Belgium And Portugal Ordered To Comply With Tax Claim Directive

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

29 July 2003

The European Commission is due to initiate the second stage of infringement proceedings against Belgium and Portugal for failing to take steps to implement a directive relating to the giving of mutual assistance in claims for the recovery of tax.

The respective member states now have two months in which to inform the Commission of the measures they intend to put in place to remedy the transgression or face the possibility of a European Court of Justice hearing.

In a statement relating to the case, the Commission announced:

"Directive 2001/44/EC of 15 June 2001 amends Directive 76/308/EEC on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims resulting from operations forming part of the system of financing of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, and of agricultural levies and customs duties and in respect of value added tax and certain excise duties. The 2001 Directive introduces a number of amendments designed to take more effective action against fraud and widens the scope of mutual assistance to include claims relating to certain taxes on income and capital and taxes on insurance premiums."

It continues:

"Article 2 of the Directive provides that Member States must bring into force the provisions necessary to comply with the Directive not later that 30 June 2002 and that they must communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of the national law which they adopt in the field covered by the Directive, together with a table showing how the provisions of the Directive correspond to the national provisions adopted.

"The observations submitted by Belgium indicate that it is currently drawing up the measures necessary to comply with the Directive. Nevertheless, as far as the Commission is aware, the measures have not yet been adopted, no communication having been submitted to the Commission to this effect. The Commission must therefore conclude that Belgium has not yet adopted the measures which it was required to implement not later that 30 June 2002.

"For the same reasons as those set out above with regard to Belgium, the Commission delivered a reasoned opinion to Portugal on 3 April 2003 for failure to implement Directive 2001/44/EC (see IP/03/531). Since Portugal has not complied with the reasoned opinion, the Commission concludes that the national implementing measures have not yet been adopted in Portugal, which they should have been no later than 30 June 2002 pursuant to Article 2 of the Directive."

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