On 25 March 2020, the Luxembourg Parliament passed the law implementing the EU Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6) on the mandatory reporting, principally by intermediaries but ultimately by taxpayers, of reportable cross border arrangements and the subsequent automatic exchange of information in relation to those arrangements between EU governments.

The final law largely follows the text of the EU Directive and, as per our previous blogpost on the draft law, with clarification that Luxembourg lawyers, chartered accountants and auditors who are involved in a reportable cross-border arrangement in that capacity will not be required to report on the basis of their obligations of professional secrecy. They will only be required to advise other intermediaries of their potential reporting obligations or, in the absence of any other intermediary, the taxpayer itself.

In the absence for the moment of an extension of the reporting deadlines due to the Corona virus situation, Luxembourg intermediaries and, in the absence of any intermediary, Luxembourg taxpayers should take steps to identify arrangements with a cross border element whose first step of implementation has occurred since 25 June 2018, assess whether they are reportable and, if so, be ready to report them as from 1 July 2020 with a deadline of 31 August 2020. As from 1 July 2020, reporting of new reportable arrangements will for the most part be due 30 days after the earlier of the reportable cross-border arrangement being ready for implementation, or the start of its implementation.

Please find our legal insight on DAC6 here.