Key Benefits:
The public concerned: services of the General Directorate of Public Finance and the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Rights.
Subject: conditions for the application of the provisions of sections L. 283 A to L. 283 F of the Tax Procedures Book and 349 ter to 349 octies of Customs Code relating to requests for international assistance in the recovery of certain public claims.
Entry into force: the text comes into force on the day after its publication. It applies to requests for mutual recovery assistance filed as of January 1, 2012.
Notice : the decree is taken in application of theArticle 59 of Act No. 2011-1978 of 28 December 2011 for 2011 and implements sections L. 283 A to L. 283 F of the Tax Procedures Book and Articles 349 ter to 349 octies of Customs Code. It provides the practical modalities for processing requests for recovery assistance between the Member States of the European Union.
References: This Decree transposes Council Directive 2010/24/EU of 16 March 2010 on mutual assistance in the collection of claims relating to taxes, taxes, fees and other measures. It is taken for application of theArticle 59 of Act No. 2011-1978 of 28 December 2011 Corrigendum for 2011.
This decree and the book of tax procedures that it amends can be found on the site Légifrance (http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr).
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry and the Minister of Budget, Public Accounts and State Reform, spokesperson for the Government,
Considering Council Directive 2010/24/EU of 16 March 2010 on mutual assistance in the collection of claims relating to taxes, taxes, duties and other measures;
Having regard to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1189/2011 of 18 November 2011 setting out the terms and conditions of application relating to certain provisions of Council Directive 2010/24/EU on mutual assistance in the collection of claims relating to taxes, taxes, duties and other measures;
Vu le Customs Codeincluding articles 349 ter to 349 octies;
Vu le book of tax proceduresincluding articles L. 283 A to L. 283 F;
Vu la Act No. 2011-1978 of 28 December 2011 for 2011, including its article 59;
Vu le Decree No. 62-1587 of 29 December 1962 amended by-law on public accounting,
Decrete:
The book of tax procedures is amended as follows:
I. ― The second paragraph of section R. 283 A-1 is replaced by five paragraphs as follows:
"It may concern:
« 1° A debtor;
« 2° A co-debiter;
« 3° A person, other than the debtor, held to pay the debt under the provisions in force in the requesting Member State;
« 4° A third party holding property belonging to one of the above-mentioned persons or having debts to one of these persons. »
II. Sections R. 283 A-2 to R. 283 A-4 are replaced by the following:
"Art. R. 283 A-2. - The request for assistance, the unified notification form and the standardized instrument for the adoption of enforceable measures in French territory are accompanied by a translation into French.
"Documents whose notification is requested may be sent to an official language of the requesting Member State.
"Financial authorities may request the translation into the French language of documents other than those mentioned in the second paragraph that accompany the notification request.
"Art. R. 283 A-3. - The request for information, notification and recovery or precautionary measures shall be in writing.
"This request as well as all documents allowing the adoption of enforceable or conservative measures or any other debt-related documents are transmitted electronically to the requested Member State.
"In the event of technical difficulties, they may validly be forwarded by mail without the validity of the information obtained or the measures taken in the context of a request for assistance being compromised.
"Art. R. 283 A-4. - The request for notification from the requesting Member State is accompanied by a uniform notification form which contains at least the following information:
« 1° The name and address of the recipient and any other information useful to his identification;
« 2° The purpose of the notification and the time limit within which it must be made;
« 3° A description of the documents that are attached as well as the nature and amount of the receivable concerned;
« 4° The names, addresses and contact information of the responsible service of the document that is attached and, if different, from the service to which additional information may be obtained regarding the notice or decision including a notified judicial decision or the possibility of dispute of the obligation to pay. »
III. ― Section R. 283 B-1 is replaced by the following:
"Art. R. 283 B-1. - The requested authority shall inform the requesting authority of the reasons set out in sections L. 283 A to L. 283 C that oppose the request for assistance to be satisfied. »
IV. ― Section R. 283 B-9 is amended as follows:
1° In the first paragraph, the words: ", after consulting the requesting Member State," are deleted and after the words: "to grant payment to the debtor" are inserted the words: "or to authorize a phased payment of the debt. They inform the requesting Member State";
2° In the second paragraph, after the words: "possible payment deadlines" are inserted the words: "or authorized phased payment" and the words: "the European Community that has requested assistance" are replaced by the word "claimer".
V. ∙ Chapter IV of Part II title IV is supplemented by articles R. 283 C-1 to R. 283 D-1 as follows:
"Art. R. 283 C-1. - The uniform instrument allowing the adoption of enforceable measures in the requested Member State and established by the requesting Member State, referred to in Article VI L. 283 C, shall contain at least the following information:
« 1° The information to identify the enforceable title, the period covered by the receivable, the dates useful to the undertaking of the enforcement measures, the nature, the date of recovery and the amount of the debt to be recovered (principal, interest, penalties, fines, increases and fees);
« 2° The name, address of the recipient and any other information useful to his identification;
« 3° The names, addresses and contact information of the department responsible for the liquidation of the debt and, if different, of the service to which additional information may be obtained regarding the debt or possibilities to challenge the obligation to pay.
"Art. R. 283 C-2. - I. The financial authorities verify that the request for recovery or interim measures addressed to them by the requesting Member State is accompanied by the uniformed instrument referred to in Article L. 283 C, VI.
“II. ― This request contains a declaration certifying that the conditions set out in sections L. 283 B and L. 283 C for the initiation of the mutual assistance procedure are met. It may also be accompanied by other documents relating to the receivable concerned, from the requesting Member State.
"III. ― The request for interim measures shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by the document prepared by the requesting authority authorizing it, in accordance with its legislation, to take interim measures and any other documents relating to the receivable concerned.
"Art. R. 283 C-3. - I. The dispute concerning the validity of the notification by the requesting Member State of the receivable, the enforceable title or the uniformed instrument allowing the adoption of enforceable measures in the requested Member State shall be brought by its consignee to the competent body of the requesting Member State.
"Any contestation relating to the receivable, as an enforceable title established by the requesting Member State or the uniformed instrument allowing the adoption of enforceable measures in the requested Member State shall be brought before the competent body of the requesting Member State.
"When the challenge of the receivable, the enforceable title or the unified instrument allowing the adoption of enforceable measures in the requested Member State intervenes during the recovery procedure carried out in the requested State, the State shall inform the debtor that it shall bring the dispute before the competent body of the requesting Member State.
"The requesting Member State shall inform the requested Member State of this dispute and shall specify the amount of the uncontested claim.
“II. ― Any contestation relating to the enforceable measures taken by the requested Member State or the validity of the notification by the same Member State of the receivable, enforceable title or uniform instrument allowing the adoption of enforceable measures in the requested Member State shall be brought by its consignee to the competent body of the requested Member State.
"Art. R. 283 C-4. - I. ― The requesting State shall promptly inform the financial authorities of any changes in its application for recovery and shall provide the reasons for such changes.
"If this amendment follows a court decision on the disputes referred to in I of Article R. 283 C-3 rendered in the requesting Member State, this decision must be attached to the amendment request accompanied by a new uniformed instrument.
"Financial administrations continue to recover on the basis of this new instrument.
"However, recovery procedures or precautionary measures taken by financial administrations on the basis of the original uniformed instrument can be pursued on the basis of the new uniformed instrument.
"The new uniformed instrument meets the conditions set out in Article L. 283 C VI and includes the elements referred to in Article R. 283 C-1.
“II. ― The requesting State shall promptly inform the financial authorities of the withdrawal of its application for recovery and shall communicate the reasons thereof.
"Art. R. 283 C-5. - The requesting authority and the required authority shall inform each other with any measure that, pursuant to the XII of Article L. 283 C, interrupts, suspends or extends the limitation period of the debt for which the recovery or interim measures have been requested or that is likely to produce such an effect.
"Art. R. 283 D-1. - Documents and information provided to financial administrations by the requesting Member State may only be transmitted to the following persons:
« 1° The person referred to in the request for assistance;
« 2° Persons and authorities responsible for the collection of claims for the sole purpose of the debt;
« 3° Judicial authorities seized of cases concerning the collection of claims. »
VI. ∙ Articles R. 283 A-5 to R. 283 A-9, R. 283 A-11 to R. 283 A-18, R. 283 B-2 to R. 283 B-8 and R. 283 B-10 are repealed.
The provisions of sections R. 283 A-1 to R. 283 D-1 of the Tax Procedures Book apply in the same conditions to claims referred to inArticle 349 ter of Customs Code.
The provisions of sections R. 283 A-1 to R. 283 D-1 of the Tax Procedures Book apply to the collection of claims referred to in articles 76 and 80 of Decree No. 62-1587 of 29 December 1962 amended by-law on public accounting, excluding criminal sanctions.
The Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry and the Minister of Budget, Public Accounts and State Reform, spokesman of the Government, are responsible, each with regard to it, for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done on 28 March 2012.
François Fillon
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Economy,
finance and industry,
François Baroin
Minister of Budget, Public Accounts
and state reform,
Government spokesperson,
Valérie Pécresse
