DAC 6 (EU Council Directive 2011/16) is a new system of mandatory reporting of cross-border tax arrangements affecting at least one EU Member State where the arrangements fall within certain “hallmarks”. Commencement of reporting under DAC 6 had previously been delayed six months, meaning the first reporting date for some transactions is 30 January 2021.

However, now that the EU transition period has ended, HMRC has confirmed that the UK will not be applying DAC 6 in its entirety. Instead, only arrangements which would have been within Category D of DAC 6 will need to be reported, in line with the OECD’s mandatory disclosure rules. We understand that this change is intended to be retrospective; hence disclosures are not required for any arrangements which previously were required to be reported. The earliest reporting date for arrangements falling under this revised policy remains 30 January 2021. The UK previously implemented DAC 6 into domestic law via regulations which have now been amended.