1.   This Regulation lays down the conditions under which the competent authorities in the Member States responsible for the application of the laws on VAT 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 to effect a correct assessment of VAT, monitor the correct application of VAT, particularly on intra-Community transactions, and combat VAT fraud. In particular, it lays down rules and procedures for Member States to collect and exchange such information by electronic means.

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

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

4.   This Regulation also lays down rules and procedures for the exchange by electronic means of VAT information on services supplied electronically in accordance with the special scheme 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 that special scheme are concerned, for the transfer of money between Member States’ competent authorities.

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

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

1.   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. The central liaison office may also be designated as responsible for contacts with the Commission.

2.   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.   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.   The officials exchanging information pursuant to Articles 28, 29 and 30 shall in any case be deemed to be competent officials for this purpose, in accordance with conditions laid down by the competent authorities.

1.   The competent authority of each Member State shall, without prior request, forward the information referred to in Article 1 to the competent authority of any other Member State concerned, in the following cases:

2.   The exchange of information without prior request shall either be automatic, in accordance with Article 14, or spontaneous, in accordance with Article 15.

3.   The information shall be forwarded by means of standard forms adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(2).

1.   The following shall be determined in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(2):

A Member State may abstain from taking part in the automatic exchange of information with respect to one or more categories where the collection of information for such exchange would require the imposition of new obligations on persons liable for VAT or would impose a disproportionate administrative burden on the Member State.

The results of the automatic exchange of information for each category shall be reviewed once a year by the Committee referred to in Article 58(1), so as to ensure that this type of exchange takes places only where it is the most efficient means for the exchange of information.

2.   As from 1 January 2015, the competent authority of each Member State shall, in particular, exchange information automatically in order to enable Member States of consumption to ascertain whether taxable persons not established in their territory declare and correctly pay the VAT due with regard to telecommunication services, broadcasting services and electronically supplied services, regardless of whether those taxable persons 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.

1.   Each Member State shall store in an electronic system the following information:

2.   The technical details concerning the automated enquiry of the information referred to in points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(2).

1.   The information referred to in Article 17 shall be entered into the electronic system without delay.

2.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the information referred to in Article 17(1)(a) shall be entered into the electronic system no later than one month after the end of the period to which that information relates.

3.   By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, where information is to be corrected in, or added to, the electronic system pursuant to Article 19, the information must be entered no later than one month after the period in which it was collected.

1.   Every Member State shall grant the competent authority of any other Member State automated access to the information stored pursuant to Article 17.

2.   With respect to the information referred to in Article 17(1)(a), at least the following details shall be accessible:

The values referred to in points (b), (d) and (e) 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.

1.   In order to provide a reasonable level of assurance to tax administrations with regard to the quality and reliability of the information available through the electronic system referred to in Article 17, Member States shall adopt the measures necessary to ensure that the data provided by taxable persons and non-taxable legal persons for their identification for VAT purposes in accordance with Article 214 of Directive 2006/112/EC, are, in their assessment, complete and accurate.

Member States shall implement procedures for checking these data as determined by the results of their risk assessment. The checks shall be carried out, in principle, prior to identification for VAT purposes or, where only preliminary checks are conducted before such identification, no later than six months from such identification.

2.   The Member States shall inform the Committee referred to in Article 58(1) of the measures implemented at national level to ensure the quality and reliability of the information in accordance with paragraph 1.

1.   By agreement between the requesting authority and the requested authority, and in accordance with the arrangements laid down by the latter, officials authorised by the requesting authority may, with a view to exchanging the information referred to in Article 1, be present in the offices of the administrative authorities of the requested Member State, or any other place where those authorities 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 thereof.

2.   By agreement between the requesting authority and the requested authority, and in accordance with the arrangements laid down by the latter, officials authorised by the requesting authority may, with a view to exchanging the information referred to in Article 1, be present during the administrative enquiries carried out in the territory of the requested Member State. Such administrative enquiries shall be carried out exclusively by the officials of the requested authority. The officials of the requesting authority 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 the intermediation of the officials of the requested authority and for the sole purpose of carrying out the administrative enquiry.

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.

1.   A Member State shall identify independently the taxable persons which it intends to propose for a simultaneous control. The competent authority of that Member State shall notify the competent authority of the other Member States concerned of the cases proposed for a simultaneous control. 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 competent authority of the Member State that receives the proposal for a simultaneous control shall confirm its agreement or communicate its reasoned refusal to its counterpart authority, in principle within two weeks of receipt of the proposal, but within a month at the latest.

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

1.   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 to Directive 2006/112/EC, are allowed to obtain, for the purposes of such transactions, confirmation by electronic means of the validity of the VAT identification number of any specified person as well as the associated name and address. This information shall correspond to the data referred to in Article 17.

2.   Each Member State shall provide confirmation by electronic means of the name and address of the person to whom the VAT identification number has been issued in accordance with its national data protection rules.

3.   During the period provided for in Article 357 of Directive 2006/112/EC, paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to non-established taxable persons supplying telecommunication services and radio and television broadcasting services.

1.   The Commission shall, on the basis of the information provided by the Member States, publish on its website the details of the provisions approved by each Member State which transpose Chapter 3 of Title XI of Directive 2006/112/EC.

2.   The details and format of the information to be submitted shall be decided in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(2).

1.   In order to promote and facilitate multilateral cooperation in the fight against VAT fraud, this Chapter establishes a network for the swift exchange of targeted information between Member States hereinafter called ‘Eurofisc’.

2.   Within the framework of Eurofisc, Member States shall:

1.   Member States shall participate in the Eurofisc working fields of their choice and may also decide to terminate their participation therein.

2.   Member States having chosen to take part in a Eurofisc working field shall actively participate in the multilateral exchange of targeted information between all participating Member States.

3.   Information exchanged shall be confidential, as provided for in Article 55.

1.   The competent authorities of each Member State shall designate at least one Eurofisc liaison official. Eurofisc liaison officials shall be competent officials within the meaning of Article 2(1)(c) and shall carry out the activities referred to in Article 33(2). They shall remain answerable only to their national administrations.

2.   The liaison officials of the Member States participating in a particular Eurofisc working field (hereinafter ‘participating Eurofisc liaison officials’) shall designate a coordinator (hereinafter ‘Eurofisc working field coordinator’), among the participating Eurofisc liaison officials, for a limited period of time. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall:

1.   Where the competent authority of the Member State of establishment receives an application for refund of VAT pursuant to Article 5 of Directive 2008/9/EC, 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 VAT 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 pursuant to 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 58(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 58(2) of this Regulation on the basis of the NACE classification established by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 (8).

1.   The Member States and the Commission shall examine and evaluate how the arrangements for administrative cooperation provided for in this Regulation are working. 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.   A list of statistical data needed for evaluation of this Regulation shall be determined in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(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.

4.   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.

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

6.   Where necessary, in addition to what is required by other provisions 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.

7.   The Commission may, at the request of a Member State, provide its expert opinions, technical or logistical assistance, or any other support with a view to attaining the objectives of this Regulation.

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 by assistance arrangements with that particular third country.

2.   Competent authorities may communicate, in accordance with their domestic provisions on the communication of personal data to third countries, information obtained in accordance with this Regulation to a third country, provided that the following conditions are met:

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 provided for in Article 58(2).

2.   Where the request has not been lodged completely through the electronic system referred to in paragraph 1, the requested authority shall confirm receipt of the request by electronic means without delay and, in any event, no later than five working days after receipt.

Where an authority has received a request or information of which it is not the intended recipient, it shall send a message by electronic means to the sender without delay and, in any event, no later than five working days after receipt.

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:

2.   This Regulation shall impose no obligation to have enquiries carried out or to provide information 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 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.

5.   Paragraphs 2, 3 and 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.

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

7.   A minimum threshold triggering a request for assistance may be adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 58(2).

1.   Information communicated or collected in any form pursuant to this Regulation, 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 Union authorities. Such information shall be used only in the circumstances provided for in this Regulation.

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 2008/55/EC of 26 May 2008 on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to certain levies, duties, taxes and other measures (9).

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 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.   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) and Articles 12 and 21 of Directive 95/46/EC to the extent required in order to safeguard the interests referred to in Article 13(1)(e) of that Directive.

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

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.

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on Administrative Cooperation.

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.

1.   By 1 November 2013 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.

1.   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, in particular pursuant to 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.