1992L0080 — EN — 01.01.1999 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/80/EEC
of 19 October 1992
on the approximation of taxes on manufactured tobacco other than cigarettes
(OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 10)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 1999/81/EC of 29 July 1999 L 211 47 11.8.1999
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/80/EEC
of 19 October 1992
on the approximation of taxes on manufactured tobacco other than
cigarettes
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Havingreg ard to the Treaty establishingthe European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Article 99 thereof,
Havingreg ard to the proposal from the Commission(
1),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Whereas Directive 72/464/EEC (4), lays down in Title I general provi-
sions on excise duty which are applicable to all manufactured tobacco;whereas, under Title II, special provisions have already been adoptedfor cigarettes; whereas special provisions have yet to be adopted forother types of manufactured tobacco;
Whereas Directive 79/32/EEC (
5) laid down the definitions relatingto
the various groups of manufactured tobacco;
Whereas, in order to establish the internal market on 1 January 1993, it
is necessary to establish minimum excise duties for manufacturedtobacco other than cigarettes;
Whereas a harmonized incidence of tax should be established for all
products belonging to the same group of manufactured tobacco;
Whereas the settingof an overall minimum excise duty expressed as a
percentage, as an amount per kilogram or for a given number of items isthe most appropriate for achievingthe internal market;
Whereas the Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Spain should be
granted until 31 December 1998 the possibility of a lower rate of tax oncigars and cigarillos in respect of rolls of tobacco consisting entirely ofnatural tobacco which are not cigarettes;
Whereas a procedure should be introduced to enable the rates or
amounts laid down in this Directive to be reviewed periodically on thebasis of a Commission report takingaccount of all the appropriatefactors;
Whereas a mechanism should be set up to enable specific amounts
expressed in ecu to be converted into national currency,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
The followingg roups of manufactured tobacco produced in the
Community and imported from non-member countries shall be subject,in each Member State, to a minimum excise duty as laid down inArticle 3:
(1) OJ No C 12, 18. 1. 1990, p. 8.
(2) OJ No C 94, 13. 1. 1992, p. 38.
(3) OJ No C 225, 10. 9. 1990, p. 56.
(4) OJ No L 303, 31. 12. 1972, p. 1. Last amended by Directive 92/78/EEC
(see page 5 of this Official Journal).
(5) OJ No L 10, 16. 1. 1979, p. 8.
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(a) cigars and cigarillos;
(b) fine-cut tobacco intended for the rollingof cig arettes;
(c) other smokingtobaccos.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive, the definitions of the products
referred to in Article 1 shall be those laid down in Articles 2, 4 and 4arespectively of Directive 79/32/EEC.
Article 3
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1. Member States shall apply an excise duty which may be:
(a) either an ad valorem duty calculated on the basis of the maximum
retail sellingprice of each product, freely determined by manufac-turers established in the Community and by importers from non-member countries in accordance with Article 9 of Council Directive95/59/EC of 27 November 1995 on taxes other than turnover taxeswhich affect the consumption of manufactured tobacco(
1),
(b) or a specific duty expressed as an amount per kilogram or in the
case of cigars and cigarillos alternatively for a given number ofitems,
(c) or a mixture of both, combiningan ad valorem element and a
specific element.
In cases where excise duty is either ad valorem or mixed, Member
States may establish a minimum amount of excise duty.
The overall excise duty expressed as a percentage, as an amount per
kilogram or for a given number of items shall be at least equivalent tothe rates or minimum amounts laid down for:
— cigars and cigarillos: 5 % of the retail selling price inclusive of all
taxes, or EUR 9 per 1 000 items or per kilogram,
— fine-cut smokingtobacco intended for the rollingof cig arettes:
30 % of the retail sellingprice inclusive of all taxes, or EUR 24 perkilogram,
— other smokingtobaccos: 20 % of the retail sellingprice inclusive of
all taxes, or EUR 18 per kilogram.
As from 1 January 2001, the amounts of EUR 9, EUR 24 and EUR 18
in the precedingthree indents shall be replaced by EUR 10, EUR 25and EUR 19 respectively.
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2. The rates or amounts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be effectivefor all products belonging to the group of manufactured tobaccosconcerned, without distinction within each group as to quality, presenta-tion, origin of the products, the materials used, the characteristics of thefirms involved or any other criterion.
3. The Italian Republic and the Kingdom of Spain may until 31
December 1998 apply to rolls of tobacco consistingentirely of naturaltobacco which are not cigarettes a rate or amount which may be up to50 % less than the normal national rate of excise duty for cigars andcigarillos and which may fall below the minimum rate laid down inparagraph 1.
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4. The French Republic may until 31 December 2002 apply fortobacco products covered by this Directive and sold on the island ofCorsica the same rates as were in force on 31 December 1997.
(1) OJ L 291, 6.12.1995, p. 40.
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Article 4
Not less frequently than every three years, and for the first time not later
than 31 December 2000, the Council, actingon the basis of a reportand, where appropriate, a proposal from the Commission, shall examinethe rates of duty laid down herein and, actingunanimously afterconsultingthe European Parliament, shall adopt the necessary measures.The report by the Commission and the examination by the Council shalltake into account the proper functioningof the internal market, the realvalue of the rates of duty and the wider objectives of the Treaty.
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B
Article 5
1. The value of the ecu in national currencies to be applied to the
value of specific excise duties shall be fixed once a year. The rates to beapplied shall be those obtainingon the first workingday of October andpublished in the Official Journal of the European Communities and
shall have effect from 1 January of the followingcalendar year.
2. Member States may maintain the amounts of the excise duties in
force at the time of the annual adjustment provided for in paragraph 1 ifthe conversion of the amounts of the excise duties expressed in ecuwould result in an increase of less tha n5%o rE C U5 , whichever is the
lower amount, in the excise duty expressed in national currency.
Article 6
1. Member States shall bringinto force the laws, reg ulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive notlater than 31 December 1992. They shall forthwith inform the Commis-sion thereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a refer-
ence to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on theoccasion of their official publication. The methods of makingsuchreference shall be laid down by the Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the fieldgoverned by this Directive.
Article 7
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.