The law dated 29 March 2013 relating to administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (the "Law") aims at (i) transposing Council Directive 2011/16/EU into Luxembourg law and (ii) strengthening administrative cooperation between Member States in the field of taxation. The Law also abrogates amended law dated 15 March 1979 concerning the international administrative assistance in the field of direct taxation.
The important new elements introduced by the Law are the following:
- substantial extension of the scope of administrative cooperation;
- information to be exchanged on request now includes information held by banks and other financial institutions;
- introduction of an automatic and mandatory exchange of certain information;
- setting of timeframe for the communication of information;
- introduction of other types of administrative cooperation;
- use of standardised forms, formats and channels of communication; and
- introduction of the rule of communication between the central offices.
The application of administrative cooperation is not anymore limited to direct taxes but has been extended to all types of duties and taxes, except for value added tax, customs and excises duties, and social contributions as administrative cooperation in these fields is governed by other legal provisions.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
