European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 July 2018 on the amended proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards measures to strengthen administrative cooperation in the field of value-added tax (COM(2017)0706 — C8-0441/2017 — 2017/0248(CNS))

• Celex Number: 52018AP0278
• Published date: 08 April 2020
• Date of Signature: 03 July 2018
• Subject Matter: Internal market - Principles,Value added tax,Taxation
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, C 118, 8 April 2020

8.4.2020 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 118/217

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P8_TA(2018)0278

Measures to strengthen administrative cooperation in the field of value-added tax *

European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 July 2018 on the amended proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards measures to strengthen administrative cooperation in the field of value-added tax (COM(2017)0706 — C8-0441/2017 — 2017/0248(CNS))

(Special legislative procedure — consultation)

(2020/C 118/34)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2017)0706),

— having regard to Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament (C8-0441/2017),

— having regard to Rule 78c of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A8-0215/2018),

1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, in accordance with Article 293(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

3. Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to substantially amend the Commission proposal;

5. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Amendment 1

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 1 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(1a) VAT fraud is often linked with organised crime and a very small number of those organised networks can be responsible for billions of euro in cross-border VAT fraud, affecting not only revenue collection in Member States but also having a negative impact on the Union’s own resources. Therefore, Member States have a shared responsibility for the protection of the VAT revenue of all Member States.

Amendment 2

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) Carrying out an administrative enquiry is often necessary to combat VAT fraud in particular when the taxable person is not established in the Member States where the tax is due. To ensure the proper enforcement of VAT and to avoid duplication of work and administrative burden of tax authorities and business , where at least two Member States consider that an administrative enquiry into the amounts declared by a taxable person non-established on their territory but taxable therein , is necessary, the Member State where the taxable person is established should undertake the enquiry and the requiring Member States should assist the Member State of establishment by taking part actively in the enquiry.

(2) An administrative enquiry is often necessary to combat VAT fraud, in particular when the taxable person is not established in the Member State where the tax is due. To ensure the proper enforcement of VAT, to avoid duplication of work and to reduce the administrative burden on tax authorities and businesses , an administrative enquiry needs to be carried out into the amounts declared by a taxable person who is not established on their territory but is taxable therein. The Member State where the taxable person is established must undertake the enquiry and the requiring Member State(s) must assist the Member State of establishment by actively taking part in the enquiry.

Amendment 3

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 11

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(11) For the purpose of ensuring the effective and efficient monitoring of VAT on cross-border transactions, Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 provides for the presence of officials in administrative offices and during administrative enquiries in other Member States. In order to strengthen the capacity of tax authorities to check cross-border supplies, there should be joint audits enabling officials from two or more Member States to form a single audit team and actively take part in a joint administrative enquiry.

(11) For the purpose of ensuring the effective and efficient monitoring of VAT on cross-border transactions, Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 provides for the presence of officials in administrative offices and during administrative enquiries in other Member States. In order to strengthen the capacity of tax authorities by providing them with enhanced technical and human resources to check cross-border supplies, there should be joint audits enabling officials from two or more Member States to form a single audit team and actively take part in a joint administrative enquiry , in a cooperative and productive spirit and on terms to be agreed by the Member States in order to detect and counter cross-border VAT fraud which is currently eroding the tax bases of Member States .

Amendment 4

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 13

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(13) In order to combat the most serious cross-border fraud schemes, it is necessary to clarify and strengthen the governance, tasks and functioning of Eurofisc. Eurofisc liaison officials should be able to access, exchange, process and analyse all necessary information swiftly and coordinate any follow-up actions. It is also necessary to strengthen the cooperation with other authorities involved in the fight against VAT fraud at Union level, in particular through the exchange of targeted information with Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Therefore, Eurofisc liaison officials should be able to share, spontaneously or on foot of a request, information and intelligence with Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office. This would enable Eurofisc liaison officials to receive data and intelligence held by Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office in order to identify the real perpetrators of the VAT fraud activities.

(13) In order to combat the most serious cross-border fraud schemes, it is necessary to clarify and strengthen the governance, tasks and functioning of Eurofisc. Eurofisc liaison officials should be able to access, exchange, process and analyse all necessary information swiftly and coordinate any follow-up actions. It is also necessary to strengthen the cooperation with other authorities involved in the fight against VAT fraud at Union level, in particular through the exchange of targeted information with Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Therefore, Eurofisc liaison officials should share, spontaneously or on foot of a request, information and intelligence with Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office , and, for participating Member States, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, especially for suspicion of VAT fraud above a certain amount . This would enable Eurofisc liaison officials to receive data and intelligence held by Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office in order to identify the real perpetrators of the VAT fraud activities.

Amendment 5

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 15

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(15) Organising the forwarding of requests for VAT refunds — pursuant to Article 5 of Council Directive 2008/9/EC (35) offers an opportunity to reduce the administrative burden for the competent authorities to recover unpaid VAT debts in the Member State of establishment.	(15) Organising the forwarding of requests for VAT refunds — pursuant to Article 5 of Council Directive 2008/9/EC (35) offers an opportunity to reduce the administrative burden for the competent authorities to recover unpaid tax liabilities in the Member State of establishment.

Amendment 6

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 16

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(16) To protect the financial interests of the Union against serious cross-border VAT fraud, the Member States participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office should communicate to that office, including via Eurofisc liaisons officials, information on the most serious VAT offences as referred to in Article 2(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (36).

(16) To protect the financial interests of the Union against serious cross-border VAT fraud, the Member States participating in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office should communicate to that office in a timely manner , including via Eurofisc liaisons officials, information on the most serious VAT offences as referred to in Article 2(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (36).

Amendment 7

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 18

Text proposed by the Commission	Amendment
(18) The Commission may have access to the information communicated or collected pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 only in so far as it is necessary for care, maintenance and development of the electronic systems hosted by the Commission and used by the Member States for the purpose of this Regulation.	(18) The Commission should have access to the...