The European Parliament adopted, by 597 votes to 19 with 8 abstentions, a legislative resolution amending the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1798/2003 to combat tax evasion connected with intra-Community transactions.
The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by José Manuel GARCIA-MARGALLO y MARFIL (EPP-ED, SP) on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
The main amendments – adopted in the framework of the consultation procedure – are as follows:
- several amendments clarify the procedure applicable to the implementing measures, the regulatory procedure;
- Parliament specified that Member States and the Commission shall periodically evaluate the application of this Regulation. The Commission shall pool information relating to the Member States' actions against fraud, shall publicise the most successful, and shall propose measures that it considers most appropriate for remedying fraudulent behaviour;
- the Commission shall draw up a set of indicators for defining the areas in which the risk of non-compliance with tax law is greater than others. National tax authorities' measures shall be inspired by the need to remedy fraud and facilitate law-abiding behaviour by honest taxpayers;
- a list of statistical data needed for evaluation of the application of the Regulation shall be determined in accordance with the regulatory procedure. On the basis of the data thus compiled, the Commission shall draw up a set of indicators with a view to ascertaining to what extent each Member State will cooperate with the Commission and the other Member States in providing them with the available information and offering them the necessary assistance for remedying fraud. Those reports shall be made available to the public;
- the European Parliament shall be fully informed of the measures envisaged, in accordance with point 5 of the Agreement between the European Parliament and the Commission on procedures for implementing Council Decision 1999/468/EC.