DAC 6: THE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR CROSS-BORDER MECHANISMS SHALL TAKE EFFECT FROM 2021

Starting from the original text of Directive 2011/16 / EU on administrative cooperation between tax administrations in the European context (DAC 1) – which lays the foundations and regulates, in fact, the collaboration between the tax authorities within the European Union – continuous and significant additions and changes have been made over time which have significantly expanded the scope of application of the automatic exchange of information.

The scope of application of the legislation, initially limited to five specific income categories, has been repeatedly extended to include, following Directive 2018/222 (known as DAC 6), the automatic exchange of information on potential aggressive tax planning strategies.

DAC 6 imposes an information obligation on intermediaries (e.g. credit institutions, lawyers, chartered accountants) and on the taxpayer concerned, who have designed, marketed or promoted certain potentially aggressive cross-border tax planning mechanisms, in so far as they have the characteristics set out in the Directive, or who have provided, the means of enabling taxpayers to implement these mechanisms and obtain their benefits.

The obligation to communicate these mechanisms to the Financial Administration shall take effect from the year 2021 and shall be fulfilled within 30 days of the day following that on which the cross-border mechanism is made available for implementation.