Considerations on COM(2003)797-1 - Administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2003)797-1 - Administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2003)797  |
| date | November 16, 2004 |
| (2) | Close cooperation is required between the administrative authorities of each Member State responsible for implementing the measures adopted in this field in order to combat excise fraud. |
| (3) | It is therefore essential to define the rules under which the administrative authorities of the Member States must afford each other mutual assistance and cooperate with the Commission to ensure that the rules relating to the movement of excisable products and the collection of excise duties are correctly applied. |
| (4) | Mutual assistance and administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties are governed by 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 taxation, certain excise duties and taxation of insurance premiums (3). Mutual assistance and administrative cooperation in the field of VAT are governed by Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 (4). |
| (5) | Although this legal instrument has proved to be effective, it will not be able to cope with new administrative cooperation imperatives resulting from increasing economic integration within the internal market. |
| (6) | Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products (5) also introduced a number of information exchange instruments. Their procedures will have to be defined within a general legal framework for administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties. |
| (7) | There is also a need for clearer and more binding rules on cooperation between Member States as the rights and obligations of all the parties concerned are not sufficiently defined. |
| (8) | There are not sufficient direct contacts between local or national anti-fraud agencies as standard practice is for information to be communicated between central liaison offices. This leads to inefficiencies, under-use of the administrative cooperation arrangements and excessive delays in communication of information. Provision should therefore be made for more direct contacts between administrative departments to improve and speed up cooperation. |
| (9) | There is, also, a need for closer cooperation as, with the exception of movement verification under Article 15b of Directive 92/12/EEC, there are few automatic or spontaneous exchanges of information between Member States. The exchange of information between national authorities and between those authorities and the Commission should be more intensive and speedier if fraud is to be effectively combated. |
| (10) | There is consequently a need for a specific instrument in the field of excise duties to incorporate the provisions of Directive 77/799/EEC in this field. This instrument should also focus on the areas where cooperation between Member States can be improved through the introduction and improvement of systems for the transmission of information on the movement of excisable products. This instrument is without prejudice to the application of the Convention of 18 December 1997 on mutual assistance and cooperation between administrations (6). |
| (11) | This Regulation should not hamper other Community measures to combat fraud in the field of excise duties. |
| (12) | This Regulation incorporates and defines the arrangements contained in Directive 92/12/EEC to facilitate administrative cooperation between Member States. These arrangements include the register of traders concerned and premises and the movement verification system. This Regulation also introduces an early warning system between Member States. |
| (13) | For the purposes of this Regulation it is appropriate to limit 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 data (7), in order to safeguard the interests referred to in Article 13(1)(e) of that Directive. |
| (14) | 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 Commission (8). |
| (15) | Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the simplification and the strengthening of administrative cooperation between Member States, which requires a harmonised approach, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States alone, and can, by reason of the uniformity and effectiveness required, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. |
| (16) | This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles which are recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, |