The new EU Customs and Taxation programme proposed by the European Commission, FISCUS programme, has as main goal to protect the financial interests of the EU and Member States. It counts with a budget of €777.6 million and it is proposed to run for 7 years from January 2014.

The European Commission presented the European programme FISCUS, taxation and customs, which has as objectives 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. With a budget of €777.6 million, the programme will run for 7 years from January 2014. The need of reinforcing these areas is growing because the Commission is proposed to act against double taxation and other cross-border fiscal barriers.

In particular, the FISCUS programme will support the cooperation between customs and tax authorities and other parties, to help maximise their efficiency and avoid mismatches in their work, which could hinder the Internal Market. The programme also provides the possibility of 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 new European programme comes out from the merge of the current two separate programmes for taxation and customs into one. The draft Regulation will now be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament, with a view to adoption by the end of 2012, so that the new programme can start on 1 January 2014.