Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC)

What it is, what happened, who decided, what is being done, where to act. · updated 2026-09-02 · Ask about this act →

What it is

Subject matter 1. This Directive lays down the rules and procedures under which the Member States shall cooperate with each other with a view to exchanging information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Member States concerning the taxes referred to in Article 2. 2. This Directive also lays down provisions for the exchange of information referred to in paragraph 1 by electronic means, as well as rules and procedures under which the Member States and the Commission are to cooperate on matters concerning coordination and evaluation. 3. […]

Article 1 of the act, verbatim Article 1
38
articles
8
languages
2
preparatory documents
270
public submissions

Who decided what, and when

2009-02-02
European Commission
Tabled the proposal — 52009PC0029
2011-02-15
The adopting institution
The act was adopted and published in the Official Journal.
date not recorded
European Parliament committee
Tabled the committee report — A-7-2010-0006

Every record: lobbyists, meetings, amendments, votes → · All preparatory documents →

How the act has already been changed

Amendments that became law, and how long each took from the Commission's proposal to adoption. This is the answer to "can this be changed at all" — from the EU's own register.

What changedProposedBecame lawTook
as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation
32014L0107
2013-06-122014-12-09545 days
as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation
32015L2376
2015-03-182015-12-08265 days
as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation
32016L0881
2016-01-282016-05-25118 days
as regards access to anti-money-laundering information by tax authorities
32016L2258
2016-07-052016-12-06154 days
as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation in relation to reportable cross-border arrangements
32018L0822
2017-06-212018-05-25338 days
32020L0876
32020L0876
2020-06-24
32021L0514
32021L0514
2021-03-22
32023L2226
32023L2226
2023-10-17
32025L0872
32025L0872
2025-04-14

What is being done now

2020-02-12pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2020-05-08pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2020-07-15pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2021-12-22pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2022-12-08pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2023-09-12pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2024-10-28pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.
2026-06-24pending
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled. Not yet law.

Where you can act

  1. Your MEPs
    They vote on changes to this act. The list is below; each EP profile carries a contact form and an e-mail address.
  2. What has already been said
    We hold 270 public submissions on this act — read them before writing your own.
  3. European Commission public consultations
    Every initiative implementing or amending this act goes out for public consultation; anyone may file, entries are published, and the Commission must summarise them.
  4. European Parliament Petitions Committee (PETI)
    Any EU resident may petition about the application of an EU act; the committee must examine it.

Who represents you in the European Parliament

Current term (since 2024-07)

MemberGroup
Vytenis Povilas ANDRIUKAITISS&DEP profile ↗
Petras AUŠTREVIČIUSRenewEP profile ↗
Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖS&DEP profile ↗
Petras GRAŽULISESNEP profile ↗
Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖPPEEP profile ↗
Liudas MAŽYLISPPEEP profile ↗
Paulius SAUDARGASPPEEP profile ↗
Virginijus SINKEVIČIUSVerts/ALEEP profile ↗
Waldemar TOMASZEWSKIECREP profile ↗
Aurelijus VERYGAECREP profile ↗
Dainius ŽALIMASRenewEP profile ↗

The national layer

How many of each country's own laws in our corpora rest on this act — a measure of size, not a transposition score.

119
Estonia
97
Lithuania
91
Italy
17
Sweden
11
Slovenia

How each country transposed it →