The EU’s implementation of the global minimum tax (Pillar Two) has taken another important step forward with the adoption of the DAC9 directive. DAC9, published on April 14, 2025, amends Council Directive 2011/16/EU (the so-called DAC Directive), taking into account Directive (EU) 2022/2523, supporting its practical and operational implementation.
Link to Directive (EU) 2022/2523
Directive (EU) 2022/2523 already lays down the basic rules for the submission of information relating to the top-up tax and sets out the broad outlines of the scope of the Directive, which applies to multinational groups of companies and broadly sets out the main categories of information to be reported by multinational groups and large domestic groups falling within the scope of the Directive. However, these rules alone do not ensure the effective, uniform and timely sharing of data between Member States’ tax authorities, particularly in the case of cross-border group structures.
Purpose and legal justification of DAC9
In view of this, it became necessary to amend Council Directive 2011/16/EU by introducing new rules on the automatic exchange of information. These rules facilitate the exchange of information relating to the reporting of supplementary tax and provide an operational framework for the implementation of the obligations laid down in Directive (EU) 2022/2523.
Local and central reporting
As a general rule, group members submit their supplementary tax information to their own tax authorities (local submission). However, Directive (EU) 2022/2523 allows for a derogation: a group member is not required to submit local reporting if it has already been submitted by the ultimate parent company or the group member designated for reporting to a tax authority that has a recognized intergovernmental agreement with the Member State in which the group member is established for the financial year in question (centralized reporting).
Automatic exchange of information mechanism
The new automatic exchange of information rules under DAC9 allow all relevant enforcement jurisdictions to receive the information they need under the single reporting framework following the central filing of supplementary tax information.
Where a Member State receives the data report under the centralised filing system, it is required to forward to the other implementing Member States and to Member States applying a recognized domestic supplementary tax the relevant parts of that report within three months of the filing deadline or the actual date of receipt in accordance with the distribution approach approved by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework.
Uniform template and role of the Commission
To ensure uniform implementation of the Directive, DAC9 confers implementing powers on the European Commission, which will determine the practical measures necessary for the adoption of the standard computer form. The uniform reporting template ensures that the information and tax calculations submitted are sufficiently comprehensive for the tax authorities’ risk assessment and control tasks.
Deadlines and application
In connection with the implementation of the DAC9 Directive, several interrelated deadlines have been set for Member States. Member States are required to transpose the provisions of DAC9 into their national law by 31 December 2025 at the latest and to apply them from 1 January 2026.
The deadline for submitting the first supplementary tax return is June 30, 2026, in the case of a normal business year. The competent authority of the Member State receiving the data must forward the data received to the other Member States concerned and to the Member States applying a recognized domestic additional tax within three months of the reporting deadline.
Member State authorities shall communicate the information relating to the first financial year for which data is reported within a maximum of six months, but in any case no earlier than December 1, 2026.
Disclaimer: this article is a translation of our original article written in Hungarian, which you can find here
