CFE Opinion Statement on DAC6 as regards the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The CFE has issued a statement on the decisions of the CJEU in C-694/20 (Orde van Vlaamse Balies) and Case C-623/22 (Belgian Association of Tax Lawyers) on the validity of certain aspects of DAC6 as regards the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the “DAC6 cases”).
This Opinion Statement focuses on questions of law and the scope of legal professional privilege as a waiver to the disclosure obligations established by DAC for fiscal intermediaries. The Statement also seeks to explain and analyse the CJEU’s reasoning regarding the scope of the invalidity and the justification of the validity of certain aspects of DAC6.
In the Statement, the CFE identifies that DAC6 raises numerous interpretative difficulties and has changed the landscape of reporting obligations. The CFE welcomes the fact that the Court has declared that the DAC6 is invalid insofar as it concerns the obligation imposed on intermediary lawyers to notify some personal data to non-client intermediaries, based on the fundamental role that lawyers play in a democratic society. However, it regrets that non-lawyer intermediaries only enjoy limited protections.
