Proposal for a Council Regulation on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax (Recast)
Date: 2009-08-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: VAT, administrative cooperation, domestic market, fraud, intra-EU trade, tax evasion

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.8.2009 
COM(2009) 427 final 

2009/0118 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax 

(Recast) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

BACKGROUND 

110 

Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

The Council has repeatedly stressed the need for a common approach to combating tax 
fraud,  and  in  particular  VAT  fraud,  to  supplement  and  support  national  efforts.  VAT 
fraud is often organised on a cross-border basis, which is why Member States need to 
cooperate to combat it effectively. In its conclusions of 4 December 2007 the Council 
called on the Commission to make proposals to enhance Member States' management 
of the European Union's VAT system. In its conclusions of 7 October 2008 the Council 
called on the Commission to include in its proposal provisions to allow Eurofisc to be 
established in the near future in accordance with certain guidelines. This proposal for a 
recast of Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 therefore aims to give Member States 
the means to combat cross-border VAT fraud more effectively. 

120 

General context 

In  May  2006  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  concerning  the  need  to 
develop  a  coordinated  strategy  to  improve  the  fight  against  fiscal  fraud.  As  regards 
VAT  fraud,  and  particularly  intra-Community  "carousel"  fraud,  the  Communication 
distinguished  between  conventional  measures  designed  to  enhance  the  VAT  system 
without altering its principles and more radical measures with implications for the very 
principles of VAT collection. 

The  ensuing  discussion  in  the  Council  showed  that  the  measures  regarded  as  more 
radical could not be introduced in the short run. The Commission therefore decided to 
concentrate 
its  efforts  on  establishing  a  number  of  conventional,  mutually 
complementary measures. Therefore, in its Communication of 1 December 2008 on a 
coordinated  strategy  to  improve  the  fight  against  VAT  fraud  in  the  European  Union 
(COM(2008)  807,  1.12.2008),  the  Commission  presented  a  short-term  action 
programme for the introduction of such measures. A key objective of this programme 
was  to  make  cooperation  between  tax  administrations  more  effective.  Some  of  the 
measures announced in the programme are included in this proposal. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  the  European  Court  of  Auditors,  in  Special  Report 
No 8/2007 concerning administrative cooperation in the field of value added tax, made 
a  number  of  recommendations  concerning  the  need  to  improve  the  exchange  of 
information on intra-Community transactions.  

In  its  resolution  of  2  September  2008  on  a  coordinated  strategy  to  improve  the  fight 
against  fiscal  fraud  (2008/2033(INI)),  the  European  Parliament  stressed  that  the 
Member  States  cannot  combat  cross-border  fraud  in  isolation  and  called  on  the 
Commission to propose mechanisms to promote cooperation between Member States. 
In particular, it invited the Commission to submit proposals on the automated access by 
all  other  Member  States  to  certain  non-sensitive  data  held  by  Member  States 
concerning  their  own  taxable  persons  (business  sector,  certain  data  concerning 
turnover),  and  on  the  harmonisation  of  the  procedures  for  the  registration  and  de-
registration of persons liable for VAT to ensure the swift detection and de-registration 
of  fake  taxable  persons.  It  stressed  that  Member  States  must  take  responsibility  for 

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keeping their data up to date, in particular as regards de-registration and the detection 
of fraudulent registrations. This proposal covers these points. 

130 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 is the reference Regulation for administrative 
cooperation  on  VAT  issues.  This  proposal  supplements  it  by  adding  provisions  for 
more  effective  measures  against  cross-border  fraud  and  better  collection  of  VAT  in 
cases where the place of taxation is different from the place of establishment of the 
supplier. It is also intended to make the Regulation more coherent, on the basis of the 
report on the operation of administrative cooperation adopted by the Commission on 
XXXX1. 

140 

Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union 

Combating  tax  evasion  is  part  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy.  In  its  Communication  of 
25 October 2005  on  the  contribution  of  taxation  and  customs  policies  to  the  Lisbon 
Strategy, the Commission stressed that tax fraud created a significant distortion in the 
functioning of the internal market, prevented fair competition and eroded revenue that 
should  be  used  to  fund  public  services  at  national  level.  Increased  levels  of  fraud 
resulted  in  an  increasing  tax  burden  on  businesses  that  complied  with  tax  rules  as 
governments were forced to make up the resulting shortfall in revenue. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

Consultation of interested parties 

211 

Consultation methods, main sectors targeted and general profile of respondents 

As  this  Regulation  concerns  relations  between  Member  States'  tax  authorities,  the 
parties  primarily  interested  are  the  tax  authorities.  They  have  been  consulted  via  the 
Commission's  Anti-Tax  Fraud  Strategy  (ATFS)  expert  group  and  the  Standing 
Committee  on  Administrative  Cooperation  referred  to  in  Article 44  of  Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1798/2003.  The  ATFS  group  was  set  up  by  the  Commission 
following its Communication of May 2006. It is made up of Member State experts who 
meet to analyse solutions and strategies for combating tax fraud at Community level.  

Trade and industry representative organisations have informed the Commission of their 
approval of this approach as regards the aspects that might affect economic operators, 
in particular the establishment of common rules on the information to be collected and 
the  checks  to  be  conducted  when  a  VAT  identification  number  is  registered  in  the 
VIES database. This measure is intended to guarantee the quality of the information in 
the databases consulted by intra-Community traders. 

212 

Summary of responses and how they have been taken into account 

The  responses  received  from  both  economic  operators  and  national  authorities  were 
examined  in  the  ATFS  group  and  have  also  been  the  subject  of  reports  and 
communications to the Council.  

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xxxxx 

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Collection and use of expertise 

It has not been necessary to call in outside experts. 

Impact assessment 

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This proposal concerns exchanges between tax authorities and will have no impact on 
economic operators. Thus it has not been the subject of a formal impact assessment. 

The  consequences  of  this  proposal  will  affect  Member  States'  tax  authorities.  The 
Member  States  are  in  a  better  position  than  the  Commission  to  evaluate  its  precise 
impact.  

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

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Summary of the proposed measures 

This proposal supplements Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003. The most changes 
are the following. 

Member  States'  responsibility  in  the  field  of  administrative  cooperation  is 

- 
extended to protect the VAT revenue of all Member States. 

The  information  that  Member  States  must  collect  and  make  available  to  other 
- 
Member  States  through  an  electronic  database  system  is  precisely  defined.  The 
Regulation  also  defines  access  rights  to  this  information  in  terms  of  persons  and 
situations. 

- 
A  permanent  framework  is  established  to  guarantee  the  quality  of  the 
information  in  the  databases  by  laying  down  common  rules  on  the  information  to  be 
collected  and  the  checks  to  be  carried  out  when  a  VAT  identification  number  is 
registered  in  the  database.  The  Regulation  specifies  the  cases  in  which  certain 
information  must  be  deleted  from  the  databases.  It  also  includes  provisions  under 
which Member States are mutually responsible for any erroneous information in their 
databases or failures to update such information in good time. 

- 
Member  States  are  required  to  confirm  by  electronic  means  the  name  and 
address associated with a VAT number. Users are also given guarantees concerning the 
reliability and use of such information. 

- 
A legal basis is created for establishing a structure for targeted cooperation to 
combat  fraud.  This  structure  will  make  possible  multilateral,  swift  and  targeted 
exchange  of  information  so  that  Member  States  can  respond  adequately  and  in  a 
coordinated fashion to combat any new kinds  of fraud that emerge. It will be able to 
draw on jointly organised risk analysis.  

In  general  terms,  the  proposal  is  intended  to  improve  the  exchange  of  information 
between Member States by defining the cases in which they may not refuse to reply to 
a request for information or for an administrative enquiry and specifying the cases in 
which  Member  States  must  exchange  certain  information  spontaneously,  as  well  as 
those  in  which  feedback  must  be  supplied,  and  laying  down  the  procedures  for  such 
feedback. The proposal also aims to specify the cases in which Member States may and 

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must  conduct  multilateral  controls.  Lastly,  it  provides  for  the  setting  of  precise 
objectives for the availability and operating procedures of the database system for the 
exchange of information. 

The following aspects of Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 remain unchanged: 

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the  organisation  of  the  departments  responsible  for  administrative  cooperation 
in the Member States; 

the mechanism for requesting information and specific enquiries; 

the request for administrative notification; 

the  principle  of  officials  being  present  in  the  administrative  departments  of 
another Member State and at simultaneous controls; 

provisions 

the 
telecommunications and radio broadcasting services; 

supplied 

services 

on 

by 

electronic  means 

and 

the provisions on the refund of VAT to taxable persons established in another 
Member State; 

the principle of the provisions on relations with third countries; 

the limitations on some of the rights and obligations provided for in Directive 
95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on 
the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and 
on  the  free  movement  of  such  data;  these  limitations  are  necessary  and 
proportionate in view of the potential loss of revenue for Member States and the 
crucial importance of the information to effectively combating fraud. 

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Legal basis 

Article 93 of the EC Treaty 

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Subsidiarity principle 

The principle of subsidiarity applies, as the proposal does not concern an area in which 
the Community has exclusive competence. 

The  objectives  of  the  proposal  cannot  be sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States 
for the reasons below. 

321 

The  proposal  aims  in  particular  to  improve  the  quality  and  comprehensiveness  of 
information  exchanges  between  Member  States  on  cross-border 
transactions, 
particularly where the place of taxation is different from the place of establishment of 
the supplier. 

To  monitor  these  transactions  effectively,  close  and  swift  cooperation  is  needed 

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between  Member  States,  in  particular  through  the  use  of  electronic  databases.  A 
Community  framework  for  such  cooperation  is  far  more  effective  than  bilateral 
arrangements  between  all  the  Member  States,  which  may  leave  some  Member  States 
without full and rapid access to some information. 

Similarly,  in  view  of  the  growth  of  cross-border  VAT  fraud,  coordinated  action  to 
combat  fraud  at  EU  level  is  preferable  to  a  national  or  even  multilateral  approach, 
which  might  be  detrimental  to  some  Member  States  by  encouraging  fraud  on  their 
territory.  

327 

The  proposal  simply  defines  a  framework  for  cooperation  between  Member  States, 
while  operational  control  and  application  measures  are  the  responsibility  of  the 
Member States.  

The  proposal  is  also  intended  to  supplement  the  information  provided  to  Community 
operators  regarding  their  trading  partners  and  make  it  more  reliable.  Full  and  high-
quality information is needed for the correct application of VAT rules, particularly as 
regards territorial application and the person liable for payment of VAT. All operators 
should  be  able  to  obtain  such  information  easily,  wherever  their  registered  office  or 
place of establishment may be. 

The proposal therefore complies with the principle of subsidiarity. 

Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons. 

It is to a great extent based on the existing legislative framework, which it supplements 
only  where  there  are  points  that  need  reinforcing,  as  highlighted  by  the  work  of  the 
ATFS group and shown by the report on the operation of administrative cooperation. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 made provision for limitations on some of the 
rights and obligations provided for in Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to 
the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and the present 
proposal  maintains  these  limitations.  They  are  essential  to  the  fight  against 
intra-Community VAT fraud, and are proportionate given the potential loss of revenue 
for Member States if they were to be removed. 

The  new  provisions  do  not  therefore  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  to  enhance 
administrative cooperation for the purpose of combating cross-border VAT fraud. 

Choice of instruments 

Proposed instrument(s): Regulation. 

Other instruments would not have been appropriate for the following reasons. 

Since  the  existing  legislation  is  a  Regulation,  it  can  be  amended  only  by  another 
Regulation.  

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BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

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409 

The proposal has no implications for the Community budget. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

520 

Repeal of existing legislation 

The  adoption  of  this  proposal  will  mean  that  some  legislative  provisions  must  be 
repealed. 

540 

Recasting 

The proposal involves recasting. 

570 

Detailed explanation of the proposal by chapter or by article 

The  first  chapter  establishes  the  scope  of  the  Regulation,  provides  definitions  and 
contains  provisions  on  the  organisation  of  the  competent  authorities  under  the 
Regulation.  The  main  changes  in  this  chapter  are  the  expansion  of  its  scope  to  cover 
the establishment of common procedures where a common approach is necessary to the 
proper  application  of  the  common  system  of  VAT,  and  the  introduction  of  a 
requirement  for  Member  States  to  cooperate  to  protect  the  tax  revenue  of  other 
Member States.  

The  second  chapter  concerns  exchanges  of  information  on  request,  and  the  main 
change  is  the  limitation  of  cases  in  which  a  Member  State  may  refuse  to  provide 
information or carry out an enquiry. The provision added to this chapter takes over the 
wording  introduced  in  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 143/2008,  which  will  enter  into 
force in 2015. 

The  third  chapter  concerns  exchanges  of  information  without  prior  request.  This 
chapter has been amended to specify that such exchanges must in any case take place 
where certain criteria are met. Practical arrangements are established for the exchange 
of some specific information that meets these criteria.  

The  fourth  chapter  introduces  a  feedback  requirement,  the  rules  and  procedures  for 
which are to be established by the committee procedure. Member States had identified 
the lack of feedback as a weakness in their information exchanges. 

The  fifth  chapter  deals  with  the  storage  and  exchange  of  information  on  taxable 
persons  and  transactions.  It  is  amended  to  increase  the  amount  and  quality  of 
information exchanged. In particular, it provides that the competent authorities are to 
be given access  to  certain  information held by the Member States. The  proposal also 
provides for the establishment of common procedures regarding the information to be 
collected  when  a  taxable  person  is  registered  in  the  database  and  the  updating  of  the 
database system. 

The  sixth  chapter  concerns  requests  for  administrative  notification  and  has  not  been 
amended. 

The seventh chapter deals with presence in administrative offices and participation in 
administrative enquires. Some clarifications have been introduced concerning the non-

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exhaustive nature of its provisions.  

The eighth chapter concerns multilateral controls. It has been amended to specify the 
cases in which Member States must conduct this kind of control. 

The  ninth  chapter  concerns  the  information  available  to  taxable  persons,  and  in 
particular the possibility of obtaining confirmation of the validity of a specific person's 
identification number, together with the associated name and address. It also provides 
that  the  invoicing  provisions  in  force  in  the  Member  States  that  are  applicable  to 
taxable  persons  not  established  on  their  territory  will  be  placed  on  the  Commission's 
website. 

The tenth chapter concerns the establishment of a common structure (Eurofisc) which 
will provide a faster cooperation mechanism for dealing with very large-scale or new 
fraud patterns.  

The eleventh and twelfth chapters have not been amended. 

The thirteenth chapter, which covers relations with the Commission, has been amended 
to  specify  that  Member  States  must  conduct  regular  audits  of  the  operation  of 
administrative cooperation.  

The  fourteenth  chapter,  which  covers  relations  with  third  countries,  has  been  slightly 
amended to extend its scope. 

The  fifteenth  chapter,  which  lays  down  the  conditions  governing  the  exchange  of 
information,  has  been  amended  to  set  precise  objectives  for  the  level  of  service  of 
electronic information exchanges.  

The sixteenth chapter sets out the general and final provisions, in which the provisions 
of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  143/2008  which  are  to  enter  into  force  on  1  January 
2015 have been included.  

An annex has been added listing the goods and services to which Article 7(3) applies, 
based on the list adopted by the Council in Regulation (EC) No 143/2008.  

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 
2009/0118 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

on administrative cooperation (cid:214) and combating fraud  in the field of value added tax 
and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 93 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3, 

Whereas: 

(cid:216) new 

(1) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1798/2003  of  7  October  2003  on  administrative 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  value  added  tax  and  repealing  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 218/924  has  been  substantially  amended  several  times.  Since  further  amendments 
are to be made, it should be recast in the interests of clarity. For the sake of clarity and 
ease of comprehension, the provisions applicable up to 31 December 2014 and those 
applicable from 1 January 2015 should be presented separately. 

(2) 

Tax evasion and tax avoidance extending across the frontiers of Member States lead to 
budget  losses  and  violations  of  the  principle  of  fair  taxation  and  are  liable  to  bring 
about  distortions  of  capital  movements  and  of  the  conditions  of  competition.  They 
therefore affect the operation of the internal market. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 1 

2 
3 
4 

OJ C […]. 
OJ C […]. 
OJ L 264, 15.10.2003, p. 1. 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 3 (adapted) 

(3)(4)  The  tax  harmonisation  measures  taken  to  complete  the  internal  market  should 
therefore  include  the  establishment  of  a  common  system  for  the  exchange  of 
information  between  the  Member  States  whereby  the  Member  States'  administrative 
authorities  are  to  assist  each  other  and  cooperate  with  the  Commission  in  order  to 
ensure the proper application of ⌦ value added tax (VAT) ⌫ on supplies of goods 
and services, intra-Community acquisition of goods and importation of goods. 

(cid:216) new 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

In  its  Communication  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee on a coordinated strategy to improve the fight against 
VAT fraud in the European Union, of 1 December 20085, the Commission set out the 
‘conventional’ measures to be implemented swiftly to combat tax fraud. 

In its conclusions of 4 December 2007 and 7 October 2008 the Council called on the 
Commission  to  make  proposals  to  enhance  Member  States'  management  of  the 
European  Union's  VAT  system  and  to  include  provisions  to  allow  Eurofisc  to  be 
established  in  the  near  future  while  respecting  the  instruments  of  administrative 
cooperation mentioned in the Regulation. 

In the light of the report on the operation of administrative cooperation in the field of 
VAT6, drawn up under Article 45 of the Regulation and adopted by the Commission 
on XXXXX 2009, certain editorial and practical clarifications need to be made to the 
Regulation. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 recital 4 
(cid:214) new 

(7)(4)  (4) Council Directive 2008/9/EC of 12 February 2008 laying down detailed rules for 
the  refund  of  value  added  tax,  provided  for  in  Directive  2006/112/EC,  to  taxable 
persons not established in the Member State of refund but in another Member State7 
simplifies  the  refund  procedure  for  VAT  in  a  Member  State  in  which  the  taxable 
person concerned is not identified for VAT purposes (cid:214) requires rules on the exchange 
and storage of information by Member States  . 

(8)(5)  The  extension  of  the  scope  of  the  special  scheme  and  the  amendments  to  (cid:214) The 
establishment of the one-stop scheme introduced in Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 
28 November  2006  on  the  common  system  of  value  added  tax8,  as  amended  by 

(cid:208) 143/2008 recital 5 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

5 
6 
7 
8 

COM(2008) 807 final. 
OJ C XXXXXXXXX 
OJ L 44, 20.2.2008, p. 23. 
OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1. 

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Directive 2008/8/EC9, and  the refund procedure for taxable persons not established 
in the Member State of refund ⌦ provided for in Directive 2008/9/EC, ⌫ mean that 
the  Member  States  concerned  will  need  to  exchange  ⌦ a  large  amount  of ⌫ 
considerably  more  information.  The  required  exchange  of  information  should  not 
make  any  excessive  administrative  demands  on  the  Member  State  concerned.  This 
exchange of information should thus take place electronically under existing systems 
for exchanging information. 

(cid:216) new 

(9) 

The Member State of establishment should collect or be in a position to collect certain 
information  on  cross-border  transactions  so  that  transactions  which  are  taxable  in  a 
Member  State  other  than  that  in  which  the  supplier  is  established  can  be  supervised 
effectively. 

(10) 

In the interests of effectiveness and speed and on grounds of cost, it is essential that 
the information communicated under this Regulation should be provided by electronic 
means wherever possible. 

(11)  For  the  purposes  of  collecting  the  tax  owed,  the  Member  States  must  ensure 
collectively that VAT is correctly assessed in every Member State. The Member States 
must therefore monitor the correct application of tax owed on their own territory, but 
also  of  tax  relating  to  activity  on  their  own  territory  but  owed  in  another  Member 
State.  

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 2 
(cid:214) new 

(12)(3) Combating  VATvalue  added  tax  evasion  calls  for  close  cooperation  between  the 
administrative authorities in each Member State responsible for the application of the 
provisions  in  that  field.  (cid:214) Those  authorities  must  also  cooperate  with  the  structure 
responsible for targeted and swift action to combat specific acts of fraud.   

(cid:216) new 

(13) 

In  many  cases  of  cross-border  transactions,  monitoring  the  correct  application  of  the 
tax  by  the  Member  State  of  taxation  depends  on  information  which  is  held  by  the 
Member  State  of  establishment  of  the  taxable  person  or  can  be  much  more  easily 
obtained by that Member State.  

(14) 

In view of the repetitive nature of certain requests and the linguistic diversity within 
the Community, it is important to spread the use of standard forms in the exchange of 
information so that information requests can be processed more quickly. 

(15)  Where Member States agree on time limits for responding other than those provided 
for in this Regulation, those time limits must be shorter than the ones provided for in 
this Regulation.  

9 

OJ L 44, 20.2.2008, p. 11. 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 4 
(cid:214) new 

(16)(4) Electronic  storage  and  transmission  of  certain  data  for  VAT  control  purposes  is 
indispensable  for  the  proper  functioning  of  the  VAT  system  (cid:214) and  to  facilitate  the 
fight  against  fraud,  particularly  in  the  case  of  certain  cross-border  transactions  for 
which the tax is owed in the Member State of the recipient of the goods or services  . 

(cid:216) new 

(17) 

In such situations, it is important to specify the obligations of each Member State so 
that the tax can be effectively monitored in the Member State in which it is owed. 

(18)  Apart from the principle that information must be communicated, the cases should be 
specified  in  which  such  communication  is  compulsory,  as  should  the  categories  of 
information for which a systematic procedure needs to be established to facilitate that 
communication. 

(19) 

In  accordance  with  the  conclusions  of  the  report  on  the  operation  of  administrative 
cooperation adopted by the European Commission on XXXXX 200910 and in order to 
continually  improve  the  quality  of  the  information  exchanged,  provision  should  be 
made for systematic application of the principle of feedback.  

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 5 
(cid:214) new 

(20)(5) The  conditions  for  the  exchange  of,  and  direct  (cid:214) automated   access  of  Member 
States  to,  electronically  stored  data  in  each  Member  State  should  be  clearly  defined. 
Operators should have access to certain of such data where required for the fulfilment 
of their obligations. 

(cid:216) new 

(21)  To  combat  tax  fraud,  Member  States  need  to  be  enabled  to  exchange  very  rapidly 
certain  reliable  information  which  they  hold  concerning  the  taxable  persons 
established  on  their  territory.  This  can  be  achieved  by  enhancing  the  databases  on 
VAT-taxable persons and their intra-Community transactions through the inclusion in 
those databases of a range of information on the taxable persons and their transactions 
and  by  establishing  procedures  to  increase  the  reliability  of  the  information  in  those 
databases.  

(22)  Broader  access  to  the  information  which  this  database  system  contains  on  intra-
Community supplies of goods and services where the recipient is the person liable for 
the tax will be a valuable asset in the fight against tax fraud. 

(23)  The  databases  containing  the  information  on  the  taxable  persons  and  their  intra-
Community  transactions  are  an  essential  tool  for  combating  VAT  fraud.  The 

10 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
information  they  contain  should  therefore  be  up-to-date  and  reliable.  To  make  this 
information easy for Member States to use, common procedures should be established 
to ensure that the information is comparable and of good quality. 

(24)  Establishing risk analysis mechanisms for the information entered in the databases and 
the  information  which  is  already  there  will  give  Member  States  an  additional 
assurance as to the reliability of the information. 

(25) 

(26) 

In the light of the report on the operation of administrative cooperation adopted by the 
European Commission on XXXXX 200911, it needs to be made clear that possibilities 
of  being  present  in  administrative  offices  set  out  in  the  Regulation  are  not  listed 
exhaustively. 

In view of the increase in cross-border trade within the internal market, the scope of 
multilateral controls should be clarified and extended and the introduction and conduct 
of  such  controls  should  be  facilitated,  with  regard  to  both  legitimate  and  fraudulent 
business. 

(27)  Online  confirmation  of  the  validity  of  VAT  identification  numbers  is  a  tool 
increasingly  used  by  operators.  However,  the  differences  in  procedures  for  the 
registration and updating of information on taxable persons in national databases and 
the  differences  in  the  information  confirmed  mean  that  the  information  given  may 
mislead  the  requesting  operators  and  give  rise  to  disputes.  Identifying  the  operators 
who request confirmation of the validity of a VAT identification number also provides 
very  useful  information  for  Member  States'  risk  analysis  systems.  The  system  for 
confirming the validity of VAT identification numbers should therefore be adapted to 
provide automated confirmation of more information to operators. Moreover, making 
this information such that it may be relied upon in dealings with other Member States 
considerably increases the legal certainty of operators.  

(28)  Some taxable persons are subject to specific obligations different from those in force 
in the Member State in which they are established, particularly as regards invoicing, 
simply because they supply goods or services to customers established on the territory 
of another Member State. A mechanism should be established to enable those taxable 
persons to be informed of such obligations.  

(29)  Recent practical experience of the application of Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 in the 
fight against carrousel fraud has shown that in some cases it is essential to establish a 
much  faster  mechanism  for  the  exchange  of  information,  covering  much  more,  and 
more  targeted,  information  in  order  to  combat  fraud  effectively.  This  mechanism 
should  be  included  within  the  framework  of  the  Regulation  while  keeping  sufficient 
flexibility  to  adapt  to  new  types  of  fraud.  Eurocanet  (European  Carrousel  Network), 
established  on  the  initiative  of  Belgium  and  supported  by  the  Commission,  is  an 
example of this kind of cooperation. 

11 

EN 

13 

   EN 

                                                 
 
(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 6 

(30)(6) The  Member  State  of  consumption  has  primary  responsibility  for  assuring  that  non-
established suppliers comply with their obligations. To this end, the application of the 
temporary  special  scheme  for  electronically  supplied  services  that  is  provided  for  in 
Chapter  6  of  Title  XII  of  Directive  2006/112/EC  Article 26c  of  Sixth  Council 
Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member 
States relating to turnover taxes, Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of 
assessment12, requires the definition of rules concerning the provision of information 
and  transfer  of  money  between  the  Member  State  of  identification  and  the  Member 
State of consumption. 

(cid:216) new 

(31) 

Information received from third countries may be very useful to other Member States 
in the context of combating VAT fraud. The exchange of such information should be 
extended as much as possible.  

(32)  National  rules  on  banking  secrecy  should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  the  application  of 

this Regulation.  

(33)  As the scope of administrative cooperation in the field of VAT has been extended, the 

rules on the protection of information exchanged or collected should be reinforced.  

Council Regulation (EEC) No 218/92 of 27 January 1992 on administrative cooperation in the 
field  of  indirect  taxation  (VAT)13  established  in  this  respect  a  system  of  close 
cooperation amongst the Member States' administrative authorities and between those 
authorities and the Commission. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 7 

Regulation  (EEC)  No  218/92  supplements  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 and indirect taxation14. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 8 

Those  two  legal  instruments  have  proved  to  be effective  but  are  no  longer  able  to  meet  the 
new  requirements  of  administrative  cooperation  resulting  from  the  ever  closer 
integration of economies within the internal market. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 9 

12 

13 

14 

OJ  L  145,  13.6.1977,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Council  Directive  2002/92/EC  (OJ  L  331, 
7.12.2002, p. 27). 
OJ  L  24,  1.2.1992,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  792/2002  (OJ  L  128, 
15.5.2002, p. 1). 
OJ L 336, 27.12.1977, p. 15. Directive as last amended by the 1994 Act of Accession 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
The existence of two separate instruments for cooperation on VAT has, moreover, hampered 

effective cooperation between tax administrations. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 10 

The  rights  and  obligations  of  all  parties  concerned  are  currently  ill-defined.  Clearer  and 

binding rules governing cooperation between Member States are therefore necessary. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 11 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 12 

There  is  not  enough  direct  contact  between  local  or  national  anti-fraud  offices,  with 
communication  between  central  liaison  offices  being  the  rule.  This  leads  to 
inefficiency, under-use of the arrangements for administrative cooperation and delays 
in  communication.  Provision  should  therefore  be  made  to  bring  about  more  direct 
contacts between services with a view to making cooperation more efficient and faster. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 13 

Cooperation is also not intensive enough, in that, apart from the VAT information exchange 
system  (VIES),  there  are  not  enough  automatic  or  spontaneous  exchanges  of 
information between Member States. Exchanges of information between the respective 
administrations  as  well  as  between  administrations  and  the  Commission  should  be 
made more intensive and swifter in order to combat fraud more effectively. 

The  provisions  on  VAT  administrative  cooperation  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  218/92  and  of 
Directive  77/799/EEC  should  therefore  be  joined  and  strengthened.  For  reasons  of 
clarity  this  should  be  done  in  a  single  new  instrument  which  replaces  Regulation 
(EEC) No 218/92. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 14 

(34)(16) 

This Regulation should not affect other Community measures which contribute 

to combating VAT fraud. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 15 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 16 
(cid:214) new 

(35)(17) 

For the purposes of this Regulation, it is appropriate to consider limitations of 
certain  rights  and  obligations  laid  down  by  Directive  95/46/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24  October  1995  on  the  protection  of  individuals 
with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data15 
in  order  to  safeguard  the  interests  referred  to  in  Article 13(1)(e)  of  that  Directive. 

15 

OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
(cid:214) Such  limitations  are  necessary  and  proportionate  in  view  of  the  potential  loss  of 
revenue  for  Member  States  and  the  crucial  importance  of  this  information  to 
effectively combating fraud.  

(cid:216) new 

(36)  As the measures necessary to implement this Regulation are measures of general scope 
within  the  meaning  of  Article 2  of  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  1999 
laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the 
Commission16,  they  must  be  adopted  in  conformity  with  the  regulatory  procedure 
provided for in Article 5 of that Decision. 

The  measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation  should  be  adopted  in 
accordance  with  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  1999  laying  down  the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission17. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 17 

(37)  This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles which are 
recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 recital 18 (adapted) 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

CHAPTER I 

GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 

1. This Regulation lays down the conditions under which the administrative authorities in the 
Member States responsible for the application of the laws on ⌦ value added tax (VAT) ⌫ 
on supplies of goods and services, intra-Community acquisition of goods and importation of 
goods are to cooperate with each other and with the Commission to ensure compliance with 
those laws. 

To  that  end,  it  lays  down  rules  and  procedures  to  enable  the  competent  authorities  of  the 
Member States to cooperate and to exchange with each other any information that may help 
them  to  effect  a  correct  assessment  of  VAT  (cid:214) ,  monitor  the  correct  application  of  VAT, 
particularly  on  intra-Community  transactions,  and  combat  VAT  fraud.  In  particular,  it  lays 

16 
17 

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
down  rules  and  procedures  for  Member  States  to  collect  and  exchange  such  information  by 
electronic means . 

This Regulation also lays down rules and procedures for the exchange of certain information 
by electronic means, in particular as regards VAT on intra-Community transactions. 

2.  This  Regulation  lays  down  the  conditions  under  which  the  authorities  referred  to  in 
paragraph 1 are to act to protect VAT revenue in all the Member States.  

(cid:216) new 

3.2.  This  Regulation  shall  not  affect  the  application  in  the  Member  States  of  the  rules  on 
mutual assistance in criminal matters. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 1 (adapted) 

4.  For  the  period  provided  for  in  Article 357  of  Council  Directive  2006/112/EC  of  28 
November 2006 on the common system of value added tax18, it ⌦This Regulation ⌫ also 
lays down rules and procedures for the exchange by electronic means of VATvalue added tax 
information  on  services  supplied  electronically  in  accordance  with  the  special  scheme 
provided for in Chapter 6 of Title XII of Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the 
common system of value added tax and also for any subsequent exchange of information and, 
as  far  as  services  covered  by  that  special  scheme  are  concerned,  for  the  transfer  of  money 
between Member States' competent authorities. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 1 (adapted) 

This Regulation also lays down rules and procedures for the exchange by electronic means of 
value added tax information on services in accordance with the special schemes provided for 
in Chapter 6 of Title XII of Directive 2006/112/EC and also for any subsequent exchange of 
information  and,  as  far  as  services  covered  by  those  special  schemes  are  concerned,  for  the 
transfer of money between Member States' competent authorities. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:206)1 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 2 

Article 2 

(cid:206)1 1.  For the purposes of this Regulation: 

1. "competent authority of a Member State", means: 

– 

in Belgium: 

Le ministre des finances 

18 

OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1. 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
De Minister van financiën, 

(cid:208) 1791/2006 Art. 1, pt 1 and 
Annex, pt 7 

– 

in Bulgaria: 

Изпълнителният директор на Националната агенция за приходите 

– 

in the Czech Republic: 

Ministerstvo financí, 

– 

in Denmark: 

Skatteministeriet, 

– 

in Germany: 

Bundesministerium der Finanzen, 

– 

in Estonia: 

Maksuamet, 

– 

in Greece: 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 5 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 6 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Yπουργειο Oικονοµίας και Οικονοµικων, 

– 

in Spain: 

El Secretario de Estado de Hacienda, 

– 

in France: 

le ministre de l'économie, des finances et de l'industrie, 

– 

in Ireland: 

The Revenue Commissioners, 

– 

in Italy: 

il Capo del Dipartimento delle Politiche Fiscali, 

EN 

18 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– 

in Cyprus: 

Υπουργός Οικονοµικών ή εξουσιοδοτηµένος αντιπρόσωπος του, 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 6 

– 

in Latvia: 

Valsts ieņēmumu dienests, 

– 

in Lithuania: 

Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija prie Finansų ministerijos, 

– 

in Luxembourg: 

L'Administration de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines, 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

– 

in Hungary: 

Adó- és Pénzügyi Ellenőrzési Hivatal Központi Kapcsolattartó Irodája, 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 6 

– 

in Malta: 

Dipartiment tat-Taxxa fuq il-Valur Miżjud fil-Ministeru tal-Finanzi u Affarijiet 
Ekonomiċi, 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

– 

in the Netherlands: 

De minister van Financiën, 

– 

in Austria: 

Bundesminister für Finanzen, 

– 

in Poland: 

Minister Finansów, 

– 

in Portugal: 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 6 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

EN 

19 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
O Ministro das Finanças, 

– 

in Romania: 

Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală 

(cid:208) 1791/2006 Art. 1, pt 1 and 
Annex, pt 7 

(cid:208) 885/2004 Art. 1 and Annex, pt 6 

– 

in Slovenia: 

Ministrstvo za finance, 

– 

in Slovakia 

Ministerstvo financií, 

– 

in Finland: 

Valtiovarainministeriö 

Finansministeriet, 

– 

in Sweden: 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Chefen för Finansdepartementet, 

– 

in the United Kingdom: 

The Commissioners of Customs and Excise; 

21.  "central  liaison  office"  means  the  office  which  has  been  designated  under 
Article 43(12) with principal responsibility for contacts with other Member States in 
the field of administrative cooperation; 

32. "liaison department" means any office other than the central liaison office with a 
specific  territorial  competence  or  a  specialised  operational  responsibility  which  has 
been  designated  by  the  competent  authority  pursuant  to  Article 43(23)  to  exchange 
directly information on the basis of this Regulation; 

43.  "competent  official"  means  any  official  who  can  directly  exchange  information 
on  the  basis  of  this  Regulation  for  which  he  has  been  authorised  pursuant  to 
Article 43(34); 

54.  "requesting  authority"  means  the  central  liaison  office,  a  liaison  department  or 
any  competent  official  of  a  Member  State  who  makes  a  request  for  assistance  on 
behalf of the competent authority; 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
65. "requested authority" means the central liaison office, a liaison department or any 
competent official of a Member State who receives a request for assistance on behalf 
of the competent authority; 

76. "intra-Community transactions" means the intra-Community supply of goods or 
services; 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 2 

87. "intra-Community supply of goods" means any supply of goods which must be 
declared  in  the  recapitulative  statement  provided  for  in  Article 262  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC; 

98. "intra-Community supply of services" means any supply of services which must 
be  declared  in  the  recapitulative  statement  provided  for  in  Article 262  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC; 

109. "intra-Community acquisition of goods" means the acquisition of the right under 
Article 20  of  Directive  2006/112/EC  to  dispose  as  owner  of  moveable  tangible 
property; 

1110. "VAT identification number" means the number provided for in Articles 214, 
215 and 216 of Directive 2006/112/EC; 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

1211. "administrative enquiry" means all the controls, checks and other action taken 
by Member States in the performance of their duties with a view to ensuring proper 
application of VAT legislation; 

1312.  "automatic  exchange"  means  the  systematic  communication  of  predefined 
information  to  another  Member  State,  without  prior  request,  at  pre-established 
regular intervals; 

14.  "structured  automatic  exchange",  means  the  systematic  communication  of 
predefined information to another Member State, without prior request, as and when 
that information becomes available; 

15.  "spontaneous  exchange",  means  the  irregular  communication  without  prior 
request of information to another Member State; 

1316. "person" means: 

(a) a natural person; 

(b) a legal person; or 

(c)  where  the  legislation  in  force  so  provides,  an  association  of  persons 
recognised  as  having  the  capacity  to  perform  legal  acts  but  lacking  the  legal 
status of a legal person; 

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17.  "to  grant  access",  means  to  authorise  access  to  the  relevant  electronic  database 
and to obtain data by electronic means; 

14. "automated access" means the possibility of access at any time to a database to 
consult certain information in it by electronic means; 

(cid:216) new 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

1518.  "by  electronic  means"  means  using  electronic  equipment  for  the  processing 
(including  digital  compression)  and  storage  of  data,  and  employing  wires,  radio 
transmission, optical technologies or other electromagnetic means; 

1619.  "CCN/CSI  network"  means  the  common  platform  based  on  the  common 
communication  network  (CCN)  and  common  system  interface  (CSI),  developed  by 
the Community to ensure all transmissions by electronic means between competent 
authorities in the area of customs and taxation; 

(cid:216) new 

17. "multilateral control" means coordinated checks on the tax situation of a taxable 
person  or  related  taxable  persons,  organised  by  two  or  more  participating  Member 
States with common or complementary interests; 

18. "strategic analysis" means research into and presentation of the general trends in 
transactions in breach of VAT legislation through evaluation of the threat posed by 
those  transactions  and  of  their  scale  and  impact,  with  a  view  to  setting  priorities, 
formulating  hypotheses  or  recommendations,  gaining  a  better  picture  of  the 
phenomenon or threat and reorienting action to prevent or detect fraud. 

2. ⌦From 1 January 2015, ⌫ Tthe definitions contained in Articles 358, 358a and 369a of 
Directive 2006/112/EC shall also apply for the purposes of this Regulation. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 2 (adapted) 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Article 3 

1.  The  competent  authorities  referred  to  in  point  1  of  Article 2  are  the  authorities  in  whose 
name this Regulation is to be applied, whether directly or by delegation.: 

– 

in Belgium: 

Le ministre des finances 

De Minister van financiën, 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
– 

in Bulgaria: 

Изпълнителният директор на Националната агенция за приходите 

– 

in the Czech Republic: 

Ministerstvo financí, 

– 

in Denmark: 

Skatteministeren, 

– 

in Germany: 

Bundesministerium der Finanzen, 

– 

in Estonia: 

Maksuamet, 

– 

in Greece: 

Yπουργειο Oικονοµίας και Οικονοµικων, 

– 

in Spain: 

El Secretario de Estado de Hacienda, 

– 

in France: 

Le ministre de l'économie, des finances et de l'industrie, 

– 

in Ireland: 

The Revenue Commissioners, 

– 

in Italy: 

Il Capo del Dipartimento delle Politiche Fiscali, 

– 

in Cyprus: 

Υπουργός Οικονοµικών ή εξουσιοδοτηµένος αντιπρόσωπος του, 

– 

in Latvia: 

Valsts ieņēmumu dienests, 

– 

in Lithuania: 

Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija prie Finansų ministerijos, 

– 

in Luxembourg: 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
L'Administration de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines, 

– 

in Hungary: 

Adó- és Pénzügyi Ellenőrzési Hivatal Központi Kapcsolattartó Irodája, 

– 

in Malta: 

Dipartiment tat-Taxxa fuq il-Valur Miżjud fil-Ministeru tal-Finanzi u Affarijiet 
Ekonomiċi, 

– 

in the Netherlands: 

De minister van Financiën, 

– 

in Austria: 

Bundesminister für Finanzen, 

– 

in Poland: 

Minister Finansów, 

– 

in Portugal: 

O Ministro das Finanças, 

– 

in Romania: 

Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală 

– 

in Slovenia: 

Ministrstvo za finance, 

– 

in Slovakia 

Ministerstvo financií, 

– 

in Finland: 

Valtiovarainministeriö 

Finansministeriet, 

– 

in Sweden: 

Chefen för Finansdepartementet, 

– 

in the United Kingdom: 

The Commissioners of Customs and Excise. 

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Article 4 

1.2.  Each  Member  State  shall  designate  a  single  central  liaison  office  to  which  principal 
responsibility  shall  be  delegated  for  contacts  with  other  Member  States  in  the  field  of 
administrative  cooperation.  It  shall  inform  the  Commission  and  the  other  Member  States 
thereof. 

2.3. The competent authority of each Member State may designate liaison departments. The 
central liaison office shall be responsible for keeping the list of those departments up to date 
and making it available to the central liaison offices of the other Member States concerned. 

3.4.  The  competent  authority  of  each  Member  State  may  in  addition  designate,  under  the 
conditions laid down by it, competent officials who can directly exchange information on the 
basis  of  this  Regulation.  When  it  does  so,  it  may  limit  the  scope  of  such  designation.  The 
central liaison office shall be responsible for keeping the list of those officials up to date and 
making it available to the central liaison offices of the other Member States concerned. 

4.5. The officials exchanging information under Articles 11 and 13 29, 30 and 31 shall in any 
case be deemed to be competent officials for this purpose, in accordance with conditions laid 
down by the competent authorities. 

Article 5 

6. Where a liaison department or a competent official sends or receives a request or a reply to 
a request for assistance, it shall inform the central liaison office of its Member State under the 
conditions laid down by the latter. 

Article 6 

7.  Where  a  liaison  department  or  a  competent  official  receives  a  request  for  assistance 
requiring action outside its territorial or operational area, it shall forward such request without 
delay  to  the  central  liaison  office  of  its  Member  State  and  inform  the  requesting  authority 
thereof. In such a case, the period laid down in Article 108 shall start the day after the request 
for assistance has been forwarded to the central liaison office. 

Article 4 

1.  The  obligation  to  give  assistance  as  provided  for  in  this  Regulation  shall  not  cover  the 
provision of information or documents obtained by the administrative authorities referred to 
in Article 1 acting with the authorisation or at the request of the judicial authority. 

2. However, where a competent authority has the powers in accordance with national law to 
communicate the information referred to in paragraph 1, it may be communicated as a part of 
the administrative cooperation provided for in this Regulation. Any such communication must 

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
have  the  prior  authorisation  of  the  judicial  authority  if  the  necessity  of  such  authorisation 
derives from national law. 

CHAPTER II 

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON REQUEST 

SECTION 1 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AND FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ENQUIRIES 

Article 75 

1.  At  the  request  of  the  requesting  authority,  the  requested  authority  shall  communicate  the 
information  referred  to  in  Article 1,  including  any  information  relating  to  a  specific  case  or 
cases. 

2.  For  the  purpose  of  forwarding  the  information  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  the  requested 
authority  shall  arrange  for  the  conduct  of  any  administrative  enquiries  necessary  to  obtain 
such information. 

3.  The  request  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  may  contain  a  reasoned  request  for  a  specific 
administrative enquiry. If the Member State takes the view that no ⌦ an ⌫ administrative 
enquiry  is ⌦ not ⌫  necessary,  it  shall  immediately  inform  the  requesting  authority  of  the 
reasons thereof. 

(cid:216) new 

Notwithstanding  the  first  paragraph  and  without  prejudice  to  Article 56,  a  request  for  an 
administrative enquiry into supplies of any of the goods or services listed in the Annex which 
are provided by a taxable person established in the Member State of the requested authority 
and  are  taxable  in  the  Member  State  in  which  the  requesting  authority  is  situated  may  be 
refused  by  the  requested  authority  only  if  the  requested  authority  has  already  supplied 
information on the same taxable person, obtained in an administrative enquiry held less than 
two years previously, to the requesting authority. 

However, with respect to the requests referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph 
made by the requesting authority and assessed by the requested authority in conformity with a 
Statement of Best Practices concerning the interaction of this paragraph and Article 56(1), to 
be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article 60(2),  a  Member  State 
which  refuses  to  conduct  an  administrative  enquiry  on  the  basis  of  Article 56  shall 
communicate to the requesting authority the dates and values of any relevant supplies made 
over the last two years by the taxable person in the Member State of the requesting authority. 

EN 

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(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 3 (adapted) 

3.  The  request  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  may  contain  a  reasoned  request  for  a  specific 
administrative enquiry. If the Member State takes the view that no administrative enquiry is 
necessary, it shall immediately inform the requesting authority of the reasons thereof. 

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph and without prejudice to Article 40 of this Regulation, 
an  enquiry  into  the  amounts  declared  by  a  taxable  person  in  connection  with  the  supply  of 
telecommunications services, broadcasting services and electronically supplied services which 
are taxable in the Member State in which the requesting authority is situated and for which the 
taxable  person  makes  use  or  opts  not  to  make  use  of  the  special  scheme  provided  for  in 
Section  3  of  Chapter  6  of  Title  XII  of  Directive  2006/112/EC,  may  only  be  refused  by  the 
requested  authority  if  information  on  the  same  taxable  person  obtained  in  an  administrative 
enquiry  held  less  than  two  years  previously,  has  already  been  supplied  to  the  requesting 
authority. 

However,  with  respect  to  the  requests  referred  to  in  the  second  subparagraph  made  by  the 
requesting authority and assessed by the requested authority in conformity with a Statement of 
Best Practices concerning the interaction of this paragraph and Article 40(1) to be adopted in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 44(2), a Member State which refuses to 
hold  an  administrative  enquiry  on  the  basis  of  Article 40  shall  provide  to  the  requesting 
authority  the  dates  and  values  of  any  relevant  supplies  made  over  the  last  two  years  by  the 
taxable person in the Member State of the requesting authority. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

4.  In  order  to  obtain  the  information  sought  or  to  conduct  the  administrative  enquiry 
requested, the requested authority or the administrative authority to which it has recourse shall 
proceed as though acting on its own account or at the request of another authority in its own 
Member State. 

Article 86 

Requests for information and for administrative enquiries pursuant to Article 75 shall, as far 
as possible, (cid:214) except in the cases referred to in Article 52 or in exceptional cases for reasons 
duly substantiated,  be sent using a standard form adopted in accordance with the procedure 
referred to in Article 6044(2). 

Article 97 

1. At the request of the requesting authority, the requested authority shall communicate to it 
any  pertinent  information  it  obtains  or  has  in  its  possession  as  well  as  the  results  of 
administrative  enquiries,  in  the  form  of  reports,  statements  and  any  other  documents,  or 
certified true copies or extracts thereof. 

2. Original documents shall be provided only where this is not contrary to the provisions in 
force in the Member State in which the requested authority is established. 

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SECTION 2 

TIME LIMIT FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION 

Article 108 

The requested authority shall provide the information referred to in Articles 5 and 7 7 and 9 as 
quickly as possible and no later than three months following the date of receipt of the request. 

However, where the requested authority is already in possession of that information, the time 
limit shall be reduced to a maximum period of one month. 

Article 119 

In certain special categories of cases, tTime limits different from (cid:214) shorter than  the ones 
provided  for  in  Article 108  may  be  agreed  between  the  requested  and  the  requesting 
authorities. 

(cid:216) new 

Article 12 

The  requested  authority  shall  confirm  receipt  of  the  request  by  electronic  means  without 
delay, and in any event no more than five working days after receiving it. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

Article 1310 

Where  the  requested  authority  is  unable  to  respond  to  the  request  by  the  deadline,  it  shall 
inform the requesting authority in writing forthwith of the reasons for its failure to do so, and 
when it considers it would be likely to be able to respond. 

CHAPTER IIIIV 

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION WITHOUT PRIOR REQUEST 

Article 1417 

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapters V and VI, tThe competent authority of each 
Member State shall, by automatic or structured automatic exchange, forward the information 
referred  to  in  Article 1  to  the  competent  authority  of  any  other  Member  State  concerned,  in 
the following cases: 

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1.  where  taxation  is  deemed  to  take  place  in  the  Member  State  of  destination  and 
⌦ the information provided by the Member State of origin is necessary for ⌫ the 
effectiveness  of  the  control  system  ⌦ of  the  Member  State  of  destination ⌫ 
necessarily depends on the information provided by the Member State of origin; 

2. where a Member State has grounds to believe that a breach of VAT legislation has 
been committed or is likely to have been committed in the other Member State; 

3. where there is a risk of tax loss in the other Member State. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 4 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

2. For the purposes of the first paragraph, each Member State of establishment shall cooperate 
with  each  Member  State  of  consumption  so  as  to  make  it  possible  ⌦ From  1  January 
2015, ⌫ (cid:214) the competent authority of each Member State shall in particular exchange data 
automatically in order to enable each Member State of consumption  to ascertain  whether 
the  taxable  persons  established  on  its  territory  declare  and  pay  correctly  the  VAT  due  with 
regard  to  telecommunications  services,  broadcasting  services  and  electronically  supplied 
services for which the taxable person makes use or opts not to make use of the special scheme 
provided for in Section 3 of Chapter 6 of Title XII of Directive 2006/112/EC. The Member 
State of establishment shall inform the Member State of consumption of any discrepancies of 
which it becomes aware. 

(cid:216) new 

Article 15 

The competent authorities of the Member States shall spontaneously forward to the competent 
authorities of the other Member States any information referred to in Article 1 of which they 
are aware and which may be useful to the competent authorities of the other Member States. 

Article 1618 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

(cid:216) new 

1.  The  information  exchanged  under  this  Chapter  shall  be  forwarded  by  means  of  standard 
forms or files adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 60(2). 

2.  The  frequency  of  and  practical  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of  certain  categories  of 
information  which  meet  the  criteria  set  out  in  Article 14  shall  be  determined  in  accordance 
with the procedure referred to in Article 60(2). 

EN 

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The  following  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 44(2): 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

1. the exact categories of information to be exchanged;  

2. the frequency of the exchanges; 

3. the practical arrangements for the exchange of information. 

Each Member State shall determine whether it will take part in the exchange of a particular 
category  of  information,  as  well  as  whether  it  will  do  so  in  an  automatic  or  structured 
automatic way. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 5 

Each Member State shall determine whether it will take part in the exchange of a particular 
category  of  information,  as  well  as  whether  it  will  do  so  in  an  automatic  or  structured 
automatic way. However, each Member State shall take part in exchanges of the information 
available  to  it  with  regard  to  telecommunications  services,  broadcasting  services  and 
electronically supplied services for which the taxable person makes use or opts not to make 
use  of  the  special  scheme  provided  for  in  Section  3  of  Chapter  6  of  Title  XII  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 19 

The competent authorities of the Member States may, in any case by spontaneous exchange, 
forward to each other, any information referred to in Article 1 of which they are aware. 

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  administrative  and  organisational  measures  to 
facilitate the exchanges provided for in this Chapter. 

Article 20 

Article 21 

A Member State cannot be obliged, for the purposes of implementing the provisions of this 
Chapter,  to  impose  new  obligations  on  persons  liable  for  VAT  with  a  view  to  collecting 
information nor to bear disproportionate administrative burdens. 

EN 

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(cid:216) new  

CHAPTER IV 

FEEDBACK  

Article 17 

The information exchanged under Chapters II and III shall be the subject of feedback to the 
requested  authority  that  supplied  it,  using  the  arrangements  and  observing  the  frequency 
determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 60(2). 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

CHAPTER V 

⌦DATABASES ⌫ STORAGE AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION 
SPECIFIC TO INTRA-COMMUNITY TRANSACTIONS 

Article 1822 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 3 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

1.  Each  Member  State  shall  maintain  an  electronic  database  (cid:214) system   in  which  it  shall 
store and process the (cid:214) following  information(cid:214) :  

⌦(a)  information ⌫  which  it  collects  pursuant  to  Chapter  6  of  Title  XI  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC; 

(cid:216) new 

(b)  data  on  the  identity,  activity  or  legal  form  of  persons  to  whom  a  VAT  identification 
number has been issued in that Member State, collected pursuant to Article 213 of Directive 
2006/112/EC; 

(c) data on the turnover of the persons referred to in point (b), and in particular data collected 
pursuant to Article 250 of Directive 2006/112/EC; 

(d)  data  on  the  history  of  the  exchange  of  information  referred  to  in  Chapters  II  and  III 
concerning the persons referred to in point (b) of this paragraph; 

(e)  information   which  it  collects  pursuant  to  Articles  360,  361,  364  and  365  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC. 

EN 

31 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
2. From 1 January 2015 every Member State shall add to the data referred to in paragraph 1(e) 
the  information  which  it  collects  pursuant  to  Articles  369c,  369f  and  369g  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC. 

3. From 1  January  2015, or before that if it has the data available in structured  form,  every 
Member State shall add the following data to the database system referred to in paragraph 1: 

(a)  additional  data  on  the  identity,  activity  or  legal  form  of  persons  to  whom  a  VAT 
identification number has been issued in that Member State; 

(b) more detailed data on the turnover of the persons referred to in paragraph 1(b), collected 
pursuant to Article 250 of Directive 2006/112/EC; 

(c) data on compliance by the persons referred to in paragraph 1(b) with their tax obligations, 
for example late submission of returns or existence of tax debts; 

(d)  data  specific  to  transactions  involving  particular  goods,  allowing  those  goods  to  be 
identified. 

3. The list and details of the data referred to in paragraph 1(b), (c) and (d) and paragraph 2 of 
this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 60(2). 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

Article 19 

To  enable  that  ⌦ the ⌫  information  ⌦ referred  to  in  Article 18 ⌫  to  be  used  in  the 
procedures provided for in this Regulation, that the information shall be stored for at least five 
years from the end of the ⌦ first ⌫ calendar year in which access to the information is to be 
granted. 

Article 20 

2. Member States shall ensure that their databases are kept up to date, and are complete and 
accurate. 

Criteria shall be defined, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6044(2), to 
determine which changes are not pertinent, essential or useful and therefore need not be made. 

(cid:216) new 

Article 21 

1. All the information referred to in Article 18 shall be placed in the database system without 
delay.  

2.  By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph 1  of  this  Article,  the  information  referred  to  in 
Article 18(1)(a)  shall  be  placed  in  the  database  system  referred  to  therein  no  later  than  one 
month after the end of the period to which the information relates. 

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32 

   EN 

 
 
3.  By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraphs  1  and  2  of  this  Article,  where  information  is 
corrected in or added to the database pursuant to Article 20, the information must be entered 
no later than one month after the period in which it was collected. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Article 2223 

On the basis of the data stored in accordance with Article 2322, the competent authority of a 
Member  State  shall  have  communicated  to  it  automatically  and  without  delay  by  any  other 
Member State the following (cid:214) Every Member State shall grant the competent authorities of 
any other Member State automated access to the  information, (cid:214) contained in the databases 
referred to in Article 18. In the case of the information referred to in Article 18(1)(a), at least 
the following details shall be accessible : 

1.  VAT  identification  numbers  issued  by  the  Member  State  receiving  the 
information; 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 4 
(cid:206)1 Corrigendum 

2. the total value of all intra-Community supplies of goods and the total value of all 
intra-Community  supplies  of  services  to  persons  holding  a  VAT  identification 
number (cid:206)1 referred to in point (1)  by all operators identified for the purposes of 
VAT in the Member State providing the information;. 

(cid:216) new 

3.  the  VAT  identification  numbers  of  the  persons  who  carried  out  the  supplies  of 
goods and services referred to in point 2; 

4. the total value of supplies of goods and services referred to in point 2 from each 
person  referred  to  in  point 3  to  each  person  holding  a  VAT  identification  number 
referred to in point 1; 

5.  the  total  value  of  the  supplies  of  goods  and  services  referred  to  in  point  2  from 
each  person  referred  to  in  point 3  to  each  person  holding  a  VAT  identification 
number issued by another Member State. 

(cid:208) 37/2009 Art. 1, pt 1 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

The values referred to in points 2 (cid:214) , 4 and 5  of the first paragraph shall be expressed in 
the currency of the Member State providing the information and shall relate to the periods for 
submission  of  the  recapitulative  statements  specific  to  each  taxable  person  which  are 
established in accordance with Article 263 of Directive 2006/112/EC. 

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33 

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Article 24 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 5 

On the basis of the data stored in accordance with Article 22 and solely in order to prevent a 
breach  of  VAT  legislation,  the  competent  authority  of  a  Member  State  shall,  wherever  it 
considers  it  necessary  for  the  control  of  intra-Community  acquisitions  of  goods  or  intra-
Community supplies of services taxable in its territory, obtain directly and without delay, or 
have direct access to by electronic means, any of the following information: 

1.  the  VAT  identification  numbers  of  the  persons  who  carried  out  the  supplies  of 
goods and services referred to in point 2 of the first paragraph of Article 23; 

2.  the  total  value  of  supplies  of  goods  and  services  from  each  such  person  to  each 
person  holding  a  VAT  identification  number  referred  to  in  point  1  of  the  first 
paragraph of Article 23. 

The values referred to in point 2 of the first paragraph shall be expressed in the currency of 
the Member State providing the information and shall relate to the periods for submission of 
the  recapitulative  statements  specific  to  each  taxable  person  which  are  established  in 
accordance with Article 263 of Directive 2006/112/EC. 

(cid:208) 37/2009 Art. 1, pt 2 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 25 

(cid:208) 37/2009 Art. 1, pt 3 

1. Where the competent authority of a Member State is obliged to grant access to information 
under Articles 23 and 24, it shall do so as soon as possible and, at the latest, within one month 
of the end of the period to which the information relates. 

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where information is added to a database in the 
circumstances  provided  for  in  Article 22,  access  to  such  additional  information  shall  be 
granted as quickly as possible and no later than one month after the end of the period in which 
it was collected. 

3.  The  conditions  under  which  access  to  the  corrected  information  may  be  granted  shall  be 
laid down in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 44(2). 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

(cid:216) new 

Article 23 

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1. To guarantee the quality and reliability of the information contained in the database system 
referred  to  in  Article 18,  Member  States  shall  perform  checks  on  the  information  supplied 
when  taxable  persons  and  non-taxable  legal  persons  are  identified  for  VAT  purposes  under 
Article 214  of  Directive  2006/112/EC.  They  shall  ensure  that  information  concerning  a 
taxable person or a non-taxable legal person is not stored in the database system referred to in 
Article 18 until it is complete and correct. 

2.  The  information  to  be  collected  and  the  checks  to  be  performed  in  application  of 
paragraph 1  of  this  Article  shall  be  decided  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 60(2).  This  information  and  these  checks  shall  relate  to  the  activity  of  the  taxable 
person and the identity of the taxable person or of its management. 

3. On the basis of the information and checks referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the 
information  contained  in  the  database  system  referred  to  in  Article 18,  the  Member  States 
shall, no later than a year after the VAT identification of the taxable persons and non-taxable 
legal persons, perform a risk analysis on those persons. 

4.  The  Member  States  shall  inform  the  Committee  referred  to  in  Article 60  of  the  measures 
implemented  at  national  level  to  perform  the  risk  analysis  referred  to  in  paragraph 3  of  this 
Article.  

Article 24 

1. Member States shall without delay give notification in the database system referred  to in 
Article 18 of the following situations: 

(a)  persons  identified  in  the  database  who  have  ceased  economic  activity  and 
therefore must no longer be identified for VAT purposes; 

(b)  persons  who  declare  that  they  will  not  be  engaging  in  economic  activity  for  a 
specific period; 

(c)  particular  risks  identified  in  the  course  of  a  risk  analysis  referred  to  in 
Article 23(3).  

2.  Where  there  are  no  indications  of  any  economic  activity  for  a  year,  Member  States  shall 
check that the information referred to in Article 23(1) is still correct and shall, if appropriate, 
give the notification provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.  

3. The rules and procedures for the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be 
adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 60(2). 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Article 2526 

Where, for the purposes of Articles 22 à 25 18 to 22, the competent authorities of the Member 
States store information in electronic databases and exchange such information by electronic 
means, they shall take all measures necessary to ensure compliance with Article 5741. 

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CHAPTER VIIII 

REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE NOTIFICATION 

Article 2614 

The requested authority shall, at the request of the requesting authority and in accordance with 
the rules governing the notification of similar instruments in the Member State in which it is 
established,  notify  the  addressee  of  all  instruments  and  decisions  which  emanate  from  the 
administrative  authorities  and  concern  the  application  of  VAT  legislation  in  the  territory  of 
the Member State in which the requesting authority is established. 

Article 2715 

Requests for notification, mentioning the subject of the instrument or decision to be notified, 
shall  indicate  the  name,  address  and  any  other  relevant  information  for  identifying  the 
addressee. 

Article 2816 

The requested authority shall inform the requesting authority immediately of its response to 
the  request  for  notification  and  notify  it,  in  particular,  of  the  date  of  notification  of  the 
decision or instrument to the addressee. 

SECTION 3CHAPTER VII 

PRESENCE IN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES AND PARTICIPATION IN 
ADMINISTRATIVE ENQUIRIES 

Article 2911 

1.  By  agreement  between  the  requesting  authority  and  the  requested  authority  and  in 
accordance with the arrangements laid down by the latter, (cid:214) competent  officials authorised 
by (cid:214) of  the requesting authority may, with a view to exchanging the information referred 
to  in  Article 1,  be  present  in  the  offices  (cid:214) ,  or  any  other  place,   where  the  administrative 
authorities of the Member State in which the requested authority is established carry out their 
duties. Where the requested information is contained in documentation to which the officials 
of the requested authority have access, the officials of the requesting authority shall be given 
copies of the documentation containing the requested information. 

2.  By  agreement  between  the  requesting  authority  and  the  requested  authority,  and  in 
accordance with the arrangements laid down by the latter, (cid:214) competent  officials authorised 
by (cid:214) of  the requesting authority may, with a view to exchanging the information referred 
to in Article 1, be present during the administrative enquiries. Administrative enquiries shall 

EN 

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be  carried  out  exclusively  by  the  officials  of  the  requested  authority.  The  requesting 
authority's  officials  shall  not  exercise  the  powers  of  inspection  conferred  on  officials  of  the 
requested authority. They may, however, have access to the same premises and documents as 
the  latter,  through  their  intermediary  and  for  the  sole  purpose  of  the  administrative  enquiry 
being carried out. 

3.  The  officials  of  the  requesting  authority  present  in  another  Member  State  in  accordance 
with  paragraphs 1  and  2  must  at  all  times  be  able  to  produce  written  authority  stating  their 
identity and their official capacity. 

SECTION 4CHAPTER VIII 

SIMULTANEOUS⌦ MULTILATERAL ⌫ CONTROLS 

Article 3012 

With  a  view  to  exchanging  the  information  referred  to  in  Article 1,  two  or  more  Member 
States may agree to conduct simultaneous controls, in their own territory, of the tax situation 
of  one  or  more  taxable  persons  who  are  of  common  or  complementary  interest,  (cid:214) Member 
States shall conduct multilateral controls  whenever such controls would appear to be more 
effective than controls carried out by only one Member State. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Article 3113 

1.  A  Member  State  shall  identify  independently  the  taxable  persons  whom  it  intends  to 
propose  for  a  simultaneous  ⌦ multilateral ⌫  control.  The  competent  authority  of  that 
Member State shall notify the competent authority in the other Member States concerned of 
the cases proposed for simultaneous ⌦ multilateral ⌫ controls. It shall give reasons for its 
choice,  as  far  as  possible,  by  providing  the  information  which  led  to  its  decision.  It  shall 
specify the period of time during which such controls should be conducted. 

2.  The  Member  States  concerned  shall  then  decide  whether  they  wish  to  take  part  in  the 
simultaneous controls. On (cid:214) Within two weeks of  receipt of a proposal for a simultaneous 
(cid:214) multilateral   control,  the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  shall  confirm  its 
agreement or communicate its reasoned refusal to its counterpart authority. 

3. Each competent authority of the Member States concerned shall appoint a representative to 
be responsible for supervising and coordinating the control operation. 

4.  The  information  collected  shall  be  exchanged  spontaneously  between  the  Member  States 
concerned.  

(cid:216) new 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

CHAPTER IX 

⌦PROVIDING INFORMATION TO TAXABLE PERSONS ⌫ 

Article 3227 

1. Each Member State shall maintain an electronic database containing a register of persons to 
whom VAT identification numbers have been issued in that Member State. 

2.  At  any  time  the  competent  authority  of  a  Member  State  may  obtain  directly  or  have 
communicated to it, from the data stored in accordance with Article 22, confirmation of the 
validity of the VAT identification number under which a person has effected or received an 
intra-Community supply of goods or services. 

On  specific  request,  the  requested  authority  shall  also  communicate  the  date  of  issue  and, 
where appropriate, the expiry date of the VAT identification number. 

3. On request, the competent authority shall also provide without delay the name and address 
of  the  person  to  whom  the  number  has  been  issued,  provided  that  such  information  is  not 
stored by the requesting authority with a view to possible use at some future time. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 6 (adapted) 

4. The competent authorities of each Member State shall ensure that persons involved in the 
intra-Community  supply  of  goods  or  of  services  and,  for  the  period  provided  for  in 
taxable  persons  supplying 
Article 357  of  Directive  2006/112/EC,  non-established 
electronically supplied services, in particular those referred to in Annex II of that Directive, 
are  allowed  to  obtain  confirmation  of  the  validity  of  the  VAT  identification  number  of  any 
specified person. 

During the period provided for in Article 357 of Directive 2006/112/EC, the Member States 
shall  provide  such  confirmation  by  electronic  means  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 50(2) of this Regulation. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 6 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

41. The competent authorities of each Member State shall ensure that persons involved in the 
intra-Community  supply  of  goods  or  of  services  and  non-established  taxable  persons 
supplying  telecommunication  services,  broadcasting  services  and  electronically  supplied 
services, in particular those referred to in Annex II of Directive 2006/112/EC, are allowed to 
obtain (cid:214) , for the purposes of such transactions,  confirmation ⌦ by electronic means ⌫ 
of  the  validity  of  the  VAT  identification  number  of  any  specified  person  (cid:214) as  well  as  the 
associated  name  and  address.  This  information  shall  correspond  to  the  data  referred  to  in 

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Article 18(1)(b)  and  take  account  of  the  situations  of  which  Member  States  must  give 
notification in the database systems without delay under Article 24  . 

⌦ During  the  period  provided  for  in  Article 357  of  Directive  2006/112/CE,  the  first 
subparagraph 
supplying 
to 
telecommunications services and radio and television broadcasting services. ⌫ 

non-established 

persons 

taxable 

apply 

shall 

not 

The Member States shall provide such confirmation by electronic means in accordance with 
the procedure referred to in Article 44(2) of this Regulation. 

2. Taxable persons may rely on the confirmation obtained under paragraph 1 in their dealings 
with  the  administrations  and  courts  of  all  the  Member  States,  provided  that  they  specified 
their own VAT number in their request. 

(cid:216) new 

5.  Where,  for  the  purposes  of  paragraphs  1  to  4,  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States store information in electronic databases and exchange such information by electronic 
means, they shall take all measures necessary to ensure compliance with Article 41. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

(cid:216) new 

Article 33 

1.  Each  Member  State  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the  details  of  the  provisions 
implementing Chapter 3 of Title XI of Directive 2006/112/EC applicable to taxable persons 
not established on its territory so that this information can be published on the Commission's 
website. This information shall be forwarded to the Commission no later than 1 March each 
year, or when the provisions become applicable. 

2. The details of the list of information to be submitted and the format in which it must be sent 
shall be decided in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 60(2). 

CHAPTER X 

MULTILATERAL COOPERATION 

Article 34 

1. 

A common structure for combating VAT evasion and avoidance shall be established 
under this Regulation. It shall perform the following tasks: 

(a) 

organise  the  swift  multilateral  exchange  of  information  with  or  without  prior 
request; 

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(b)  promote the exchange of information based on risk analysis procedures; 

(c) 

promote the exchange of information based on strategic analysis procedures. 

2. 

3. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  shall  determine  the  fields  of 
investigation to be covered by the structure referred to in paragraph 1. 

For each field of investigation the competent authorities of the Member States shall 
designate  one  or  more  Member  States  within  the  structure  to  supervise  and  guide 
performance of the tasks referred to in paragraph 1.  

Article 35 

The structure established under Article 34 shall be made up of competent officials designated 
by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States.  It  shall  be  provided  with  technical, 
administrative and operational support by the Commission. 

Article 36 

1. 

4. 

The  structure  established  under  Article 34  shall  be  authorised  to  use  all  the 
administrative cooperation instruments provided for in this Regulation. 

The  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of  information  specific  to  the  structure 
established  under  Article 34  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
provided for in Article 60(2) of this Regulation. 

The competent authorities of the Member States may mandate the structure established under 
Article 34 to perform a risk analysis or a common strategic analysis. 

Article 37 

Article 38 

2. 

5. 

The  structure  established  under  Article 34  shall  process  the  information  which  it 
receives and forward the result of that processing to all the Member States to which 
the results may be useful.  

Where  necessary,  the  recipients  of  the  information  shall  in  turn  process  the 
information  received  and  forward  the  result  of  that  processing  to  the  structure 
established under Article 34.  

The structure established under Article 34 shall submit an annual account of its activities to 
the Committee referred to in Article 60. 

Article 39 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 

CHAPTER XIVI 

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE SPECIAL SCHEME IN CHAPTER 6 
OF TITLE XII OF DIRECTIVE 2006/112/EC 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 7 (adapted) 

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE SPECIAL SCHEMES IN CHAPTER 6 
OF TITLE XII OF DIRECTIVE 2006/112/EC 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 7 (adapted) 

⌦ SECTION 1 ⌫ 

⌦PROVISIONS APPLICABLE UNTIL 31 DECEMBER 2014 ⌫ 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 8 

Article 4028 

The following provisions shall apply concerning the special scheme provided for in Chapter 6 
of  Title  XII  of  Directive  2006/112/EC.  The  definitions  contained  in  Article 358  of  that 
Directive shall also apply for the purpose of this Chapter. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 4129 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 9 (adapted) 

1.  The  information  provided  by  the  taxable  person  not  established  in  the  Community  to  the 
Member  State  of  identification  when  his  activities  commence  pursuant  to  Article 361  of 
Directive 2006/112/EC shall be submitted ⌦ by electronic means ⌫ . The technical details, 
including  a  common  electronic  message,  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure provided for in Article 6044(2) of this Regulation. 

2. The Member State of identification shall transmit this information by electronic means to 
the  competent  authorities  of  the  other  Member  States  within  10  days  from  the  end  of  the 
month during which the information was received from the non-established taxable person. In 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

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the same manner the competent authorities of the other Member States shall be informed of 
the  allocated  identification  number.  The  technical  details,  including  a  common  electronic 
message,  by  which  this  information  is  to  be  transmitted,  shall  be  determined  in  accordance 
with the procedure provided for in Article 6044(2). 

3.  The  Member  State  of  identification  shall  without  delay  inform  by  electronic  means  the 
competent  authorities  of  the  other  Members  States  if  a  non-established  taxable  person  is 
excluded from the identification register. 

Article 4230 

The return with the details set out in Article 365 of Directive 2006/112/EC is to be submitted 
⌦ by electronic means ⌫ . The technical details, including a common electronic message, 
shall be determined in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 6044(2) of this 
Regulation. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 10 (adapted) 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

The Member State of identification shall transmit this information by electronic means to the 
competent authority of the Member State concerned at the latest 10 days after the end of the 
month that the return was received. Member States which have required the tax return to be 
made  in  a  national  currency  other  than  euro,  shall  convert  the  amounts  into  euro  using  the 
exchange  rate  valid  for  the  last  date  of  the  reporting  period.  The  exchange  shall  be  done 
following the exchange rates published by the European Central Bank for that day, or, if there 
is no publication on that day, on the next day of publication. The technical details by which 
this  information  is  to  be  transmitted  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
provided for in Article 6044(2). 

The Member State of identification shall transmit by electronic means to the Member State of 
consumption the information needed to link each payment with a relevant quarterly tax return. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 11 (adapted) 

Article 31 

The provisions in Article 22 of this Regulation shall apply also to information collected by the 
Member State of identification in accordance with Articles 360, 361, 364 and 365 of Directive 
2006/112/EC. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 11 (adapted) 

Article 31 

The provisions in Article 22 of this Regulation shall apply also to information collected by the 
Member State of identification in accordance with Articles 360, 361, 364, 365, 369c, 369f and 
369g of Directive 2006/112/EC. 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

Article 4332 

The Member State of identification shall ensure that the amount the non-established taxable 
person  has  paid  is  transferred  to  the  bank  account  denominated  in  euro,  which  has  been 
designated by the Member State of consumption to which the payment is due. Member States 
which required the payments in a national currency other than euro, shall convert the amounts 
into euro using the exchange rate valid for the last date of the reporting period. The exchange 
shall be done following the exchange rates published by the European Central Bank for that 
day, or, if there is no publication on that day, on the next day of publication. The transfer shall 
take place at the latest 10 days after the end of the month that the payment was received. 

If  the  non-established  taxable  person  does  not  pay  the  total  tax  due,  the  Member  State  of 
identification  shall  ensure  that  the  payment  is  transferred  to  the  Member  States  of 
consumption  in  proportion  to  the  tax  due  in  each  Member  State.  The  Member  State  of 
identification  shall  inform  by  electronic  means  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States of consumption thereof. 

Article 4433 

Member  States  shall  notify  by  electronic  means  the  competent  authorities  of  the  other 
Member  States  of  the  relevant  bank  account  numbers  for  receiving  payments  according  to 
Article 4332. 

Member States shall without delay notify by electronic means the competent authorities of the 
other Member States and the Commission of changes in the standard tax rate. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 12 (adapted) 

Article 34 

Articles 28 to 33 of this Regulation shall apply for the period provided for in Article 357 of 
Directive 2006/112/EC. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 8 (adapted) 

⌦ SECTION 2 ⌫ 

⌦PROVISIONS APPLICABLE FROM 1 JANUARY 2015 ⌫ 

The following provisions shall apply concerning the special schemes provided for in Chapter 
6 of Title XII of Directive 2006/112/EC. 

Article 4528 

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43 

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(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 9 (adapted) 

Article 4629 

1.  The  information  provided  by  the  taxable  person  not  established  in  the  Community  to  the 
Member  State  of  identification  when  his  activities  commence  pursuant  to  Article 361  of 
Directive 2006/112/EC shall be submitted ⌦ by electronic means ⌫ . The technical details, 
including  a  common  electronic  message,  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure provided for in Article 44 60(2) of this Regulation. 

2. The Member State of identification shall transmit the information referred to in paragraph 1 
by electronic means to the competent authorities of the other Member States within 10 days 
from the end of the month during which the information was received from the taxable person 
not  established  within  the  Community.  Similar  details  for  the  identification  of  the  taxable 
person  applying  the  special  scheme  under  Article 369b  of  Directive  2006/112/EC  shall  be 
transmitted within 10 days from the end of the month during which the taxable person stated 
that his taxable activities under that scheme commenced. In the same manner the competent 
authorities  of  the  other  Member  States  shall  be  informed  of  the  allocated  identification 
number. 

The technical details, including a common electronic message, by which this information is to 
be  transmitted,  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  provided  for  in 
Article 60 44(2) of this Regulation. 

3.  The  Member  State  of  identification  shall  without  delay  inform  by  electronic  means  the 
competent  authorities  of  the  other  Member  States  if  a  taxable  person  not  established  in  the 
Community  or  a  taxable  person  not  established  in  the  Member  State  of  consumption  is 
excluded from the special scheme. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 47 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 10 (adapted) 

The return with the details set out in Articles 365 and 369g of Directive 2006/112/EC is to be 
submitted ⌦ by electronic means ⌫ . The technical details, including a common electronic 
message,  shall  be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  provided  for  in  Article 44 
60(2) of this Regulation. 

The Member State of identification shall transmit this information by electronic means to the 
competent authority of the Member State of consumption concerned at the latest 10 days after 
the end of the month in which the return was received. The information provided for in the 
second  paragraph  of  Article 369g  of  Directive  2006/112/EC  shall  also  be  transmitted  to  the 
competent authority of the Member State of establishment concerned. Member States which 
have required the tax return to be made in a national currency other that euro, shall convert 
the amounts into euro using the exchange rate valid for the last date of the reporting period. 
The exchange shall be done following the exchange rates published by the European Central 

EN 

44 

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Bank for that day, or, if there is no publication on that day, on the next day of publication. The 
technical  details  by  which  this  information  is  to  be  transmitted  shall  be  determined  in 
accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 44 60(2) of this Regulation. 

The Member State of identification shall transmit by electronic means to the Member State of 
consumption the information needed to link each payment with a relevant quarterly tax return. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 48 

The Member State of identification shall ensure that the amount the non-established taxable 
person  has  paid  is  transferred  to  the  bank  account  denominated  in  euro  which  has  been 
designated by the Member State of consumption to which the payment is due. Member States 
which required the payments in a national currency other than euro, shall convert the amounts 
into euro using the exchange rate valid for the last date of the reporting period. The exchange 
shall be done following the exchange rates published by the European Central Bank for that 
day, or, if there is no publication on that day, on the next day of publication. The transfer shall 
take place at the latest 10 days after the end of the month that the payment was received. 

If  the  non-established  taxable  person  does  not  pay  the  total  tax  due,  the  Member  State  of 
identification  shall  ensure  that  the  payment  is  transferred  to  the  Member  States  of 
consumption  in  proportion  to  the  tax  due  in  each  Member  State.  The  Member  State  of 
identification  shall  inform  by  electronic  means  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member 
States of consumption thereof. 

Concerning the payments to be transferred to the Member State of consumption in accordance 
with  the  special  scheme  provided  for  in  Section  3  of  Chapter  6  of  Title  XII  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC, the Member State of identification shall, of the amounts referred to in the first 
and second paragraphs, be entitled to retain: 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 12 

(a) from 1 January 2015 until 31 December 2016 — 30 %, 

(b) from 1 January 2017 until 31 December 2018 — 15 %, 

(c) from 1 January 2019 — 0 %. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

Article 49 

Member  States  shall  notify  by  electronic  means  the  competent  authorities  of  the  other 
Member  States  of  the  relevant  bank  account  numbers  for  receiving  payments  according  to 
Article 48. 

Member States shall without delay notify by electronic means the competent authorities of the 
other Member States and the Commission of changes in the standard tax rate. 

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45 

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(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 13 (adapted)  

CHAPTER XIIVI BIS 

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE AND CONSERVATION 
OF INFORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PROCEDURE ⌦ FOR 
THE REFUND OF VAT TO TAXABLE PERSONS NOT ESTABLISHED 
IN THE MEMBER STATE OF REFUND BUT ESTABLISHED IN 
ANOTHER MEMBER STATE ⌫ PROVIDED FOR IN DIRECTIVE 
2008/9/EC 

Article 5034a 

1.  Where  the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State  of  establishment  receives  an 
application  for  refund  of  value  added  tax  under  Article 5  of  Directive  2008/9/EC  of  12 
February 2008 laying down detailed rules for the refund of value added tax, provided for in 
Directive 2006/112/EC, to taxable persons not established in the Member State of refund but 
established in another Member State and Article 18 of that Directive is not applicable, it shall, 
within 15 calendar days of its receipt and by electronic means, forward the application to the 
competent authorities of each Member State of refund concerned with confirmation that the 
applicant  as  defined  in  Article 2(5)  of  Directive  2008/9/EC  is  a  taxable  person  for  the 
purposes of VATvalue added tax and that the identification or registration number given by 
this person is valid for the refund period. 

2. The competent authorities of each Member State of refund shall notify by electronic means 
the  competent  authorities  of  the  other  Member  States  of  any  information  required  by  them 
under  Article 9(2)  of  Directive  2008/9/EC.  The  technical  details,  including  a  common 
electronic  message  by  which  this  information  is  to  be  transmitted,  shall  be  determined  in 
accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 6044(2) of this Regulation. 

3. The competent authorities of each Member State of refund shall notify by electronic means 
the competent authorities of the other Member States if they want to make use of the option to 
require  the  applicant  to  provide  the  description  of  business  activity  by  harmonised  codes  as 
referred to in Article 11 of Directive 2008/9/EC. 

The harmonised codes referred to in the first subparagraph shall be determined in accordance 
with  the  procedure  provided  for  in  Article 6044(2)  of  this  Regulation  on  the  basis  of  the 
NACE classification established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3037/9019 1893/200620. 

19 
20 

OJ L 293, 24 10 1990, p. 1. 
OJ L 393, 30 12 2006, p. 1. 

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46 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 
(cid:214) new 

CHAPTER XIIIVII 

RELATIONS WITH THE COMMISSION 

Article 5135 

1. The Member States and the Commission shall examine and evaluate how the arrangements 
for administrative cooperation provided for in this Regulation are working (cid:214) . In particular, 
the  Member  States  shall  conduct  audits  of  the  operation  of  those  arrangements   .  The 
Commission  shall  pool  the  Member  States'  experience  with  the  aim  of  improving  the 
operation of those arrangements. 

2.  The  Member  States  shall  communicate  to  the  Commission  any  available  information 
relevant to their application of this Regulation. 

3.  Member  States  shall  notify  the  Commission  of  any  bilateral  or  multilateral  information 
exchange  agreement  which  they  conclude  with  each  other  which  has  requirements  more 
stringent than this Regulation.  

(cid:216) new 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 

43.  A  list  of  statistical  data  needed  for  evaluation  of  this  Regulation  shall  be  determined  in 
accordance  with  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article 6044(2).  The  Member  States  shall 
communicate  these  data  to  the  Commission  in  so  far  as  they  are  available  and  the 
communication is not likely to involve administrative burdens which would be unjustified. 

54. With a view to evaluating the effectiveness of this system of administrative cooperation in 
combating  tax  evasion  and  tax  avoidance,  Member  States  may  communicate  to  the 
Commission any other information referred to in Article 1. 

65. The Commission shall forward the information referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 to 5 to 
the other Member States concerned. 

(cid:216) new 

7.  Where  necessary,  in  addition  to  what  is  required  elsewhere  in  this  Regulation,  the 
Commission  shall  send  to  the  competent  authorities  of  each  Member  State  any  information 
that  might  enable  them  to  combat  fraud  in  the  field  of  VAT  as  soon  as  it  obtains  such 
information. 

8. The Member States and the Commission may exchange the results of any strategic analysis 
conducted pursuant to this Regulation. 

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9.  The  Commission  may  provide  expert  opinions,  technical  or  logistical  assistance, 
information campaigns or any other operational support for the Member States with a view to 
attaining the objectives of this Regulation. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 
(cid:214) new 

CHAPTER XIVVIII 

RELATIONS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES 

Article 5236 

1.  1.  When  the  competent  authority  of  a  Member  State  receives  information  from  a  third 
country, that authority may pass the information on to the competent authorities of Member 
States which might be interested in it and, in any event, to all those which request it, in so far 
as  permitted  (cid:214) this  is  not  ruled  out by  assistance  arrangements  with  that  particular  third 
country. 

2.  Provided  the  third  country  concerned  has  given  an  undertaking  to  provide  the  assistance 
required to gather evidence of the irregular nature of transactions which appear to contravene 
VAT  legislation,  information  obtained  under  this  Regulation  may  be  communicated  to  that 
third country, with the consent of the competent authorities which supplied the information, in 
accordance with their domestic provisions applying to the communication of personal data to 
third countries. 

CHAPTER XVIX 

CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION 

Article 5337 

1. Information communicated pursuant to this Regulation shall, as far as possible, be provided 
by  electronic  means  under  arrangements  to  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 6044(2). 

2.  The  level  of  service  of  the  electronic  exchange  of  information  shall  be  decided  in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article60(2). 

(cid:216) new 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

Article 5438 

Requests  for  assistance,  including  requests  for  notification,  and  attached  documents  may  be 
made  in  any  language  agreed  between  the  requested  and  requesting  authority.  The  said 
requests  shall  only  be  accompanied  by  a  translation  into  the  official  language  or  one  of  the 
official  languages  of  the  Member  State  in  which  the  requested  authority  is  established 
⌦ only ⌫ in special cases when the requested authority gives a reason for asking for such a 
translation. 

Article 5539 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 1, pt 14 

For the period provided for in Article 357 of Directive 2006/112/EC, tThe Commission and 
the  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  such  existing  or  new  communication  and  information 
exchange systems which are necessary to provide for the exchanges of information described 
in  Articles  2941  and  3042  of  this  Regulation  are  operational.  The  Commission  will  be 
responsible  for  whatever  development  of  the  common  communication  network/common 
system interface (CCN/CSI) is necessary to permit the exchange of this information between 
Member States. Member States will be responsible for whatever development of their systems 
is necessary to permit this information to be exchanged using the CCN/CSI. 

(cid:208) 143/2008 Art. 2, pt 14 (adapted) 

The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  such  existing  or  new 
communication  and  information  exchange  systems  which  are  necessary  to  provide  for  the 
exchanges  of  information  described  in  Articles  29  and  30  are  operational.  The  Commission 
will  be 
the  common  communication 
network/common  system  interface  (CCN/CSI)  is  necessary  to  permit  the  exchange  of  this 
information  between  Member  States.  Member  States  will  be  responsible  for  whatever 
development of their systems is necessary to permit this information to be exchanged using 
the CCN/CSI. 

for  whatever  development  of 

responsible 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

Member States shall waive all claims for the reimbursement of expenses incurred in applying 
this Regulation except, where appropriate, in respect of fees paid to experts. 

1. The requested authority in one Member State shall provide a requesting authority in another 
Member State with the information referred to in Article 1 provided that: 

Article 5640 

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(a) the number and the nature of the requests for information made by the requesting 
authority  within  a  specific  period  do  not  impose  a  disproportionate  administrative 
burden on that requested authority; 

(b) that requesting authority has exhausted the usual sources of information which it 
could  have  used  in  the  circumstances  to  obtain  the  information  requested,  without 
running the risk of jeopardising the achievement of the desired end. 

2.  This  Regulation  shall  impose  no  obligation  to  have  enquiries  carried  out  or  to  provide 
information  (cid:214) on  a  particular  case   if  the  laws  or  administrative  practices  of  the  Member 
State which would have to supply the information do not authorise the Member State to carry 
out those enquiries or collect or use that information for that Member State's own purposes. 

3.  The  competent  authority  of  a  ⌦ requested ⌫Member  State  may  refuse  to  provide 
information where the ⌦ requesting ⌫ Member State concerned is unable, for legal reasons, 
to  provide  similar  information.  The  Commission  shall  be  informed  of  the  grounds  of  the 
refusal by the requested Member State. 

4.  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 public policy. 

(cid:216) new 

5. Paragraphs 2 to 4 should on no account be interpreted as authorising the requested authority 
of  a  Member  State  to  refuse  to  supply  information  on  a  taxable  person  identified  for  VAT 
purposes  in  the  Member  State  of  the  requesting  authority  on  the  sole  grounds  that  this 
information  is  held  by  a  bank,  other  financial  institution,  nominee  or  person  acting  in  an 
agency or fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a legal person. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

56. The requested authority shall inform the requesting authority of the grounds for refusing a 
request for assistance. 

67.  A  minimum  threshold  triggering  a  request  for  assistance  may  be  adopted  in  accordance 
with the procedure referred to in Article 6044(2). 

Article 5741 

1.  Information  communicated  (cid:214) or  collected   in  any  form  pursuant  to  this  Regulation 
(cid:214), including any information to which an official has had access in the circumstances set out 
in Chapters VII, VIII and X, and in the cases referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article,  shall 
be covered by the obligation of official secrecy and enjoy the protection extended to similar 
information  under  both  the  national  law  of  the  Member  State  which  received  it  and  the 
corresponding provisions applicable to Community authorities. They shall be used only in the 
circumstances provided for in this Regulation  . 

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Such  information  may  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  assessment  base  or  the 
collection or administrative control of tax for the purpose of establishing the assessment base. 

The information may also be used for the assessment of other levies, duties, and taxes covered 
by  Article 2  of  Council  Directive  76/308/EEC  2008/55/EC  of  15  March  1976  on  mutual 
assistance  for  the  recovery  of  claims  relating  to  certain  levies,  duties,  taxes  and  other 
measures21. 

In addition, it may be used in connection with judicial proceedings that may involve penalties, 
initiated as a result of infringements of tax law without prejudice to the general rules and legal 
provisions governing the rights of defendants and witnesses in such proceedings. 

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

3.  By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  1,  the  competent  authority  of  the  Member  State 
providing the information shall permit its use for other purposes in the Member State of the 
requesting authority, if, under the legislation of the Member State of the requested authority, 
the information can be used for similar purposes. 

4.  Where  the  requesting  authority  considers  that  information  it  has  received  from  the 
requested authority is likely to be useful to the competent authority of a third Member State, it 
may  transmit  it  to  the  latter  authority.  It  shall  inform  the  requested  authority  thereof  in 
advance.  The  requested  authority  may  require  that  the  transmission  of  the  information  to  a 
third party be subject to its prior agreement. 

5.  (cid:214)All  storage  or  exchange  of  information  referred  to  in  this  Regulation  is  subject  to  the 
provisions  implementing  Directive  95/46/EC.  However,   Member  States  shall,  for  the 
purpose of the correct application of this Regulation, restrict the scope of the obligations and 
rights provided for in Article 10, Article 11(1), Articles 12 and  21 of Directive  95/46/EC to 
the  extent  required  in  order  to  safeguard  the  interests  referred  to  in  Article 13(e)  of  that 
Directive. 

Article 5842 

Reports,  statements  and  any  other  documents,  or  certified  true  copies  or  extracts  thereof, 
obtained by the staff of the requested authority and communicated to the requesting authority 
under  the  assistance  provided  for  by  this  Regulation  may  be  invoked  as  evidence  by  the 
competent bodies of the Member State of the requesting authority on the same basis as similar 
documents provided by another authority of that country. 

1.  For  the  purpose  of  applying  this  Regulation,  Member  States  shall  take  all  necessary 
measures to: 

Article 5943 

21 

OJ L 150, 10.6.2008, p. 28.  

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(a) ensure effective internal coordination between the competent authorities referred 
to in Article 3; 

(b) establish direct cooperation between the authorities authorised for the purposes of 
such coordination; 

(c) ensure the smooth operation of the information exchange arrangements provided 
for in this Regulation. 

2.  The  Commission  shall  communicate  to  each  Member  State,  as  quickly  as  possible,  any 
information which it receives and which it is able to provide. 

CHAPTER XVIX 

GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 6044 

1.  The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Standing  Committee  on  Administrative 
Cooperation, (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). 

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall 
apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 

3. 3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure. 

Article 6145 

1. (cid:214) Within  Every three years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, (cid:214) and 
thereafter every five years,  the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the 
Council on the application of this Regulation. 

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of any provisions of national 
law which they adopt in the field covered by this Regulation. 

Article 6246 

1. The provisions of this Regulation shall be without prejudice to the fulfilment of any wider 
obligations in relation to mutual assistance ensuing from other legal acts, including bilateral 
or multilateral agreements. 

2.  Where  the  Member  States  conclude  bilateral  arrangements  on  matters  covered  by  this 
Regulation (cid:214), in particular under Article 11,  other than to deal with individual cases, they 
shall inform the Commission without delay. The  Commission shall in turn inform the other 
Member States. 

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(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 

Article 6347 

Regulation (EEC) No 218/92 ⌦ No 1798/2003 ⌫ is repealed. 

(cid:208) 1798/2003 (adapted) 
(cid:214) new 

References  made  to  the  repealed  Regulation  shall  be  construed  as  references  to  this 
Regulation. 

Article 6448 

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2004 ⌦ the twentieth day following that 
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union ⌫ . 

⌦ Articles 40 to 44 shall apply until 31 December 2014. ⌫⌦ Articles 45 to 49 shall apply 
from 1 January 2015. ⌫ 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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(cid:216) new 

ANNEX I 

List of supplies of goods and services to which Article 7(3) applies: 

1. distance selling (Articles 33 and 34 of Directive 2006/112/EC); 

2. supply with installation or assembly (Article 36 of Directive 2006/112/EC) 

3.  services  connected  with 
2006/112/EC); 

immovable  property 

(Article 45  of  Directive 

4.  cultural,  artistic,  sporting,  scientific,  educational,  entertainment  or  similar 
activities  and  services  ancillary  to  those  activities  (Article 52  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC); 

5. services ancillary to transport (Article 52 of Directive 2006/112/EC) 

6.  valuation  of  or  work  on  movable  tangible  property  (Article 52  of  Directive 
2006/112/EC); 

7.  telecommunication  services,  radio  and  television  broadcasting  services  and 
electronically supplied services supplied after 1 January 2015. 

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(cid:207) 

ANNEX II 

Repealed Regulation and successive amendments 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 

OJ L 264, 15.12.2003, p. 1 

Council Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 

OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 

OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1 

Council Regulation (EC) No 143/2008 

OJ L 393, 20.2.2008, p. 1. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 37/2009 

OJ L 393, 20.1.2009, p. 1. 

_____________ 

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ANNEX III 

CORRELATION TABLE 

Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 

This Regulation 

First 
and 
Article 1(1) 

second 

subparagraphs 

of 

First 
and 
Article 1(1) 

second 

subparagraphs 

of 

Third subparagraph of Article 1(1) 

- 

Fourth subparagraph of Article 1(1) 

Article 1(4) 

Article 1(2) 

Article 2(1)(1) 

Article 2(1)(2) 

Article 2(1)(3) 

Article 2(1)(4) 

Article 2(1)(5) 

Article 2(1)(6) 

Article 2(1)(7) 

Article 2(1)(8) 

Article 2(1)(9) 

Article 2(1)(10) 

Article 2(1)(11) 

Article 2(1)(12) 

Article 2(1)(13) 

Article 2(1)(14) 

Article 2(1)(15) 

Article 2(1)(16) 

Article 2(1)(17) 

Article 2(1)(18) 

Article 2(1)(19) 

Article 1(3) 

Article 3 

Article 2(1)(1) 

Article 2(1)(2) 

Article 2(1)(3) 

Article 2(1)(4) 

Article 2(1)(5) 

Article 2(1)(6) 

Article 2(1)(7) 

Article 2(1)(8) 

Article 2(1)(9) 

Article 2(1)(10) 

Article 2(1)(11) 

Article 2(1)(12) 

- 

- 

Article 2(1)(13) 

- 

Article 2(1)(15) 

Article 2(1)(16) 

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Article 3(1) 

Article 3(2) 

Article 3(3) 

Article 3(4) 

Article 3(5) 

Article 3(6) 

Article 3(7) 

Article 5(1) 

Article 5(2) 

Article 5(3) 

Article 5(4) 

Article 6 

Article 7 

Article 8 

Article 9 

Article 10 

Article 11 

Article 12 

Article 13(1) 

Article 13(2) 

Article 13(3) 

Article 14 

Article 15 

Article 16 

Article 17 

Article 18 

Article 19 

EN 

Article 3 

Article 4(1) 

Article 4(2) 

Article 4(3) 

Article 4(4) 

Article 5 

Article 6 

Article 7(1) 

Article 7(2) 

First subparagraph of Article 7(3) 

Article 7(4) 

Article 8 

Article 9 

Article 10 

Article 11 

Article 13 

Article 29 

Article 30 

Article 31(1) 

Article 31(2) 

Article 31(3) 

Article 26 

Article 27 

Article 28 

Article 14 

Article 16 

- 

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Article 20 

Article 21 

- 

- 

First subparagraph of Article 22(1) 

Article 18(1)(a) 

Second subparagraph of Article 22(1) 

Article 19 

Article 22(2) 

Article 20 

First paragraph 1 of Article 23 

First  paragraph  of  Article 22,  points  (1)  and 
(2). 

Second paragraph of Article 23 

Second paragraph of Article 22 

First paragraph of Article 24, point (1). 

First paragraph of Article 22, point (3). 

First paragraph of Article 24, point (1). 

First paragraph of Article 22, point (4). 

Second paragraph of Article 24 

Second paragraph of Article 22 

Article 25(1) 

Article 25(2) 

Article 25(3) 

Article 26 

Article 27(1) 

Article 27(2) 

Article 27(3) 

Article 27(4) 

Article 28 

Article 29 

Article 30 

Article 31 

Article 21(2) 

Article 21(3) 

- 

Article 25 

Article 18(1)(b) 

Article 18(1)(b)  and 
Article 22 

Article 18(1)(b)  and 
Article 22 

first  paragraph  of 

first  paragraph  of 

First subparagraph of Article 32(1) 

Up to 31 December 2014: Article 40 

From 1 January 2015: Article 45 

Up to 31 December 2014: Article 41 

From 1 January 2015: Article 46 

Up to 31 December 2014: Article 42 

From 1 January 2015: Article 47 

Article 18(1)(e) and (2) 

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Article 32 

Article 33 

Article 34 

Article 34a 

Article 35(1) 

Article 35(2) 

Article 35(3) 

Article 35(4) 

Article 35(5) 

Article 36 

Article 37 

Article 38 

Article 39 

Article 40(1) 

Article 40(2) 

Article 40(3) 

Article 40(4) 

Article 40(5) 

Article 40(6) 

Article 41 

Article 42 

Article 43 

Article 44 

Article 45 

Article 46 

Up to 31 December 2014: Article 43 

From 1 January 2015: Article 48 

Up to 31 December 2014: Article 44 

From 1 January 2015: Article 49 

- 

Article 50 

Article 51(1) 

Article 51(2) 

Article 51(4) 

Article 51(5) 

Article 51(6) 

Article 52 

Article 53(1) 

Article 54 

Article 55 

Article 56(1) 

Article 56(2) 

Article 56(3) 

Article 56(4) 

Article 56(6) 

Article 56(7) 

Article 57 

Article 58 

Article 59 

Article 60 

Article 61 

Article 62 

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Article 47 

Article 48 

- 

- 

- 

Article 63 

Article 64 

Annex I 

Annex II 

Annex III 

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