation  and  evaluation 
forms  for  the  exchanges  to  ensure  that  the  objectives  of  the  official  were  better 
understood 
in  advance  and  that  performance  against  these  objectives  was  better 
monitored. 

Activities 

11.  116  exchanges  took  place  in  1995  (95  in  1994,  88  in  1993).  Most  significantly,  the 
three  new  Member  States  were  smoothly  integrated  into  the  exchange  programme.  The 
total  of 20  officials  from  the  new  Member  States account  for  nearly all the increase in the 
size  of  the  exchange  programme  from  1994.  More  details  on  the  officials  exchanged  are 
set out in Annex  A to this report. 

Evaluation 

12.  The  exchanges  are  monitored  throughout  the  year  by  the  Commission  and  the 
Member  States.  In  addition  the  evaluation  forms  completed  by  the  officials  provide 
feedback  in  terms  of  statistics  and  comments  on  their  experiences.  This  feedback  has 
already been  integrated  into the  1996 programme.  Details are set out  in Annex A. 

13. The general  message from the participants is that the exchanges  have  improved  mutual 
understanding.  They are now better focused  towards the objectives  of participants and the 
experience  gained  has  a  greater  usefulness  and  applicability  at  home.  The  likelihood  of 
administrative  changes  at home  resulting  from  the  exchanges  has also  grown.  The  written 
comments  supplied  by  the  officials  give  some  real  examples  and  suggest  improvements. 
The  officials  want  the  exchanges  to  be  better  prepared  in  advance,  by  the  host  and  their 
own  administration.  They  want  more  practical  experience  and programmes  more  targeted 
to their area of expertise. 

Future  developments 

14.  The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  have  made  a  number  of  significant 
amendments  to  the  organisation  of  the  exchange  programme  to  meet  the  criticisms 
expressed  by  officials.  From  1996,  the  system  of  "grouped"  exchanges  of  officials  (two 
weeks  of  a  general  introduction  to  the  host  administration)  will  become  less  common. 
This system had benefits  in administrative terms and in fostering  contacts between  officials 
from  several  Member  States.  However  it  did  not  permit  the  subject  matter  of  the 
exchanges  to  be  sufficiently  targeted  to  the  needs  of  the  official  nor  to  be  sufficiently 
practical. 

15.  From  1996,  officials  will  tend  to  take  part  in  "single"  or  "targeted"  exchanges.  The 
former  will  permit  the  official  to  work  with  a  suitable  opposite  number  during  the 
exchange.  The  latter will  permit  the  official  to  study  a particular  subject  of  interest  in the 
host  administration.  The  objectives  of the  official  will  be more  clearly  communicated  than 
in the  past  and  the  host  administration  will  create  a  more  individual  programme  to  meet 
the needs  of the official.  A  new  evaluation  form  will  also  be  proposed  by the  Commission 
to assess the views of the managers of the participants six months after the exchange. 

16. From  1996,  the Member  States will  be  permitted  to  choose  the  host  Member  State  of 
all  of  their  officials,  within  certain  conditions  (to  maintain  an  even  geographical  spread). 
This  will  better  enable  the  Member  States  to  select  candidates  and  host  Member  States 
according  to  their  priorities  and  personnel,  thereby  maximising  the  benefit  of  the 
programme.  A  future  priority  will  be  to  address  the  need  to  set  Community  priorities,  to 
ensure  a certain  level  of  exchanges  in areas of  indirect  tax  administration  where  there  is a 
Community  priority.  This will  happen in  1996 on a pilot basis in the Excise area. 

17.  From  1996  the  size  of  the  exchange  programme  will  be  increased,  largely  due  to  the 
better  use  of  resources  set  out  under  the  section  on  management  below.  Even  so,  the 
Commission  believes  that  the  volume  of  the  exchange  programme  should  continue  to 
grow.  The  officials  who  currently  participate  in  exchanges  are  a  tiny  proportion  of  the 
officials  in  the  Member  States  with  a  Community  aspect  to  their  work.  As  this  aspect 
continues  to  grow,  the  demand  for  a  better  understanding  of  other  Member  States  will 
increase.  At  present,  the Member  States  have numbers  of  applicants  for  exchanges  which 
far outstrip the resources available. 

Seminars 

Objective 

18.  The  objective  of  the  seminar  programme  is  to  provide  the  best  forum  for  the 
structured exchange of ideas between officials  from national administrations.  The seminars 
provide the opportunity  for: the dissemination  of best  practice  among Member  States; the 
analysis  of  common  problems  and  solutions;  the  training  of  officials  in  the  Community 
dimension  of  their  work;  and  the  enhancement  of  administrative  cooperation.  The 
seminars  may  also  lead  to  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  the  Community  legal 
instruments in force. 

Organisation 

19.  The  subjects,  dates  and  host  administration  for  each  seminar  are  set  by  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States.  Seminars  are  attended  by  two  or  more 
representatives  of  each  Member  State,  some  of  whom  will  also  make  presentations.  The 
Commission  and  the  host  administration  also  participate,  especially  with  the  aim  of 
encouraging  the  participation  of  all  representatives  and  drawing  conclusions.  Finally  all 
participants  report  to  their  administrations  and  complete  evaluation  forms.  In  due  course 
the  Commission  circulates  records  of  the  seminar,  together  with  the  working  papers,  to 
follow-up  the  results  and permit  the wider  dissemination  of  the  work  of  the  seminar.  Six 
months later, each seminar is evaluated by the Member States for its longer term impact. 

Activities 

20.  In  1995 ten  seminars took  place.  Amongst  these  were  one  seminar each  solely  for the 
benefit  of  officials  from  the  three  new  Member  States.  The  new  Member  States  also 
participated  fully  in the  other  seminars.  Two  more were  postponed  to  early  1996  but  are 
covered  in this report,  as they were funded  from  the  1995 budget.  In addition one  seminar 
held jointly with the Matthaeus  (Customs)  programme  took  place  in  1995.  This  compares 
to  six  seminars in the  half year of  1993  and  8 in  1994.  More  details  of these  seminars are 
set  out  in  Annex  B.  In  total  about  350  officials  attended  the  seminars  open  to  all  the 
Member States.  In addition about 300 officials  in total  attended the seminars organised  for 
the new Member States. 

Evaluation 

21.  In  general,  according  to  the  participants,  the  seminars  have  maintained  the  high 
standards  set  in  1993-94.  The  questionnaires  completed  by  participants  show  that  one 
innovation  in  1995  has  been  a  particular  success.  There  was  a  danger  that  the  seminars 
were  becoming  too  passive.  Accordingly  for  8  of  the  seminars,  a large  proportion  of  the 
time  was  devoted  to  "workshops".  Following  an  introduction  to  the  subject  from  one 
speaker, the seminar sub-divides into three groups,  along linguistic  lines, to  debate the key 
questions.  This formula  has proved  to be more effective  in maximising the participation  of 
all the delegates. More detail  on the evaluation  of the seminars is set out in Annex B. 

22.  On  a  policy  level,  the  seminars  have  proved  to  be  for  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  an  invaluable  forum  for  sharing  approaches  to  common  problems.  Mutual 
understanding  of  the  control  systems  in  the  Member  States  has  been  considerably 
advanced.  This mutual  understanding  has contributed  to  improved  confidence  between  the 
Member  States.  On  a  personal  level,  the  seminars  have  permitted  contacts  to  be  made 
between  experts  in a wide variety of fields.  Frequently  the  participants  have  never been  to 
a  Community  meeting  before.  The  benefit  of  the  seminar  is  maximised  by  the  reports 
produced  by  the  Commission  and  by  the  participants  themselves.  The  success  of  the 
seminars  is also  demonstrated  by the  ways  in which  they  have been  followed  up.  Member 
States  have  arranged  further  bilateral  visits  to  study  systems  or  procedures.  Active  cases 
have been  pursued  bilaterally.  On a Community  level,  seminars  have  led  to  several  policy 
discussions  and  proposals.  The  Commission  has  also  found  the  seminars  invaluable  for 
deepening  its  understanding  of  the  national  administrations  and  for  pursuing  common 
problems in greater depth with the Member States. 

23.  The  seminars  organised  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  officials  from  the  new  Member 
States  have  played  an  important  part  in  the  successful  introduction  of  the  indirect  tax 
Internal  Market  in those  Member  States.  In each  case,  a  significant  proportion  of  all  the 
officials  of  these  Member  States  heard  from  and  questioned  Commission  and  "old" 
Member State experts about the operation of the Internal  Market. 

Future  developments 

24.  1995  has  seen  a considerable  development  in the  sophistication  of  the  seminars.  This 
has  required  greater  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Commission,  the  host  Member  States  and 
the  participants.  In  the  future,  the  Commission  will  emphasise  even  greater  effort  in  the 
preparation,  execution  and  follow-up  of  the  seminars.  In  contrast  to  the  exchange 
programme,  the  number  of  seminars  should  be  roughly  maintained  and  the  focus  of  the 
efforts  of the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  should  be  on  improving  the  quality  of 
the  seminars.  This  reflects  the  limits  on  the  Commission's  resources  (interpretation  and 
administration). 

25.  The Commission  believes that  in future  the  subject  areas for  seminars  should  be  more 
closely  co-ordinated  with  the  areas  covered  by  the  exchange  programme.  The 
Commission  will,  from  1997,  propose  an  annual  plan  for  the  programme  to  identify  the 
key  policy  areas  for  the  Community,  both  for  exchanges  and  for  the  seminars.  To  an 
extent,  the focus  since the beginning  of the  programme  on  administrative  cooperation  and 
the  control  regimes  of the  Member  States  have  guided  these  choices.  In the  future,  these 
links should be more explicit. 

Common  training  programme 

Objective 

26.  The Commission  adopted  a decision6,  following  consultation  with  the  Member  States, 
setting out a common  programme of vocational  training as required  by Article 4  (c)  of the 
Matthaeus-Tax  decision.  The  programme  sets  out  the  subjects  which  should  be  covered 
by  the  initial  training  programmes  and  continuing  training  programmes  of  the  Member 
States.  The  aim of the  programme  is to  give  Member  States'  indirect  tax  officials  a basic 
level  of  uniform  training  vital  to  a  sound  understanding  of  their  duties  and  to  the 
performance  of their work. 

Activities 

27.  The  decision  only  came  into  force  on  1 June  1995  and therefore  it  has not  been  fully 
implemented.  However,  most  Member  States  had  already  made  a  considerable  effort  to 
implement the common training programme in  1996. Details of this implementation are set 
out in Annex C. 

Evaluation 

28.  Of  course,  the  effect  of  the  common  training  programme  has  not  been  to  change 
completely  the  training  of  indirect  tax  officials.  Important  elements  of  the  programme, 
notably  training  in  Community  law  in  indirect  taxation  (the  principles  and  application  of 
Community  VAT  and  Excise  law),  were  already  the  core  of  Member  States'  training  of 
their  own  officials.  The  most  significant  effect  of  the  common  training  programme  has 
been to give  added  emphasis to  some  basic training  in the organisation  and  policies  of the 
Communities,  the  sources  of  Community  law  and  the  administrative  cooperation  and 
mutual  assistance provisions of Community law. 

Future  developments 

29.  The common training programme adopted  in  1995  is a first step.  The Commission and 
the  Member  States  will  be  considering  what  value  could  be  added  by  further  common 
training  programmes,  which  would  be  more  explicit  about  the  basic  training  all  officials 
should  receive.  Responsibility  for  training  officials  rests  with  the  Member  States,  under 
the Matthaeus-Tax  decision. 

Language  training 

Objective 

30.  The  Commission's  experience  of  the  operation  of  the  indirect  tax  Internal  Market  in 
general  and  the  Matthaeus-Tax  programme  in  particular,  has  confirmed  the  centrality  of 
the need  to  break  down  linguistic barriers.  Whilst  linguistic  training  is vital  for  all  aspects 
of the  operation  of the  Internal  Market,  the  exchange,  and to  a lesser  extent,  the  seminar 
part of the Matthaeus-Tax  programme are particularly dependent  on a reasonable  standard 
of linguistic ability of participants. 

Commission Decision 95/279/EC of 12 July 1995 - OJ No L 172 of 22.7.95, p 24 

Activities 

31.  The percentage of officials fluent in the language of the host  Member  State has fallen 
since  1993-94.  As the  table  set  out  in  Annex  D  shows,  figures  for  the  global  language 
training  carried  out  by  the  Member  States  are  still  rather  patchy.  However,  the 
questionnaires  completed  by  exchange  officials  show  that  21  per  cent  of  them  received 
language training in advance of their exchange and most found  it useful. 

Evaluation 

32. The decline in the ability of exchange officials  to communicate as well as in the past on 
their  exchanges  is  understandable.  This  reflects  the  exhaustion  of  an  initial  pool  of 
exchange candidates with  existing  language  skills. The Commission  has repeatedly  urged 
the  Member  States,  who  are  responsible  for  language  training,  to  build  up  a  stock  of 
suitably trained  officials  to take advantage of exchange opportunities. The fact  that 21 per 
cent of the exchange officials  had received  language training and that they found  it  useful, 
is nevertheless encouraging. From a wider perspective it is encouraging to note that all the 
Member  States  do  have  policies to  fund  language  training  for  their  officials.  This  ranges 
from  a  policy  of  providing  voluntary  training  to  essential  post  holders  in  some  Member 
States to setting targets in others for each tax unit. 

Future developments 

33.  The Commission  will encourage the Member  States to think in a more long term way 
in providing suitable language training for their officials.  This will enable a pool of suitably 
trained  candidates  to  be developed.  The  greater  freedom  given  to  the  Member  States  to 
choose the host administrations of their officials  encourages this more long-term thinking. 
In  addition  the  Commission,  as  part  of  its  broader  task  to  foster  administrative 
cooperation will investigate the development  of tax-specific  linguistic aids. 

MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS 

Management 

34.  The  management  structure  established  in  1993-94  was  broadly  continued.  The 
programme  is run by a central  coordinator  in each  Member  State (usually  two  where the 
Excise  and  VAT  administrations  are  separate)  and  the  Commission  services.  The 
Commission  and  the  coordinators  met  three  times  in  1995  in  the  Matthaeus-Tax 
committee.  The main  business  of the  committee  was  the  planning  and  monitoring  of the 
1995 exchange and  seminar  programme and the elaboration  of the  1996 programme.  The 
committee  also  discussed  the  draft  Commission  decision  on  the  common  training 
programme. 

Budget 

35.  For  procedural  reasons,  Budget  line  B5-305I  covers  both  the  Matthaeus  (Customs) 
and  the  Matthaeus-Tax  programme.  In  1995  3,500,000  ecu  was  allocated  to  this  budget 
line and of this the Commission  allocated  712,000  ecu  to the  Matthaeus-Tax  programme. 
100 per cent of these funds were committed  on behalf of the Matthaeus-Tax  programme. 

Financial  Management 

36.  As for  1993-94,  the  Member  States  received  the bulk  of  funds  for the  exchanges  and 
seminars at the beginning of the year and are responsible for their management.  At the end 
of the year the Member  States provide the Commission  with  a recapitulative  statement  of 
their costs with the necessary justification. 

Future  developments 

37. From  1996, the management  of the programme  has been  put on a sounder basis as the 
experience  of  the  first  three  years  has  been  consolidated.  The  Commission  and  the 
Member  States  have  agreed  a manual  of  procedures  covering  all  the  practical  aspects  of 
the  exchange  and  seminar  programmes.  The  manual  is  largely  an  aide-memoire  for  the 
Matthaeus-Tax  coordinators  but  also  provides  comprehensive  guidance  and  advice  for all 
the  actors  in the  programme:  potential  exchange  officials,  actual  exchange  officials,  their 
line  managers,  host  officials,  organisers  of  seminars  and  chairmen  of  seminars.  This 
codification  of existing  best  practice  has already  considerably  helped  the  execution  of the 
programme and improved  quality. 

38.  For  1996 the Commission  and the Member  States have  also  agreed  on  a more flexible 
management  of the resources of the programme to ensure their maximum use.  In line with 
the  increasing flexibility given  to  the  Member  States  in  choosing  the  host  Member  State 
for  their  exchanges  (set  out  above),  exchange  resources  in  1996  have  been  allocated  in 
terms  of  ecu,  rather  than  a number  of  exchanges.  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  use 
these  funds  to  arrange  as  many  exchanges  as  possible  and  at  least  a  required  minimum. 
This avoids  the  problem  that  the cost  per exchange  can vary considerably.  This change in 
the  financial  management  has  already  led  to  a  few  more  exchanges  being  funded  by  the 
programme than would  otherwise  have been possible. 

39.  The  financial  control  procedures  have  also  been  reorganised.  The  Member  States  are 
more  fully  responsible  for  the  use  of  the  funds.  However  detailed  financial  returns,  on 
computerised  forms  provided  by the  Commission,  have  to  be  provided  twice  a year.  The 
first form,  provided  at  the  half  year,  contains  estimates  for  the  full  year  expenditure,  as 
well  as  actual  expenditure  to  date.  The  second  form  contains  the final breakdown  of  all 
expenditure.  Member  States  are  required  to  keep  available  for  inspection  all  necessary 
justification  for expenditure  for five years. 

40.  This procedure enables any underspends to  be identified  in time for valuable  exchange 
resources to be allocated  to  those Member  States better able to utilise them.  It also  amply 
fulfils  the Commission's financial  management  responsibilities. 

10 
41.  To  improve  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  programme  as  a  whole  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States  have  agreed  on  a  set  of  objectives  and  targets  for 
each  part  of  the  programme.  These  are  operational  objectives,  derived  from  the  higher 
objectives of the programme, but which are linked to the responses given in questionnaires 
following  exchanges and seminars. They represent  a commitment  to try to attain a certain 
level  of  quality  in  the  delivery  of  the  programme,  according  to  its  main  customers,  the 
officials  who  participate.  The  Commission  will  also  be  able  to  compare  the  relative 
performance  of  the  Member  States.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  work  with  the 
Member States to create further  methods of evaluation,  in particular to better quantify  the 
success  of  the  programme  in  meeting  the  objectives  of  the  Member  States  and  the 
Community. 

42.  Finally,  1996  will  see  a  major  new  development  in  the  programme  in  that  officials 
from  the  associated  countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  Malta  and  Cyprus  will 
participate  in  the  exchange  and  seminar  programmes  on  a  pilot  basis.  This  fulfils  the 
commitment  of  the  Commission  to  pursue  preparations  for  extending  the  Community 
programme  to  these  countries  as  stipulated  in  the  White  Paper  on  preparation  of  the 
associated  countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  for  integration  into  the  Internal 
Market  of the  Union  and  the  Common  Resolutions  on  the  establishment  of  a  structured 
dialogue between the European Union and Malta and Cyprus respectively. 

43.  The  impact  of  all  these  developments  will  be  reported  in  detail  in  the  next  annual 
report. 

CONCLUSION 

44.  1995 has been  an effective  year  of consolidation  for  the  Matthaeus-Tax  programme, 
building on the experience  of the first two  years. The seminar  and  exchange  programmes 
have  delivered  real  benefits  to  the  officials  who  have  participated.  The  benefits  of  the 
programme  have  not  stopped  there:  lessons  learned  have  been  disseminated  throughout 
national  administrations  to  the  benefit  of  the  Member  States  and  the  Community  as  a 
whole.  The  integration  of  the  three  new  Member  States  and  the  development  and 
implementation  of a common training  programme  have also been accomplished  smoothly. 
The  proof  of  these  achievements  is in  what  the Member  States  and  the  participants  say. 
Objective  evidence  is  harder  to  quantify.  Nevertheless,  the  use  of  the  Community 
instruments  of  administrative  cooperation  (the  provision  of  information  in  control  and 
recovery)  has  shown  a  marked  growth  in  recent  years.  In  some  part,  the  Commission 
believes  that  the  Matthaeus-Tax  programme  has  contributed  to  this  greater  use  and  its 
greater  effectiveness. 

45.  The  programme  has  also  represented  value  for  money.  Use  of  the  relatively  small 
amount  of  money  available  for  the  programme  has  been  maximised  in  several  ways. 
Through  the  use  of  follow  up  reports  of  seminars  and  of  exchanges  the  benefit  of  the 
original travel and subsistence costs of the participants has been multiplied  throughout  the 
in  national 
national  administrations.  The  programme  has 
administrations. 

real  changes 

led 

to 

46.  1995  has  also  been  the  year  of  looking  ahead.  Several  new  initiatives  have  been 
devised  which  will  bear  fruit  in  1996.  The  aim  of  these  initiatives  has  been  twofold:  to 
tailor  the  programme  more  closely  to  the  needs  of  the  officials  who  participate,  their 
administrations  and  the  Internal  Market;  and  to  make  the  greatest  possible  use  of  the 
limited  resources available through  careful  expenditure and  through  multiplying the  effect 

11 
of  the  expenditure.  1996  will  also  see  the  programme  dealing  with  the  challenge  of  the 
participation  of non-EU countries. 

47.  The  legal  base  for  the  programme  expires  in  June  1997.  The  Commission  is  fully 
convinced  that  the programme  should  be renewed  and  accordingly  will  present  proposals 
in the second  half of  1996. They will build  on the achievements of the programme to date 
and the new initiatives which will be implemented  in 1996. 

48. The new programme will also be a key part of the first phase of the implementation  of 
the  common  VAT  system  for  the  single  market.  An  intense  cooperation  between 
individuals  will  be  essential  to  the  successful  functioning  of  the  new  system.  This 
cooperation  needs to  be  ingrained  as a working  habit  of the  administrations.  Clearly  this 
needs to  be  done  before  the  entry  into  force  of the  new  system,  as this  part  of  the  new 
system will be built on the spirit  of cooperation  developed  under the current  system. It is 
not  therefore  a  question  of  a  new  departure  but  rather  an  intensification  of  the  current 
aims.  The broad  methods  of  encouraging  this  cooperation  developed  by the  Matthaeus-
Tax  programme  (structured  contact  between  individuals  at  seminar  or  exchanges; 
common  training  programmes  and  language  training  programme)  will  be the basis of the 
new  programme.  Finally,  the  benefits  of  such  a  renewed  programme  would  also  accrue 
directly  to  the  operation  of  the  existing  VAT  and  Excise  tax  systems,  before  the 
introduction of a new VAT system. 

12 

Annex  A:  Exchanges 

Table  I  shows  the  distribution  of  exchanges  between  the  Member  States  in  1995, 
aggregating  those  agreed  in  advance  and  those  decided  upon  by  the  Member  States 
themselves.  Table  2  aggregates  the  figures  for  1993  and  1994  with  those  for  1995, 
reflecting  the picture since the programme  began.  It is expected  that the completion  of the 
1996  exchange  programme will  mean that an official  from nearly all of the Member  States 
will have visited  every other Member State. 

The  breakdown  of  the  officials  who  participated  follows  the  pattern  in  1993-94,  with 
some  changes.  30  per  cent  of  the  participants  were  women  (up  from  23  per  cent)  (table 
3).  The  average  age  of  participants  remained  about  40  (table  4).  VAT  continued  to 
account  for  about  80  percent  of  the  exchanges,  Excise  duties  the  balance  (table  5).  The 
breakdown between  officials  of different  management  levels  remained broadly  unchanged, 
with a reasonable  balance  maintained  (table  6).  The  new  evaluation  forms  for  1995  give a 
greater  insight  into  the  work  areas  of  the  participants  (table  7).  The  bulk  of  participants 
were tax controllers or auditors, which  is to be expected  and is welcome.  The next  highest 
group  is  from  central  administration.  At  around  20  per  cent  of  participants,  this  is  about 
the  optimum  balance  between  central  offices  and the field.  There  seems  to  be  a good  mix 
of reasons why candidates were chosen (table 8). 

Evaluation 

Tables  9-18  aggregate  the  results  of  participants'  answers  to  the  given  questions.  The 
results  are  overwhelmingly  positive,  with  some  signs  that  the  efforts  to  improve  the 
programme  have  had  an  effect.  The  percentage  who  feel  that  the  programme  should  be 
continued  as it is (rather than with  changes)  has risen  dramatically  from  26  per cent  to  58 
percent  (table  18).  This is  supported  by the  key  results:  the  success  in meeting  objectives 
(table  10); the relation of the exchange  to work  (table  11) the usefulness  of the  experience 
gained  (table  12); and the overall  value of the exchange  to the administration  (table  17). 

It  is  also  positive  that  99  percent  would  be  able  to  apply  their  experience  in  their 
administrations  in some  way.  Another  positive  improvement  over  1993-94  is the  increase 
from  12  to  27  per  cent  of  participants  who  could  foresee  administrative  change  in  their 
administration.  70  per  cent  of  the  participants  in  the  programme  found  two  weeks  to  be 
just right and only a few  found  it too  long (table  16). 

Two  areas  that  have  already  been  identified  for  improvement  in  1996  are  the  need  to  set 
objectives  for  the  administration  before  the  exchange  (table  9).  All  participants  in  1996 
should  agree a set  of objectives  in advance.  They  should  also all complete  a written  report 
of their exchange (table  15). 

13 
The  written  comments  attached  to  the  questionnaires  give  an  insight  into  the  concrete 
results  of  the  exchanges.  When  asked  to  mention  changes  which  were  foreseen  as 
resulting  from  the  exchange  there  was  a great  variety  of  answers.  For example,  a Finnish 
Excise  official  said  that  a  proposal  for  a  handbook  of  excise  duties  for  Finnish  officials 
would  be  pursued.  A  British  official  said  that  the  UK's  Retail  Export  scheme  would  be 
completely  rethought.  A  Belgian  official  said  that  improvements  would  be  made  in  the 
control  of  mineral  oil  producers.  A common  remark  was  that the  use  of  intra-Community 
transaction data (principally  the  VIES)  would  be enhanced  and that  information  exchange 
between the Member States would be improved. 

Participants were asked only to  suggest  ways in which  the programme could  be improved. 
Nevertheless  several  commented favourably  on the programme:  "the programme is perfect 
as it is" said a Greek official.  "The stay  ...  responded  completely to  my expectations  of the 
programme"  said  a Belgian  official.  Most  of  the  suggestions  for  improvement  were  calls 
for  better  preparation,  more  practical  content  and  more  targeted  towards  the  individual 
needs  of  the  official.  Several  officials  also  found  the  grouping  of  their  exchange  with 
officials  from  other  Member  States  beneficial.  All  the  innovations  in  the  exchange 
programme  for  1996  have  these  ends  in  mind.  Indeed  the  feedback  from  these 
questionnaires  and  these  lessons  was  relayed  to  the  Member  States  before  the  1996 
programme began. 

Table 1: Breakdown of exchanges in 1995 

Host  Member  State 

Home 
Member 
State 

Number of 
officials 
sent 

B 

DK 

D 

EL 

E 

F 

IRL 

I 

L 

NL 

A 

P 

FIN 

S 

UK 

8 

7 

11 

9 

8 

8 

5 

11 

3 

7 

7 

8 

6 

7 

11 

TOTAL 

116 

B 

DK 

D 

EL 

E 

F 

IRL 

I 

L 

NL 

A 

P 

FIN 

S 

UK 

1 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

7 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

2 

1 

0 

3 

0 

2 

1 

1 

12 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

4 

0 

1 

2 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

7 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

2 

1 

0 

0 

7 

N 

umber of officials  received 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

8 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

7 

0 

1 

2 

3 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

10 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

3 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

11 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

6 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

2 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

6 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

1 

7 

0 

1 

0 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

2 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

2 

10 

11 

14 

Table 2: Breakdown of exchanges  1993-95 

Host  Member  State 

Home 
Member 
State 

Number of 
officials 
sent 

B 

DK 

D 

EL 

E 

F 

IRL 

I 

L 

NL 

A 

P 

FIN 

S 

UK 

Number of officials  received 

B 

DK 

D 

EL 

E 

F 

IRL 

I 

L 

NL 

A 

P 

FIN 

S 

UK 

24 

21 

29 

23 

24 

26 

18 

31 

11 

21 

7 

18 

6 

7 

33 

2 

2 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 
-> 

1 

2 

4 

1 

2 

2 

2 

0 

3 

1 

0 

3 

1 

2 

3 

2 

3 

4 

2 

2 

3 

0 

2 

1 

3 

1 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

1 

2 

0 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

3 

** 

3 

2 

3 

3 

1 

4 

0 

2 

1 

3 

0 

0 

5 

2 

2 

4 

0 

1 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

2 

0 

1 

1 

1 

2 

4 

5 

2 

2 

2 

0 

3 

0 

2 

0 

0 

3 

TOTAL 

299 

25 

20 

31 

17 

19 

30 

20 

26 

0 

1 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

7 

2 

3 

2 

3 

3 

2 

2 
»> 
J 

1 

0 

2 

1 

1 

4 

29 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

6 

2 

0 

1 

1 

0 

2 

1 

5 

1 

2 

0 

0 

0 

3 

18 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

1 

7 

4 

4 

3 
*> 
j 
5 

2 

1 
9 

7 

7 

0 

4 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

2 

10 

34 

15 

Tables 3-18: Profile and evaluation of exchange participants 

NB: Indicators marked with an * do not have comparable figures for  1993-94. 

Table 3: Gender 

Male 
Female 

Table 4: Average Age 

1995 
41 

Table 5: Work Area 

VAT 
Excise 
Both 

Table 6: Grade Code 

| 

I 
I 

I 

1 

1995 
70% 
30% 

I 

1 

1993-94 
77% 
23% 

1993-94 
39 

1995 
79% 
18% 
3% 

I 

1 

I 

Officials  with directing responsibilities 
Officials  having  management  and  controlling 
responsibilities,  possibly  with  some  operational 
duties 
Officials  having only operational  responsibilities but 
who may take decisions on the ground 

1993-94 
80% 
20% 
0% 

1995 
23% 
48% 

30% 

I 

1993-94 
24% 
40% 

36% 

Table 7: Work in own administration  and work undertaken  on exchange' 

1995 

I  Work in own  I 
administration 

Tax Audit (Tax Control) 
Tax Collection 
Central Administration 
Heads of Division 
Anti-fraud  investigation 
Training 
Others'7 

47% 
5% 
20% 
9% 
4% 
1% 
14% 

| 

| 

Work 
undertaken on 
exchange 
50% 
10% 
23% 
4% 
1% 
2% 
10% 

~~ 

7  includes experts in legislation, administrative cooperation  and relations with the public 

Table 8: Why do you believe you were you selected? 

17 

volunteered 
technical knowledge 
linguistic skills 
function  in administration 
other 

1995 
28% 
22% 
[8% 
26% 
5% 

1 

| 

1993-94 
26% 
24% 
25% 
23% 
2% 

I 

Table 9: Did you set specific  objectives  for your administration,  in  advance, for the 
exchange* 

Yes 
No 

I 
I 

74% 
26% 

Table  10: If yes, were you able to meet these objectives ?' 

Yes, 
completely 
26% 

Mostly 

61% 

Partly 

No, not at all 

9% 

4% 

Table  11: How closely was the exchange related to your work ? 9* 

Very 
closely 

36% 

42% 

18% 

5% 

0% 

not at all 

Table  12: How useful was the experience gained from the exchange ? 9* 

Very 
useful 

50% 

37% 

12% 

1% 

0% 

not  at  all 
useful 

Table  13:  How  much  of  this  experience  were  you  able  to  apply  in  your  own 
administration  ?* 

All of it 

11% 

26% 

47% 

15% 

1% 

none of it 

Table  14: As a result of your exchange, can you foresee any administrative  changes? 

I 

Î995 

I 

1993-94 

Yes 
No 

27% 
73% 

12% 
88% 

Table  15: Did you complete a report of your visit 

- in writing? 
- orally? 
- both? 
TOTAL 

I 

| 

1995 
52% 
1_1% 
37% 
100% 

I 

1993-94 
64% 
10% 
26% 
100% 

Table  16: Was the length of the exchange * 

just right 

too long 

0% 

7% 

70% 

12% 

10% 

too short 

Table  17:  Overall,  how  would  you  rate  the  value  of  the  exchange  for  your 
administration ?* 

very high 

28% 

39% 

27% 

6% 

1% 

very low 

Table  18: Do you think the programme should be continued? 

Yes, as it is 
Yes, with  some 
changes 
No 

I 

1995 
58% 
42% 

1993-94 
26% 
74% 

0% 

| 

0% 

19 

Annex B: Seminars 

Activities 

Bruhl  (Germany)  25-27  January  1995: "VAT  control:  integrating  Community  needs  into 
national controls" 

This  seminar  examined  in  detail  the  ways  in  which  the  Member  States  have  integrated 
Community aspects into national control  systems. The creation  of the Internal  Market  has 
permitted  the  control  of  intra-Community  trade  to  be  integrated  with  that  of  purely 
domestic  trade,  giving  a  more  coherent  control  of  companies.  The  VAT  Information 
Exchange  System  (VIES)  is  the  significant  tool  for  controlling  this  trade.  The  seminar 
examined  and  compared  the  different  ways  in which  the  VIES  data  had  been  integrated 
into national systems of control. 

Nevers (France) 3-4 May  1995: "The training of VAT  officials" 

This  seminar  brought  together  heads  of  training  schools  and  trainers  from  the  Member 
States  to  compare  initial  and  continuing  training  programmes.  The  seminar  was 
instrumental  in helping to develop the approach to the first  common training programme. 

Bad-Hofgastein  (Austria)  15-18  May  1995.  Stockholm  (Sweden)  4-7  September  1995, 
Helsinki  (Finland)  11-14  September  1995:  "Introduction  to  the  Community  for  officials 
from  the new Member States" 

These  three  seminars  were  a  series  undertaken  primarily  for  the  benefit  of  the  new 
Member States. They consisted  of two days covering  Excise duties and two days covering 
VAT.  Representatives  from  a  sample  of  the  Member  States  (Germany,  Spain,  the 
Netherlands,  the  United  Kingdom)  and  the  Commission  explained  how  Community  law 
had  been  applied  in  the  Member  States.  There  was  a  particular  emphasis  on  national 
control  regimes  and  the  operation  of  mutual  assistance  and  administrative  cooperation 
between  administrations.  Officials  from  the  new  Member  States  were  given  a  detailed 
picture of the practical and everyday implications of the Community VAT and Excise duty 
regimes. 

Elsinore (Denmark)  18-20 September  1995: "Quality in indirect tax administration" 

This seminar examined  and  compared  the different  systems in place in the Member  States 
for  ensuring  quality  in  their  performance.  Several  Member  States  described  how,  at 
various  levels  of  their  administration,  management  tools  were  being  rethought  to  ensure 
that  objectives  were achieved.  The seminar split into workshops to  examine and  compare 
the  differing  approaches  to  the  problems  of  setting  objectives,  monitoring  performance, 
evaluation  and  consequent  resource  allocation.  Case  studies  of  particular  areas  of 
administration were examined to compare approaches. 

20 

Ravenna (Italy)  18-20 October  1995:  "Cooperation  between  Member  States  in the Excise 
sector" 

This  seminar  brought  together  experts  in  the  Excise  area  to  consider  ways  to  improve 
cooperation  between  the Member  States  in the  control  of Excise  duties.  The  seminar split 
into  workshops  to  consider:  the  development  of  simultaneous  controls  on  multinational 
companies  operating  in several  Member  States;  the  gathering  and  analysis  of  information 
to  develop  targeted  controls;  and  the  development  of  a  wider  and  more  systematic 
dialogue between  the Member States. 

Estoril  (Portugal)  19-20 October  1995: "Heads of Central  Liaison  Offices" 

This  seminar  brought  together  the  heads  of  the  Central  Liaison  Offices  (CLO's)  of  the 
Member  States  to  analyse  the  growth  of  requests  for  mutual  assistance  and  the 
implications  for the Member  States.  The  seminar  also  analysed  the  information  needs and 
resources  available  in the  Member  States  and  compared  the tasks  and  evaluation  systems 
of the CLO's. 

Crawley (United Kingdom)  23-25  October  1995:  "VAT control  and the textile  sector") 

This  seminar  brought  together  control  experts  to  consider  the  particular  problems 
concerned  with  the  control  of  the  textile  sector.  The  seminar  considered  the  most 
commonly  encountered  methods  of  fraud  in the  textile  sector  and  ways  to  combat  these. 
The  importance  of  greater  cooperation  between  the  Member  States  in  information 
exchange and simultaneous control  were highlighted. 

Elsinore  (Denmark)  20-22  November  1995:  "The  role  of  an  information  policy  in  the 
Customs.  VAT Excise control  of companies" 

This  was  a  joint  seminar  between  the  Matthaeus-Tax  and  Matthaeus  programmes, 
largely  in 
bringing  together  experts  in  information  policy.  The  seminar,  working 
workshops,  sought  to  establish:  the  basic  principles  of  an  information  policy;  the 
integration  of  an  information  policy  with  control  policy;  and  evaluation  of  information 
policy. 

Viterbo (Italy)  14-15  December  1995:  "Sanctions applicable in the VAT area" 

This  seminar  brought  together  experts  in  the  application  of  sanctions  in  the  VAT  area. 
Splitting into workshops,  it compared  the different  approaches to sanctions in the Member 
States,  concentrating  on  sanctions  designed  to  ensure  that  traders  meet  their  obligations 
and  sanctions  designed  to  deter  tax  evasion.  The  seminar  also  considered  the 
repercussions of sanctions in the wider relationship with the trader. 

21 

Malmô (Sweden)  7-9  February  1996:  "Computer audit for VAT control" 

The  seminar  brought  together  experts  in  the  control  of  companies  using  computers  for 
their records and the use of computers  to cany  out  controls.  Splitting  into workshops,  the 
seminar  compared  the  different  approaches  to  controlling  companies  with  computer 
records and the  implications  for  exchange  of  information  between  administrations  and the 
training  of staff.  The  seminar also  examined  three  major computer  systems  currently  used 
in the Member  States to  assist  control.  The  legal  implications  of  the  use  of  these  systems 
were also examined. 

Rovaniemi (Finland) 28-29  March  1996 

This seminar brought together experts in the control  of Excise  dutiable  products.  Working 
in  workshops,  the  seminar:  considered  the  role  of  the  Accompanying  Administrative 
document  (AAD)  in the  control  of  intra-Community  movements;  examined  the  problems 
associated  with  the  misuse  of  the  AAD;  explored  ways  to  solve  these  problems;  and 
compared the different  approaches to sanctions  in this area. 

Evaluation 

The  principal  evaluation  method  of  the  seminars  is  through  a  one-page  evaluation 
questionnaire  completed  by participants at the end of the seminar.  Table  19 which  follows 
shows  the  aggregated  responses  to  the  questionnaire  for  the  1995  seminars,  compared  to 
the  1993-94  seminars.  In making a comparison  it should be noted  that  data for  only  six  of 
the  fourteen  seminars  in  1993-94  was  available,  whilst  data  for  nine  of  the  twelve  sole 
Matthaeus-Tax  seminars is included  for  1995. 

The questionnaire  as a method  of evaluation  has merits  and  weaknesses.  Its  main  merit  is 
its  simplicity,  which  ensures  easy  data  gathering  and  manipulation.  There  are  however 
limits  as  to  what  the  responses  to  the  questions  say  about  the  seminar.  On  a  basic  level 
however,  the  questionnaires  do  give  a  simple  signal  about  the  quality  of  the  seminar 
product  as  viewed  by  its  main  clients,  the  participants.  The  Commission  reports  these 
results  with  its  record  of  the  seminar  and  uses  them  together  with  the  impressions  of  the 
Commission  representatives  to  make  an  immediate  evaluation  of  the  seminar.  These 
evaluations  then  feed  into  the  ongoing  management  of  the  seminar  programme  by  the 
Commission  and  the  Member  States.  The  change  to  a  more  workshop-based  approach  is 
partly a result of this evaluation. 

The  global  results  of  this  evaluation  set  out  in  table  19  are  nevertheless  interesting.  The 
key  questions  (1,  2  and  7)  which  express  the  overall  view  of  the  seminar,  are 
overwhelmingly  positive  and  are  either  about  the  same  or  marginally  improved  in  1995 
over  1993-94.  On  a positive  note,  the  reduction  in the  number  of  presentations  (question 
3)  in  favour  of  workshops  has  clearly  been  welcomed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  slight 
reductions  in satisfaction  with  some  aspects  of the organisation  of the  seminars  (questions 
4,5  and 6)  show that even more effort  needs to be put into their organisation. 

22 

In  addition  there  is  further  evidence  that  each  seminar  has  had  a  direct  effect  on  policy 
development  at  a Community  and  Member  State  level  as  the  results  of  the  seminars.  For 
example,  the  seminar  in  Estoril  has  launched  a debate  about  the  resourcing  of  the  CLO's 
which  are  at  the  heart  of  mutual  assistance.  The  seminar  in  Malmo  has  led  to  several 
bilateral  contacts  between  Member  States  interested  in the  audit  software  and  techniques 
developed  by other  Member  States.  The  Commission  is  also  pursuing  this  at  Community 
level.  The  seminar  in  Elsinore  has  encouraged  a  cross-fertilisation  between  the  Member 
States on  how  to  obtain quality  from  their administrations  and  has led  to  follow-up  visits. 
The  seminar  in  Rovaniemi  has  laid  the  foundations  for  the  development  of  a  mutual 
assistance  liaison  network  for  Excise  duties.  The  seminar  in Crawley  led  to  exchanges  of 
information  between  two  Member  States  about  suspicious  textile  companies  trading 
between  them.  Finally the  seminars for the  new  Member  States have  played  a vital  part in 
the  training  of  their  officials  and  therefore  the  successful  introduction  of  the  indirect  tax 
Internal Market. 

In  1995  it  was  agreed  that  the  Member  States  would  complete  another  evaluation  form 
for  each  seminar  on behalf of their administration.  This  is to  be  done  six  months  after  the 
end  of  the  seminar  in  order  to  quantify  the  long  term  benefits  of  the  seminar  and  the 
follow-up  carried  out.  Due  to  the  six  month  delay,  the  results  of  these  evaluations  of  the 
1995  seminar  programme  are  not  available  for  this  report.  The  results  will  however  be 
evaluated  by  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States,  particularly  with  a  view  to 
preparing  the  1997  seminar  programme.  This  new  evaluation  tool  will  permit  a  better 
evaluation  of the longer term value of the programme to the Member States. 

Table  19: Participants' evaluation of seminars (all fîgures are in percentages) 

23 

yes 

mostly 

partly 

no 

93-94 

74 

67 

19 

70 

71 

85 

74 

82 

69 

95 

67 

72 

4 

60 

63 

63 

72 

87 

56 

93-94 

95 

93-94 

95 

93-94 

95 

22 

25 

4 

16 

16 

7 

17 

15 

17 

27 

23 

2 

21 

21 

16 

21 

12 

21 

4 

9 

8 

9 

9 

7 

9 

3 

7 

6 

5 

7 

12 

11 

14 

6 

1 

14 

1 

0 

0 

1 

68 

87 

5 

4 

0 

0 

0 

6 

7 

5 

7 

0 

0 

9 

too  many 

1.  Did  the  seminar  meet  (or 
exceed) your  expectations? 
2.  Did  the  seminar  cover  the 
subjects  you  expected  it to? 
there 
3.  Were 
presentations? 
4.  Was  there  enough  time  for 
discussion? 
5.  Was  there  enough  time  to 
talk  to  delegates  from  other 
Member  States? 
6.  Were 
documents  available? 
7.  Would  you  say  that  overall 
the  seminar  was  useful 
to 
your  administration? 
8.  Was  it  a  good  environment 
for  the  seminar? 
9.  Were 
the 
facilities  satisfactory? 

translation 

enough 

there 

24 

Annex C: The Common training programme 

Following extensive consultation  at  the seminar  in Nevcrs, the Commission  services drew 
up a draft  common  training  programme  as required  by Article 4(c) of the  Matthaeus-Tax 
decision.  The  Matthaeus-Tax  committee  was  consulted  and  approved  the  draft  decision 
unanimously. It was adopted by the Commission on  12 July  19958. 

The decision is aimed primarily at new indirect tax officials  undergoing initial training and 
is designed to provide them with a common basis of training and one which will help them 
understand  the Community dimension of their work better.  The decision  lists the  subjects 
to be covered in the initial training of all new indirect tax officials.  These subjects will also 
form the basis of continuing training for  officials. 

Although  the  decision  only  came  into  force  during  1995, by the  end  of the  year  most  of 
the Member  States  had  implemented  it.  All  the  Member  States  already  included  a  large 
proportion  of the programme's contents in their training  programme,  notably  Community 
indirect  tax  law. The most  significant  effect  of the programme  has been to give an added 
emphasis to  the  general  context  of the  Community  (the  sources  of  Community  law,  the 
institutions  and  Community  policies)  and 
for 
administrative cooperation and mutual assistance. 

to  Community 

instruments 

legal 

Table 20 sets out  such figures  for  the implementation  of the programme that the Member 
States currently  have. Whilst  some Member  States have difficulties  in collecting this data 
on  a  common  basis,  it  appears  that,  even  in  1995,  a  significant  number  of  new  officials 
received  training on the subjects  of the common training programme. It is encouraging to 
note that few  new officials  received training which was not linked  to the common  training 
programme. 

The  figures  on  continuing  training  are  even  more  patchy  and  difficult  to  interpret. 
Anecdotal  evidence  suggests  that  the  Member  States  have  been  making  an  effort  to 
broaden the Community dimension of the training of their officials,  in particular  in the use 
of  the  mutual  assistance  and  administrative  cooperation  instruments,  which  is  of 
immediate practical use. 

In the future  the Commission  will endeavour to establish with the Member  States a better 
statistical  basis for  the evaluation  of the common  training  programmes.  Better  evaluation 
will  also  permit  reflection  on  the  next  stage  in  the  common  training  programmes,  in 
particular whether the common training programme should be deepened,  to include details 
of the key elements in each subject area to be included in each training programme. 

Commission decision 95/279/EC of 12 July 1995 OJ No L 172 of 22 July 1995, p 24 

Table  20:  Initial  and  continuing  training  in the Member  States. 

1995 

INITIAL  TRAINING 

TOTAL  NUMBER OF OFFICIALS 
HAVING RECEIVED TRAINING 

B 
DK 
D 
EL 
E 
F ab 
IRL 
Ie 
Ld 
NL 
A 
P 
FIN 
S 
UK 

622 
114 
4800 
not available (n/a) 
483 
449 
52 
1607 
39 
255 
775 
0 
100 
n/a 
84 

OFFICIALS TRAINED UNDER 
COMMON TRAINING 
PROGRAMME 
622 
114 
4800 
n/a 
483 
388 
0 
407 
20 
255 
190 
0 
100 
100 
84 

CONTINUAL TRAINING ON SUBJECTS OF  COMMON 
TRAINING  PROGRAMME 

OFFICIALS ELIGIBLE 

OFFICIALS HAVING RECEIVED 
TRAINING 

2300 
1400 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
7800 
69 b 
n/a 
0a 
n/a 
2000 
n/a 
300 e 
n/a 
n/a 

2300 
350 
n/a 
950 
2751 
n/a 
69 b 
713 
0a 
n/a 
820 
n/a 
120 e 
2013 
n/a 

only VAT  officials 

a 
b  These figures  include  direct  tax as well  as VAT officials,  as they  cannot  be identified  separately 
c 
Includes only figures  for  VAT officials  of the Ministrv  of Finance  and the  Guardia  di  Finanza 
d 
Includes customs  officials  as well as VAT and  Excise  officials 
e 
onlv includes Excise  officials 

25 

26 

Annex  D: Language training 

Article  6 of the  Matthaeus-Tax  decision  says that  the  Member  States  are  responsible  for 
providing the necessary language training for those of their officials  likely to participate in 
the programme. 

The evidence from  the  questionnaire's  submitted  by participants  in  1995 (set  out  in table 
21) show that  the fluency  in the language  of the  host  country  has dropped.  Nevertheless 
the ability to communicate (table 24) is high. 21 percent  of the participants  (table 22) did 
participate  in  a language  training  course  before  the  exchange  and  these  courses  seem  to 
have been very important to those who went on them (table 23). 

Table  25  provides  some  basic  statistics  on  the  language  training  the  Member  States 
provide for their officials.  Whilst the figures are incomplete and difficult  to compare, there 
is evidence  of a consistent  effort  by  some  Member  States  to  promote  linguistic training. 
The Member  States do all have a policy of language training. In some Member  States this 
may  simply  be  making  available  a  programme  on  a  voluntary  basis.  In  other  Member 
States  targets  are  set  for  all  units  in  the  administration.  Policy  on  specific  training  for 
Matthaeus-Tax  candidates varies.  Most  Member  States  simply integrate  this training  into 
general training. Others offer  voluntary  specialist training, especially when the language of 
the host Member State is one of the less widely spoken Community languages. 

Again  the  Commission  will  need  to  work  with  the  Member  States  to  provide  a  better 
statistical  basis for  evaluation  of language training efforts.  The Commission  will  continue 
to  encourage  a  long  term  approach  to  language  training  to  provide  a  sufficient  pool  of 
candidates for the exchange programme. 

Profile of linguistic abilities of exchange participants 

Table 21: Could you speak the language of the host country? 

I 

Yes, fluently 
Basic level only 
No 

1 

1995 
45% 
26% 
29% 

I 

1993-94 
66% 
13% 
21% 

Table  22:  Did  you  follow  a  language  training  course  to  participate  in  the 
Matthaeus-Tax  programme ?* 

Yes 
No 

I 

21% 
79% 

Table 23: If you did follow a language course, how useful was it to your exchange ?' 

very 
useful 

52% 

26% 

4% 

15% 

4% 

not  at  all 
useful 

Table  24:  To  what  degree  did  you  feel  you  were  able  to  communicate  in  the  host 
country ?* 

very well 

54% 

33% 

12% 

1% 

0% 

not at all 

Table  25: Overall  language  training  in  the Member  States 

English 

French 

German 

Spanish 

Other 

Total 
Average 

1995 

number  of  officials 
hours/official 
number of  officials 
hours/official 
number  of  officials 
hours/official 
number  of  officials 
hours/official 
number  of  officials 
hours/official 
number of  officials 
hours/official 

B 
103 
50 
75 
75 
35 
58 
20 
112 
29 
80 
262 
66 

DK 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 

D 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
-
-
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
1200a 
n/a 

E La 
15 
n/a 
3 
n/a 
1 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
4 
n/a 
22 
n/a 

E 
183 
92 
66 
130 
3 
88 
-
-
-
-
252 
102 

p bc 
n/a 
n/a 
-
-
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
80 
n/a 

I R Lb 
-
-
58 
118 
17 
118 
9 
118 
5 
118 
89+66S 
118 

Id 
437 
n/a 
116 
n/a 
87 
n/a 
93 
n/a 
-
-
733 
n/a 

L* 
4 
300 
-  . 
-
-
-
2 
300 
-
-
6 
300 

NL 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 

A 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
150 
n/a 

P 
88 
n/a 
41 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
129 
n/a 

F I Na 
143 
30 
67 
30 
29 
30 
2 
30 
n/a 
n/a 
241 
30 

Scf 
80 
31 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
n/a 
80 
31 

UK 
-
-
346 
60 
20 
80 
107 
80 
10 
65 
527 
60 

| 

Includes only Customs and Excise data 
only VAT  officials 
These figures include direct tax as well as VAT officials,  as they cannot be identified  separately 
Includes only figures for VAT officials  of the Ministry' of Finance and the Guardia di Finanza 
Includes customs officials  as well as VAT and Excise  officials 
includes 6 months of  1994 as well 
66 excise  officials 

27 

X 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 543 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16  09  04  10 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-96-549-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-10741-7 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

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