Council Directive 2004/76/ECShow full title

Article 1

Article 6 of Directive 2003/49/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1)

The title shall be replaced by the following:

“Transitional rules for the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia”

2)

Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be replaced by the following:

“ 1. Greece, Latvia, Poland and Portugal shall be authorised not to apply the provisions of Article 1 until the date of application referred to in Article 17(2) and (3) of Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments(1). During a transitional period of eight years starting on the aforementioned date, the rate of tax on payments of interest or royalties made to an associated company of another Member State or to a permanent establishment situated in another Member State of an associated company of a Member State must not exceed 10% during the first four years and 5% during the final four years.

Lithuania shall be authorised not to apply the provisions of Article 1 until the date of application referred to in Article 17(2) and (3) of Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments(2). During a transitional period of six years starting on the aforementioned date, the rate of tax on payments of royalties made to an associated company of another Member State or to a permanent establishment situated in another Member State of an associated company of a Member State must not exceed 10%. During the first four years of the six-year transitional period, the rate of tax on payments of interest made to an associated company of another Member State or to a permanent establishment situated in another Member State must not exceed 10%; and for the following two years, the rate of tax on such payments of interest must not exceed 5%.

Spain and the Czech Republic shall be authorised, for royalty payments only, not to apply the provisions of Article 1 until the date of application referred to in Article 17(2) and (3) of Directive 2003/48/EC. During a transitional period of six years starting on the aforementioned date, the rate of tax on payments of royalties made to an associated company of another Member State or to a permanent establishment situated in another Member State of an associated company of a Member State must not exceed 10%. Slovakia shall be authorised, for royalty payments only, not to apply the provisions of Article 1 during a transitional period of two years starting on 1 May 2004.

These transitional rules shall, however, remain subject to the continued application of any rate of tax lower than those referred to in the first, second and third subparagraphs provided by bilateral agreements concluded between the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal or Slovakia and other Member States. Before the end of any of the transitional periods mentioned in this paragraph the Council may decide unanimously, on a proposal from the Commission, on a possible extension of the said transitional periods.

2. Where a company of a Member State, or a permanent establishment situated in that Member State of a company of a Member State:

• receives interest or royalties from an associated company of Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland or Portugal,

• receives royalties from an associated company of the Czech Republic, Spain or Slovakia,

• receives interest or royalties from a permanent establishment situated in Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland or Portugal, of an associated company of a Member State, or

• receives royalties from a permanent establishment situated in the Czech Republic, Spain or Slovakia, of an associated company of a Member State,

the first Member State shall allow an amount equal to the tax paid in the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, or Slovakia in accordance with paragraph 1 on that income as a deduction from the tax on the income of the company or permanent establishment which received that income.

3. The deduction provided for in paragraph 2 need not exceed the lower of:

(a)

the tax payable in the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal or Slovakia, on such income on the basis of paragraph 1, or

(b)

that part of the tax on the income of the company or permanent establishment which received the interest or royalties, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to those payments under the domestic law of the Member State of which it is a company or in which the permanent establishment is situated.”.

(1)

L 157, 26.6.2003, p. 38.

(2)

L 157, 26.6.2003, p. 38".