EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION
Analyses and tax policies
Analysis and coordination of tax policies
Brussels, 18 September 2007
Taxud/E1/
DOC: JTPF/015/BACK/2007/EN/FR
EU JOINT TRANSFER PRICING FORUM
DUTCH CONTRIBUTION ON
THE QUESTION WHETHER PERSONS OF STANDING TO AN
ADVISORY COMMISSION ARE INDEPENDENT
Meeting of 23rd October 2007
Centre de Conférences Albert Borschette
Rue Froissart 36 - 1040 Brussels
Contact:
Edward Morris, Telephone (32-2) 295.15.67 Edward.Morris@ec.europa.eu
Jean-Marc Van Leeuw, Telephone (32-2) 295.89.36 E-mail: Jean-Marc.Van-Leeuw@ec.europa.eu
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Further improving the functioning of the Arbitration Convention
Disagreement on the independent persons of standing to an advisory commission
Appointment of independent persons of standing to an advisory commission
The Arbitration Convention states that an advisory commission has to be set up in case the
competent authorities concerned fail to reach an agreement that eliminates double taxation within
two years. The advisory commission shall include an even number of independent persons of
standing, which have to be appointed by the competent authorities by mutual agreement.
The independent persons are chosen from the “list of independent persons of standing eligible to
become a member of an advisory commission”, for which each Member State nominated five
persons based on the criteria laid down in article 9, paragraph 4. One of the criteria is that the
independent person must be ‘competent and independent’. It is left to the individual Member
States to decide which interpretation should be given to this criterion.
As a consequence this could lead to the situation in which one Member State nominates a person
to be a member of the advisory commission, while the other Member State involved objects
against this nomination because a different interpretation is given to the criterion ‘competent and
independent’. This would only be different if t