On 7 June 2012, the Ministry of Finance published a draft for
amendment of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code to
implement Directive 2011/16/EU (the "Directive") into the
national legislation.
The Directive aims at facilitating and boosting the cooperation
between the EU revenue authorities and reducing the time for data
exchange in the area of direct taxation. One of the main goals is
to decrease the possibilities for tax evasion/avoidance schemes
within the EU.
Instead of listing the specific taxes subject to the cooperation
procedure, as structured now, the draft covers any direct taxes,
including local taxes, due in the EU Member States. Public
liabilities such as indirect taxes, customs and excise duties, and
the social insurance contributions are explicitly excluded from the
scope of the new rules.
The personal scope of the cooperation procedure will be explicitly
defined and expanded. It will cover 1) individuals, 2) legal
entities, 3) associations of persons and 4) any other legal
arrangement of whatever nature and form, regardless of its legal
personality, of whether it owns or manages assets, which, including
income derived therefrom, are subject to any of the taxes covered
by the cooperation procedure.
The proposed changes generally follow the Directive and aim at
clarifying, expanding and making the currently existing means of
cooperation between the EU Member States in the administrative
cooperation in the field of direct taxation more effective. The
cooperation procedures will include:
- exchange of information on request
- mandatory automatic exchange of information
- spontaneous exchange of information
- presence in administrative offices and participation in administrative enquiries
- simultaneous controls
- administrative notification
The new rules are expected to come into force on 1 January
2013.
We will keep you updated on the development of the draft.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 12/06/2012.