Commission Regulation (EC) No 1179/2008 of 28 November 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Council Directive 2008/55/EC on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain levies, duties, taxes and other measures
Date: 2008-11-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EAGGF, administrative cooperation, claim, disclosure of information, distribution of EU funding, exchange of information, form, redemption

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1179/2008

of 28 November 2008

laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Council Directive 2008/55/EC on
mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain levies, duties, taxes and other
measures

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Directive 2008/55/EC of 26 May
2008 on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating
to certain levies, duties, taxes and other measures (1), and in
particular Article 22 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of
Directive 2008/55/EC are laid down in Commission
Directive 2002/94/EC (2). However,
experience has
is not
shown that, a Directive, due to its legal nature,
the most efficient legal
instrument to fully achieve the
purpose of a uniform procedure for mutual assistance.
Therefore, it is appropriate to replace that Directive by a
Regulation.

to facilitate the exchange of

information
In order
between the competent authorities of
the Member
States, all assistance requests and all accompanying
documents and information should, as far as possible,
be communicated by electronic means.

In order to ensure that appropriate data and information
are transmitted, models of forms for requests for mutual
assistance among national authorities of
the Member
States should be established.
It should be possible to
update the structure and the lay-out of the electronic
forms without amending the models in order to adapt
those forms to the requirements and possibilities of the
electronic communication system, provided that
the
requests contain the set of data and information required.

In order to enable the Commission to evaluate the effect
and efficiency of the procedures laid down in Directive
2008/55/EC on a regular basis, it is appropriate to set
out certain information to be communicated to the
Commission by the Member States every year.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Committee on
Recovery,

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

This Regulation lays down the detailed rules for implementing
Article 4(2) and (4), Article 5(2) and (3), Article 7, Article 8,
Article 9, Article 11, Article 12(1) and (2), Article 14,
Article 18(3) and Article 24 of Directive 2008/55/EC.

It also lays down the detailed rules on conversion, transfer of
sums recovered, the fixing of a minimum amount for claims
which may give rise to a request for assistance, as well as the
means by which communications between authorities may be
transmitted.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions
shall apply:

1. transmission ‘by electronic means’ means transmission using
electronic
including digital
compression, of data and employing wires, radio trans­
mission, optical
electromagnetic
technologies or other
means;

for processing,

equipment

2.

‘CCN/CSI network’ means the common platform based on
the Common Communication Network (CCN) and Common
System Interface (CSI), developed by the Community to
ensure all
transmissions by electronic means between
competent authorities in the area of Customs and Taxation.

CHAPTER II

REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION

Article 3

The request for information referred to in Article 4 of Directive
2008/55/EC shall comprise the set of data and information
contained in the model of the form set out in Annex I to
this Regulation.

(1) OJ L 150, 10.6.2008, p. 28.
(2) OJ L 337, 13.12.2002, p. 41.

Where a similar request has been addressed to any other
authority, the applicant authority shall
indicate in its request
for information the name of that authority.

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Article 4

The request for information may relate to any of the following:

1. the debtor;

2. any person liable for settlement of the claim under the law
in force in the Member State in which the applicant
authority is situated (hereinafter ‘the Member State of the
applicant authority’);

3. any third party holding assets belonging to one of

the

persons mentioned under points (1) or (2).

Article 5

1.
The requested authority shall acknowledge receipt of the
request for information as soon as possible and in any event
within seven days of such receipt.

2.
Immediately upon receipt of the request the requested
authority shall, where appropriate, ask the applicant authority
to provide any additional information necessary. The applicant
authority shall provide all additional necessary information to
which it normally has access.

specifying the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 2008/55/EC
on which it relies. Such notification shall be given by the
requested authority as soon as it has taken its decision and in
any event within three months of the date of the acknowl­
edgement of the receipt of the request.

Article 8

The applicant authority may at any time withdraw the request
for information which it has sent to the requested authority.
The decision to withdraw shall be transmitted to the requested
authority.

CHAPTER III

REQUESTS FOR NOTIFICATION

Article 9

The request for notification referred to in Article 5 of Directive
2008/55/EC shall comprise the set of data and information
contained in the model of the form set out in Annex II to
this Regulation.

The original or a certified copy of the instrument or decision,
notification of which is requested, shall be attached to the
request.

Article 6

Article 10

The requested authority shall

1.
transmit each item of
requested information to the applicant authority as and when
it is obtained.

The request for notification may relate to any natural or legal
person who, in accordance with the law in force in the Member
State of the applicant authority, is required to be informed of
any instrument or decision which concerns that person.

2. Where all or some of the requested information cannot be
obtained within a reasonable time, having regard to the
particular case,
the requested authority shall so inform the
applicant authority, indicating the reasons therefore.

the end of six months from the date of
In any event, at
the requested
the request,
acknowledgement of
authority shall inform the applicant authority of the outcome
of the investigations which it has conducted in order to obtain
the information requested.

receipt of

the applicant authority may request

In the light of the information received from the requested
authority,
the latter to
continue its investigation. That request shall be made within
two months of the receipt of the notification of the outcome
of the investigations carried out by the requested authority, and
shall be treated by the requested authority in accordance with
the provisions applying to the initial request.

Article 7

the requested authority decides not

If
to comply with the
request for information, it shall notify the applicant authority
to comply with the request,
of

the reasons for the refusal

In so far as such is not indicated in the instrument or decision
of which notification is requested, the request for notification
shall refer to the rules in force in the Member State of the
applicant authority governing the procedure for contestation
of the claim or for its recovery.

Article 11

1.
The requested authority shall acknowledge receipt of the
request for notification as soon as possible and in any event
within seven days of such receipt.

Immediately upon receipt of the request for notification, the
requested authority shall take the necessary measures to effect
notification in accordance with the law in force in the Member
State in which it is situated.

If necessary, but without jeopardising the final date for notifi­
cation indicated in the request for notification, the requested
authority shall ask the applicant authority to provide additional
information.

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The applicant authority shall provide all additional information
to which it normally has access.

(a) acknowledge receipt of the request;

The

requested authority shall

applicant
2.
authority of the date of notification as soon as this has been
effected, by certifying the notification in the request
form
returned to the applicant authority.

inform the

CHAPTER IV

REQUESTS FOR RECOVERY OR FOR PRECAUTIONARY
MEASURES

Article 12

for

Requests

recovery or

1.
for precautionary measures
referred to in Articles 6 and 13 respectively of Directive
2008/55/EC shall comprise the set of data and information
contained in the model of the form set out in Annex III to
this Regulation.

Such requests shall include a declaration that the conditions laid
down in Directive 2008/55/EC for
initiating the mutual
assistance procedure have been fulfilled.

The original or a certified copy of

the instrument
2.
permitting enforcement
for
request
recovery or for precautionary measures. A single instrument
may be issued in respect of several claims where they concern
one and the same person.

accompany the

shall

For the purposes of Articles 13 to 20 of this Regulation, all
claims covered by the same instrument permitting enforcement
shall be deemed to constitute a single claim.

Article 13

Requests for recovery or for precautionary measures may relate
to any person referred to in Article 4.

Article 14

If

1.
the currency of the Member State of the requested
authority is different from the currency of the Member State
of the applicant authority, the applicant authority shall express
the amount of the claim to be recovered in both currencies.

2.
The rate of exchange to be used for the purposes of
paragraph 1 shall be the latest selling rate recorded on the
most
the
Member State of the applicant authority on the date when
the request for recovery is sent.

exchange market or markets of

representative

Article 15

The requested authority shall, as soon as possible and in
for

1.
any event within seven days of receipt of
recovery or for precautionary measures:

the request

(b) ask the applicant authority to complete the request if it does
not contain the information or other particulars mentioned
in Article 7 of Directive 2008/55/EC.

If

the requested authority does not

2.
take the requisite
action within the three-month period laid down in Article 8
of Directive 2008/55/EC, it shall, as soon as possible and in any
event within seven days of the expiry of that period, inform the
applicant authority of the grounds for its failure to comply with
the time limit.

Article 16

Where, within a reasonable time having regard to the particular
case, all or part of the claim cannot be recovered or precau­
tionary measures cannot be taken, the requested authority shall
so inform the applicant authority,
indicating the reasons
therefore.

No later than at the end of each six-month period following the
date of acknowledgement of the receipt of the request, the
requested authority shall inform the applicant authority of the
state of progress or the outcome of the procedure for recovery
or for precautionary measures.

In the light of the information received from the requested
authority, the applicant authority may request the latter to re-
open the procedure for recovery or for precautionary measures.
That request shall be made within two months of the receipt of
the notification of the outcome of that procedure, and shall be
treated by the requested authority in accordance with the
provisions applying to the initial request.

Article 17

Any action contesting the claim or

1.
the instrument
permitting its enforcement which is taken in the Member
State of
the applicant authority shall be notified to the
requested authority by the applicant authority immediately
after the latter has been informed of such action.

If

2.
the laws, regulations and administrative practices in
force in the Member State of the requested authority do not
permit precautionary measures or the recovery requested under
the
second subparagraph of Article 12(2) of Directive
2008/55/EC, the requested authority shall notify the applicant
authority to that effect as soon as possible and in any event
within one month of the receipt of the notification referred to
in paragraph 1.

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Any action which is taken in the Member State of the
3.
requested authority for reimbursement of sums recovered or for
compensation in relation to recovery of contested claims under
the
second subparagraph of Article 12(2) of Directive
2008/55/EC shall be notified to the applicant authority by the
requested authority immediately after
the latter has been
informed of such action.

The requested authority shall as far as possible involve the
applicant authority in the procedures for settling the amount
to be reimbursed and the compensation due. Upon a reasoned
request from the requested authority, the applicant authority
shall transfer the sums reimbursed and the compensation paid
within two months of the receipt of that request.

Article 18

If the request for recovery or for precautionary measures
1.
becomes devoid of purpose as a result of payment of the claim
or of its cancellation or for any other reason, the applicant
authority shall immediately inform the requested authority so
that the latter may stop any action which it has undertaken.

2. Where the amount of the claim which is the subject of the
request for recovery or for precautionary measures is adjusted
inform the
for any reason,
requested authority, and if necessary issue a new instrument
permitting enforcement.

the applicant authority shall

If the adjustment entails a reduction in the amount of the
3.
claim, the requested authority shall continue the action which it
has undertaken with a view to recovery or to the taking of
precautionary measures, but that action shall be limited to the
amount still outstanding.

If, at the time when the requested authority is informed of the
reduction in the amount of the claim, an amount exceeding the
amount still outstanding has already been recovered by it but
the transfer procedure referred to in Article 19 has not yet been
initiated,
repay the amount
overpaid to the person entitled thereto.

the requested authority shall

4.
If the adjustment entails an increase in the amount of the
claim, the applicant authority shall as soon as possible address
to the requested authority an additional request for recovery or
for precautionary measures.

That additional request shall, as far as possible, be dealt with by
the requested authority at the same time as the original request
in view of the state of
from the applicant authority. Where,
progress of the existing procedure, consolidation of the ad­
ditional request with the original request is not possible, the
requested authority shall be required to comply with the ad­
ditional request only if it concerns an amount not less than that
referred to in Article 25(2).

5.
In order to convert the adjusted amount of the claim into
the currency of the Member State of the requested authority, the

applicant authority shall use the exchange rate used in its
original request.

Article 19

Any sum recovered by the requested authority, including, where
applicable, the interest referred to in Article 9(2) of Directive
2008/55/EC, shall be transferred to the applicant authority in
the currency of the Member State of the requested authority.
The transfer shall take place within one month of the date on
which recovery was effected.

The competent authorities of the Member States may agree
different arrangements for the transfer of amounts below the
threshold referred to in Article 25(2) of this Regulation.

Article 20

Irrespective of any amounts collected by the requested authority
by way of the interest referred to in Article 9(2) of Directive
2008/55/EC, the claim shall be deemed to have been recovered
in proportion to the recovery of the amount expressed in the
national currency of
the requested
authority, on the basis of
the exchange rate referred to in
Article 14(2) of this Regulation.

the Member State of

CHAPTER V

TRANSMISSION OF COMMUNICATIONS

Article 21

All assistance requests,

1.
instruments permitting enforce­
ment and copies of these instruments, and any other accom­
panying documents, as well as any other information commu­
nicated with regard to these requests shall, as far as possible, be
transmitted by electronic means, via the CCN/CSI network.

Such documents transmitted in electronic form or print outs
thereof shall be deemed to have the same legal effect as
documents transmitted by post.

If the applicant authority sends a copy of the instrument
2.
it shall
permitting enforcement or of any other document,
this copy with the original, by
certify the conformity of
stating in this copy,
language or one of the
official languages of the Member State in which it is situated,
the words ‘certified a true copy’, the name of the certifying
official and the date of this certification.

in the official

the structure and the lay-out of

If requests for mutual assistance are transmitted by elec­
3.
the models
tronic means,
referred to in the first paragraph of Article 3,
the first
paragraph of Article 9 and in Article 12(1) may be adapted
to the requirements and possibilities of the electronic commu­
nication system, provided that the content of information is not
altered.

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If a request cannot be transmitted by electronic means, it
4.
shall be transmitted by post. In that case, the request shall be
signed by an official of the applicant authority, duly authorised
to make such a request.

Article 22

Each Member State shall designate a central office with principal
responsibility for communication by electronic means with
other Member States. That office shall be connected to the
CCN/CSI network.

Where several authorities are appointed in a Member State for
the purpose of applying this Regulation, the central office shall
be responsible for the forwarding of all communication by
electronic means between those authorities and the central
offices of other Member States.

Article 23

1. Where the competent authorities of the Member States
store information in electronic data bases and exchange such
information by electronic means, they shall take all measures
necessary to ensure that any information communicated in
whatever form pursuant to this Regulation is treated as confi­
dential.

CHAPTER VI

ELIGIBILITY AND REFUSAL OF REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE

Article 25

A request for assistance may be made by the applicant
1.
authority in respect of either a single claim or several claims
where those are recoverable from one and the same person.

2.
No request for assistance may be made if the total amount
of the relevant claim or claims listed in Article 2 of Directive
2008/55/EC is less than EUR 1 500.

Article 26

the requested authority decides, pursuant

If
to the first
paragraph of Article 14 of Directive 2008/55/EC, to refuse a
request for assistance, it shall notify the applicant authority of
the reasons for the refusal. Such notification shall be given by
the requested authority as soon as it has taken its decision and
in any event within three months of the date of receipt of the
request for assistance.

CHAPTER VII

REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

Article 27

It shall be covered by the obligation of professional secrecy and
shall enjoy the protection extended to similar information under
the national law of the Member State which received it.

Each Member State shall appoint at
reimbursement
authorised
Article 18(3) of Directive 2008/55/EC.

to agree

least one official duly
under

arrangements

2.
The information referred to in paragraph 1 may be made
available only to the persons and authorities referred to in
Article 16 of Directive 2008/55/EC.

Such information may be used in connection with judicial or
administrative proceedings initiated for the recovery of levies,
duties, taxes and other measures referred to in Article 2 of
Directive 2008/55/EC.

Persons duly accredited by the Security Accreditation Authority
of the European Commission may have access to this infor­
mation only in so far as is necessary for the care, maintenance
and development of the CCN/CSI network.

3. Where the competent authorities of the Member States
communicate by
all
measures necessary to ensure that all communications are
duly authorised.

electronic means,

shall

they

take

Article 24

to the

communicated by the
Information and other particulars
shall be
requested authority
conveyed in the official
the official
languages of the Member State of the requested authority or
in another language agreed between the applicant and requested
authorities.

language or one of

applicant

authority

Article 28

If

1.
the requested authority decides to request reimbur­
sement arrangements it shall notify the applicant authority of
the reasons for its view that recovery of the claim poses a
specific problem, entails very high costs or relates to the fight
against organised crime.

The requested authority shall append a detailed estimate of the
costs for which it requests reimbursement by the applicant
authority.

The applicant authority shall acknowledge receipt of the
2.
request for reimbursement arrangements as soon as possible
and in any event within seven days of receipt.

Within two months of the date of acknowledgement of receipt
of the said request, the applicant authority shall
inform the
requested authority whether and to what extent it agrees with
the proposed reimbursement arrangements.

If no agreement is reached between the applicant and
3.
requested
reimbursement
arrangements, the requested authority shall continue recovery
procedures in the normal way.

authority

respect

with

to

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CHAPTER VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 29

inform the Commission before 15
Each Member State shall
March each year, as far as possible by electronic means, of
the use made of
laid down in Directive
2008/55/EC and of
the results achieved in the previous
calendar year.

the procedures

The communication of
elements contained in the model of
Annex IV to this Regulation.

that

information shall comprise the
in

the form set out

Article 30

Each Member State shall notify the other Member States and the
Commission of the name and address of the competent auth­
orities for the purpose of applying this Regulation, as well as of
under
agree
the
Article 18(3) of Directive 2008/55/EC.

arrangements

authorised

officials

to

Article 31

Directive 2002/94/EC is hereby repealed.

The references to that Directive shall be construed as references
to this Regulation.

Communication of any additional information, relating to the
nature of the claims for which recovery assistance was requested
or granted, shall comprise the elements contained in the model
of the form set out in Annex V to this Regulation.

Article 32

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2009.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 November 2008.

For the Commission

László KOVÁCS
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

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ANNEX II

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ANNEX III

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V

I

X
E
N
N
A

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ANNEX V