Activities of Molly SCOTT CATO related to 2018/0413(CNS)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards measures to strengthen administrative cooperation in order to combat VAT fraud PDF (206 KB) DOC (91 KB)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 8 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2 a) VAT fraud is often linked with organised crime and a very small number of those organised networks can be responsible for billions of euro in cross- border VAT fraud, affecting not only revenue collection in Member States but also having a negative impact on the Union’s own resources. Therefore, Member States have a shared responsibility for the protection of the VAT revenue of all Member States.
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) A central electronic information system ‘CESOP’ where Member States transmit payment information they store at national level, would achieve the objective of fighting e-commerce VAT fraud more effectively. This system should aggregate, in relation to individual payees, all VAT relevant information regarding payment transactions transmitted by Member States and should allow for a full overview of payments received by payees from payers located in the Member States. Furthermore, this information system should recognise multiple records from the same payment transactions, clean the information received from the Member States (e.g. remove duplicates, correct error in data, etc.) and permit Eurofisc liaison officials of Member States to cross-check payment data with the VAT information they dispose of and make enquiries for the purpose of an investigation into suspected VAT fraud or to detect VAT fraud. All Member States should participate in all Eurofisc working groups and appoint liaison officials accordingly.
Amendment 12 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11 a (new)
Recital 11 a (new)
(11 a) Given the low number of Member States publishing estimates of VAT losses due to intra-community fraud, having comparable data on intra-Community VAT fraud would contribute to better targeted cooperation between Member States. Therefore, the Commission, together with the Member States, should develop a common statistical approach to quantify and analyse VAT fraud.
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) It is necessary and proportionate that payment service providers retain records of the information in relation to payment transactions for a twohree-years period to assist Member States fight e- commerce VAT fraud and detect fraudsters. This period constitute the minimum necessary for Member States to carry out controls effectively and investigate into suspected VAT fraud or detect VAT fraud, and it is proportionate considering the massive volume of the payment information and its sensitivity in terms of protection of personal data.
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Each Member States’ Eurofisc liaison officials should be able to access and analyse the information in relation to the payment transactions for the purpose of fighting VAT fraud. Duly accredited persons of the Commission should access the information only for the purpose of developing and maintaining the central electronic information system and to ensure the proper implementation of this regulation. Both groups of users should be bound by the confidentiality rules laid down in this Regulation. In addition, it should be possible for the Commission to conduct visits in Member States to evaluate how the administrative cooperation arrangements work.
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Chapter II – Section 2 – Article 12a (new)
Chapter II – Section 2 – Article 12a (new)
(1 a) in Section 2 of CHAPTER II, the following Article is added: "Article 12a All Member States shall implement a set of operational targets for reducing the percentage of late replies and improving the quality of requests for information and shall inform the Commission about those targets."
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 24c – paragraph 2
Article 24c – paragraph 2
2. CESOP shall retain the information referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 for a maximum period of twohree years from the expiry of the year when the information was transferred into the system.
Amendment 19 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new)
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Chapter X – Article 36 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Chapter X – Article 36 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
(2 a) in Article 36(2), the introductory part is replaced by the following: "2. The liaison officials of the Member States participating in a particularthe relevant Eurofisc working field (hereinafter ‘participating Eurofisc liaison officials’) shall designate a coordinator (hereinafter ‘Eurofisc working field coordinator’), among the participating Eurofisc liaison officials, for a limited period of time. Eurofisc working field coordinators shall: " Or. en (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/904/oj)
Amendment 20 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – point d
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 24d
Article 24d
The Commission shall grant access to information stored in CESOP to Eurofisc liaison officials, who hold a user identifier for CESOP, where the information is required for the purpose of investigations into suspected VAT fraud or to detect VAT fraud. In addition, it should be possible for the Commission to conduct visits in Member States to evaluate how cooperation arrangements on cross-border VAT fraud between Member States work.
Amendment 21 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Article 37 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Article 37 – subparagraph 1a (new)
The annual report shall at a minimum indicate in detail in relation to each Member State the number of controls carried out andleast indicate in detail in relation to each Member State: - the number of controls carried out; - the number of officials authorised to be present in the offices of the administrative authorities of another Member State and the number of officials present during the administrative enquiries carried out in the territory of the requested Member State; - the number of simultaneous controls organised with one or several Member States and the number of participation of officials to pre-selection meetings for simultaneous controls; - the number of Joint Audit Teams each Member States has participated in; - the actions done in order to inform auditors about the instruments under this Regulation; - the number of qualified human resources to ensure presence in administrative offices, participation in administrative enquiries and simultaneous controls (as referred to in Articles 28 to 30); - the number of staff in the single central liaison office, other designated liaison departments and competent officials who can directly exchange information on the basis of this Regulation (as referred to in Article 4) and how information is being collected and exchanged between these bodies; and - the additional VAT assessed and collected as a result of the information processed pursuant to Article 24d.
Amendment 22 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Chapter XIII – Article 49a (new)
Chapter XIII – Article 49a (new)
(3 a) in CHAPTER XIII, the following Article is added: "Article 49a Member States and the Commission shall establish a common system of collecting statistics on intra-Community VAT fraud and shall publish national estimates of VAT losses resulting from that fraud, as well as estimates for the Union as a whole. The Commission shall adopt by means of implementing acts the practical arrangements for such statistical system. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 58(2)."
Amendment 23 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new)
Regulation (EU) No 904/2010
Chapter XIV – Article 50 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Chapter XIV – Article 50 – paragraph 1 a (new)
(3 a) in Article 50 of CHAPTER XIV, the following paragraph is inserted: "1a. When a Member State provides wider information to a third country than that provided for under Chapters II and III of this Regulation, that Member State may not refuse to provide that information to any other Member State requesting cooperation or having an interest to receive it."