Recital 11

(11) Where there is a sufficient suspicion in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 that fraud has occurred, OLAF is to have the right of access to any relevant information in databases held by the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies while respecting the principles of necessity and proportionality. That right of access is to be exercised under the conditions set out in that Regulation. Therefore, in order for OLAF to access relevant VAT information at Union level that could be relevant for customs-related administrative investigations to exercise its competence, it is important to set out the rules under which OLAF should access relevant VAT information at Union level from relevant databases and registers of competent authorities in the Member States responsible for the application of the laws on VAT. For the same reason, it is important to give OLAF centralised access, for targeted searches on a case-by-case basis, to relevant information concerning an investigation through a single-entry point, even if that information concerns several Member States. Such centralised access should be strictly limited to targeted searches related to specific cases and should not entail fishing expeditions or random or generalised monitoring of VAT information. That centralised access to administrative databases for the purposes of carrying out customs-related administrative investigations is exceptional in nature and is justified by the need to fulfil OLAF’s mandate, and is not to be construed as setting a precedent for more general application.

← Recital 10 · All articles · Recital 12 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.