Formats of sales notes
Article 91
1. Member States shall determine the format to be used for the electronic completion and transmission of sales notes as referred in Article 63 of the Control Regulation. 2. Information referred to in this Chapter shall be exchanged between Member States using the format defined in Annex XII from which extensible mark-up language (XML) shall be derived. The XML standard to be used for all electronic data exchanges between Member States, and between Member States, the Commission and the body designated by it, shall be decided by the Commission after consultation with Member States. 3. Amendments to the format referred to in paragraph 1 shall be clearly identified and marked with the date it was updated. Such amendments shall not come into effect earlier than 6 months after they have been decided. 4. When a Member State receives electronic information from another Member State it shall ensure that a return message is issued to the competent authorities of that Member State. The return message shall contain an acknowledgement of receipt. 5. Data elements in Annex XII that are mandatory for registered buyers, registered auctions or other bodies or persons authorised by Member States to record in their sales notes according to EU rules shall also be mandatory in exchanges between Member States. 6. Member States shall: (a) ensure that data received according to this Chapter are recorded in computer-readable form and safely stored in computerised databases for at least 3 years; (b) take all necessary measures to ensure that they are only used for official purposes; and (c) take all necessary technical measures to protect such data against any accidental or illicit destruction, accidental loss, deterioration, distribution or unauthorised consultation. 7. In each Member State, the single authority referred to in Article 5(5) of the Control Regulation shall be responsible for transmitting, receiving, managing and processing all data covered by this Chapter. 8. Member States shall exchange contact details of the authorities referred to in paragraph 7 and shall inform the Commission and the body designated by it thereof within 3 months after the entry into force of this Regulation. 9. Any changes in the information referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 shall be communicated to the Commission, the body designated by it and other Member States before they become effective. 10. The format of sales notes not subject to electronic completion and transmission shall be decided by Member States. Those sales notes shall contain as a minimum the information set down in Article 64(1) of the Control Regulation.