Proposal for a CouncilDecisionon the conclusion, onbehalf of the European Community, of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests
Date: 2008-12-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Liechtenstein, administrative cooperation, cooperation agreement, fraud, fraud against the EU, judicial cooperation, signature of an agreement

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 10.12.2008 
COM(2008) 839 final 

2008/0234 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

BACKGROUND OF THE NEGOTIATIONS 

In the context of the negotiations with the Principality of Liechtenstein concerning its 
association  with  the  implementation,  application  and  development  of  the  Schengen 
acquis,1 it became apparent that specific comprehensive anti-fraud negotiations with 
Liechtenstein could address the fact that according to the Liechtenstein domestic law, 
legal assistance is excluded for certain specific offences regarding taxes, customs or 
infringements  of  foreign  trade  provisions.  The  Commission  therefore  submitted  a 
proposal  for  a  negotiating  mandate  for  an  Agreement  between  the  European 
Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein,  of  the  other,  to  combat  fraud  and  all  other  illegal  activity  to  the 
detriment of their financial interests. 2 

The  negotiations  were  conducted  by  the  Commission  following  the  authorization 
given by the Council on 7 November 2006.  

The  Commission  respected  fully  the  negotiating  directives  attached  to  the  Council 
decision  by  taking  into  account,  in  particular,  the  position  of  Liechtenstein  as  a 
financial  centre,  its  integration  in  the  EEA,  the  current  Community  acquis  and 
foreseeable  future  developments  in  the  area  of  co-operation,  covering  all  financial 
interests, especially in the field of taxation.  

The comprehensive approach of the negotiations is reflected in Articles 7 and 25 of 
the  Agreement  where  it  is  stated  that  more  favourable  provisions  of  bilateral  or 
multilateral  Agreements  between  the  Parties  are  not  affected  by  the  provisions 
contained in the Agreement, in particular with regard to the Agreement between the 
European  Community  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  providing  for  measures 
equivalent  to  those  laid  down  in  Council  Directive  2003/48/EC  on  taxation  of 
savings  income  in  the  form  of  interest  payments3  (the  Liechtenstein  Savings  Tax 
Agreement). 

Administrative  cooperation  is  shaped  in  accordance  with  the  standards  of  the 
Convention on mutual assistance and cooperation between customs administrations4 
(the  Naples  II  Convention)  and  on  Council  Directive  77/799/EEC  of  19  December 
1977  concerning  mutual  assistance  by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States  in  the  field  of  direct  taxation.5  The  provisions  on  recovery  are  inspired  by 
Council  Directive  76/308/EEC  of  15  March  1976  on  mutual  assistance  for  the 
recovery  of  claims  relating  to  certain  levies,  duties,  taxes  and  other  measures 
resulting  from  operations  forming  part  of  the  system  of  financing  the  European 

1 
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3 
4 
5 

Council Decisions 2008/261/EC and 2008/262/EC of 28 February 2008, OJ L 83, 26.3.2008, p. 3. 
Council Doc. 12977/06. 
OJ L 379, 24.12.2004, p. 84. 
OJ C 24, 23.1.1998, p. 2. 
OJ L 336, 27.12.1977, p. 15. 

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Agricultural  Guidance  and  Guarantee  Fund,  and  of  the  agricultural  levies  and 
customs duties.6 

judicial  cooperation  are 

The  provisions  on 
the  Convention 
Implementing  the  Schengen  Agreement7  (the  SIC),  the  Convention  on  Mutual 
Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union8 
(the  EU  Mutual  Assistance  Convention)  and  the  Protocol  to  the  EU  Mutual 
Assistance Convention.9. 

inspired  from 

The  negotiations  were  concluded  on  27  June  2008.  The  Commission  is  therefore 
submitting  to  the  Council  the  attached  draft  decisions  on  the  signing  and  on  the 
conclusion of the Agreement on behalf of the European Community. 

2. 

RESULTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS 

2.1. 

Illegal activities in connection with the trade of goods and services 

The  prime  aim  of  the  Agreement  is  to  complement  the  envisaged  association  of 
Liechtenstein  to  the  Schengen  area,  with  those  provisions  in  the  field  of 
administrative and judicial assistance of the Community acquis, which are at present 
neither  covered  by  the  EEA  nor  the  Schengen  acquis,  but  which  are  necessary  to 
grant  each  other  full  assistance  on  fraud  and  all  other  illegal  activities,  including 
customs and indirect tax offences in connection with the trade of goods and services. 
In  that  respect,  the  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  its  Member 
States  and  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  counter  fraud  and  all  other  illegal  activities 
affecting  their  financial  interests10 (the Swiss Anti-Fraud Agreement)  has served as 
model. This objective was fulfilled, especially since the negotiated Agreement allows 
for:  

•  administrative assistance and assistance in recovery, including for illegal activities 
affecting grants and public procurement, which at the present are not covered by 
the EEA-Agreement,11 

•  judicial  co-operation,  including  the  evasion  of  value-added  tax,  in  particular 
allowing for searches and seizure and access to bank information, which as such is 
not  foreseen  by  Liechtenstein’s  association  to  the  Schengen  area,  given  that 
Liechtenstein  declared  explicitly  that  tax  offences  being  investigated  by  the 
Liechtenstein authorities may not give rise to an appeal before a court competent 
inter alia to hear criminal matters. 

2.2. 

Fraudulent activities affecting direct taxes 

Liechtenstein’s participation in the EEA and its envisaged adherence to the Schengen 
acquis  has  justified  tackling  also  illegal  activities  affecting  all  forms  of  taxation, 

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11 

OJ L 73, 19.3.1976, p. 18. 
OJ L 239, 22.9.2000. 
OJ C 197, 12.7.2000, p. 3. 
OJ C 326, 21.11.2001, p. 2. 
Council Document 12352/04. 
OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 171. 

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including direct taxes, from the start of the negotiations. However, there still remains 
a difference in the treatment of direct taxes in relation to other trade-related levies, 
such as customs and indirect taxes. This difference is due to the less advanced state 
of  integration  of  Community  legislation  and  European  Union  law  in  the  field  of 
direct taxes.  

Another  aim  of  the  Agreement  is  thus  to  ensure  that  Liechtenstein  will  grant 
administrative  and  judicial  assistance  on  fraud  affecting  direct  taxes  beyond  and 
besides  of  what  is  foreseen  in  the  Liechtenstein  Savings  Tax  Agreement.  In  this 
regard,  the  Agreement  is  innovative  insofar  as  Liechtenstein  up  to  now  denied  any 
assistance for fraudulent activities affecting direct taxation and as the Agreement is 
the  first  one  negotiated  on  a  European  level  to  cover  all  forms  of  taxes.  The 
Agreement  is  broader  in  scope  in  relation  to  the  model  of  the  Swiss  Anti-Fraud 
Agreement,  since  it  leads  to  aligning  Liechtenstein's  providing  for  assistance  on 
fraud affecting direct taxation with the European standards. It allows for:  

•  administrative  assistance  for  (document  related)  fraudulent  conduct  affecting 
direct  taxes,  under  the  same  conditions  as  granted  amongst  the  Member  States 
under  Community  legislation,  allowing  for  integrating  future  reforms  and 
enhancements  of  the  assistance  level  within  the  European  Community  into  the 
Agreement via the Joint Committee, 

•  recovery  assistance  for  (document  related)  fraudulent  conduct  affecting  direct 
taxes as is granted amongst the Member States under Community legislation, 

•  judicial  co-operation  for  (document  related)  fraudulent  conduct  affecting  direct 
taxes,  including  searches  and  seizure  and  access  to  bank  information,  which  at 
present would not be covered by Liechtenstein’s association to Schengen. 

As  regards  assistance  with  respect  to  foundations  and  other  forms  of  investment 
which are controlled by a fiduciary and where the founder and the beneficial owner 
of the foundation are not publicly registered, the contracting parties need to employ 
all  their  information  and  control  powers  in  order  to  respond  to  a  request  for 
assistance  in  the  form  of  information  exchange.  Pursuant  to  Article  11(2),  the  fact 
that  the  information  is  held  by  a  fiduciary  does  not  affect  the  admissibility  of  a 
request for assistance with the consequence, that the tax authorities of the requested 
contracting  party  will  in  case  of  a  need  obtain  the  necessary  information  from  the 
fiduciary  who  as  an  economic  operator  will  be  obliged  to  cooperate  as  set  out  in 
Article 19. 

3. 

PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT 

3.1. 

General Provisions 

•  Articles 1 and 2 – "Objective" and "General Scope":  

These  Articles  define  the  subject  matter  and  scope  of  the  Agreement,  covering 
administrative  assistance  and  judicial  cooperation  for  the  protection  of  the 
Communities' financial interests and the financial interests of the Member States. 

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Within the scope of the Agreement, Article 2(1)(a) covers all fraud and other illegal 
activity extending to all indirect taxes (VAT and excise duties) and customs offences, 
including  smuggling,  corruption,  bribery  and  laundering  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
activities subject to Article 2(3). Procedures for the award of contracts are considered 
to  be  those  leading  to  the  conclusion  of  "public  contracts"  as  set  out  in  Directive 
2004/18/EC  on  the  coordination  of  procedures  for  the  award  of  public  works 
contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts.12 

Article 2(1)(b) further covers fraud and other fraudulent conduct affecting all direct 
taxes  (taxes  on  income  and  capital).  Article  2(1)(c)  finally  allows  for  assistance  in 
recovery for amounts lost due to the activities listed in Article 2(1)(a) and (b). 

Assistance for money laundering, as set out in Article 2(3), is inspired from Directive 
2005/60/EC on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of 
money  laundering  and  terrorist  financing13  and  refers  also  to  Liechtenstein's 
obligations under the EEA to take-over the Community acquis in this respect.  

The main definitions of relevance for the scope of the Agreement are laid down in 
Article 2(4). This is particularly important for the definition of direct taxes in Article 
2(4)(e),  covering  private  and  business  income,  as  well  as  of  fraudulent  conduct 
affecting  direct  taxes  in  Article  2(4)(f),  which  not  only  lists  in  an  exemplary  way 
some  of  the  possible  conducts  amounting  to  tax  fraud,  but  also  defines  the 
submission of incomplete tax returns as a fraudulent conduct. 

•  Article 3 – "Minor cases":  

This  Article  intends  to  avoid  being  faced  with  an  excessively  high  number  of 
assistance requests relating to minor points. 

•  Article 4 – "Ordre public":  

This Article includes the relevant grounds of public order in accordance with Article 
2(b)  of  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual  assistance  in  Criminal  Matters  of  the 
Council of Europe (Strasbourg 20.4.1959). 

•  Article 5 – "Transmission of information":  

This  Article  is  inspired  by  the  Liechtenstein  Savings  Tax  Agreement.  Article  5(2) 
makes a differentiated approach between information concerning illegal activities in 
connection  with  the  trade  of  goods  and  service  (point  a)  and  fraudulent  activities 
affecting  direct  taxes  (point  b)  so  as  to  respect  the  different  advancement  of  the 
Community acquis in these subjects. It should be noted that Article 5(2)(b) does not 
require  the  explicit  agreement  of  the  competent  authority  supplying  the  initial 
information but the explicit opposition of that authority. 

•  Article 6 - “Confidentiality”  

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OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114, incorporated into the EEA by Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 
68/2006  of  2 June 2006  amending  Annex  XVI  (Procurement)  to  the  EEA  Agreement,  OJ  L  245, 
7.9.2006, p. 22. 
OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15. 

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This  Article  refers  to  the  confidentiality  requirements  applying  to  the  handling  of 
assistance requests by the requested Party. 

3.2. 

Administrative assistance 

•  Article 7 - “Relationships with other Agreements”  

The  Agreement  does  not  repeal  the  EEA-Agreement's  Protocol  11  on  mutual 
assistance in customs matters,14 which can continue to apply, especially for customs 
aspects outside the scope of the anti-fraud Agreement, and the Liechtenstein Savings 
Tax Agreement. 

•  Article 8 - “Extent of Administrative Assistance”  

This  Article  corresponds  to  the  Naples  II  Convention,  as  administrative  assistance 
corresponds to the standards of the Naples II Convention as far as appropriate. This 
includes  the  use  of  information  for  the  purposes  of  the  Agreement.  The  anti-fraud 
agreement's scope goes beyond the exclusively customs-related scope of the Naples 
II Convention.  

•  Article 9 - “Statute of limitations”  

This  Article  is  inspired  by  a  similar  provision  foreseen  in  Article  10(2)  of  the 
Liechtenstein Savings Tax Agreement. 

•  Article 10 - “Powers”  

This  Article  corresponds  to  the  Naples  II  Convention,  as  the  provisions  of  the 
Agreement will apply within the limits of the powers conferred by national law on 
each  authority  concerned  in  the  framework  of  national  proceedings,  and  do  not 
amend or extend these powers. 

•  Article 11 - “Limits to exchange of information”  

Article 11(1) is inspired by Article 8 of Directive 77/799/EEC and therefore limited 
to fraudulent activities affecting direct taxes.  

While  still  respecting  the  standards  of  the  Naples  II  Convention  in  the  field  of 
administrative  assistance,  Article  11(2)  excludes  that  the  banking  secrecy  or  an 
ownership  interest  in  a  legal  person  (or other  structure  which  can  be  qualified  as  a 
person)  can  be  opposed  to  a  request  for  assistance  in  form  of  exchange 
ofinformation.  Respective  conflicting  provisions,  for  instance  under  domestic 
Liechtenstein law, would not be applicable for the purposes of the implementation of 
the anti-fraud agreement. The provisions under Article 11(2) prevail. 

The provision also allows for forwarding of information, which a requested authority 
already  possesses  as  foreseen  similarly  in  Article  7  of  Protocol  11  to  the  EEA-
Agreement.  

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OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 171. 

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The term "bank" used throughout the Agreement – alone, in connection with "other 
financial institution" or even with specific issues such as "information" or "accounts" 
– is considered to cover "credit institutions" and "financial institutions" as defined in 
Article 4(1) and (5) of Directive 2006/48/EC relating to the taking up and pursuit of 
the business of credit institution.15 

•  Article 12 - “Proportionality”. 

This Article reflects the concern already contained in Article 3 but within the limits 
of the administrative assistance. 

•  Article 13 - “Central Departments” 

This Article is in line with the content of Article 5 of the Naples II Convention and 
reflects  the  negotiating  brief's  requirement  for  clear  identification  of  the  relevant 
authorities  at  central  level.  The  central  departments  empowered  to  process  the 
requests for administrative assistance are designated by each Party. 

•  Article  14  - “Request for  information”-,  Article 15  - “Request  for surveillance”- 

and Article 16 -“Notification and transmission by post” 

These Articles of the Agreement are in line with the content of Articles 10, 11 and 13 
of the Naples II Convention.  

Article  14(4)  is  an  innovation,  insofar  as  it  will  allow  introducing  delays  for 
answering  requests  in  assistance  as  soon  as  appropriate  Community  legislation 
foreseeing such delays amongst the Member States will come into force. 

Article  15  concerns  the  trade  in  goods.  It  is  therefore  limited  in  subject  matter  to 
illegal activities in connection with the trade of goods and service. 

Article  16(2)  takes  into  account  the  standards  set  out  in  Directive  77/799/EC  on 
mutual  assistance  in  the  field  of  direct  taxation.  Article  16(3)  aims  to  ensure  that 
grant  recipients  and  contractors  for  the  Communities  residing  in  Liechtenstein  may 
be  contacted  directly  by  the  awarding  institution  and  may  respond  to  requests  for 
documents  and  information  directed  to  them  by  the  latter  in  connection  with  the 
grants and contracts concerned. 

•  Article 17 - “Request for investigations”- and Article 18- “Presence of authorised 

staff of the authority of the requesting contracting Party” 

These Articles are in line with the content of Article 12 of the Naples II Convention. 
Two joint declarations, similar to declarations on corresponding articles in the Swiss 
Anti-Fraud Agreement, will ensure an application towards Liechtenstein at the same 
level as towards the Swiss confederation. 

15 

OJ L 177, 30.6.2006, p. 1. Directive 2006/48/EC is a recast of Directive 2000/12/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of 
credit institutions (OJ L 126, 26.5.2000, p. 1), which was incorporated into the EEA by Decision of the 
EEA Joint Committee No 15/2001 of 28 February 2001 amending Annex IX (Financial services) to the 
EEA Agreement, OJ L 117, 26.4.2001, p. 13. 

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Article 18 covers the possibility of authorised staff to be present during the execution 
of the request for assistance and to consult the documents, to propose questions and 
suggest measures of investigation in order to  contribute  to  the  efficiency  of  mutual 
assistance  and,  where  appropriate,  to  have  access  to  the  same  premises  and 
documents and information as the staff of the requested authority. 

•  Article 19 - “Duty to cooperate” 

This  Article  is  a  corollary  of  Articles  17 and  18  and  reflects  similar  obligations  on 
traders  in  the  Member  States  in  respect  of  investigations  conducted  by  their 
authorities. The second sentence is inspired by the principles of Directive 77/799/EC. 

•  Article 20 – “Form and content of the request for assistance” 

This Article is in line with the content of Article 9 of the Naples II Convention. 

•  Article 21 - “Use of information” 

This  Article  is  similar  to  Article  11  of  Protocol  11  to  the  EEA-Agreement  and  it 
reflects  a  speciality  rule.  The  use  of  information  will  remain  confined  to  the 
protection of the Parties' financial interests as defined in Article 2. 

The Agreement does not contain provisions on spontaneous administrative assistance 
or  on  seconded  officers.  This  omission  is  due  to  the  reduced  Liechtenstein 
administrative capacities. 

•  Article  22  –  "Joint  Operations"  and  Article  23  –  “Joint  special  investigation 

teams” 

These Articles are in line with the content of similar measures covered in the Naples 
II  Convention.  They  are  drafted  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  application  of  the 
measures to the discretion of the Parties' authorities. 

Article 22 (3) was inserted with regard to fraudulent activities affecting direct taxes 
and is specifically inspired by Article 8b of Directive 77/799/EC. 

Articles  23(4)  to  (6)  are  taken  from  the  corresponding  provision  on  Joint  special 
investigation teams in the Naples II Convention. 

•  Article 24 - “Recovery” 

This  Article  takes  over  the  essence  of  Articles  6,  7,  9,  10,  and  13  of  Directive 
76/308/EEC.  The  explicit  reference  to  the  German  term  "Vollstreckungstitel"  in 
Article  24(2)  allows  avoiding  any  doubt  on  the  quality  of  the  acts  that  may  be 
enforced by assistance on recovery. 

With regard to fraudulent activities affecting direct taxes, a joint declaration clarifies 
that recovery assistance is only granted within the scope of the Agreement set out in 
Article  2  and  that  thus  the  requesting  authority  should  not  omit  to  provide  the 
requested  authority  with  the  necessary  information  to  allow  the  latter  to  verify 
whether assistance must be provided under the Agreement.  

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3.3.  Mutual legal assistance 

•  Article 25 - “Relationship with other Agreements” 

This  Article  is  based  on  the  same  rationale  of  the  complementarity  of  international 
instruments as Article 1 of the EU Mutual Assistance Convention. 

•  Article 26 - “Procedures in which assistance is given”  

This Article is in line with the content of Article 49 of the SIC and Article 3 of the 
EU Mutual Assistance Convention. This Article is now focused on the proceedings 
where judicial assistance is afforded including as regards those facts or offences for 
which a legal person could be liable. Article 26(2) has been maintained with the aim 
of  extending  the  measures  laid  down  in  the  Convention  on  Laundering,  Search, 
Seizure  and  Confiscation  of  the  Proceeds  from  Crime  of  the  Council  of  Europe 
(Strasbourg 8.11.1990) to offences covered by the anti-fraud Agreement. 

•  Article 27 - “Transmission of requests” 

The  direct  transmission  of  requests  is  in  line  with  Article  6  of  the  EU  Mutual 
Assistance Convention. 

•  Article 28 - “Service by post” 

This Article is in line with the content of Article 52 of the SIC and Article 5 of the 
EU Mutual Assistance Convention. 

•  Article 29 - “Provisional measures” 

This  Article  corresponds  to  Article  24  of  the  Second  Additional  Protocol  of  8 
November  2001  to  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual  Assistance  in  Criminal 
Matters of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg 20.4.1959). Paragraph 2 corresponds to 
Article 11 of the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the 
Proceeds from Crime (Strasbourg 8.11.1990). 

•  Article 30 - “Presence of the authorities of the requesting Contracting Party” 

This  Article  is  in  line  with  Article  4  of  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual 
Assistance  in  Criminal  Matters  of  the  Council  of  Europe  (Strasbourg  20.4.1959). 
Due to the small size of Liechtenstein, the requests for presence of foreign authorities 
may be exceptionally refused in line with what is foreseen in Article 2 of the Second 
Additional  Protocol  to  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual  Assistance  in  Criminal 
Matters  of  the  Council  of  Europe  (Strasbourg  20.4.1959).  It  is  also  inspired  on 
Article 12(2) of the Naples II Convention. 

•  Article 31 - “Search and seizures” 

Judicial cooperation, including search and seizures,  will be granted alike for illegal 
activities  in  connection  with  the  trade  of  goods  and  service  and,  additionally 
fraudulent activities affecting direct taxes. Article 31(1)(a) reproduces the wording of 
Article 51(a) of the SIC. Due to specificities in the Liechtenstein law, Article 31(2) is 
different from the Swiss Anti-Fraud Agreement. Whereas Article 31(1)(a) covers the 

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administrative  fiscal  offences  concerning  customs  and  excise  duties  which  are 
subject to appeal to the Swiss Federal Criminal Court under the terms of the customs 
union  between  Switzerland  and  Liechtenstein,  Article  31(2)  is  a  commitment  by 
Liechtenstein to provide assistance for searches and seizure even for the evasion of 
value-added  tax,  which  is  a  purely  administrative  offence  under  Liechtenstein  law 
and  which  as  a  tax  offence  being  investigated  by  the  Liechtenstein  authorities  may 
not give rise to an appeal before a court competent inter alia to hear criminal matters. 
This provision does not create an obligation for the other contracting parties. 

Article  31(3)  corresponds  to  the  Community  anti-laundering  standards  under 
Directive 2005/60/EC.  

•  Article 32 - “Request for banking and financial information” 

Requests for information on bank accounts, on banking transactions and requests for 
the monitoring of banking transactions can refer also to fraudulent activities affecting 
direct  taxes  covered  by  the  Agreement  and  will  be  treated  in  compliance  with  the 
standards  laid  down  in  the  Protocol  to  the  EU  Mutual  Assistance  Convention,16 
including,  if  necessary,  the  non-disclosure  to  the  person  concerned  of  investigative 
measures. 

•  Article 33 - “Controlled deliveries”. 

This Article is modelled on Article 12 of the EU Mutual Assistance Convention, but 
since it concerns the trade in goods, it is limited in subject matter to illegal activities 
in connection with the trade of goods and service. 

•  Article 34 - “Handing over for confiscation or return” 

This Article is inspired by Article 8 of the EU Mutual Assistance Convention. 

•  Article 35 – “Speeding up mutual assistance” 

This Article aims at avoiding excessively long cooperation procedures. The text is in 
full  compliance  with  Article  4(2),  (3)  and  (4)  of  the  EU  Mutual  Assistance 
Convention. 

•  Article 36 - “Use of evidence” 

This  Article  is  in  accordance  with  Article  23  of  the  EU  Mutual  Assistance 
Convention. 

•  Article 37 - “Spontaneous transmission of evidence” 

This  Article  is  based  on  Article  7  of  the  EU  Mutual  Assistance  Convention.  The 
additional reference in the Agreement to spontaneous transmission of evidence does 
not  presuppose  any  substantive  change  compared  with  existing  rules  since  the 
evidential  value  will  of  course  be  determined  by  criminal  procedural  law  in  the 
country  of  prosecution.  The  difference  in  criminal  procedural  law  between 

16 

OJ C326, 21.11.2001, p. 1. 

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Liechtenstein and Switzerland justified not foreseeing in this Agreement a provision 
on civil claims as in the Swiss Anti-Fraud Agreement, since that provision was only 
inserted to redress a specific situation under Swiss case law. 

3.4. 

Final Provisions 

•  Article 38 - “Joint Committee” and Article 39 - "Dispute settlement" 

This  Article  sets  up  a  Joint  Committee  for  managing  the  Agreement,  whose 
competencies are mainly to allow future developments in the technical standards of 
mutual  assistance  between  the  Member  States,  be  it  where  already  foreseeable  as 
concerns delays for answering requests (Article 14 (4)), be it where a reform of the 
Community  and  European  Union  law  should  be  agreed,  in  particular  the  envisaged 
reform of Directive 77/799/EEC (Article 38 (5)). Due to the possible impact of these 
powers  on  the  sovereignty  of  the  Parties,  Article  38  (5)  contains  a  constitutional 
reserve.  

Insofar as these adaptations may not be sufficient to obtain future new Community 
standards  of  mutual  assistance,  the  Joint  Committee  is  called  upon  to  make 
recommendations on revising the Agreement as a whole (Article 38 (6)).  

The  Joint  Committee  has  also  a  role  to  play  in  the  implementation  of  provisions 
where  the  practice  may  determine  the  good  functioning  of  the  co-operation  (Joint 
Declarations  to  Article  2(4)(f)  and  Article  24),  including  settling  disputes  (Article 
39). 

•  Article 40 -“Territorial scope” 

This Article is in line with the standard provisions on the matter. 

•  Article 41 - “Entry into force” 

This Agreement stipulates that the Secretary-General of the European Union will act 
as the depository. 

•  Article 42 -“Denunciation” 

This Article contains the possibilities of denouncing the Agreement. 

•  Article 43 -“Temporal application” 

This Article contains differentiated provisions for the application of  the Agreement 
to  requests  concerning  illegal  activities  committed  after  the  signature  of  the 
Agreement but before its entry into force. 

Whereas  temporal  application  for  illegal  activities  in  connection  with  the  trade  of 
goods  and  service  (point  a)  is  regulated  in  the  same  way  as  the  corresponding 
provision  in  the  Swiss  Anti-fraud  Agreement,  the  new  element  of  assistance  for 
fraudulent  activities  affecting  direct  taxes  (point  b)  requires  a  longer  transition 
period.  This  longer  transition  period  has  been  requested  by  Liechtenstein  for  better 
ensuring legal certainty in the direct tax field. 

EN 

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•  Article 44 - “Extension of the Agreement to the new Members of the EU” 

This  Article  is  designed  to  make  it  easier  to  extend  the  Agreement  to  the  new 
Member States. 

EN 

12 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the signing, on behalf of the European Community, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
280 in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300 (2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission17, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

Following the authorisation by the Council on 7 November 2006 the Commission has 
negotiated, on behalf of the Community and its Member States, with the Principality 
of  Liechtenstein  an  Agreement  to  counter  fraud  and  all  other  illegal  activities  to  the 
detriment  of  public  financial  interests,  including  the  resources  and  expenditures,  in 
particular grants and taxes. 

(2) 

Subject to its conclusion at a later date, it is desirable to sign the Agreement that was 
initialled on . 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Sole Article 

Subject to its conclusion at a later date, the President of the Council is hereby authorized to 
designate  the  person(s)  empowered  to  sign,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Community,  the 
Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one 
part,  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  to  combat  fraud  and  any  other 
illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests. 

17 

OJ C , , p. . 

EN 

13 

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Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
2008/0234 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
280 in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 300 (2) and the 
first subparagraph of Article 300(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission18, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament19,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On  7  November  2006,  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  negotiate  with  the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein  an  Agreement  to  counter  fraud  and  all  other  illegal 
activities  to  the  detriment  of  public  financial  interests,  including  the  resources  and 
expenditures, in particular grants and taxes. 

According to Council Decision […/…]/EC of , and subject to its conclusion at a later 
date, the Agreement was signed on behalf of the European Community on . 

The Agreement establishes a Joint Committee with decision-making powers in certain 
areas  and  it  is  thus  necessary  to  specify  who  represents  the  Community  within  this 
Committee. 

(4) 

The Agreement should be approved. 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article 1 

The Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the 
one part, and the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other 

18 
19 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
                                                 
illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests is hereby approved on behalf of the 
European Community. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

Article 2  

The Community shall be represented on the Joint Committee set up under Article 38 of the 
Agreement by the Commission. 

The  position  to  be  taken  by  the  Community  in  the  course  of  the  implementation  of  the 
Agreement  as  regards  decisions  or  recommendations  of  the  Joint  Committee  shall  be  laid 
down by the Council on a proposal from the Commission. The Council shall act by qualified 
majority, unless a different majority is foreseen with regard to the subject matter discussed in 
the Joint Committee. 

Article 3  

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person empowered to effect 
the  notification  provided  for  in  Article  41(2)  of  the  Agreement  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Community20. 

Article 4 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

20 

The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEX  
Cooperation Agreement 
between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the 
Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part, 
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, 

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM, 

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, 

THE CZECH REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK, 

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA, 

IRELAND, 

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN, 

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA, 

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG, 

THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA, 

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, 

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC, 

ROMANIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA, 

EN 

17 

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THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, 

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN, 

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, of the one 
part, 

and 

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN, of the other part, 

Hereinafter referred to as the Parties, 

HAVE DECIDED TO CONCLUDE THIS AGREEMENT:  

EN 

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TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 - Objective 

The  objective  of  this  Agreement  is  to  extend  administrative  assistance  and  mutual  legal 
assistance between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  so  as  to  combat  fraud  and  any  other  illegal 
activity to the detriment of their financial interests as referred to in Article 2. 

1. 

This Agreement is applicable to: 

Article 2 - General Scope 

(a) 

the  administrative  and  criminal  law  prevention,  detection,  investigation, 
prosecution  and  repression  of  fraud  and  any  other  illegal  activity  to  the 
detriment of the respective financial interests of all the Parties, concerning: 

– 

– 

– 

trade in goods contrary to customs and agricultural legislation; 

trade contrary to legislation covering indirect taxes, as they are defined 
in paragraph (4)(c); 

the  charging  or  retention  of  funds  –  including  their  use  for  purposes 
other than those for which they were initially granted – from the budget 
of the Parties or  budgets managed by them  or on their behalf, such as 
grants and refunds; 

– 

procedures for the award of contracts by the Parties; 

(b) 

the  administrative  and  criminal  law  prevention,  detection,  investigation, 
prosecution and repression of illegal activities to the detriment of the respective 
financial interests of the Member States of the European Communities and the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  through  fraudulent  conduct  contrary  to  the 
legislation covering direct taxes; 

(c) 

the seizure and recovery of amounts due or wrongly received as a result of the 
illegal activities referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b). 

2. 

3. 

Cooperation  within  the  meaning  of  Titles  II  (Administrative  assistance)  and  III 
(Mutual  legal  assistance)  may  not  be  withheld  on  the  sole  ground  that  the  request 
relates  to  an  offence  treated  as  a  tax  offence  in  the  requested  Party  or  that  the 
legislation  of  the  requested  Party  does  not  provide  for  the  same  type  of  tax,  duty, 
levy, expenditure, grant or refund or does not contain the same type of rules or the 
same legal characterisation of the facts as the legislation of the requesting Party. 

The scope of this Agreement includes the laundering of the proceeds of the activities 
covered by paragraph (1)(a) provided that the laundering is covered by the scope of 
Directive  2005/60/EC,  incorporated  into  the  EEA  Agreement  with  Decision  of  the 

EN 

19 

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EEA  Joint  Committee  No  87/2006  of  7  July  2006  amending  Annex  IX  (Financial 
services) to the EEA Agreement, or that the activities which constitute the predicate 
offence are punishable under the law of both the requesting and the requested Parties 
by  a  penalty  involving  deprivation  of  liberty  or  a  detention  order  of  a  maximum 
period of more than six months. 

4. 

For the purpose of this Agreement: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(d) 

(e) 

"fraud and any other illegal activity" as referred to in paragraph (1)(a) extends 
to  smuggling,  corruption  and  laundering  of  the  proceeds  of  the  activities 
covered by paragraph (1)(a), subject to paragraph (3); 

"trade in goods contrary to customs and agricultural legislation" as referred to 
in paragraph (1)(a) is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, 
destination  or  transit)  or  otherwise  of  the  goods  through  the  territory  of  the 
other Party; 

”indirect taxes” as referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall be regarded as customs 
duties, value added tax, special tax on consumption and excise duties; 

"trade contrary to legislation covering indirect taxes" referred to in paragraph 
(1)(a) is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, destination 
or  transit)  or  otherwise  of  the  goods  or  services  through  the  territory  of  the 
other Party; 

“direct taxes” referred to in paragraph (1)(b) are taxes on income and capital, 
irrespective whether income or capital are of private or of business origin and 
irrespective of the manner in which these taxes are levied, which are imposed 
on  total  income,  on  total  capital,  or  on  elements  of  income  or  of  capital  of  a 
natural or legal person, including taxes on gains from the disposal of movable 
or  immovable  property,  taxes  on  the  amount  of  wages  or  salaries  paid  by 
enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation; 

“fraudulent  conduct  contrary  to  the  legislation  covering  direct  taxes”  referred 
to in paragraph (1)(b) consists in the evasion of direct taxes committed by the 
means  of  the  intentional  use  of  false,  falsified  or  incorrect  documents, 
including  incomplete  tax  returns  submitted  by  natural  or  legal  persons  and 
incorrect  business  records.  Any  of  the  following  activities,  if  committed 
intentionally,  constitutes  “fraudulent  conduct  contrary  to  the  legislation 
covering direct taxes”: 

(i) 

preparing, causing to be prepared, signing, or filing any document that: 

– 

– 

– 

is required by law to be filed to evidence to the tax authorities 
the amount of taxable income, 

serves as the basis for an assessment of tax, and 

is  false  as  to  any  matter  necessary  to  the  assessment  of  such 
tax; 

(ii)  keeping a double set of books; 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
(iii)  making false entries or alterations or false invoices or documents; 

(iv)  destroying books or records; or 

(v) 

concealing assets or covering up any sources of income by means of the 
use  of  false,  falsified  or  incorrect  documents,  including  incomplete  tax 
returns  submitted  by  natural  or  legal  persons  and  incorrect  business 
records.  

Article 3 

Minor cases 

1. 

The authority of the requested Party may refuse a request for cooperation where the 
alleged amount of tax or duty underpaid or evaded, or of the grant or refund misused, 
does  not  exceed  EUR  25000  or,  as  regards  Article  2(1)(c)  in  combination  with 
Article 2(1)(a), where the presumed value of the goods exported or imported without 
authorisation  does  not  exceed  EUR  100000.  The  minimum  amount  of  tax  or  duty 
underpaid,  or  of  the  grant  or  refund  misused,  or  the  minimum  value  of  goods  as 
referred  to  before  may  consist  of  operations,  which  are  interdependent,  whose 
generating  fact  is  prolonged  in  time  and  whose  financial  impact  is  greater  than  the 
threshold, while each operation considered in isolation remains below the threshold. 
The  thresholds  shall  not  apply  if,  given  the  circumstances  or  the  identity  of  the 
suspect, the case is deemed to be extremely serious by the requesting Party. 

2. 

The authority of the requested Party shall inform the authority of the requesting Party 
without delay of its reasons for refusing the request for cooperation. 

Article 4 

Ordre public 

Cooperation may be refused if the requested Party considers that execution of the request is 
likely to prejudice its sovereignty, security, ordre public or other essential interests.  

Article 5 

Transmission of information and evidence 

1. 

Information and evidence transmitted or received under this Agreement, whatever its 
form,  shall  be  subject  to  professional  confidentiality  and  shall  enjoy  the  protection 
enjoyed  by  comparable  information  conferred  by  the  domestic  law  of  the  Party 
receiving  it  and  by  the  corresponding  provisions  applicable  to  the  Community 
institutions. 

In  particular,  such  information  and  evidence  may  not  be  divulged  to  persons  other 
than those who, in the Community institutions, its Member States or the Principality 
of Liechtenstein, are required by their functions to be acquainted with it, nor used by 
them for purposes that are not within the scope of this Agreement. Such persons shall 
use  the  information  and  evidence  only  for  such  purposes,  unless  the  use  for  a 
specified different purpose is expressly permitted by the competent authority of the 
requested Party, if, under the legislation of this Party, such information and evidence 
could,  in  similar  circumstances,  be  used  for  similar  purposes.  Such  persons  may 
disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. 

EN 

21 

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2. 

The information and evidence obtained by the requesting Party under this Agreement 
may be transmitted to any Party if this Party is conducting an investigation in respect 
of which cooperation is not excluded or if there are clear indications that this Party 
could usefully conduct such an investigation. 

(e) 

(f) 

As  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a)  and 
Article  2(1)(c)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(a)  the  requesting  Party  shall 
inform  the  requested  Party  to  which  other  Party  of  this  Agreement  and  for 
which purpose the information will be transmitted. 

As  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b)  and 
Article  2(1)(c)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(b),  the  requesting  Party  may 
transmit  information  and  evidence  to  another  Party  of  this  Agreement  if  the 
requested Party which supplied the information does not expressly oppose to it 
at the moment when it supplies the information.  

No such transmission may serve any purpose other than those of this Agreement.  

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  transmission  of  information  and  evidence  obtained  pursuant  to  this  Agreement 
by a Party to another Party or to more than one Party may not be open to appeal in 
the Party initially requested. 

Any  Party  to  which  information  or  evidence  is  transmitted  in  conformity  with 
paragraph (2) shall respect such limits as are put by the requested Party on the use of 
the information by the requesting Party of the first transmission. 

The  transmission  of  information  and  evidence  obtained  under  this  Agreement  by  a 
Party to a third State shall be subject to authorisation from the Party from which the 
information or evidence originated. 

Article 6 

Confidentiality 

The requesting Party may ask the requested Party to ensure that the request and the content 
thereof remain confidential, except in so far as this is incompatible with the execution of the 
request.  If  the  requested  Party  cannot  comply  with  confidentiality  requirements,  it  shall 
inform the authority of the requesting Party in advance. 

EN 

22 

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Title II  ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE 

Chapter 1 General provisions 

Article 7 

Relationship with other Agreements 

This Title shall not affect  

(g) 

(h) 

as  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a),  and 
Article 2(1)(c) in combination with Article 2(1)(a), the provisions applicable to 
mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, or more extensive obligations in the 
field of administrative assistance, or more favourable provisions of bilateral or 
multilateral  cooperation  arrangements  between  the  Parties,  in  particular  the 
Protocol  11  on  mutual  assistance  in  customs  matters  of  the  EEA  Agreement 
and; 

as  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b),  and 
Article 2(1)(c) in combination with Article 2(1)(b), the provisions applicable to 
mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, or more extensive obligations in the 
field of administrative assistance, or more favourable provisions of bilateral or 
multilateral  cooperation  arrangements  between  the  Parties,  in  particular  the 
Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council 
Directive  2003/48/EC  on  taxation  of  savings  income  in  the  form  of  interest 
payments.21 

1. 

2. 

Article 8 

Extent of the Administrative Assistance 

The  Parties  shall  provide  each  other  with  mutual  assistance  to  combat  illegal 
activities to which this Agreement applies, in particular in preventing and detecting 
operations  and  other  acts  of  commission  and  omission  contrary  to  the  relevant 
legislation and in conducting investigations relating thereto. 

The assistance provided for by this Title shall apply to all administrative authorities 
in  the  Parties  acting  within  the  scope  of  Article  2  and  in  the  exercise  of 
administrative investigation powers or criminal prosecution powers, including cases 
where these authorities exercise powers at the request of the judicial authorities. 

If  a  criminal  investigation  is  conducted  by  or  under  the  direction  of  a  judicial 
authority,  such  authority  shall  determine  whether  related  requests  for  mutual 
assistance  or  cooperation  in  that  connection  shall  be  submitted  on  the  basis  of  the 
provisions applicable to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters or on the basis of 
this Title. 

21 

OJ L 379, 24.12.2004, p. 84. 

EN 

23 

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Article 9 

Statute of limitations 

In  determining  whether  information  or  other  assistance  provided  for  by  this  Title  may  be 
provided  in  response  to  a  request,  the  requested  Party  shall  apply  the  statute  of  limitations 
applicable  under  the  laws  of  the  requesting  Party  instead  of  the  statute  of  limitations  of  the 
requested Party. 

Article 10 

Powers 

The authorities of the Parties shall apply this Title within the limits of the powers conferred 
on them by their domestic law. Nothing in this Title may be construed as affecting the powers 
conferred under domestic provisions upon the authorities of the Parties within the meaning of 
this Title. 

They shall proceed as if they were acting on their behalf or at the request of another authority 
of the same Party. To that end they shall exercise all the legal powers which they enjoy under 
their domestic law in meeting the request. 

Article 11 

Limits to exchange of information 

1. 

2. 

Administrative assistance in respect of activities covered by Article 2(1)(b) does not 
impose any obligation upon a Party from which information is requested to carry out 
inquiries or to communicate information, if it would be contrary to its legislation or 
administrative practices for the competent administrative authorities of that Party to 
conduct  such  inquiries  or  to  collect  the  information  sought.  In  case  of  such 
assistance,  the  provision  of  information  may  be  refused  where  it  would  lead  to  the 
disclosure  of  a  commercial,  industrial  or  professional  secret  or  of  a  commercial 
process,  or  of  information  whose  disclosure  would  be  contrary  to  Article  4,  or  the 
competent  authority  of  a  Party  may  decline  transmission  of  information  when  the 
requesting  Party  is  unable,  for  reasons  of  fact  or  law,  to  provide  the  same  type  of 
information. 

A  Party  shall  not  reject  a  request  for  administrative  assistance  in  the  form  of 
exchange  of  information  solely  because  the  information  is  held  by  a  bank,  other 
financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or 
because  it  relates  to  ownership  interests  in  a  person,  nor  when  the  information  is 
already available to its competent administrative authorities. 

Article 12 

Proportionality 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  may  refuse  a  request  for  cooperation  where  it  is  clear 
that: 

(i) 

(j) 

the  number  and  nature  of  the  requests  made  by  the  requesting  Party  in  the 
course of a given period impose disproportionate administrative burdens on the 
authority of the requested Party; 

the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  has  not  exhausted  the  usual  sources  of 
information  which,  in  the  circumstances,  it  could  have  used  to  obtain  the 

EN 

24 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

information  sought  without  running  the  risk  of  jeopardising  the  chances  of 
achieving the desired result. 

Article 13 

Central departments 

Each  Party  shall  designate  one  or  more  central  departments  empowered  to  process 
requests for administrative assistance under this Title. 

These  departments  shall  call  on  all  competent  administrative  authorities  for  the 
execution of the assistance requested. 

The central departments shall communicate directly with each other. 

The  activities  of  the  central  departments  shall  not,  especially  in  urgent  cases, 
preclude direct cooperation between the other authorities in the Parties having power 
to act in matters to which this Agreement applies. The central departments shall be 
informed  of  all  action  in  which  a  call  is  made  on  any  action  involving  such  direct 
cooperation. 

The  Parties,  when  making  the  notification  provided  for  by  Article 41(2),  shall 
announce  which  are  the  authorities  regarded  as  the  central  departments  for  the 
purposes of this Article. 

Chapter 2 Assistance on request 

Article 14 

Requests for information 

At the request of the authority of the requesting Party, the authority of the requested 
Party shall provide the former, within the limits of the scope of this Agreement, with 
all the information available to it or to other authorities of the same Party to enable it 
to prevent, detect, prosecute and punish the illegal activities to which the Agreement 
applies  or  needed  to  recover  a  claim.  The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall 
undertake all requisite administrative inquiries needed to gather such information. 

The reports and other documents, or certified copies of or extracts from the reports or 
documents, on which the information notified is based and which are available to the 
authorities of the requested Party or which have been produced or obtained to meet 
the request shall be attached to the information that is supplied. 

By agreement between the authority of the requesting Party and the authority of the 
requested  Party,  and  in  accordance  with  the  latter's  detailed  instructions,  staff  duly 
authorised for the purpose by the authority of the requesting Party may have access 
to documents and information to which paragraph (1) applies, held in the offices of 
the authorities of the requested Party, which refers to specific illegal activities falling 
within the scope of this Agreement. Such staff shall be authorised to make copies of 
that documentation. 

4. 

The  Joint  Committee  set  up  in  accordance  with  Article  38  shall  establish  the 
deadlines within which the authority of the requested Party shall confirm receipt of a 

EN 

25 

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request to the authority of the requesting Party and, if necessary, notify the authority 
of  the  requesting  Party  of  deficiencies  in  the  request  or  whether  it  encounters 
obstacles in furnishing the information or it refuses to furnish the information. 

Article 15 

Requests for surveillance 

At  the  request  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  authority  of  the  requested  Party 
shall wherever possible exercise surveillance over trade in goods in breach of the legislation 
referred  to  in  Article 2(1)(a).  Such  surveillance  may  relate  to  a  person  suspected  on 
reasonable grounds of having participated or of participating in the commission of such illegal 
activities or of performing acts preparatory to the commission of such illegal activities, or to 
the premises, means of transport and goods connected with such activities. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

Article 16 

Notification and transmission by post 

At the request of the authority of the requesting Party, the authority of the requested 
Party shall notify the addressee or cause him to be notified, in accordance with the 
domestic provisions of the requested Party, of all instruments or decisions emanating 
from  the  relevant  authorities  of  the  requesting  Party  which  are  within  the  scope  of 
this Agreement. 

Requests for notification, which shall specify the object of the instrument or decision 
to be notified, shall specify the name and address of the addressee, together with any 
other  information  which  may  facilitate  identification  of  the  addressee  and  shall  be 
accompanied  by  a  translation  in  an  official  language  of  the  requested  Party  or  in  a 
language acceptable to that Party. The requested authority shall inform the requesting 
authority immediately of its response to the request for notification and shall notify 
it,  in  particular,  of  the  date  of  notification  of  the  decision  or  instrument  to  the 
addressee. 

The Parties may post acts of notification and requests for information and documents 
directly to persons residing in the other Party's territory. If these acts of notification 
and  requests  for  information are  sent  to  the  operators  concerned  by  the  third  and 
fourth  indents  of  Article 2(1)(a)  residing  in  the  other  Party's  territory,  such  persons 
may respond thereto and provide the relevant documents and information in the form 
provided for by the rules and arrangements under which the funds were granted. 

Nothing  in  the  Agreement  shall  be  construed  as  invalidating  any  service  of 
documents by a Party in accordance with its laws. 

Article 17 

Requests for investigations 

At the request of the requesting Party, the requested Party shall undertake all useful 
investigations, or order such investigations to be undertaken, into operations or forms 
of conduct that constitute illegal activities to which this Agreement applies or which 
prompt  the  requesting  authority  to  suspect  on  reasonable  grounds  that  such  illegal 
activities have been committed. 

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The requested Party shall make use of all investigation facilities allowed by its legal 
system  as  if  it  were  acting  on  its  own  behalf  or  at  the  request  of  another  internal 
authority, including the involvement or authorisation of the judicial authorities where 
required. 

This  provision  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  duty  of  economic  operators  to 
cooperate under Article 19. 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  communicate  the  results  of  such 
investigations  to  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party.  Article 14(2)  shall  apply 
mutatis mutandis. 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  extend  assistance  to  all  circumstances, 
objects  and  persons  apparently  linked  to  the  object  of  the  request  for  assistance, 
without any need for a supplementary request. In cases of doubt, the authority of the 
requested Party shall first contact the authority of the requesting Party. 

Article 18 

Presence of authorised staff from the authority of the requesting Party 

By agreement between the authority of the requesting Party and the authority of the 
requested Party, officials appointed by the authority of the requesting Party may be 
present at the administrative investigations referred to in the previous Article. Their 
presence  shall  not  require  the  consent  of  the  person  or  economic  operator  being 
investigated. 

Staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  at  all  times  conduct  the 
investigations.  Staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  may  not  of  their  own 
motion  exercise  the  powers  conferred  on  the  staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requested 
Party. 

However, they shall have access to the same premises and the same documents as the 
staff of the authority of the requested Party, through them and for the sole purposes 
of the investigation in hand. 

Conditions may be attached to the authorisation. 

The  information  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party 
may  not  be  used  as  evidence  until  the  transmission  of  the  documents  relating  to 
execution has been authorised. 

Article 19 

Duty to cooperate 

Economic  operators  shall  be  required  to  cooperate  with  the  execution  of  the  request  for 
administrative  assistance  by  giving  access  to  their  premises,  means  of  transport  and 
documentation  and  providing  all  relevant  information.  The  requesting  Party  may  ask  the 
requested  Party  to  enforce  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty  within  the  limits  set  by  the  requested 
Party’s  domestic  law  for  investigations  of  the  same  nature  undertaken  by  its  administrative 
authorities and aimed at ensuring the respect of such law. 

EN 

27 

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Article 20 

Form and content of requests for assistance 

1. 

Requests for assistance shall be made in writing. They shall be accompanied by such 
documents as are regarded as helpful to the reply. 

In cases of urgency, oral requests shall be accepted, but they must be confirmed in 
writing at the earliest possible opportunity. 

2. 

Requests shall be accompanied by the following information: 

(k) 

the requesting authority; 

(l) 

the measure requested; 

(m) 

the object and the grounds for the request; 

(n) 

(o) 

(p) 

the legislation, rules and other legal provisions involved; 

the clearest and fullest indications possible of the natural or legal persons to be 
investigated; 

a summary of the relevant facts and of the enquiries already carried out, except 
in cases provided for in Article 16. 

Requests shall be made in an official language of the requested Party or in a language 
that is acceptable to that Party. 

Incorrect  or  incomplete  requests  may  be  corrected  or  completed.  The  measures 
needed to act on the request shall be carried out in the meantime. 

Requests addressed to non-competent authorities shall be forwarded without delay to 
the competent authority. 

Article 21 

Use of information 

The  information  obtained  shall  be  used  exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  this 
Agreement. Where a Party asks to use such information for other purposes, it shall 
request the prior written agreement of the supplying authority. Such use shall then be 
subject to any restrictions laid down by that authority. 

Paragraph  (1)  shall  not  preclude  the  use  of  the  information  in  judicial  or 
administrative  proceedings  for  failure  to  comply  with  the  legislation  to  which  the 
request for administrative assistance applies if the same forms of assistance would be 
available  for  these  proceedings.  The  relevant  authority  of  the  Party  which  supplied 
the information shall be advised without delay of such use. 

The  Parties  may  use  the  information  obtained  and  the  documents  consulted  in 
accordance with this Agreement by way of evidence in their reports and depositions 
and in proceedings and prosecutions in the courts. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

EN 

28 

   EN 

 
Chapter 3 Special forms of cooperation 

Article 22 

Joint operations 

On imports, exports and transit of goods, where the volume of transactions and the 
resultant risks in terms of taxes and grants are such that there are likely to be major 
losses  to  the  budget  of  the  Parties,  those  Parties  may  agree  to  conduct  joint  cross-
border operations for the prevention and prosecution of illegal activities to which this 
Agreement applies. 

The  coordination  and  planning  of  such  cross-border  operations  shall  be  the 
responsibility of the central department or of an office designated by it. 

Where  the  tax  situation  of  one  or  more  persons  liable  to  tax  is  of  common  or 
complementary interest to the Parties, the Parties may agree to conduct simultaneous 
controls,  in  their  own  territory,  with  a  view  to  exchanging  the  information  thus 
obtained, whenever they would appear to be more effective than controls conducted 
by one Party alone. 

Article 23 

Joint special investigation teams 

The  authorities  of  several  Parties  may  by  agreement  among  themselves  establish  a 
joint special investigation team located in a Party. 

The  joint  team  shall  conduct  difficult  investigations  entailing  the  mobilisation  of 
substantial resources and shall coordinate joint actions. 

Participation  in  such  a  team  shall  not  have  the  effect  of  conferring  on  the 
representatives of the participating Parties' authorities the power to act in the territory 
of the Party in which the investigations are conducted. 

Where officers of the Party engage in activities in the territory of another Party and 
cause damage by their activities, the Party in whose territory the damage was caused 
shall make good the damage, in accordance with its national legislation in the same 
way as it would have done if the damage had been caused by its own officers. That 
Party will be reimbursed in full by the Party whose officers have caused the damage 
for the amounts it has paid to the victims or to other entitled persons or institutions. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  exercise  of  its  rights  vis-à-vis  third  parties  and 
notwithstanding  the  obligation  to  make  good  damages  according  to  the  second 
sentence of paragraph 4, each Party shall refrain, in the case provided for in the first 
sentence of paragraph 4, from requesting reimbursement of the amount of damages it 
has sustained form another Party. 

In  the  course  of  the  operation,  officers  on  mission  in  the  territory  of  another  Party 
shall  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as  officers  of  that  State  as  regards  infringements 
committed against them or by them. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

EN 

29 

   EN 

 
Chapter 4 Recovery 

Article 24 

Recovery 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

At  the  request  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  requested  Party  shall  proceed  to  the 
recovery of claims to which this Agreement applies as if they were its own claims. 

The  request  for  recovery  of  a  claim  shall  be  accompanied  by  an  official  copy  or  a 
certified  copy  of  the  instrument  permitting  enforcement  (“Vollstreckungstitel”), 
issued by the requesting Party and, where appropriate, the original or a certified copy 
of other documents needed for recovery. 

The requested Party shall take precautionary measures to ensure recovery of a claim. 

The authority of the Party requested shall transfer to the authority of the requesting 
Party the amount of the claim that it has recovered. In agreement with the requesting 
Party,  it  may  deduct  a  percentage  corresponding  to  the  administrative  costs  it  has 
incurred. 

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), claims to be recovered shall not necessarily enjoy the 
same priority status as comparable claims arising in the requested Party. 

EN 

30 

   EN 

 
Title III  MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE 

Article 25 

Relationship with other Agreements 

The  purpose  of  this  Title  is  to  supplement  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual 
Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959, and the Convention on Laundering, 
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime of 8 November 1990, 
and to facilitate their application between the Parties. 

More  favourable  provisions  of  bilateral  or  multilateral  Agreements  between  the 
Parties are not affected.  

Article 26 

Procedures in which mutual legal assistance shall be afforded 

Mutual legal assistance shall also be afforded when one of the following conditions 
arises: 

(q) 

(r) 

(s) 

in  proceedings  brought  by  the  administrative  authorities  in  respect  of  acts 
which  are  punishable  under  the  national  law  of  one  of  the  two  Parties,  or  in 
both,  by  virtue  of  being  infringements  of  the  rules  of  law,  and  where  the 
decision  may  give  rise  to  proceedings  before  a  court  having  jurisdiction  in 
particular in criminal matters; 

in civil actions joined to criminal proceedings, as long as the criminal court has 
not yet taken a final decision in the criminal proceedings; 

for offences or infringements which a legal person of the requesting Party may 
be liable. 

Assistance shall also be given for the purposes of investigations and proceedings for 
the seizure and confiscation of the instruments and products of these illegal activities. 

Article 27 

Transmission of requests 

Requests under this Title shall be presented by the authority of the requesting Party 
either  via  a  relevant  central  authority  of  the  requested  Party  or  direct  to  the  Party's 
authority  which  is  empowered  to  execute  the  requesting  Party's  request.  The 
authority  of  the  requesting  Party  and,  where  appropriate,  the  authority  of  the  Party 
requested shall send a copy of the request to its central authority for information. 

All documents relating to requests or the execution thereof may be sent by the same 
channels.  They,  or  at  least  a  copy,  must  be  sent  directly  to  the  authority  of  the 
requesting Party. 

If the authority of the Party receiving a request has no power to authorise assistance, 
it shall forthwith forward it to the competent authority. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

EN 

31 

   EN 

 
4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Defective  or  incomplete  requests  shall  be  applied  if  they  contain  the  information 
needed  to  satisfy  them,  without  prejudice  to  subsequent  regularisation  by  the 
authority  of  the  requesting  Party.  The  authority  of  the  Party  requested  shall  inform 
without delay the authority of the requesting Party of the defects and allow it time to 
regularise them. 

The  authority  of  the  Party  requested  shall  without  delay  send  the  authority  of  the 
requesting  Party  all  other  indications  that  may  help  it  to  complete  its  request  or 
extend it to include other measures. 

The  Parties,  when  making  the  notification  provided  for  by  Article 41(2),  shall 
announce which are the competent central authorities for the purposes of this Article. 

Article 28 

Service by post 

As  a  rule  the  Parties  shall,  in  proceedings  for  illegal  activities  covered  by  this 
Agreement, send procedural documents intended for persons who are in the territory 
of the other Party directly by post. 

If the authority of the Party that issued the documents knows or has reason to believe 
that the addressee understands only some other language, the documents, or at least 
the most important passages thereof, shall be accompanied by a translation into that 
other language. 

The  authority  of  the  serving  Party  shall  advise  the  addressee  that  no  measure  of 
restraint or punishment may be enforced directly by that authority in the territory of 
the other Party. 

All  procedural  documents  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  report  indicating  that  the 
addressee  may  obtain  information  from  the  authority  identified  in  the  report 
regarding his or her rights and obligations concerning the documents. 

Article 29 

Provisional measures 

Within the limits of its domestic law and its respective powers and at the request of 
the authority of the requesting Party, the competent authority of the requested Party 
shall  order  the  necessary  provisional  measures  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  an 
existing situation, protecting endangered legal interests or preserving evidence, if the 
request for mutual assistance does not appear manifestly inadmissible. 

Preventive freezing and seizure of instruments, assets and proceeds of offences shall 
be  ordered  in  cases  where  assistance  is  requested.  If  the  proceeds  of  an  offence  no 
longer  exist  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  same  measures  shall  be  ordered  in  relation  to 
assets located within the territory of the requested Party corresponding in value to the 
proceeds in question. 

EN 

32 

   EN 

 
1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 30 

Presence of the authorities of the requesting Party 

The  requested  Party  may,  at  the  request  of  the  requesting  Party,  authorise  the 
representatives of the latter Party's authorities to attend the execution of the request 
for mutual legal assistance. Their presence shall not require the consent of the person 
concerned by the measure. 

Requests  for  the  presence  of  such  representatives  shall  not  be  refused  where  that 
presence  is  likely  to  render  the  execution  of  the  request  for  assistance  more 
responsive  to  the  needs  of  the  requesting  Party  and,  therefore,  likely  to  avoid  the 
need for supplementary requests for assistance. 

Conditions may be attached to the authorisation. 

The persons present shall have access to the same premises and the same documents 
as the representatives of the requested Party, through them and for the sole purposes 
of  execution  of  the  request  for  mutual  legal  assistance.  In  particular  they  may  be 
authorised to put or propose questions and suggest measures of investigation. 

Their  presence  shall  not  result  in  facts  being  divulged  to  persons  other  than  those 
authorised by virtue of the preceding paragraphs in breach of judicial confidentiality 
or the rights of the person concerned. The information brought to the knowledge of 
the authority of the requesting Party may not be used as evidence until the decision 
on transmission of the documents relating to execution has acquired the force of res 
judicata. 

Article 31 

Searches and seizures 

1. 

The  Parties  may  not  make  the  admissibility  of  requests  for  search  or  seizure 
dependent on conditions other than the following: 

(t) 

the act giving rise to the requests is punishable under the law of both Parties by 
a  penalty  involving  deprivation  of  liberty  or  a  detention  order  of  a  maximum 
period of at least six months, or is punishable under the law of one of the two 
Parties by an equivalent penalty and under the law of the other Party by virtue 
of being an infringement of the rules of law which is being prosecuted by the 
administrative authorities, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings 
before a court having jurisdiction in particular in criminal matters; 

(u) 

execution of the requests is consistent with the law of the requested Party. 

2. 

3. 

Requests  for  purposes  of  search  or  seizure  regarding  matters  falling  within  Article 
2(1)(a) shall also be executed by Liechtenstein when the act giving rise to the request 
is  punishable  under  Liechtenstein  law  as  evasion  of  tax  and  the  requesting  Party 
equally executes such requests for the same kind of act. 

Requests  for  purposes  of  search  and  seizure  for  laundering  offences  referred  to  in 
Article  2(3)  shall  also  be  admissible  provided  that  the  activities  making  up  the 
predicate  offence  are  punishable  under  the  law  of  the  two  Parties  by  a  penalty 
involving deprivation of liberty or a detention order of a maximum of more than six 
months. 

EN 

33 

   EN 

 
Article 32 

Requests for banking and financial information 

1. 

Where  the  conditions  of  Article 31  are  met,  the  requested  Party  shall  execute 
requests  for  assistance  in  obtaining  and  transmitting  banking  and  financial  data, 
including: 

(v) 

(w) 

the identification of and information concerning bank accounts opened at banks 
established  in  its  territory  and  where  persons  under  investigation  are  the 
account holders, authorised signatories or in effective control; 

the  identification  of  and  information  concerning  banking  transactions  and 
operations conducted from, to or via one or more bank accounts or by specified 
persons during a specified period. 

2. 

3. 

To  the  extent  authorised  by  virtue  of  its  law  governing  criminal  proceedings  for 
similar  domestic  cases,  the  requested  Party  may  order  surveillance  of  banking 
operations  conducted  from,  to  or  via  one  or  more  bank  accounts  or  by  specified 
persons  during  a  specified  period,  and  transmission  of  the  results  to  the  requesting 
Party. The decision to monitor transactions and transmit the results shall be taken in 
each individual case by case by the competent authorities of the requested Party and 
shall  comply  with  that  Party's  national  legislation.  The  details  regarding  the 
monitoring  shall  be  determined  by  agreement  between  the  competent  authorities  of 
the requesting and requested Parties. 

Each Party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the financial institutions 
do not disclose to the customer concerned or to third persons that measures are being 
executed at the request of the requesting Party or that an investigation is under way, 
for such time as is necessary to avoid compromising the results. 

4. 

The authority of the Party issuing the request shall: 

(x) 

(y) 

(z) 

state the reasons why it considers that the information requested is likely to be 
of substantial value for the purpose of the investigation into the offence; 

state  on  what  grounds  it  presumes  that  banks  in  the  requested  Party  hold  the 
relevant  accounts  and,  to  the  extent  available,  indicate  which  banks  might  be 
concerned; 

include  all  information  available  which  may  facilitate  the  execution  of  the 
request. 

A Party shall not invoke banking secrecy as grounds for rejecting all cooperation on 
a request for mutual legal assistance from another Party. 

Article 33 

Controlled deliveries 

As regards assistance concerning Article 2(1)(a) and Article 2(1)(c) in combination 
with Article 2(1)(a), the competent authority in the requested Party shall undertake to 
ensure  that,  at  the  request  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  controlled 
deliveries  may  be  permitted  in  its  territory  within  the  framework  of  criminal 
investigations into extraditable offences. 

5. 

1. 

EN 

34 

   EN 

 
2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

The decision to carry out controlled deliveries shall be taken in each individual case 
by the competent authorities of the requested Party, with due regard for its national 
law. 

Controlled deliveries shall take place in accordance with the procedures provided for 
in the law of the requested Party. The right to act and to direct and control operations 
shall lie with the competent authorities of that Party. 

Article 34 

Handing-over for confiscation or return 

At the request of the requesting Party and without prejudice to the rights of bona fide 
third parties, the requested Party may place objects, documents, funds or other items 
of  value  at  the  disposal  of  the  requesting  Party  with  a  view  to  their  return  to  their 
rightful owners. The requested Party may not refuse to hand funds over on the sole 
ground that they correspond to a tax or customs debt. 

The requested Party may waive the return of objects, documents, funds or other items 
of  value  either  before  or  after  handing  them  over  to  the  requesting  Party  if  the 
restitution  of  such  objects,  documents,  funds  or  other  items  of  value  to  the  rightful 
owner  may  be  facilitated  thereby.  The  rights  of  bona  fide  third  parties  shall  not  be 
affected. 

In the event of a waiver before handing over the objects, documents, funds or other 
items of value to the requesting Party, the requested Party shall exercise no security 
right  or  other  right  of  recourse  under  tax  or  customs  legislation  in  respect  of  these 
articles.  A  waiver  as  referred  to  in  paragraph  (2)  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
right of the requested Party to collect taxes or duties from the rightful owner. 

Article 35 

Speeding up assistance 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  execute  the  request  for  mutual  legal 
assistance  as  soon  as  possible,  taking  as  full  account  as  possible  of  the  procedural 
deadlines and other deadlines indicated by the authority of the requesting Party. That 
Party shall explain the reasons for the deadline. 

If  the  request  cannot,  or  cannot  fully,  be  executed  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  set  by  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  authority  of  the 
requested  Party  shall  promptly  inform  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  and 
indicate the conditions under which it might be possible to execute the request. The 
authorities  of  the  requesting  and  the  requested  Parties  may  subsequently  agree  on 
further  action  to  be  taken  concerning  the  request,  where  necessary  by  making  such 
action subject to the fulfilment of those conditions. 

If it is foreseeable that the deadline set by the authority of the requesting Party for 
executing  its  request  cannot  be  met  and  if  the  reasons  referred  to  in  the  second 
sentence  of  paragraph (1)  indicate  explicitly  that  any  delay  will  lead  to  substantial 
impairment of the proceedings being conducted by that authority, the authority of the 
requested  Party  shall  promptly  indicate  the  estimated  time  needed  for  execution  of 
the request. The authority of the requesting Party shall promptly indicate whether the 

EN 

35 

   EN 

 
request is to be upheld nonetheless. The authorities of the requesting and requested 
Parties may subsequently agree on further action to be taken concerning the request.  

Article 36 

Use of information and evidence 

Information and evidence transmitted in the course of the assistance procedure may be used 
for the following purposes in addition to the purposes of the assistance procedure for which it 
was supplied: 

(aa) 

in  criminal  proceedings  in  the  requesting  Party  against  other  persons  who 
participated in the commission of the offence for which assistance was given, 
provided  that  the  mutual  assistance  would  have  been  possible  also  regarding 
these  other  persons.  In  such  a  case  the  requesting  Party  shall  inform  the 
requested Party on such a use. 

(bb)  where  the  facts  on  which  the  request  is  based  constitute  another  offence  for 

which assistance ought also to be given; 

(cc) 

in  proceedings  for  the  confiscation  of  the  instrumentalities  and  proceeds  of 
offences  for  which  assistance  ought  to  be  given  and  in  proceedings  for 
damages in respect of facts for which assistance had been given. 

Article 37 

Spontaneous transmission 

1. 

2. 

Within the limits of their domestic law and their powers, the judicial authorities of a 
Party  may  spontaneously  transmit  information  or  evidence  as  regards  illegal 
activities covered by this Agreement to the judicial authorities of another Party, when 
they  consider  that  such  information  or  evidence  might  assist  the  recipient  Party's 
authority in initiating or carrying out investigations or proceedings, or might lead to a 
request for mutual legal assistance by that authority. 

The authority  of the Party transmitting the information may,  in accordance with its 
domestic law, impose conditions on the use of the information by the authority of the 
recipient Party. 

3. 

All the authorities of the Parties shall be bound by such conditions. 

EN 

36 

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TITLE IV 

FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 38 

Joint Committee 

A Joint Committee shall be established, consisting of representatives of the Parties, 
and shall be responsible for the sound application of this Agreement. To that end, it 
shall  make  recommendations  and  take  decisions  in  the  cases  provided  for  by  the 
Agreement. It shall act by mutual agreement. 

The  Joint  Committee  shall  adopt  its  Rules  of  Procedure,  which  shall  include 
provisions governing the convening of meetings, the designation of the Chair and the 
determination of his or her functions. 

The  Joint  Committee  shall  meet  as  required  but  no  less  than  once  every  year.  Any 
Party may request that a meeting be convened. 

The  Joint  Committee  may  decide  to  establish  working  parties  or  expert  groups  to 
assist it in the performance of its tasks. 

The  Joint  Committee  may  take  decisions  on  technical  adaptations  with  regard  to 
future  developments  on  matters  of  mutual  administrative  assistance  insofar  as  they 
have been agreed by the Member States of the European Community to be included 
in  European  Community  legislation  or  in  a  European  Union  legal  act.  If  such  a 
decision  can  be  binding  on  a  Party  only  after  the  fulfilment  of  its  constitutional 
requirements, the decision shall enter into force on the first day of the second month 
following the last notification on the fulfilment of these constitutional requirements, 
unless otherwise decided by the Joint Committee. 

If a Party wishes the Agreement to be revised, it shall lay a proposal before the Joint 
Committee, which shall make recommendations, notably  for the  commencement of 
negotiations. 

Article 39 

Dispute settlement 

Each Party may submit to the Joint Committee a dispute relating to the interpretation 
or  application  of  this  Agreement,  in  particular  if  it  considers  that  another  Party  is 
failing repeatedly to take action on requests for cooperation made to it. 

The Joint Committee shall endeavour to settle the dispute as quickly as possible. The 
Joint Committee shall be supplied with all relevant items of information to assist its 
detailed  examination  of  the  situation  with  a  view  to  identifying  a  satisfactory 
solution.  To  that  end,  the  Joint  Committee  shall  examine  all  possibilities  of 
preserving the sound operation of this Agreement. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

EN 

37 

   EN 

 
Article 40 

Territorial scope 

This Agreement shall apply in the Principality of Liechtenstein and in the territories to which 
the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  is  applicable  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions provided for by that Treaty. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 41 

Entry into force 

This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. 

It  shall  be  ratified  or  approved  by  the  Parties  in  accordance  with  their  respective 
procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the last 
notification of instruments of ratification or approval. 

Notifications shall be sent to the Secretary-General of  the Council  of the European 
Union, who shall be the depository of this Agreement. 

Until  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Agreement,  each  Party  may,  at  the  time  of  the 
notification referred to in paragraph (2) or at any other subsequent time, declare that 
it shall consider itself bound by the Agreement in its relations with any other Party 
having  made  the  same  declaration.  These  declarations  shall  take  effect  ninety  days 
after the date of receipt of the notification.  

Article 42 

Denunciation 

The European Community or the Principality of Liechtenstein may denounce this Agreement 
by notifying the other Party of its decision. The denunciation shall take effect six months after 
the date of receipt of the notification of the denunciation. 

Article 43 

Temporal Application 

The provisions of this Agreement shall be applicable to requests:  

(dd) 

(ee) 

in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a)  and  Article  2(1)(c)  in 
combination with Article 2(1)(a), concerning those illegal activities committed 
at least six months after it was signed; and 

in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b)  and  Article  2(1)(c)  in 
combination with Article 2(1)(b), concerning those illegal activities committed 
at least one year after it was signed. 

Article 44 

Extension of the Agreement to the new Member States of the EU 

Any  State  which  becomes  a  Member State  of  the  European  Union  may,  by  written 
notification to the Parties, become a Party to this Agreement. 

The  text  of  the  Agreement  in  the  language  of  the  new  acceding  Member State  as 
established  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  shall  be  authenticated  by  an 

38 

   EN 

1. 

2. 

EN 

 
exchange  of  letters  between  the  European  Community  and  the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein. It shall be considered to be authentic within the meaning of Article 45. 

This  Agreement  shall  enter  into  force  in  relation  to  any  new  Member State  of  the 
European Union which accedes to it ninety days after the receipt of its instrument of 
accession,  or  on  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Agreement  if  it  was  not  yet  in 
force when that ninety-day period expired. 

If  this  Agreement  is  not  yet  in  force  when  the  newly  acceding  State  notifies  its 
instrument of accession, Article 41(4) shall apply. 

3. 

4. 

Article 45 

Authentic texts 

This  Agreement  is  drawn  up  in  duplicate  in  the  Bulgarian,  Czech,  Danish,  Dutch,  English, 
Estonian,  Finnish,  French,  German,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Irish,  Latvian,  Lithuanian, 
Maltese,  Polish,  Portuguese,  Romanian,  Slovene,  Slovak,  Spanish  and  Swedish  languages, 
each of these texts being equally authentic. 

Signatures 

EN 

39 

   EN 

 
Joint declarations of the Parties: 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 17(2) 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  in  Article  17(2)  of  the  Agreement  the  term  "investigation 
facilities"  includes  the  questioning  of  persons,  the  searching  of  premises  and  means  of 
transport, the copying of documents, the requesting of information and the seizing of objects, 
documents and items of value. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 18(2) 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  the  2nd  subparagraph  in  Article  18(2)  of  the  Agreement  also 
means  that  those  present  may  in  particular  be  authorised  to  put  questions  and  propose 
measures of investigation. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 24 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  the  authorities  of  the  requesting  Party  will  confirm  that  their 
request  relates  to  a  claim  falling  within  the  scope  of  this  Agreement.  Rules  on  this 
confirmation and on recovery assistance will be adopted by the Joint Committee, referred to 
in Article 38. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 31(2) 

The  Parties  take  note  that  “evasion  of  tax”  under  Liechtenstein  law  is  to  be  understood  as 
evasion  of  tax  pursuant  to  Article  75  of  the  Liechtenstein  Law  on  Value  Added  Tax  of  16 
June 2000. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 38(5) 

The  Parties  agree  that  a  Party  may  submit  to  the  Joint  Committee  relevant  information  on 
developments  in  their  co-operation  with  third  countries  with  relevance  to  further  combating 
fraud and other illegal activity to the detriment of public financial interests, which the Joint 
Committee  may  then  consider  in  view  of  improving  the  good  functioning  of  co-operation 
between the Parties. 

Other declarations: 

Declaration by Liechtenstein on Article 11(2) 

Beyond the scope of this Agreement, the Principality of Liechtenstein declares its readiness to 
negotiate  comprehensive  bilateral  agreements  for  the  elimination  of  double  taxation, 
integrating the OECD standard on exchange of information as contained in Article 26 of the 
Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital as approved by the OECD Committee on 

EN 

40 

   EN 

 
Fiscal Affairs on 1st June 2004, with the Member States of the European Community that are 
willing to do so. 

EN 

41 

   EN 

 
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: 

Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  its  Member States, 
of  the  one  part,  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  to  combat 
fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests. 

2. 

ABM / ABB FRAMEWORK 

Policy Area(s) concerned and associated Activity/Activities: 

Title 24 — Fight against fraud, and  

Title 14 — Taxation and customs union. 

3. 

BUDGET LINES 

3.1. 

Budget  lines  (operational  lines  and  related  technical  and  administrative 
assistance lines (ex- B..A lines)) including headings: 

3.2. 

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: 

From  its  ratification  by  the  European  Community,  all  Member  States  and  the 
Principality of Liechtenstein. 

3.3. 

Budgetary characteristics: 

non applicable 

EN 

42 

   EN 

 
4. 

SUMMARY OF RESOURCES 

4.1. 

Financial Resources 

4.1.1. 

Summary of commitment appropriations (CA) and payment appropriations (PA) 

Not applicable 

4.1.2.  Compatibility with Financial Programming 

(cid:59) 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

Proposal is compatible with existing financial programming. 

Proposal  will  entail  reprogramming  of  the  relevant  heading  in  the  financial 
perspective. 

Proposal  may  require  application  of  the  provisions  of  the  Interinstitutional 
Agreement (i.e. flexibility instrument or revision of the financial perspective). 

4.1.3.  Financial impact on Revenue 

(cid:59) 

(cid:133) 

Proposal has no financial implications on revenue 

Proposal has financial impact – the effect on revenue is as follows: 

4.2. 

Human Resources FTE (including officials, temporary and external staff) – see 
detail under point 8.2.1. 

Annual requirements 

Year n 

n + 1 

n + 2 

n + 3 

n + 4 

n + 5 
and 
later 

Total  number  of  human 
resources 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

5. 

CHARACTERISTICS AND OBJECTIVES 

5.1. 

Need to be met in the short or long term 

No specific need to be met in the short or long term. 

5.2. 

Value-added  of  Community  involvement  and  coherence  of  the  proposal  with 
other financial instruments and possible synergy 

The  Community  value-added  lies  in  providing  a  more  effective  legal  basis  for 
administrative and judicial cooperation with Liechtenstein against fraud affecting the 
Community  financial  interests,  including  VAT  and  excise  fraud  and  money-
laundering of relevant proceeds. 

EN 

43 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.3. 

Objectives, expected results and related indicators of the proposal in the context 
of the ABM framework 

Expected results concern mainly the reduction of the potential risk for resources and 
expenditure of the budget of the European Communities by way of an increased co-
operation with Liechtenstein. 

The Commission's participation in the Joint Committee set up according to Article 38 
of the Agreement allows for smooth application of the Agreement in practice. 

5.4.  Method of Implementation (indicative) 

(cid:59)  Centralised Management 

(cid:59) 

(cid:133) 

directly by the Commission 

indirectly by delegation to: 

(cid:133) 

executive Agencies 

(cid:133) 

bodies set up by the Communities as referred to in art. 185 of the 
Financial Regulation 

(cid:133) 

national public-sector bodies/bodies with public-service mission 

(cid:133) 

Shared or decentralised management 

(cid:133)  with Member states 

(cid:133)  with Third countries 

(cid:133) 

Joint management with international organisations (please specify) 

Relevant comments: The main impact on the EC budget are the administrative costs 
running  up  due  to  the  Commission's  participation  in  the  Joint  Committee  set  up 
according to Article 38 of the Agreement. 

EN 

44 

   EN 

 
6. 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

6.1.  Monitoring system 

The  monitoring  is  sufficiently  guaranteed  for  due  to  the  mechanisms  related  to 
administrative expenditure for personnel and missions evolving by the participation 
once a year Joint Committee set up according to Article 38 of the Agreement.  

6.2. 

Evaluation 

6.2.1.  Ex-ante evaluation 

Expenses will be limited to mission cost. 

6.2.2.  Measures  taken  following  an  intermediate/ex-post  evaluation  (lessons  learned  from 

similar experiences in the past) 

Due to the limitation of expenses to mission cost an intermediate/ex-post evaluation 
is not foreseen. 

6.2.3.  Terms and frequency of future evaluation 

See point 6.2.2. 

7. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES  

The Agreement is an anti-fraud measure. 

8. 

DETAILS OF RESOURCES 

8.1. 

Objectives of the proposal in terms of their financial cost 

Not applicable. 

8.2. 

Administrative Expenditure 

8.2.1.  Number and type of human resources 

Types of post 

Staff to be assigned to management of the action using existing and/or 
additional resources (number of posts/FTEs) 

Year n 

Year n+1  Year n+2  Year n+3  Year n+4  Year n+5 

A*/AD 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

B*, 
C*/AST 

Officials or 
temporary 
staff (XX 01 
01) 

Staff financed by art. XX 
01 02 

EN 

45 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other  staff  financed  by 
art. XX 01 04/05 

TOTAL 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

0,1 

8.2.2.  Description of tasks deriving from the action 

One meeting per year of the mixed Committee provided for under Article 38 of the 
Agreement and as needed. 

8.2.3. 

Sources of human resources (statutory) 

(cid:59) 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

(cid:133) 

Posts currently allocated to the management of the programme to be replaced 
or extended 

Posts pre-allocated within the APS/PDB exercise for year n 

Posts to be requested in the next APS/PDB procedure 

Posts  to  be  redeployed  using  existing  resources  within  the  managing  service 
(internal redeployment) 

Posts required for year n although not foreseen in the APS/PDB exercise of the 
year in question 

EN 

46 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.2.4.  Other  Administrative  expenditure  included  in  reference  amount  (XX  01  04/05  – 

Expenditure on administrative management) 

Budget line 

(number and heading) 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Year 
n 

Year 
n+1 

Year 
n+2 

Year 
n+3 

Year 
n+4 

Year 
n+5  

and 
later 

TOTAL 

Technical 

1 
and 
assistance (including related staff costs) 

administrative 

Executive agencies 

Other 

technical 

and 

administrative 

assistance 

- intra muros  

- extra muros 

Total  Technical  and  administrative 
assistance 

8.2.5.  Financial cost of human resources and associated costs not included in the reference 

amount 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) 

Type of human resources 

Year n 

Year 
n+1 

Year 
n+2 

Year 
n+3 

Year 
n+4 

Year 
n+5 

and later 

Officials  and  temporary  staff 
(XX 01 01) 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

Staff  financed  by  Art  XX  01 
02  (auxiliary,  END,  contract 
staff, etc.) 

(specify budget line) 

cost 

Total 
of  Human 
Resources  and  associated 
costs 
in  reference 
amount) 

(NOT 

0,011 

0,011 

0,011 

0,011 

0,011 

0,011 

Calculation– Officials and Temporary agents 

Not applicable. 117 000 x 0,1 staff 

EN 

47 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Calculation– Staff financed under art. XX 01 02 

Not applicable. 

8.2.6. Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount 

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Year 
n 

Year 
n+1 

Year 
n+2 

Year 
n+3 

Year 
n+4 

Year 
n+5 

and 
later 

TOTAL 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

– 

0,120 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

0,010 

XX 
01 
02 
Missions24,.010600.010211 - Missions. 

01 

11 

XX 01 02 11 02 – Meetings & Conferences 

XX 01 02 11 03 – Committees 

24.010600.010211 – Committees 

0,005 

0,005 

0,005 

0,005 

0,005 

0,005 

0,030 

XX 01 02 11 04 – Studies & consultations 

XX 01 02 11 05 - Information systems 

2 

Total 

Other  Management 

0,020 

0,020 

0,020 

0,020 

0,020 

0,020 

0,120 

Expenditure (24.010600.0201) 

joint 

operations 
investigations teams 

and 

joint 

3  Other 

expenditure 

administrative 
including reference to budget line) 

nature 

of 

an 
(specify 

expenditure, 
than  human  resources  and 
in 

Total  Administrative 
other 
associated  costs  (NOT 
reference amount) 

included 

0,045 

0,045 

0,045 

0,045 

0,045 

0,045 

0,270 

Calculation - Other administrative expenditure not included in reference amount 

Committees 1 meeting per year with 3 participants from OLAF and 3 from other DGs. 

2 Joint operations per year. 

EN 

48 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EN 

49 

   EN