Excise Duty Administration
The joint report presents information about the course and result of international cooperation in parallel audits performed by the Supreme Audit Office, the Czech Republic, and the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic, focused on excise duty administration after the accession of both countries into the European Union.
The cooperation was performed pursuant to the Agreement on Audit Cooperation signed in February 2006.
Parallel audits were chosen with respect to radical changes in the excise duty collection system as a result of the accession of the Czech and Slovak Republic into the EU internal market as of 1 May 2004. The functioning of the EU internal market requires free movement of goods, including excisable goods. The basic principle is to enable circulation of tax-free goods up to the date of their presentation for end use. The new legislation adopted in both countries enables movement of goods under tax supervision under the duty suspension arrangement in accordance with the aforementioned principle. The system imposes high requirements on tax authorities and anticipates mutual cooperation of particular administrative authorities of the Member States in the fight against tax fraud.
The cooperation between the SAO, CR and the SAO SR enabled comparison of legislation governing the field of excise duties in both countries, procedures of the Czech and Slovak Customs Authorities at the start and end of the movement of goods under the duty-suspension arrangement between both countries, registration of movements and also comparison of information exchanged between Customs Authorities under international cooperation.