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News
DAC 6 / MDR Radar
25 November 2020
Operational Tax News
Issue 7
A new wave of reporting rules came into effect in the European Union on 1 July 2020, with retroactive effect to 25 June 2018.
These new requirements were introduced by the latest amendments to the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation, commonly known as DAC 6.
It requires intermediaries (and certain taxpayers) to disclose all cross-border arrangements/structures that meet the criteria and hallmarks of DAC 6 to the relevant tax authorities.
Twenty-six countries have transposed these rules into their domestic legislation and two countries are still at the implementation drafting stage, despite the implementation deadline already having passed.
The Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020 amending the DAC 6 rules was published on 26 June in the Official Journal. It allows EU Member States to defer the deadlines for filing and exchanging the following information by up to six months: 1) the automatic exchange of information on financial accounts where the beneficiaries are tax residents in another EU Member State; and 2) reportable cross-border tax planning arrangements. Depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, this Directive also allows the European Council to extend the deferral period once for a maximum of three months.
Recent developments
European Union |
On 30 October, the European Commission closed its infringement procedures against France and Poland for not implementing DAC 6 in a timely manner. However, formal notices remain open against Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. |
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Austria |
On 21 October, the Ministry of Finance published guidance on reporting cross-border arrangements under the scope of DAC 6. These guidelines notably provide clarifications about cross-border arrangements that are subject to these reporting requirements, reporting exemption cases for intermediaries, and the reporting deadlines. |
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Belgium |
On 31 August and on 26 October, it was announced in the Official Gazette that the Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers would appeal against the Belgian DAC 6 rules before the Constitutional Court. On 23 November, English versions of the XML user guide and the XML validation rule manual were published on the SPF website. The French and Dutch versions should also be released soon. |
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Bulgaria |
On 4 August, Decree 159 extending the deadlines for reporting financial accounts under the common reporting standard (CRS) and for cross-border arrangements (DAC 6) was published in the Official Gazette. |
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Czech Republic |
On 14 August, Law 343/2020 was published in the Official Gazette. The fourth chapter of this law implements the DAC 6 rules into the Czech Republic’s domestic legislation. On 10 September, Law 367/2020 extending the reporting deadlines in accordance with Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020 was published in the Official Gazette. |
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Denmark |
On 28 October, Law No. 1521 extending the deadlines for reporting financial accounts under the CRS and cross-border arrangements (DAC 6) was published in the Official Gazette. The law extended the DAC 6 reporting deadlines by six months as provided by Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020 and extended the CRS reporting deadline for the year 2019 to 31 December 2020. |
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Estonia |
On 12 November, the Estonian Parliament approved a draft law extending the DAC 6 reporting deadlines as provided by Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020. Once in force, this law will apply retroactively from 30 June 2020. You can view the draft law and its explanatory note at these links. |
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Germany |
On 26 August, the Ministry of Finance published guidelines on the implementation of DAC 6 rules into Germany’s domestic legislation. It includes a communication manual, as well as a FAQ on electronic data transmission and how to use their DAC 6 website. |
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Greece |
On 21 July, the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue issued circular No. E. 2137 on the procedures for the exchange of information and which reporting cases may trigger this exchange. The circular’s scope notably covers CRS, DAC 6 and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) rules. |
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Ireland |
On 3 November, the Revenue updated its DAC 6 guidelines. This update includes a new annex listing the exemptions and reliefs excluded from the scope of hallmark A3. This is a general hallmark linked to the main benefit test and is defined in DAC 6 as follows: “An arrangement that has substantially standardized documentation and/or structure and is available to more than one relevant taxpayer without a need to be substantially customized for implementation.” |
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Italy |
Decree n°100 of 30 July 2020 transposing the DAC 6 rules was published in the Official Gazette. The decree also enacts the six-month deferral of the deadlines in accordance with Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020. For further details, please see Deloitte’s article on this topic. Italy also held a public consultation on the implementation of DAC 6 from 28 July to 15 September 2020. On 20 November, the Ministry of Finance released a Decree providing technical rules and procedures related to DAC 6 reporting. It includes: 1) definitions of various DAC 6 terms; 2) how to report (e.g., describing the arrangement in Italian with a short summary in English); 3) information about the reference number of cross-border mechanisms subject to reporting and their communication to relevant intermediaries and taxpayers; 4) how to determine the standard of knowledge for service providers to qualify as an intermediary; and 5) hallmark application rules with specific examples provided in the Decree’s annex. |
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Jersey |
On 9 September, Regulation No. 112/2020 implementing mandatory disclosure rules for CRS avoidance arrangements and opaque offshore structure regulations was published in the Official Gazette. The regulation sets out the following measures. 1) A 30-day time limit from the date of arrangement for intermediaries to disclose reportable arrangements/structures. 2) A 180-day limit to disclose any CRS avoidance arrangement implemented between 29 October 2014 and the date the regulation entered into force. However, no disclosure will be required if the promoter has documentation to demonstrate the financial account’s aggregate balance or value was less than GB£600,000 immediately before its implementation. 3) A maximum penalty of GB £3,000 for failure to comply with the regulation. |
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Lithuania |
In October, the Lithuanian tax administration held a consultation on the implementation of DAC 6 rules into its domestic legislation. Commentaries to the consultation notably focus on the situation where there is more than one taxpayer involved in the reporting obligation and on the intermediary notion. |
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Luxembourg |
On 19 August and 14 October, the Luxembourg tax administration updated its DAC 6 guidance. A user manual and the XSD schema for the automatic and compulsory exchange of tax information related to cross-border arrangements under DAC 6 were also published on 14 October. These updates notably focus on the XSD schema, as well as the reporting exemption for parent companies that arises when a permanent establishment with no separate legal identity already submits the declaration to be reported. |
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Malta |
On 16 November, the Commissioner for Revenue released an XML user guide and the XML schema on reporting cross-border arrangements under the scope of DAC 6. The user guide sets out the information that must be included in each reportable element of the DAC 6 XML schema. |
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Netherlands |
On 30 September, the Ministry of Finance published Decision 2020-19833 of 29 September 2020 in the Staatscourant. Point 13 of this document focuses on the DAC 6 rules. It confirms the extension of the DAC 6 reporting deadlines and tackles the potential issue of duplicate notifications arising due to some EU Member States not postponing their reporting deadlines. On 16 November, the tax administration updated its guidance regarding its DAC 6 portal, stating that an eRecognition level of 3 or higher will be required to be able to log in to the data portal as a company. |
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Portugal |
On 11 August, Law No. 53/2020 extending the deadlines for reportable cross-border arrangements under DAC 6 was published in the Official Gazette. The deadlines have been extended under the option provided by Directive 2020/876 of 24 June 2020. On 19 November 2020, the State Secretary for Tax Affairs issued Order 444/2020-XXII. This extends the deadline for intermediaries benefiting from a legal privilege to notify relevant taxpayers of their DAC 6 reporting obligations, where the first step of implementation of the cross-border arrangements was taken between 25 June 2018 and 30 June 2020. With respect to these arrangements, the notification deadline for these intermediaries is extended from 1 December 2020 to 15 January 2021. However, the filing deadline for these arrangements is still 28 February 2021. |
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Spain |
On 27 October, the Finance Commission of the Chamber of Deputies approved the draft law implementing the DAC 6 rules into Spain’s domestic law. The draft law has now moved to the Senate for approval. |
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Sweden |
On 9 November, the Swedish tax administration updated its DAC 6 guidance regarding the presence of a permanent establishment (PE). The guidance states that an arrangement must affect both the PE and the company to qualify as a cross-border arrangement. It also clarified in the section "Bara gränsöverskridande arrangemang är rapporteringspliktiga" that an arrangement does not qualify as a cross-border arrangement if: 1) it affects the head office and company in the same country without affecting the activities of the PE; and 2) the company conducts its business in another country without a permanent place of business. On 19 November, new updates were added to the DAC 6 guidance. These updates notably cover the following topics: 1) arrangements for investments in foreign countries with favorable taxes; 2) cash pooling participation and the arm’s length principle; 3) trading or co-owner taxed companies that are not domiciled in any country; 4) transactions under unilateral safe harbor rules for transfer pricing purposes; 5) transfer of difficult-to-value intangible assets between related parties; and 6) cross-border transfer of functions, risks or assets. |
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United Kingdom |
On 25 August, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published a report aiming to explain which intermediaries are involved in cross-border tax arrangements and the potential impact of DAC 6. On 29 October, HRMC issued guidance on reportable cross-border arrangements, including which arrangements are in scope, who is affected, what information should be included, how the reports should be filed, and the relevant deadlines. |
Local specifities
Estonia |
Includes additional hallmarks regarding arrangements affecting the exchange of information on financial accounts included in the implementing law. |
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France |
The French legislation exempts permanent establishments of French intermediaries located outside France from the reporting requirement when the arrangement is related to their activity. |
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Germany |
While the Directive distinguishes between promoters and service providers offering aid, assistance or advice, currently the German bill does not specifically reference service providers. If an intermediary has a German nexus, it will trigger a reporting obligation in Germany, regardless of the relevant taxpayer’s residence and where the tax advantage arises. |
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Italy |
Italian financial institutions will be considered as intermediaries for CRS purposes. |
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Poland |
Includes broader disclosure requirements including domestic arrangements and all taxes. Hallmarks are more broadly defined than DAC 6 standards require. Guidance published on 31 January 2019 provides some clarity on the interpretation of the Polish legislation and sets out how the tax authorities anticipate the reporting process to operate. |
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Portugal |
The law includes domestic arrangements and VAT in its scope, as well as additional hallmarks. |
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Spain |
Individuals can also be considered as intermediaries, according to the current proposal. |
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Sweden |
The law includes domestic arrangements in its scope. |
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Regulations and guidance
- Monitoring of local regulations and guidance
- Identification of any deviations from EU standards
- Adjustment of implementation and design of tailored policy according to local deviations
Retrospective impact assessment and reporting
- Identification of potentially affected entities and stakeholders regarding past EU transactions
- Analysis of intermediary versus relevant taxpayer reporting requirements
- Assistance with reporting requirements within a set deadline (reporting filed by Deloitte on your behalf)
Methodology and oversight for prospective projects
- Establishment of an internal and external procedure to manage and identify prospective DAC6 reportable transactions among intermediaries/countries
- Creation of guidelines and a decision tree for internal and external stakeholders
Communication and training
- Provision of DAC6 knowledge management and training or e-learning and key takeaways for internal or external procedures
Governance and controls
- Establishment of a governance framework
- Creation of a client key escalation process/guidance for reportable transactions
- Assessment of governance through a scoring based on a specific questionnaire (“DAC 6 Readiness”)
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Related pages
Understanding DAC 6
EU tax directive 2018/822 and its effects on cross-border tax arrangement