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Publishers Abstract:
In Case C-349/03, the Court of Justice was called upon to interpret Article 28 of the UK Act of Accession, which restricts the application of European Community acts providing for the harmonisation of legislation of Member States concerning turnover taxes in Gibraltar. It has concluded that legislation requiring national authorities to exchange information relevant to calculating VAT and excise duties does apply in Gibraltar. As a matter of the constitutional law of the UK, Gibraltar is a British overseas territory. Article 299(4) EC provides that the EC Treaty shall apply to the European Territories for whose external relations a Member State is responsible. Directive 77/799/EEC originally required Member States to exchange information that may enable them to effect a correct assessment of taxes on income and on capital. Its ambit was broadened in 1979 to include information which might enable a correct assessment of VAT. Advocate General Tizzano considered that the measures regarding both VAT and excise duties were not applicable to Gibraltar.
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