S.I. No. 406/1980:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VALUE-ADDED) (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AS REGARDS THE RECOVERY OF CLAIMS) REGULATIONS, 1980.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VALUE-ADDED) (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AS REGARDS THE RECOVERY OF CLAIMS) REGULATIONS, 1980.

I, GENE FITZGERALD, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 76/308/EEC of 15 March, 1976¹ as amended by Council Directive No. 79/1071/EEC of 6 December, 1979² and Commission Directive No. 77/794/EEC of 4 November, 1977³ in so far as they relate to value-added tax, hereby make the following regulations:

¹ OJ No. L73, 19 March 1976.

² OJ No. L331, 27 December 1979.

³ OJ No. L333, 24 December 1977.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Value-Added Tax) (Mutual Assistance as regards the Recovery of Claims) Regulations, 1980.

2. (1) In these Regulations--

"another Member State" means a Member State of the European Communities other than the State;

"the Commission Directive" means Commission Directive No. 77/794/EEC of 4 November, 1977;

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 76/308/EEC of 15 March, 1976, as amended by Council Directive No. 79/1071/EEC of 6 December, 1979.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive or in the Commission Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Council Directive or the Commission Directive, as the case may be.

3. The amount of value-added tax specified in any request duly made pursuant to the Council Directive by an authority in another Member State for the recovery in the State of any amount claimed by that authority in such Member State pursuant to a claim referred to in Article 2 of the said Directive shall be recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction by the Minister for Finance and for the purposes of the foregoing the amount shall be regarded as being a debt due to the Minister for Finance, by the person against whom the claim is made by such authority, in respect of a duty or tax under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners or a simple contract debt due by such person to the aforesaid Minister, as may be appropriate.

4. The Rules laid down in--

( a ) Articles 4 to 12 and 14 to 17 of the Council Directive, and

( b ) Articles 2 to 21 of the Commission Directive,

shall apply in relation to claims in respect of value-added tax referred to in Article 2 of the Council Directive which arise in another Member State and which are the subject of legal proceedings instituted in pursuance of these Regulations.

5. In any legal proceedings instituted in pursuance of these Regulations any document which is in the form specified in Annex III to the Commission Directive and which purports to be authenticated in the manner specified in Article 11 of that Directive shall be received in evidence without proof of any seal or signature thereon or that any signatory thereto was the proper person to sign it, and such document shall, until the contrary is shown, be sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated.

6. (1) Legal proceedings instituted in pursuance of these Regulations for the recovery of any sum shall be stayed if the defendant satisfies the court that legal proceedings relevant to his liability on the claim to which the proceedings so instituted relate are pending, or are about to be instituted, before a court, tribunal or other competent body in another Member State; but any such stay may be removed if the legal proceedings in such a Member State are not prosecuted or instituted with reasonable expedition.

(2) In any legal proceedings instituted in pursuance of these Regulations it shall be a defence for the defendant to show that a final decision on the claim to which the proceedings relate has been given in his favour by a court, tribunal or other body of competent jurisdiction in another Member State, and, in relation to any part of a claim to which such legal proceedings relate, it shall be a defence for the defendant to show that such a decision has been given in relation to that part of the claim.

(3) No question shall be raised in any legal proceedings instituted in pursuance of these Regulations as to the defendant's liability on the claim to which the proceedings relate except as provided in paragraph (2) of this Regulation.

(4) For the purposes of this Regulation legal proceedings shall be regarded as pending so long as an appeal may be brought against any decision in the proceedings; and for the said purposes a decision against which no appeal lies or against which an appeal lies within a period which has expired without an appeal having been brought shall be regarded as being a final decision.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of December, 1980.

GENE FITZGERALD,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations provide for the extension at national level of EEC Directives on mutual assistance between member States of the Community for the recovery of certain claims to VAT, as required by an amending Council Directive of 6 December, 1979.