French General Tax Code
In forceI.-1° The intermediary referred to in Article 1649 AD is any person who designs, markets or organises a cross-border device that must be declared, makes it available for the purposes of its implementation or manages its implementation.
An intermediary is also considered to be any person who, having regard to the relevant facts and circumstances and on the basis of available information and the subject-matter expertise and understanding necessary to provide such services, knows or could reasonably be expected to know that he has undertaken to provide, directly or through other persons, help, assistance or advice concerning the design, marketing or organisation of a notifiable cross-border device, or concerning its availability for implementation or the management of its implementation ;
2° The intermediary submits the declaration provided for in Article 1649 AD if he meets at least one of the following conditions:
a) He must be domiciled, resident or have his registered office in France for tax purposes.
Permanent establishments located outside France of an intermediary fiscally domiciled or resident in France, for schemes relating to their activity, are not concerned by the reporting obligation mentioned in article 1649 AD;
b) Have a permanent establishment in France through which the services relating to the scheme are provided;
c) Be incorporated in France or governed by French law;
d) Be registered with a professional order or association relating to legal, tax or consultancy services, or benefit from an authorisation to practice in France issued by such an order or professional association;
3° Where several intermediaries are involved in the implementation of the same scheme, the reporting obligation is incumbent on each of them. However, an intermediary is exempt from the obligation to declare if he can prove, by any means, that a declaration containing all the information required has already been filed by another intermediary, in France or in another Member State of the European Union;
4° An intermediary subject to an obligation of professional secrecy, the breach of which is provided for and punishable by Article 226-13 of the Penal Code shall, with his client's consent, make the declaration referred to in article 1649 AD.
Failing such agreement, the intermediary shall notify any other intermediary of the reporting obligation incumbent on him.
In the absence of any other intermediary, notification of the reporting obligation is sent to the taxpayer concerned by the cross-border scheme. The intermediary also sends the taxpayer concerned, where applicable, the information required to comply with its reporting obligation.
The notifications provided for above are made by any means enabling them to be given a date certain;
5° In all cases, in the absence of any intermediary subject to the reporting obligation under Article 1649 AD, this obligation is incumbent on the taxpayer concerned by the cross-border scheme.
II.-The taxpayer concerned by a cross-border scheme is any person to whom a reportable cross-border scheme is made available for implementation, or who is prepared to implement a reportable cross-border scheme, or who has implemented the first stage of such a scheme.
Where there is more than one taxpayer involved, the reporting obligation falls to the relevant taxpayer who occupies the first place in the following list:
a) The taxpayer concerned has agreed with the intermediary the cross-border scheme to be reported;
b) The taxpayer concerned manages the implementation of the scheme.
Any taxpayer concerned shall be exempt from the reporting obligation only to the extent that it can prove, by any means, that another taxpayer concerned has already filed a declaration containing all the information required.
