On 24 June, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a directive giving EU Member States the option to defer by six months the timetable for reporting under DAC6.

On 25 June, HM Revenue & Customs confirmed that the UK will defer reporting by 6 months in order to provide taxpayers and intermediaries dealing with the impacts of Covid-19 with additional time to prepare. This follows similar confirmation by the Luxembourg Government on 4 June. The Irish Revenue indicated on 18 June that Ireland will also adopt the deferral. It remains to be seen if all Member States will extend their reporting deadlines.

While the additional breathing space afforded by the deferral in the UK, Luxembourg and Ireland will be welcome to many in the EU fund industry, in most cases there remains significant work to do if taxpayers and intermediaries are to be ready for the new reporting deadlines. For further information regarding the impact of DAC6 on the asset management industry please see our recent webinar: “DAC6: What Should Asset Managers Be Doing Now?”.

Background

By way of brief reminder, DAC6 (sometimes referred to as “MDR” – the Mandatory Disclosure Rules) requires the identification and reporting of cross-border arrangements involving at least one EU Member State (for these purposes including the UK) and which feature one or more ‘hallmarks’ which the EU consider to be indicative of potentially aggressive tax arrangements.

Deferral of Reporting

Under the original reporting timetable:

• Arrangements for which the first step was implemented between 25 June 2018 and 20 June 2020 (the “Historical Arrangements”) were to be reported by 31 August 2020; and
• Arrangements that become reportable on or after 1 July 2020 (i.e. arrangements that are, or continue to be, made available for, or ready for implementation on or after 1 July 2020, the “New Arrangements”), were to be reported within 30 days of their first becoming reportable.
   

Following recent developments, in the Member States (for such purposes including the UK) which adopt the six month deferral, the reporting timetable is amended as follows:

• For the Historical Arrangements, reporting is due by 28 February 2021. Note that the historical period itself is unchanged (i.e. the 28 February 2021 reporting date applies to arrangements for which the first step was implemented between 25 June 2018 and 20 June 2020);
• For arrangements for which the first step occurs between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2020, the 30 day period for reporting will begin on 1 January 2021; and
• For arrangements for which the first step occurs after 31 December 2020, reports will be due within 30 days of the triggering event.
   

Possible Further Extension

The EU directive provides for the possibility of a further optional three month extension to the reporting timetable.