Council Directive 2011/16/EUShow full title

SECTION II U.K. Mandatory automatic exchange of information

Article 8 U.K. Scope and conditions of mandatory automatic exchange of information

1. The competent authority of each Member State shall, by automatic exchange, communicate to the competent authority of any other Member State, information regarding taxable periods as from 1 January 2014 that is available concerning residents in that other Member State, on the following specific categories of income and capital as they are to be understood under the national legislation of the Member State which communicates the information:

(a) income from employment;

(b) director’s fees;

(c) life insurance products not covered by other Union legal instruments on exchange of information and other similar measures;

(d) pensions;

(e) ownership of and income from immovable property.

2. Before 1 January 2014, Member States shall inform the Commission of the categories listed in paragraph 1 in respect of which they have information available. They shall inform the Commission of any subsequent changes thereto.

[F1 3. The competent authority of a Member State may indicate to the competent authority of any other Member State that it does not wish to receive information on one or several of the categories of income and capital referred to in paragraph 1. It shall also inform the Commission thereof.

A Member State may be considered as not wishing to receive information in accordance with paragraph 1, if it does not inform the Commission of any single category in respect of which it has information available.]

[F2 3a. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require its Reporting Financial Institutions to perform the reporting and due diligence rules included in Annexes I and II and to ensure effective implementation of, and compliance with, such rules in accordance with Section IX of Annex I.

Pursuant to the applicable reporting and due diligence rules contained in Annexes I and II, the competent authority of each Member State shall, by automatic exchange, communicate within the deadline laid down in point (b) of paragraph 6 to the competent authority of any other Member State, the following information regarding taxable periods as from 1 January 2016 concerning a Reportable Account:

(a) the name, address, TIN(s) and date and place of birth (in the case of an individual) of each Reportable Person that is an Account Holder of the account and, in the case of any Entity that is an Account Holder and that, after application of due diligence rules consistent with the Annexes, is identified as having one or more Controlling Persons that is a Reportable Person, the name, address, and TIN(s) of the Entity and the name, address, TIN(s) and date and place of birth of each Reportable Person;

(b) the account number (or functional equivalent in the absence of an account number);

(c) the name and identifying number (if any) of the Reporting Financial Institution;

(d) the account balance or value (including, in the case of a Cash Value Insurance Contract or Annuity Contract, the Cash Value or surrender value) as of the end of the relevant calendar year or other appropriate reporting period or, if the account was closed during such year or period, the closure of the account;

(e) in the case of any Custodial Account:

(i)

the total gross amount of interest, the total gross amount of dividends, and the total gross amount of other income generated with respect to the assets held in the account, in each case paid or credited to the account (or with respect to the account) during the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period; and

(ii)

the total gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of Financial Assets paid or credited to the account during the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period with respect to which the Reporting Financial Institution acted as a custodian, broker, nominee, or otherwise as an agent for the Account Holder;

(f) in the case of any Depository Account, the total gross amount of interest paid or credited to the account during the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period; and

(g) in the case of any account not described in point (e) or point (f), the total gross amount paid or credited to the Account Holder with respect to the account during the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period with respect to which the Reporting Financial Institution is the obligor or debtor, including the aggregate amount of any redemption payments made to the Account Holder during the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period.

For the purposes of the exchange of information under this paragraph, unless otherwise foreseen in this paragraph or in the Annexes, the amount and characterisation of payments made with respect to a Reportable Account shall be determined in accordance with national legislation of the Member State which communicates the information.

The first and second subparagraphs of this paragraph shall prevail over point (c) of paragraph 1 or any other Union legal instrument, including Council Directive 2003/48/EC (1) , to the extent that the exchange of information at issue would fall within the scope of point (c) of paragraph 1 or of any other Union legal instrument, including Directive 2003/48/EC.]

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[F1 6. The communication of information shall take place as follows:

(a) for the categories laid down in paragraph 1: at least once a year, within six months following the end of the tax year of the Member State during which the information became available;

(b) for the information laid down in paragraph 3a: annually, within nine months following the end of the calendar year or other appropriate reporting period to which the information relates.]

7. The Commission shall adopt the practical arrangements for the automatic exchange of information, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 26(2), before the dates referred to in Article 29(1).

[F2 7a. For the purposes of subparagraphs B.1(c) and C.17(g) of Section VIII of Annex I, each Member State shall, by 31 July 2015 , provide to the Commission the list of entities and accounts that are to be treated, respectively, as Non-Reporting Financial Institutions and Excluded Accounts. Each Member State shall also inform the Commission if any changes in this respect occur. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union a compiled list of the information received and shall update the list as necessary.

Member States shall ensure that those types of Non-Reporting Financial Institutions and Excluded Accounts satisfy all the requirements listed in subparagraphs B.1(c) and C.17(g) of Section VIII of Annex I, and in particular that the status of a Financial Institution as a Non-Reporting Financial Institution or the status of an account as an Excluded Account does not frustrate the purposes of this Directive.]

8. Where Member States agree on the automatic exchange of information for additional categories of income and capital in bilateral or multilateral agreements which they conclude with other Member States, they shall communicate those agreements to the Commission which shall make those agreements available to all the other Member States

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Council Directive 2014/107/EU of 9 December 2014 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

F2 Inserted by Council Directive 2014/107/EU of 9 December 2014 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

F3 Deleted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

[F4 Article 8a U.K. Scope and conditions of mandatory automatic exchange of information on advance cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements

1. The competent authority of a Member State, where an advance cross-border ruling or an advance pricing arrangement was issued, amended or renewed after 31 December 2016 shall, by automatic exchange, communicate information thereon to the competent authorities of all other Member States as well as to the European Commission, with the limitation of cases set out in paragraph 8 of this Article, in accordance with applicable practical arrangements adopted pursuant to Article 21.

2. The competent authority of a Member State shall, in accordance with applicable practical arrangements adopted pursuant to Article 21, also communicate information to the competent authorities of all other Member States as well as to the European Commission, with the limitation of cases set out in paragraph 8 of this Article, on advance cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements issued, amended or renewed within a period beginning five years before 1 January 2017 .

If advance cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements are issued, amended or renewed between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2013 , such communication shall take place under the condition that they were still valid on 1 January 2014 .

If advance cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements are issued, amended or renewed between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016 , such communication shall take place irrespective of whether they are still valid.

Member States may exclude from the communication referred to in this paragraph, information on advance cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements issued, amended or renewed before 1 April 2016 to a particular person or a group of persons, excluding those conducting mainly financial or investment activities, with a group-wide annual net turnover, as defined in point (5) of Article 2 of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) , of less than EUR 40 000 000 (or the equivalent amount in any other currency) in the fiscal year preceding the date of issuance, amendment or renewal of those cross-border rulings and advance pricing arrangements.

3. Bilateral or multilateral advance pricing arrangements with third countries shall be excluded from the scope of automatic exchange of information under this Article where the international tax agreement under which the advance pricing arrangement was negotiated does not permit its disclosure to third parties. Such bilateral or multilateral advance pricing arrangements will be exchanged under Article 9, where the international tax agreement under which the advance pricing arrangement was negotiated permits its disclosure, and the competent authority of the third country gives permission for the information to be disclosed.

However, where the bilateral or multilateral advance pricing arrangements would be excluded from the automatic exchange of information under the first sentence of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the information identified in paragraph 6 of this Article referred to in the request that lead to issuance of such a bilateral or multilateral advance pricing arrangement shall instead be exchanged under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply in a case where an advance cross-border ruling exclusively concerns and involves the tax affairs of one or more natural persons.

5. The exchange of information shall take place as follows:

(a) in respect of the information exchanged pursuant to paragraph 1 — within three months following the end of the half of the calendar year during which the advance cross-border rulings or advance pricing arrangements have been issued, amended or renewed;

(b) in respect of the information exchanged pursuant to paragraph 2 — before 1 January 2018 .

6. The information to be communicated by a Member State pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall include the following:

(a) the identification of the person, other than a natural person, and where appropriate the group of persons to which it belongs;

(b) a summary of the content of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement, including a description of the relevant business activities or transactions or series of transactions provided in abstract terms, without leading to the disclosure of a commercial, industrial or professional secret or of a commercial process, or of information whose disclosure would be contrary to public policy;

(c) the dates of issuance, amendment or renewal of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement;

(d) the start date of the period of validity of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement, if specified;

(e) the end date of the period of validity of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement, if specified;

(f) the type of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement;

(g) the amount of the transaction or series of transactions of the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement if such amount is referred to in the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement;

(h) the description of the set of criteria used for the determination of the transfer pricing or the transfer price itself in the case of an advance pricing arrangement;

(i) the identification of the method used for determination of the transfer pricing or the transfer price itself in the case of an advance pricing arrangement;

(j) the identification of the other Member States, if any, likely to be concerned by the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement;

(k) the identification of any person, other than a natural person, in the other Member States, if any, likely to be affected by the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement (indicating to which Member States the affected persons are linked); and

(l) the indication whether the information communicated is based upon the advance cross-border ruling or advance pricing arrangement itself or upon the request referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article.

7. To facilitate the exchange of information referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt the practical arrangements necessary for the implementation of this Article, including measures to standardise the communication of the information set out in paragraph 6 of this Article, as part of the procedure for establishing the standard form provided for in Article 20(5).

8. Information as defined under points (a), (b), (h) and (k) of paragraph 6 of this Article shall not be communicated to the European Commission.

9. The competent authority of the Member States concerned, identified under paragraph 6(j), shall confirm, if possible by electronic means, the receipt of the information to the competent authority which provided the information without delay and in any event no later than seven working days. This measure shall be applicable until the directory referred to in Article 21(5) becomes operational.

10. Member States may, in accordance with Article 5, and having regard to Article 21(4), request additional information, including the full text of an advance cross-border ruling or an advance pricing arrangement.

Textual Amendments

F4 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

[F5 Article 8aa U.K. Scope and conditions of mandatory automatic exchange of information on the country-by-country report

1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require the Ultimate Parent Entity of an MNE Group that is resident for tax purposes in its territory, or any other Reporting Entity in accordance with Section II of Annex III, to file a country-by-country report with respect to its Reporting Fiscal Year within 12 months of the last day of the Reporting Fiscal Year of the MNE Group in accordance with Section II of Annex III.

2. The competent authority of a Member State where the country-by-country report was received pursuant to paragraph 1 shall, by means of automatic exchange and within the deadline laid down in paragraph 4, communicate the country-by-country report to any other Member State in which, on the basis of the information in the country-by-country report, one or more Constituent Entities of the MNE Group of the Reporting Entity are either resident for tax purposes or subject to tax with respect to the business carried out through a permanent establishment.

3. The country-by-country report shall contain the following information with respect to the MNE Group:

(a) aggregate information relating to the amount of revenue, profit (loss) before income tax, income tax paid, income tax accrued, stated capital, accumulated earnings, number of employees, and tangible assets other than cash or cash equivalents with regard to each jurisdiction in which the MNE Group operates;

(b) an identification of each Constituent Entity of the MNE Group setting out the jurisdiction of tax residence of that Constituent Entity and, where different from that jurisdiction of tax residence, the jurisdiction under the laws of which that Constituent Entity is organised, and the nature of the main business activity or activities of that Constituent Entity.

4. The communication shall take place within 15 months of the last day of the Fiscal Year of the MNE Group to which the country-by-country report relates. The first country-by-country report shall be communicated for the Fiscal Year of the MNE Group commencing on or after 1 January 2016 , which shall take place within 18 months of the last day of that Fiscal Year.]

Textual Amendments

F4 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

F5 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2016/881 of 25 May 2016 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

[F6 Article 8ab U.K. Scope and conditions of mandatory automatic exchange of information on reportable cross-border arrangements

1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require intermediaries to file information that is within their knowledge, possession or control on reportable cross-border arrangements with the competent authorities within 30 days beginning:

(a) on the day after the reportable cross-border arrangement is made available for implementation; or

(b) on the day after the reportable cross-border arrangement is ready for implementation; or

(c) when the first step in the implementation of the reportable cross-border arrangement has been made,

whichever occurs first.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, intermediaries referred to in the second paragraph of point 21 of Article 3 shall also be required to file information within 30 days beginning on the day after they provided, directly or by means of other persons, aid, assistance or advice.

2. In the case of marketable arrangements, Member States shall take the necessary measures to require that a periodic report be made by the intermediary every 3 months providing an update which contains new reportable information as referred to in points (a), (d), (g) and (h) of paragraph 14 that has become available since the last report was filed.

3. Where the intermediary is liable to file information on reportable cross-border arrangements with the competent authorities of more than one Member State, such information shall be filed only in the Member State that features first in the list below:

(a) the Member State where the intermediary is resident for tax purposes;

(b) the Member State where the intermediary has a permanent establishment through which the services with respect to the arrangement are provided;

(c) the Member State which the intermediary is incorporated in or governed by the laws of;

(d) the Member State where the intermediary is registered with a professional association related to legal, taxation or consultancy services.

4. Where, pursuant to paragraph 3, there is a multiple reporting obligation, the intermediary shall be exempt from filing the information if it has proof, in accordance with national law, that the same information has been filed in another Member State.

5. Each Member State may take the necessary measures to give intermediaries the right to a waiver from filing information on a reportable cross-border arrangement where the reporting obligation would breach the legal professional privilege under the national law of that Member State. In such circumstances, each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require intermediaries to notify, without delay, any other intermediary or, if there is no such intermediary, the relevant taxpayer of their reporting obligations under paragraph 6.

Intermediaries may only be entitled to a waiver under the first subparagraph to the extent that they operate within the limits of the relevant national laws that define their professions.

6. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require that, where there is no intermediary or the intermediary notifies the relevant taxpayer or another intermediary of the application of a waiver under paragraph 5, the obligation to file information on a reportable cross-border arrangement lie with the other notified intermediary, or, if there is no such intermediary, with the relevant taxpayer.

7. The relevant taxpayer with whom the reporting obligation lies shall file the information within 30 days, beginning on the day after the reportable cross-border arrangement is made available for implementation to that relevant taxpayer, or is ready for implementation by the relevant taxpayer, or when the first step in its implementation has been made in relation to the relevant taxpayer, whichever occurs first.

Where the relevant taxpayer has an obligation to file information on the reportable cross-border arrangement with the competent authorities of more than one Member State, such information shall be filed only with the competent authorities of the Member State that features first in the list below:

(a) the Member State where the relevant taxpayer is resident for tax purposes;

(b) the Member State where the relevant taxpayer has a permanent establishment benefiting from the arrangement;

(c) the Member State where the relevant taxpayer receives income or generates profits, although the relevant taxpayer is not resident for tax purposes and has no permanent establishment in any Member State;

(d) the Member State where the relevant taxpayer carries on an activity, although the relevant taxpayer is not resident for tax purposes and has no permanent establishment in any Member State.

8. Where, pursuant to paragraph 7, there is a multiple reporting obligation, the relevant taxpayer shall be exempt from filing the information if it has proof, in accordance with national law, that the same information has been filed in another Member State.

9. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require that, where there is more than one intermediary, the obligation to file information on the reportable cross-border arrangement lie with all intermediaries involved in the same reportable cross-border arrangement.

An intermediary shall be exempt from filing the information only to the extent that it has proof, in accordance with national law, that the same information referred to in paragraph 14 has already been filed by another intermediary.

10. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require that, where the reporting obligation lies with the relevant taxpayer and where there is more than one relevant taxpayer, the relevant taxpayer that is to file information in accordance with paragraph 6 be the one that features first in the list below:

(a) the relevant taxpayer that agreed the reportable cross-border arrangement with the intermediary;

(b) the relevant taxpayer that manages the implementation of the arrangement.

Any relevant taxpayer shall only be exempt from filing the information to the extent that it has proof, in accordance with national law, that the same information referred to in paragraph 14 has already been filed by another relevant taxpayer.

11. Each Member State may take the necessary measures to require that each relevant taxpayer file information about their use of the arrangement to the tax administration in each of the years for which they use it.

[X1 12. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to require intermediaries and relevant taxpayers to file information on reportable cross-border arrangements the first step of which was implemented between 25 June 2018 and 30 June 2020 . Intermediaries and relevant taxpayers, as appropriate, shall file information on those reportable cross-border arrangements by 31 August 2020 .]

13. The competent authority of a Member State where the information was filed pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 12 of this Article shall, by means of an automatic exchange, communicate the information specified in paragraph 14 of this Article to the competent authorities of all other Member States, in accordance with the practical arrangements adopted pursuant to Article 21.

14. The information to be communicated by the competent authority of a Member State under paragraph 13 shall contain the following, as applicable:

(a) the identification of intermediaries and relevant taxpayers, including their name, date and place of birth (in the case of an individual), residence for tax purposes, TIN and, where appropriate, the persons that are associated enterprises to the relevant taxpayer;

(b) details of the hallmarks set out in Annex IV that make the cross-border arrangement reportable;

(c) a summary of the content of the reportable cross-border arrangement, including a reference to the name by which it is commonly known, if any, and a description in abstract terms of the relevant business activities or arrangements, without leading to the disclosure of a commercial, industrial or professional secret or of a commercial process, or of information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy;

(d) the date on which the first step in implementing the reportable cross-border arrangement has been made or will be made;

(e) details of the national provisions that form the basis of the reportable cross-border arrangement;

(f) the value of the reportable cross-border arrangement;

(g) the identification of the Member State of the relevant taxpayer(s) and any other Member States which are likely to be concerned by the reportable cross-border arrangement;

(h) the identification of any other person in a Member State likely to be affected by the reportable cross-border arrangement, indicating to which Member States such person is linked.

15. The fact that a tax administration does not react to a reportable cross-border arrangement shall not imply any acceptance of the validity or tax treatment of that arrangement.

16. To facilitate the exchange of information referred to in paragraph 13 of this Article, the Commission shall adopt the practical arrangements necessary for the implementation of this Article, including measures to standardise the communication of the information set out in paragraph 14 of this Article, as part of the procedure for establishing the standard form provided for in Article 20(5).

17. The Commission shall not have access to information referred to in points (a), (c) and (h) of paragraph 14.

18. The automatic exchange of information shall take place within one month of the end of the quarter in which the information was filed. The first information shall be communicated by 31 October 2020 .]

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 2018 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 5 June 2018).

Textual Amendments

F4 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

F6 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 2018 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements.

Article 8b U.K. Statistics on automatic exchanges

1. Before 1 January 2018 , Member States shall provide the Commission on an annual basis with statistics on the volume of automatic exchanges under Articles 8 and 8a and, to the extent possible, with information on the administrative and other relevant costs and benefits relating to exchanges that have taken place and any potential changes, for both tax administrations and third parties.

2. Before 1 January 2019 , the Commission shall submit a report that provides an overview and an assessment of the statistics and information received under paragraph 1 of this Article, on issues such as the administrative and other relevant costs and benefits of the automatic exchange of information, as well as practical aspects linked thereto. If appropriate, the Commission shall present a proposal to the Council regarding the categories and the conditions laid down in Article 8(1), including the condition that information concerning residents in other Member States has to be available, or the items referred to in Article 8(3a), or both.

When examining a proposal presented by the Commission, the Council shall assess further strengthening of the efficiency and functioning of the automatic exchange of information and raising the standard thereof, with the aim of providing that:

(a) the competent authority of each Member State shall, by automatic exchange, communicate to the competent authority of any other Member State, information regarding taxable periods as from 1 January 2019 concerning residents in that other Member State, on all categories of income and capital listed in Article 8(1), as they are to be understood under the national legislation of the Member State communicating the information; and

(b) the lists of categories and items laid down in Articles 8(1) and 8(3a) be extended to include other categories and items, including royalties.]

Textual Amendments

F4 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

(1)

[F2 Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments ( OJ L 157, 26.6.2003, p. 38 ).]

(2)

[F4 Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC ( OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19 ).]

Textual Amendments

F2 Inserted by Council Directive 2014/107/EU of 9 December 2014 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.

F4 Inserted by Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.