RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/STR/W/29
8July 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2654)
Original: English/French Working Party onState Trading Enterprises
REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BY
CANADA1TOTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES2
ONTHE LATTER 'SARTICLE XVII NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing communication, dated 12June 1996, hasbeen received from thePermanent
Delegation oftheEuropean Commission.
_______________
Austria
Question
Inthedescription ofthefunctioning ofthealcohol monopoly, atthesixth paragraph, itisstated
that, "The importation of...alcoholic beverages from countries outside theEuropean Union ("third
countries") isreserved tothemonopoly administration". Inview ofthis, could theEUprovide details
onhow themark-up onimported products isdetermined?
Answer
Thequestion isnolonger relevant asthewholesale trade monopoly wasabolished completely.
Finland
Question
According totheSecretariat TPRM Report ofNovember 1991, STEs operated inFinland. Would
theCommission confirm itsstatement thatnone ofthese continue tooperate? Weraise thisbecause,
forexample, weunderstand thatALKO Inc.(which webelieve isstate-owned) has, bylaw, thesole
right ofretail saleofalcoholic beverages (with theexception ofbeverages containing nomore than
4.7percent alcohol byvolume). Ifso,andifthisincludes thesaleofimported products, itwould
appear thatALKO should besubject toafullnotification. Ifourunderstanding oftheroleandpowers
ofALKO isfaulty weshould beobliged forcorrect information.
1G/STR/W/13.
2G/STR/N/1/EEC +Add.1.G/STR/W/29
Page 2
Answer
None oftheSTEs mentioned inthe1991 Secretariat TPRM Report onFinland continue to
operate and, therefore, there isnostate enterprise operating inFinland which would besubject to
notification under Article XVII ofGATT 1994.
France
Question
Previously, France hadastate trading monopoly fortobacco (SEITA -Société nationale
d'exploitation industrielle destabacs etdesallumettes); inFebruary 1995, SEITA wasprivatized.
However, werequest confirmation thatSEITA nolonger possesses special rights orprivileges inthe
sense ofArticle XVII.
Answer
Theprivatization ofSEITA hadtheeffect ofabolishing themonopolies inthemanufacture,
import andwholesale trade ofmanufactured tobacco andthemonopolies inthemanufacture andimport
ofmatches.
Inaccordance with theprovisions ofArticle 5ofLaw No.76-448 of24May 1976, certain
provisions ofwhich arestillinforce, themonopoly inthedistribution oftobacco isentrusted tothe
taxauthorities, which exercises themonopoly through itsappointed retailers who areliable fordues
(royalties). This monopoly isindependent ofSEITA 'sactivities andmaybeassimilated totheactivities
oftheCanadian liquor boards.
Italy
Question
TheEUnotification refers totheItalian Amministrazione Autonoma deiMonopoli diStato
(AAMS),theagencyresponsiblefortheproduction,import,distributionandlicensingoftobaccoproducts.
Itisstated thattheAAMS operates afiscal monopoly for,inter alia,theimportation anddistribution
oftobacco products manufactured innon-EC countries. Would theCommission please describe the
different treatments accorded ECandnon-EC countries?
Answer
AllEuropean Union manufacturers arefreetointroduce anddistribute their own products in
Italy, thuscreating their ownnetwork offiscal warehouses asanalternative tothatoftheAdministration,
incompliance withtheCommunity discipline, inparticular Directive 92/12/EEC laying down therules
forthemovement within theCommunity ofproducts subject toexcise duties andrecovery oftheduties
concerned.
With respect totobacco products from non-EU countries, theexclusive regime infavour of
theAdministration isstillinforce. Thus theimport, distribution andsaleofthese products may be
carried outonly through thecommercial structures oftheMinistry ofFinance andwith payment of
therespective taxes (duties) when clearing customs atthetime ofimport.G/STR/W/29
Page 3
Sweden
Question
According totheSecretariat TPRM Report ofNovember 1994, STEs operated inSweden. Would
theCommission confirm itsstatement thatnone ofthese continue tooperate?
Answer
Please beinformed thatwecanconfirm thatnone oftheSTEs mentioned intheSecretariat
TPRM Report ofNovember 1994 continue tooperate inthatcapacity.