The European Commission has adopted a proposal for the implementation of the FISCUS programme which merges the current two separate programmes for taxation and customs into one. The merger is set to achieve simplification and cost-cutting goals of the Commission. FISCUS has a budget of 777.6 million euro and will run for 7 years from 1 January 2014.

According to the Commission, FISCUS will support the cooperation between customs and tax authorities and other parties, to help maximise efficiency and avoid mismatches in work, which hinder the Internal Market. The programme may also provide country-specific assistance when particular challenges call for it. It will facilitate networking, joint actions and training amongst tax and customs personnel, while also funding cutting-edge IT systems to enable the development of fully fledged e-administrations in customs and tax.

The objectives of FISCUS are to protect the financial interests of the EU and Member States, facilitate trade, ensure the safety and security of EU citizens, improve the capacities of customs and tax authorities, and implement EU legislation in these fields.

For full details see http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/1328&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en