Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 of 24 February 2016 laying down detailed rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding goods under excise duty suspension pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 of 2 May 2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2073/2004^f1, and in particular, Article 9(2), Article 15(5) and Article 16(3) thereof,

After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor;

Whereas:

A computerised system is principally to be used for the exchanges of information provided for under Articles 8, 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 regarding goods under excise duty suspension. It is therefore necessary to lay down the structure and content of the mutual administrative assistance documents that convey that information.

In order to allow for effective control of goods under excise duty suspension, the requesting authority should be able to request the history of a movement of goods under excise duty suspension within the Union from another competent authority by supplying the administrative reference code of the relevant electronic administrative document, assigned in accordance with Article 21(3) of Council Directive 2008/118/EC^f2. Requested authorities should be able to provide automatic responses to such requests. The response should include all electronic documents and other information exchanged in accordance with the provisions of Articles 21 to 25 of Directive 2008/118/EC.

Where the requesting authority does not know the administrative reference code of the electronic administrative document under the cover of which a movement of goods under excise duty suspension within the Union takes place, that requesting authority should be able to obtain the relevant administrative reference code by supplying other relevant information concerning the movement.

Some investigations of trader compliance with the provisions of Chapter III and Chapter IV of Directive 2008/118/EC require the collection of information that can only be found outside of the computerised system. Therefore the computerised system should, for the purposes of finding such information, support the transmission of requests for administrative cooperation and of responses to such requests. The computerised system should also support the sending of legally justified refusals by requested authorities.

The computerised system should provide standard formats for mutual administrative assistance documents to support the mandatory exchange of information where an irregularity or an infringement of legislation on excise duties has occurred, or is suspected to have occurred.

It should be ensured that the computerised system is used for information that is optionally exchanged in the same way as for information that is exchanged on a mandatory basis. The same mutual administrative assistance documents should be used in both cases.

It should be possible for the competent authorities of the Member States to request and receive feedback by uniform means on the follow-up action taken on the basis of information that has been exchanged.

Detailed rules should be laid down allowing for the exchange of information for the purposes of administrative cooperation when the computerised system is not available and for the recording of that information in the computerised system when it becomes available again.

The situations under which Member States should use fall-back mutual administrative assistance documents for the mandatory exchange of information should be established.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Excise Duty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: