REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the final evaluation of the Fiscalis 2020 programme
Date: 2022-12-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, European tax cooperation, administrative cooperation, exchange of information, fraud, information system, single market, tax authorities, tax law, tax offence

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.12.2022  COM(2022) 717 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the final evaluation of the Fiscalis 2020 programme {SWD(2022) 406 final}  
 
 
BACKGROUND 

The  Fiscalis  2020  programme  was  set  up  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  1286/2013  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing an action programme to “improve 
the proper functioning of the taxation systems in the internal market by enhancing cooperation 
between participating countries, their tax authorities and their officials”1. The programme follows 
up on previous similar programmes2. From 2014 to 2020, it was one of the principal tools used to 
support the coherent implementation of EU law in the field of taxation and the fight against tax 
fraud,  tax  evasion  and  aggressive  tax  planning,  by  ensuring  the  exchange  of  information, 
supporting  administrative  cooperation  and  enhancing  participating  countries’  administrative 
capacity. 

In compliance with Article 17 of the Regulation, the Commission, assisted by independent external 
evaluators, conducted a study to support the final evaluation of the programme, just as it had done 
with  the  mid-term  evaluation3.  The  detailed  results  of  the  evaluation  are  presented  in  the  staff 
working document accompanying this report and constitute the basis for this report. The purpose 
of the final evaluation is to assess the programme’s performance from 2014 to 20204 and the extent 
to which results achieved will be sustained in the longer term. The scope of the evaluation covers 
the programme’s  years of operation (2014-2020) and incorporates the findings of the mid-term 
evaluation conducted in 2018. The final evaluation assesses the degree to which  those findings 
were  implemented  and  brought  about  improvements.  The  evaluation  covered  all  participating 
countries,  i.e.  the  EU  Member  States5,  candidate  countries  (Albania,  North  Macedonia, 
Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) and potential candidates (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo*). 
The  evaluation  takes  into  account  the  full  range  of  funded  and  management  activities  and  all 
relevant  stakeholders  (national  administrations,  Commission  services  and  economic  operators) 
from all participating countries.  

The current report aims to present the results of the final evaluation on: (i) effectiveness i.e. the 
extent to which the programme achieved its purpose; (ii) efficiency i.e. the extent to which the 
programme achieved its purpose vis-à-vis the resources used; (iii) the coherence of the programme 

1 OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 25 

2 The Fiscalis 2020 programme was built on predecessor programmes. The first programme was called Matthaeus-Tax, started in 
October 1993 and ran until end-December 1995. Rebranded Fiscalis, there have now been four Fiscalis programmes, including the 
one  evaluated  here:  the  first  Fiscalis  programme  (1998-2002);  the  second  Fiscalis  programme  (2003-2007);  the  third  Fiscalis 
programme  (2008-2013)  and  the  fourth  Fiscalis  programme  (2014-2020)  or  Fiscalis  2020  evaluated  here.  Regulation  (EU) 
2021/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 establishing the ‘Fiscalis’ programme for cooperation in 
the field of taxation from 2021 to 2027 and repeals Regulation (EU) No 1286/2013. 

3 Fiscalis 2020 mid-term evaluation SWD (europa.eu) 

4 A number of the 2020 Fiscalis programme activities continue in 2021 as most grant agreements have been prolonged to 2021.  

5 The United Kingdom withdrew from the EU and became a third country as of 1 February 2020. It was therefore considered a 
participating EU country for most of the programme duration. In total, 35 countries fell within the Fiscalis 2020 framework: the 27 
EU Member States plus the UK while it was an EU Member State and 7 candidate and potential candidate countries. 

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with the EU’s broader policies and priorities; (iv) the value added of this EU level intervention 
and how it made a difference and (v) the relevance of the programme.  

1. 

EFFECTIVENESS: THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE PROGRAMME ACHIEVED ITS PURPOSE 

The programme aims to support the proper functioning of taxation systems in the internal market 
by  ensuring the exchange of information,  supporting administrative cooperation and enhancing 
participating  countries’  administrative  capacity,  which  in  turn  can  support  the  coherent 
implementation of EU law in the field of taxation and the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and 
aggressive tax planning. 

Collected evidence under the evaluation confirmed that the Fiscalis 2020 Programme was a key 
instrument to support the attainment of such objectives. The programme has been crucial: a) to 
the  development  and  functioning  of  the  European  information  systems  (EIS)  enabling  a 
information, 
common/harmonised  basis  for  the  automatic  and  secure  exchange  of 
standardising and simplifying  procedures;  b)  in  providing a wide range of joint  actions that 
created  a  collaborative  environment  where  authorities  worked  together,  exchanged 
knowledge and identified best practices regarding administrative procedures and guidelines, EU 
law and IT systems; and c) in providing training that enhanced staff skills and competences 
and administrative capacity.  

In so doing, the programme contributed to the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive 
tax planning as the quality and scope of information enabled by Fiscalis funded IT infrastructure 
and  IT  systems  allowed  for  cross-border  checks  that  detected  potential  fraudulent  transactions, 
leading  to  joint  action  by  authorities.  Interviewees  also  said  that  the  automatic  exchange  of 
information enabled by EIS worked as a deterrent to fraudulent behaviour and thus contributed to 
fighting tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning. The EIS also reduced compliance costs 
and increased legal certainty for economic operators, increasing general compliance by taxpayers 
and enabling authorities and economic operators to reduce the time and resources required to carry 
out their activities. In addition, about 44% of all joint action proposals submitted were linked to 
fighting tax fraud, evasion and aggressive tax planning. Case studies suggested that Fiscalis may 
have contributed to additional tax revenue, as a result.  

The programme also facilitated a better and shared understanding of EU tax law among both 
its  smoother  and  coherent 
tax  authorities  and  economic  operators,  contributing 
implementation. Joint actions and training modules directly intended to improve understanding 
and implementing of Union taxation law, were considered very useful and achieved their intended 
result. More generally, the programme has also built trust between officials, promoting exchanges 
that  continued  beyond  the  specific  programme  activities.  Overall,  it  contributed  to  the  well-
functioning of tax systems in the EU. 

to 

Regarding the secure exchange of data between national tax administrations and with economic 
operators and other governmental authorities it can be seen that the volume of data exchanged 

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steadily increased since 2014, reaching 32.23 terabytes in 2019 compared to just 4.3 terabytes in 
2014. EIS helped Member States communicate with each other securely and efficiently and hence 
the  number  of  messages  exchanged  between  administrations  through  the  various  systems 
supported by the programme increased significantly and continuously since 2014.6 Moreover, 
the administrative burden for tax administrations and businesses declined and compliance 
costs for business were found to be 95 % lower for those using the relevant IT system compared 
to those not using it.  

Regarding joint actions, over 1500 joint actions, comprising more than 3,500 events, took place 
during  the  2014-2020  period.  The  number  of  participants  in  the  Fiscalis  2020’s  joint  actions 
remained at a high constant level, leading to more than 30,000 participants overall. Working visits 
were  used  for  officials  to  acquire  or  increase  tax  expertise  or  knowledge.  Member  States  also 
exchanged tax knowledge and experiences through project groups, often used to discuss, develop 
and  implement  EIS.  Workshops,  although  used  less  frequently,  sought  to  improve  tax 
administrations’ procedures. Capacity building actions consisted mainly of technical assistance 
to a few Member States. Multilateral controls and participation in administrative enquiries 
are examples of direct administrative cooperation between tax authorities. While less common, 
there were working groups and seminars for specific IT systems or for sharing EU taxation law 
information.  

Participants  and  action  managers  of  joint  actions  were  positive  about  their  effectiveness  and 
usefulness. Interviewees indicated that all actions were useful and fostered mutual learning. 93% 
of respondents agreed that their participation in joint actions provided a good opportunity for them 
to expand their network of (and contacts with) officials abroad. 95% of participants reported 
having shared their experiences and 77 % of them declared that such exchanges had led to 
changes/improvements  in their administrations’ working practices. Note that in  2020, as  a 
result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the participation rate was somewhat reduced due to imposed 
restrictions and until, after a while, on-line activities replaced physical ones. 

The great majority of interviewed Fiscalis coordinators considered training to be key to enhancing 
administrations’ administrative capacities. The Commission procured 267 EU eLearning modules 
and organised 141 skills and competences training sessions for IT systems. Participants’ training 
quality scores were high (average 72.7 score on a 0-100 scale). Similarly, the share of tax officials 
who found IT training met their expectations or was useful are consistently over 90 %. The number 
of  tax  officials  trained  is  growing,  as  more  and  more  tax  officials  have  been  trained  using  EU 
common  materials  also  in  national  contexts.  ELearning  modules  trained  about  130,500 

6 For example, 14,000 messages in 2020 vs. 12,800 messages in 2017 for DAC1 related systems; 29,700 messages in 2020 vs. only 

4,600 in 2017 for DAC2 systems; 992,292 messages in 2020 vs. 689,839 messages in 2017 for the MOSS system. 

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participants from tax authorities and almost one million additional people from businesses 
and public.  

Note  that  interviewed  non-EU  countries  also  appreciated  the  joint  actions  for  networking 
opportunities, but felt they were not sufficiently addressing their needs, as actions prioritise EU 
countries and centred on EIS to which candidate countries have no access.    

EFFICIENCY:  THE  EXTENT  TO  WHICH  THE  PROGRAMME  ACHIEVED  ITS  PURPOSE  VIS-À-

2. 
VIS THE RESOURCES USED 

When evaluating efficiency, the external study looked at the extent to which programme resources 
had achieved the intended results in the least costly manner. An attempt was made to estimate the 
costs  and  benefits,  and  where  possible  to  monetise  them.  While  costs  are  available,  it  is  more 
difficult to quantify the benefits. The definition of the benefits was also defined by the interviews 
held with the programme stakeholders.  

The Fiscalis 2020 programme committed a budget of about EUR 222 million for the period 2014-
2020. Around 75% of the budget has been spent on developing, maintaining and operating 
the EIS for taxation purposes (EUR 168 million). In addition, Member States also incurred costs 
for  acquiring,  developing,  installing,  maintaining  and  day-to-day  operating  of  the  national 
components of the EIS. Other stakeholders (e.g. businesses, financial institutions) can indirectly 
incur costs for these systems. These common IT infrastructure and systems are clearly resource-
intensive.  However,  they  are  indispensable  for  the  day-to-day  work  of  tax  administrations  and 
bring a range of benefits in all areas of their activities. The case studies conducted as part of this 
evaluation revealed concrete examples of benefits outweighing costs for specific systems. The EIS 
have  standardised  and  simplified  procedures  and  have  reduced  the  administrative  burden  for 
authorities and businesses, reduced compliance costs for businesses, and helped detect potential 
fraudulent transactions. By developing and operating the common components for the EIS, the EU 
level programme has led to important economies of scale, ensured interoperability and avoided the 
duplication of efforts for Member States. As a result, the EIS enabled the secured exchange of 
information, supported administrative cooperation and administrative capacity, facilitating a more 
effective implementation and consistent application of EU law on taxation and the fight against 
tax fraud, evasion and aggressive tax planning. The evaluation provided an overall positive picture 
of their efficiency.  

The Fiscalis 2020 programme provided financial support for a wide range of joint actions, 
which  represented  about  EUR  33  million  (15%  of  all  programme  funding).  Based  on  the 
results  of  surveys,  the  evaluation  judged  the  joint  actions  to  overall  have  made  a  strong 
contribution  to  the  programme’s  objectives.  Joint  actions  included  seminars,  workshops, 
project  groups,  bilateral  or  multilateral  controls,  other  administrative  cooperation  activities, 
working visits, PAOEs, capacity building activities and expert teams. As said, there were more 
than 30,000 participants overall. With the exception of expert teams, to ensure full involvement of 
the  participating  countries,  reimbursement  at  the  level  of  100%  of  the  eligible  costs  of  travel, 

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accommodation and cost linked to organisation of events and daily allowances was possible where 
it was necessary to achieve fully the objectives of Fiscalis 2020.7 The average cost per participant 
per action for all types of joint actions (with the exception of expert teams) remained relatively 
stable  throughout  the  period  with  a  slight  overall  decrease  in  more  recent  years,  which  might 
perhaps  signal  improved  efficiency.  Regular  Fiscalis  programme  poll  (survey)  results  were 
overwhelmingly positive, suggesting actions’ benefits are high for those involved. The majority of 
tax authorities agreed that the benefits outweighed costs. Joint actions investments were considered 
worthwhile  and  cost-effective  when  considering  the  costs  versus  the  outcomes  achieved. 
Participation in expert teams was not fully reimbursable by Fiscalis 2020 (travel and subsistence 
costs were fully reimbursed, while only 50% of personnel costs were covered). These expert teams 
were nevertheless crucial in the development of some of the Fiscalis IT systems which might not 
exist  without  them.  They  provide  the  opportunity  for  Member  States  to  pool  resources  and 
expertise, rather than acting separately. Hence, they were quite cost-effective. Overall, joint actions 
have  enhanced  administrative  cooperation  and  capacity  and  improved  working  relationships 
among  participants.  They  have  helped  exchange  experiences  and  identify  best  practices  for 
administrative procedures and in turn supported the effective implementation of EU tax legislation 
and increased compliance. 

About EUR 6.9 million was committed for common tax training. The majority of the Fiscalis 
2020  training  budget  (EUR  4.7  million)  was  allocated  to  eLearning  modules.  These  modules 
trained 130,470 individuals from tax authorities and 941,938 additional people from businesses 
and the public. Thus, the training modules cost EUR 4.9 per person trained, which is very low. 
Tax authorities described eLearning as useful and effective in increasing their capacity, as well as 
being helpful for other stakeholders. Other Fiscalis training activities taking place as part of project 
groups  or  capacity  building  activities  (notably  IT  trainings)  were  considered  to  have  increased 
their administrative capacity and facilitated tax authorities’ coordination and cooperation. 

Following  from  the  mid-term  evaluation,  there  have  been  efforts  to  reduce  paperwork  costs 
associated  with  joining,  initiating  and  providing  feedback  on  joint  actions  and  to  optimise 
procedures and resources for joint actions and keep workload manageable, which appears to be 
visible in the latter half of Fiscalis 2020, as no  participating country considered the burden too 
high compared to their benefits. Note that a couple of non-EU authorities have suggested that their 
costs  are  relatively  high,  considering  the  extent  to  which  they  can  participate.  They  would  see 
additional value if they could access more aspects of these actions. 

7 Note that the funding relates to the collaborative aspect of the joint actions i.e. funding allows for the action to take place if in the 
remit of the programme, but in many instances the national authorities are largely or fully responsible for organising the action. 
The Commission may act as the initiator of or participate in for example Fiscalis Project Groups, Workshops and Seminars 
while with MLCs, there is no Commission participation in line with the provisions in the relevant legal basis of the MLC. 

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COHERENCE: THE COHERENCE OF THE PROGRAMME WITH THE EU’S BROADER POLICIES 

3. 
AND PRIORITIES 

The evaluation exercise analysed the extent to which the Fiscalis 2020 was coherent with broader 
EU policies and other EU funding programmes. The final evaluation confirmed the conclusions of 
the  Fiscalis  2020  mid-term  evaluation,  i.e.  that  the  programme  actions  were  aligned  to  and 
coherent with the Commission overall strategic priorities. There also appears to be coherence 
between Fiscalis 2020 and other similar instruments.  

The Fiscalis 2020 objectives are clearly aligned with the Commission priority “An economy that 
works for people”, aiming at “…tackling tax abuse, ensuring sustainable revenues and supporting 
a better business environment in the Single Market.” Further, the Fiscalis 2020 funded actions are 
coherent  with  the  Commission  priority  “Europe  fit  for  the  digital  age”,  under  which  the 
Commission  aims  to  modernise  public  administrations.  Fiscalis  funded  the  development, 
improvement  and  implementation  of  IT  infrastructure  and  IT  systems  that  can  enhance 
administrative capacity of tax authorities of participating countries. More recently the Commission 
released  the  2020  Package  for  fair  and  simple  taxation  containing  25  taxation  initiatives  to 
support the economic recovery and the transition into a green and digital economy8. The successor 
of the Fiscalis programme will be able to support such initiatives.  

The  evaluation  found  that  the  programme  has  both  supported  other  EU  programmes  and 
benefited from them. Complementarities and synergies exist between the Fiscalis 2020 and the 
Customs 2020 programme. There are efficiency gains derived from the Commission managing 
the  two  systems  together.  Several  operational  features  are  co-funded  by  both  programmes  and 
available  for  both  customs  and  tax  administrations.  This  is  the  case  for  key  IT  infrastructure 
systems such as CCN or common training materials. Economies of scale and system compatibility 
can be  explored while it  enables  customs  and tax administrations to  exchange information  and 
share knowledge better. Fiscalis 2020 was also complementary to the Structural Reform Support 
Programme (SRSP) 2017-2020 and synergies were identified. For example, challenges identified 
via joint  actions  could  then receive tailored technical  support by the SRSP.  Complementarities 
between Fiscalis 2020 and the Hercule III programme managed by the EU Anti-Fraud Office 
(OLAF) also exist, without an overlap. However, despite their complementarity, there seems to be 
limited active cooperation or actively sought synergies between the two programmes.  

The Fiscalis programme also plays a role in and is coherent with programmes for candidate 
and potential candidate countries such as TAIEX. Seven non-EU Member States participated 
in Fiscalis 2020’ joint actions and training activities and, as such, knowledge and best practices 
were exchanged with EU countries. This led to reforms in non-EU Member States, supporting the 
accession  process  and  help  building  trust  and  goodwill  between  countries.  Candidate  country 

8 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council an Action Plan for fair and simple Taxation 
Supporting the Recovery Strategy: 
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/default/files/2020_tax_package_tax_action_plan_en.pdf  

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interviewees highlighted the benefits of access to both instruments, as Fiscalis was deemed more 
flexible, providing short-term outcomes, while TAIEX enabled non-EU Member States to pursue 
longer-term reform processes. 

Several mechanisms were used to ensure this coherence across different EU programmes including 
inter-services  meetings,  inter-service  consultations,  participation  of  observers  from  various 
Commission services in project group meetings or activities, sharing of work programmes or the 
assessment  of  project  proposals  by  officials  from  different  Commission  services.  Despite  the 
observed positive results, the evaluation found room for further complementarities and synergies 
in certain areas such as with the successor of the Hercule III programme. 

4. 

EU ADDED VALUE OF THE PROGRAMME   

The  implementation  of  EU  law  in  the  field  of  taxation  lays  with  Member  States.  Supporting 
measures such as those as provided by the Fiscalis 2020 programme can contribute to ensuring 
that EU law is applied in more coherent and consistent way at national level. 

The Fiscalis 2020 programme has provided for the financial sustainability of the EIS, which 
are  crucial  in  ensuring  the  availability  and  sharing  of  information.  IT  infrastructure  and 
systems made complying easier and more effective. In doing so, the programme has brought about 
economies  of  scale  and  efficiency  gains  and  additional  security  levels,  helping  national 
administrations (and economic operators) to save time and resources, in particular for participating 
countries  with  smaller  tax  administrations  and  fewer  resources.  The  interoperability  and 
interconnectivity of central IT infrastructure and systems and their symbiotic features constitute 
EU added value. Moreover, the development of EIS has supported national tax administrations to 
modernise and digitalise their internal systems and tools. 

Joint actions have provided considerable EU added value giving the administrations unequalled 
opportunities  for  cooperation,  communication  and  networking.  Workshops,  seminars, 
working visits, amongst others, have pooled expertise and knowledge of participating countries, 
helped national authorities gain a better understanding of EU law, and supported the development 
and  implementation  of  IT  systems.  They  helped  build  trust  and  informal  cooperation  after  the 
events and led to greater convergence of approaches and practices. For example, some tax reforms 
have been designed with the help and advice of coordinators from other countries. Tax authorities, 
who  have  provided  consistent  positive  feedback  on  joint  actions’  ability  to  meet  objectives, 
indicated  that  their  limited  resources  (time  and  money)  to  invest  in  planning,  organising  and 
carrying out such actions would translate in fewer actions without Fiscalis. 

The  same  goes  for  training  activities,  especially  e-Learning  modules,  which  have  improved 
national  tax  administration  officials’  knowledge  and  in  turn  have  helped  national  tax 
administrations better understand and implement EU tax legislation and its related procedures in a 
more uniform manner. They also help with officials’ ability to work with the IT systems. They 
have  improved  the  capacity  and  the  effectiveness  and  efficiency  of  administrations.  Fiscalis-

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funded eLearning modules added value beyond the participants as they were also used internally 
to teach, for example. The large number of people trained 9 is evidence that they were considered 
useful. These training activities and modules would likely not have been developed, or at least not 
to the same extent and by all authorities, if Fiscalis had not been in place. They would have been 
too costly, missing out the scale element. Training has helped establish trust and create a shared 
vision. 

Based  on  the  evidence  presented  and  the  scale  of  the  programme  actions,  it  is  fair  to  say  that 
without Fiscalis one would not have the same scale and scope of EIS, joint actions and training 
that  were  instrumental  in  implementing  EU  taxation  law  and  fighting  tax  fraud,  evasion  and 
aggressive tax planning. Cooperation would have likely been there but would have been uneven, 
based on unstructured relations and more time-consuming channels and reciprocity agreements. It 
would have been difficult to achieve the same versatility of topics and the European dimension or 
pan-European participation in actions and training observed with Fiscalis 2020. While there may 
have been bilateral or multilateral efforts, these would not have benefitted from the economies of 
scale generated by Fiscalis and the cost and time to implement and maintain action by national 
authorities  would  also  have  been  higher/longer.  As  for  the  EIS,  Fiscalis  2020  ensured  the 
continuous development and maintenance of such IT infrastructure and systems. Without Fiscalis, 
they would risk becoming obsolete or be discontinued due to the lack of resources vis-a-vis- the 
high costs. The economies of scale and reductions in overall costs would be lost.  

Fiscalis  2020  has  created  tangible  outputs  as  a  result  of  interconnected  systems  and  consistent 
information exchange and helped officials in tax administrations to acquire skills and exchange 
experiences  through  a  wide  range  of  joint  actions  and  training.  It  is  likely  that  many  of  the 
programme’s actions and outputs would likely fade and be discontinued in the medium-term at 
least compared to the current scale and scope. The current networks between tax administrations 
built  over  the  years  would  fade.  As  a  result,  the  implementation  of  EU  law  would  be  less 
harmonious with more room for economic agents to exploit the lack of coordination across borders 
as ‘loopholes’ to avoid taxes or to commit fraud. Indeed, tax fraud challenges cannot be tackled if 
Member  States  do  not  look  beyond  the  borders  of  their  administrative  territories  or  cooperate 
intensively with counterparts. 

With increasing digitalisation, globalisation and movement of workers, the implementation of EU 
tax law and the fight  against fraud, avoidance and aggressive tax planning will be increasingly 
important and as a result the programme’s added value is also likely to continue increasing.  

5. 

RELEVANCE OF THE PROGRAMME 

Globalisation and digitalisation combined create new opportunities and challenges to tax systems’ 
ability to collect tax revenue. They generate new ways of working (hybrid and remote work) and 

9 DG TAXUD eLearning data 

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conducting  business  (without  physical  presence)  which  are  not  fully  in  sync  with  the  way  tax 
systems are still designed and tax authorities conduct their activities. They can also create potential 
for tax avoidance or evasion if tax administrations and systems do not keep up with change.  

To face such challenges, a range of tax-related legislative changes were already adopted during 
the  2014-2020  period  and  Fiscalis  2020  actions  closely  supported  the  implementation  of  these 
initiatives. For instance, the 2015 VAT place of supply rule changes were accompanied by the 
introduction of the so-called MOSS system to facilitate cross-border trade in digital services. The 
Directives on Administrative Cooperation were introduced to facilitate the automatic exchange of 
information  between  tax  administrations  and  to  ensure  the  fair  payment  of  taxes  for  taxpayers 
(individual or entities) who generate income in cross-border activities. Preparatory work was done 
to  introduce  IT  support  to  the  implementation  of  the  e-commerce  directive,  which  became 
operational on 1 July 2021. 

The trend is there to stay, and authorities and economic operators will need to keep up with the 
increasingly digitalised, globalised world. This emphasises the need to reinforce tax administration 
cooperation  and  national  authorities’  administrative  capacities  and  hence  the  relevance  of  the 
programme to support Member States in the digitalisation and modernisation of procedures. 
Given  its  past  success,  future  Fiscalis  programmes  are  found  to  remain  relevant  to  facilitate 
Member  States’  exchange  of  information,  cooperation  and  coordination  via  IT  systems,  joint 
actions and training and as such contribute to the effective and efficient functioning of the internal 
market in this context.  

When looking at relevance, the evaluation looked at the needs of national tax administrations and 
economic  operators.  The  final  evaluation  showed  that  the  programme  continues  to  be  both 
relevant  and  necessary.  Indeed,  Fiscalis  2020  was  deemed  highly  relevant  to  addresses  tax 
administrations’  major  challenges  and  meet  their  needs.  The  IT  infrastructure  and  systems 
were  reported  to  be  highly  relevant  for  tax  officials’  daily  work,  as  they  are  the  main 
communication platforms through which Member States can exchange relevant data to fight tax 
fraud and evasion and implement EU law. This in turn fosters mutual assistance and coordination. 
Training and joint actions are also considered relevant to enhance administrative capacity such as 
knowledge building and networking. Through the exchange of information, good practices and 
guidelines, Fiscalis supports policymaking and the more equal and predictable application of EU 
law and the fight against tax fraud, evasion and aggressive tax planning. A level playing field and 
fair competition is key for economic operators to perform their activities. Moreover, excessive 
administrative burden and tax compliance costs can prevent some businesses from carrying out 
economic  activities,  particularly  across  borders.  Fiscalis  IT  systems  were  deemed  especially 
relevant for economic operators, simplifying compliance by making information easily available 
or for example alleviating the administrative burden on companies providing telecommunications, 
broadcasting and electronic services by avoiding filing VAT returns in each country where services 
are supplied (and increasing tax compliance). 

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Some tax authorities suggested that Fiscalis could support the creation of a database on Member 
States’  legislative  developments  in  the  tax  field,  covering  emerging  developments  affecting 
taxation such as virtual currencies for instance. Fiscalis coordinators in candidate countries pointed 
out  their  limited  capacity  to  benefit  fully  from  Fiscalis-funded  actions  due  to  its  EU-oriented 
nature. This adds to the fact that these countries do not have access to all IT systems, which affects 
their ability to take part in related training components.  

6. 

CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT  

The  evaluation  showed  that  the  programme  has  been  effective  in  achieving  its  objectives  of 
enabling secure exchange of information,  supporting administrative cooperation and enhancing 
participating countries administrative capacity. In turn, it also supported the implementation of EU 
tax legislation to fight tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning. 

Fiscalis  2020  contributed  to  enhancing  cross-country  cooperation  and  tax  authorities’ 
administrative  capacity  through  the  development  and  maintenance  of  EU  IT  infrastructure  and 
systems,  joint  actions and common training  activities. Fiscalis contributed to  more harmonised 
approaches and simplified procedures, lowering administrative burdens and reducing compliance 
cost for taxpayers.  

Through the IT infrastructure and systems it helped develop and maintain, Fiscalis improved the 
information  available  and  secured  information  exchanges.  By  replacing  manual  checks  and 
making use of advanced data-analytics and by allowing easier cross-country checks, it enabled a 
better  identification  of  potential  fraud  cases,  in  a  more  efficient  way.  It  may  also  have  had  a 
deterrence  effect,  increasing  compliance  and  preventing  tax  fraud,  evasion  and  aggressive  tax 
planning. While difficult to establish causality, the evaluation study showed that several of the key 
indicators on tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning show signs of improvement during 
the duration of the programme. 

Evidence assessed by the external evaluator indicated that joint actions and training fostered tax 
authorities’ cooperation and provided space to exchange ideas among counterparts if a specific 
need was identified. They created networks for participating tax authorities (including informal 
networks beyond the programme events), enabling further coordination and knowledge sharing, 
fostering  mutual  learning  and  leading  in  some  instances  to  cross-country  cooperation  in 
implementing tax reforms. Information sharing and knowledge transfer enabled by the programme 
has contributed to a better and more common understanding of legislation and therefore its more 
coherent implementation.  In other words, the Fiscalis programme provides a framework within 
which  to  develop  cooperation  activities  (joint  actions)  with  participating  authorities  in  many 
instances strongly responsible for organising the various aspects of a joint action. 

From an efficiency perspective, and despite the difficulties in monetising benefits and establishing 
causality, the resources invested into Fiscalis 2020 and its components were deemed worthwhile 
considering the achieved results. In other words, the evaluation concluded that the programme had 

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provided  value  for  the  EU  and  national  tax  authorities  at  a  reasonable  cost.  Fiscalis  2020  was 
aligned and coherent to the Commission overall political objectives, especially to the Europe 2020 
strategy.  It  flexibly  adapted  to  changing  priorities  and  new  legislation,  fulfilling  its  role  as  a 
funding programme that supports the implementation of EU law on taxation.  

The evaluation considered that Fiscalis will likely continue to be a relevant tool at EU level to 
achieve the goals of supporting the implementation of EU tax legislation and the fight against tax 
fraud,  tax  evasion  and  aggressive  tax  planning  in  a  world  that  is  changing  due  to  ageing, 
digitalisation and globalisation, amongst others,  and therefore posing challenges to tax systems 
and  administrations.  Indeed,  Fiscalis  remains  a  relevant  instrument  to  fund  the  development, 
implementation and operation of IT infrastructure and systems in the field of taxation, exploring 
economies of scale. They are resource intensive and it would be difficult for all countries to have 
the same scope and scale provided by the EU programme. Fiscalis also has been shown to be useful 
to  allow  for  coordination  and  mutual  learning  across  countries.  IT  systems,  joint  actions  and 
training  activities  each  play  a  role,  in  a  complementary  way,  in  the  achievement  of  Fiscalis 
objectives. Fiscalis components are mutually reinforcing. The evaluation showed wide consensus 
among key stakeholders that the Fiscalis 2020 was necessary, relevant and corresponded to key 
actors’ needs. The design of the programme has therefore been deemed to be fit-for-purpose and 
should be maintained. 

Nevertheless, the evaluation also pointed to some areas where improvements could be made. The 
findings indicate that the IT systems assessed in the study are generating benefits which outweigh 
the costs, in terms of simplification, potential fraud detection and compliance with taxation law. 
However,  the  evidence  on  costs  and  benefits  is  weak,  and  it  could  be  worthwhile  for  the 
Commission and Member States to explore ways of better measuring the costs and benefits of the 
investments made. More comprehensive data on costs (investments in IT systems) and benefits 
(tax revenue collected, simplification) could feed into further prioritisation and decision making. 
It should be noted as well that most of the costs borne by the Fiscalis programme in the field of IT 
consist mainly in interconnecting 27 heterogeneous national IT systems via exchanges of messages 
instead of developing central solutions based on data sharing. This architectural decision follows 
the agreed legal basis of the corresponding Taxation European Information Systems. However, it 
can lead to higher costs at EU level while limiting the capability of data processing with a possible 
impact on the cost / benefits ratio. 

Moreover, the evaluation reports that non-EU countries felt that they should be able to participate 
in a wider set of activities as they are very relevant and appropriate, thus making their financial 
investments even more worthwhile. Note that the Commission services have already made moves 
to  address  this  in  the  new  Fiscalis  2021-2027,  by  ensuring  that  invitations  are  sent  to  non-EU 
participating countries, unless otherwise justified.  

In  addition,  while  Fiscalis  2020  was  deemed  coherent  and  consistent  with  EU  priorities  and 
appropriately complementing other funding programmes such as Customs 2020 and the Structural 
Reform  Support  Programme  (now  Technical  Support  Instrument),  there  is  scope  to  improve 

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synergies with Hercule III. The coordination within the Commission was deemed  good but the 
evaluation emphasised the importance to continue to explore ways to better coordinate with other 
services in view of a fast-changing world. 

The evaluation also showed that work continues in terms of implementing the recommendations 
from  the  mid-term  evaluation  and  for  the  future.  Following  the  mid-term  evaluation,  the 
Commission set up an internal action plan with 13 action areas to address the 13 recommendations, 
which included 48 sub-actions. In March 2022, the vast majority (75%+) of the actions have been 
completed  and  several  are  ongoing. 
‘Monitoring  and  reporting’  and 
‘Communication’  are  the  two  main  areas  where  work  is  still  ongoing.  The  Commission 
acknowledges  and  endeavours  to  address  them  under  the  implementation  of  the  Fiscalis 
programme 2021-2027 or under the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The Commission also 
endeavours to continuously improve and adjust the Programme to new realities as relevant beyond 
the  recommendations  included  in  this  evaluation  and  notably  in  view  of  the  future  mid-term 
evaluation.  

In  particular, 

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