3330/91 - - - I
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3330/91
of 7 November 1991
on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
(OJ No L 316, 16. 11. 1991, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3046/92 of 22 October 1992 L 307 27 23. 10. 1992
3330/91 - - - I
ICOUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3330/91
of 7 November 1991
on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the T reaty establishing the EuropeanEconomic Community, and in particular Article 100a
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (
1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas abolishing physical barriers between Member
States is necessary to complete the internal market; where-
as a satisfactory level of information on the trading of
goods between Member States should thus be ensured by
means other than those involving checks, even indirectones, at internal frontiers;
Whereas an analysis of the situation of the Community
and the Member States after 1992 reveals that a number
of specific requirements will persist as regards information
on the trading of goods between Member States;
Whereas these requirements are not of a macro-economic
nature, unlike those relating, for example, to national ac-
counts or the balance of payments, and many of them can-
not be met by means of highly aggregated data alone;
whereas matters such as trade policy, sectoral analyses,
competition rules, the management and guidance of agri-
culture and fisheries, regional development, energy projec-
tions and the organization of transport must on the con-
trary be based on statistical documentation providing the
most up-to-date, accurate and detailed view of the internal
market;
Whereas it is precisely information on the trading of goods
between Member States which will contribute to measuring
the progress of the internal market, thereby speeding up
its completion and consolidating it on a sound basis;
whereas this kind of information could prove to be one of
the means of assessing the development of economic and
social cohesion;
Whereas until the end of 1992 statistics relating to the
trading of goods between Member States will benefit from
the formalities, documentation and controls which the cus-
toms authorities, for their own requirements or for those
of other departments, prescribe for consignors and con-
signees of goods in circulation between Member States,but which will disappear through the elimination of physi-
cal frontiers and tax barriers;
(1) OJ No C 254, 9. 10. 1990, p. 7 and
OJ No C 47, 23. 2. 1991, p. 10.
(2) OJ No C 324, 24. 12. 1990, p. 268 and
OJ No C 280, 28. 10. 1991.
(3) OJ No C 332, 31. 12. 1990, p. 1.
3330/91 - - - I
IIWhereas it will consequently be necessary to collect direct-
ly from the consignors and consignees the data necessary
to compile statistics relating to the trading of goods be-
tween Member States, using methods and techniques which
will ensure that they are exhaustive, reliable and up to
date, without giving rise for the parties concerned, in par-
ticular for small and medium-sized businesses, to a burden
out of proportion to the results which users of the said
statistics can reasonably expect;
Whereas the relevant legislation must henceforth apply to
all statistics relating to the trading of goods between
Member States, including those statistics which are not to
be harmonized or made compulsory by the Community be-
fore 1993;
Whereas the statistics relating to the trading of goods be-
tween Member States are a function of the movements of
goods involved; whereas they may include data on trans-port, which can be collected simultaneously with the data
specific to each of these categories of statistics, thus
lightening the overall statistical burden;
Whereas private individuals will derive obvious advantages
from the internal market; whereas it is necessary to ensure
that these advantages are not diminished in their eyes by
requirements for statistical information; whereas the provi-
sion of such information would undoubtedly impose an ob-
ligation which private individuals would consider inconven-
ient at the very least and which would be impossible to
check on without employing excessive measures; whereas it
is therefore reasonable not to regard private individuals as
responsible for providing such information, apart from suit-
able periodic surveys;
Whereas the new collection system to be introduced is to
apply to all statistics relating to the trading of goods be-
tween Member States; whereas it must therefore be de-
fined first in a general context involving new concepts, par-
ticularly as regards the scope, the party responsible for
providing the information and the transmission of data;
Whereas the actual concept of the system resides in the
use of related administrative networks, and in particular
that of the value added tax (VAT) authorities, to provide
the statistical services with a minimum degree of indirect
verification without thereby increasing the burden on
taxpayers; whereas it is nonetheless necessary to avoid con-
fusion arising in the minds of the parties responsible for
providing information between their statistical and their tax
obligations;
Whereas it is vital to use existing sources to compile basic
documentation in each Member State regarding consignors
and consignees of goods which are covered by statistics of
trade between Member States, so as to identify, in prep-
aration for 1992, the main parties concerned and to devel-
op modern data transmission techniques with their assist-
ance;
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IIIWhereas implementation alone will reveal loopholes or
weaknesses in the new collection system; whereas improve-
ments and simplifications should be introduced within a
reasonable period of time in order to prevent defects from
having negative repercussions on the trading of goods be-
tween Member States;
Whereas, among the statistics relating to the trading of
goods between Member States, statistics of trade between
Member States must receive priority, for obvious reasons
of importance and continuity; whereas, however, substan-
tial adjustments must be made to these statistics in order
to take account of the new conditions on the internal
market after 1992; whereas it will be necessary to review,
inter alia , the definition of their content, the goods classi-
fication applicable to them and the list of data to be col-
lected to compile them; whereas it is desirable to adopt
forthwith the principle on which the statistical thresholdswill operate in order to avoid small and medium-sized
businesses incurring expenditure which is disproportionate
to overheads;
Whereas the Commission should be assisted by a commit-
tee to ensure the regular cooperation of the Member
States, in particular to resolve the problems which are
bound to arise in connection with information on the trad-
ing of goods between Member States following the numer-
ous innovations introduced by the new collection system;
Whereas relevant Community legislation should be sup-
plemented systematically by provisions adopted either by
the Council or by the Commission;
Whereas some of the provisions of this Regulation must
enter into force without delay so that the Community and
its Member States can prepare for the practical conse-
quences which it will entail as from 1 January 1993;
Whereas one of these consequences is that Council Re-
gulation (EEC) No 2954/85 of 22 October 1985 laying
down certain measures for the standardization and simpli-
fication of the statistics of trade between Member
States (
1) must be repealed and that Council Regulation
(EEC) No 1736/75 of 24 June 1975 on the external trade
statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between
Member States (2), as last amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 1629/88 (3), will no longer be applicable to statistics
relating to the trading of goods between Member States,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
(1) OJ No L 285, 25. 10. 1985, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 183, 14. 7. 1975, p. 3.
(3) OJ No L 147, 14. 6. 1988, p. 1.
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1Article 1
The Community and its Member States shall compile stat-
istics relating to the trading of goods between Member
States, in accordance with the rules laid down by this Re-
gulation, during the transitional period which shall begin
on 1 January 1993 and end on the date of changeover to a
unified system of taxation in the Member State of origin.
CHAPTER I
General provisions
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation and without prejudice
to any individual provisions:
(a) ’trading of goods between Member States’ means any
movement of goods from one Member State to
another;
(b) ’goods’ means all movable property, including electric
current;
(c) ’Community goods’ means goods:
— entirely obtained in the customs territory of the
Community, without the addition of goods from
non-member countries or territories which are
not part of the customs territory of the Com-
munity,
— from countries or territories not forming part of
the customs territory of the Community whichhave been released for free circulation in a
Member State,
— obtained in the customs territory of the Com-
munity either from the goods referred to exclus-
ively in the second indent or from the goods re-
ferred to in the first and second indents;
(d) ’non-Community goods’ means goods other than those
referred to in (c). Without prejudice to agreements
concluded with non-member countries for the imple-
mentation of the Community transit arrangements,
goods which, while fulfilling the conditions laid down
in (c), are reintroduced into the customs territory of
the Community after export therefrom are also con-
sidered as non-Community goods;
(e) ’Member State’, when the term is used in the geo-
graphical sense, means its statistical territory;
(f) ’statistical territory of a Member State’ means the
territory occupied by that Member State within the
statistical territory of the Community, as this latter is
defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75;3330/91
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2(g) ’goods in free movement on the internal market of
the Community’ means goods authorized, pursuant to
Directive 77/388/EEC (4) , to move from one Member
State to another without prior formalities or formal-
ities linked to the crossing of internal frontiers;
(h) ’private individual’ means any natural person not li-
a b l et oa c c o u n tf o rV A Ti nc o n n e c t i o nw i t hag i v e n
movement of goods.
Article 3
1. All goods which move from one Member State to
another shall be the subject of statistics relating to the
trading of goods between Member States.
In addition to the goods which move within the statistical
territory of the Community, goods shall be considered as
moving from one Member State to another if, in so doing,
they cross the external frontier of the Community, whether
of (SIC! or) not they subsequently enter the territory of a
non-member State.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply both to non-Community and
Community goods, whether or not they are the subject of
a commercial transaction.
Article 4
1. Of the goods referred to in Article 3:
(a) transit statistics shall be compiled on those which are
transported, with or without transhipment, across aMember State without being stored there for reasons
not inherent in their transport;
(b) storage statistics shall be compiled on those referred
to in Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75,
as well as those which enter or leave storage facilities
determined by the Commission in accordance with
Article 30 of this Regulation;
(c) statistics of trade between Member States shall be
compiled on those which do not meet the conditions
of (a) and (b) or which, while meeting either of those
conditions, are expressly designated by this Regulation
or by the Commission pursuant to Article 30;
(d) the Council, on a proposal from the Commission,
shall determine the goods that are to be the subject
of other statistics relating to the trading of goods be-
tween Member States.
(4) OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.3330/91
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32. Without prejudice to Community provisions on stat-
istical returns in respect of carriage of goods, the data on
the movement of goods subject to the statistics referred to
in paragraph 1 shall be included, as necessary, in the list of
data relating to each of these categories of statistics on the
conditions and terms laid down by this Regulation or by
the Commission pursuant to Article 30.
Article 5
Without prejudice to Article 15, private individuals shall be
exempt from the obligations implied by the preparation of
the statistics referred to in Article 4.
This exemption shall also apply to the party responsible for
providing information who, being liable to account for
VAT , qualifies, in the Member State in which he is respon-
sible for providing information, for one of the special
schemes provided for by Articles 24 and 25 of Directive
77/388/EEC. This provision shall be extended, mutatis mu-
tandis , to legal persons not liable to account for VA Ta n d
to parties liable to account who carry out only transactions
not entitling them to any deduction of VA T, w h o , pursuant
to Council Directive 91/680/EEC (1), are not required to
submit a tax declaration.
CHAPTER II
Statistical collection system
Intrastat
Article 6
With a view to compiling the statistics relating to the trad-
ing of goods between Member States, a statistical collec-
tion system shall be set up, hereinafter referred to as the
’Intrastat system’.
Article 7
1. The Intrastat system shall be applied in the Member
States whenever they are deemed to be partner countries
in the trading of goods between Member States by virtue
of paragraph 4.
2. The Intrastat system shall be applied to the goods re-
ferred to in Article 3:
(a) which are in free movement on the internal market of
the Community;
(b) which, since they may move on the internal market of
the Community only after completion of the formal-
ities prescribed by Community legislation on the cir-
culation of goods, are expressly designated either by
this Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to Ar-
ticle 30.
(1) OJ No L 376, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.3330/91
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43. The collection of data on the goods referred to in
Article 3 to which the Intrastat system does not apply shall
be regulated by the Commission pursuant to Article 30
within the framework of the formalities referred to in
paragraph 2 (b).
4. The Intrastat system shall apply:
(a) to statistics of trade between Member States, pursuant
to Article 17 to 28;
(b) to transit and storage statistics, in accordance with
provisions laid down by the Council on a proposal
from the Commission pursuant to Article 31.
5. Saving a decision to the contrary by the Council on a
proposal from the Commission, in particular pursuant to
Article 31, national provisions on the statistics referred to
in paragraph 4 of this Article, in so far as they relate to
data collection, shall cease to apply after 31 December
1992.
Article 8
Without prejudice to Article 5, the obligation to supply the
information required by the Intrastat system shall be in-
cumbent on any natural or legal person who is involved in
the trading of goods between Member States.
Among those incurring this obligation, the party respon-
sible for providing information for each category of statis-
tics covered by the Intrastat system shall be designated by
the relevant specific provisions.
Article 9
1. The party responsible for providing the information
required by the Intrastat system may transfer the task of
providing the information to a third party residing in a
Member State, but such transfer shall in no way reduce
the responsibility of the said party.
The party responsible for providing information shall pro-
vide such third party with all the information necessary to
fulfil his obligations as party responsible.
2. The party responsible for providing information may
be required, at the express request of the departments re-
sponsible for compiling statistics on the trading of goods
between Member States, to notify them that for a given
reference period,
— all the information which is to be the subject of the
periodic declaration referred to in Article 13 (1) has
been provided either by himself or by a third party,
— he has transferred the task of providing the informa-
tion required by the Intrastat system to that third
party, whom he shall identify.3330/91
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53. Paragraph 1 shall not apply:
(a) in cases where Article 28 (4) applies;
(b) in Member States where the periodic declaration re-
ferred to in Article 13 (1) is not distinct from the
periodic declaration required for tax purposes and in-
asmuch as the tax rules in force relating to declar-
ation obligations prevent the transfer referred to in
the abovementioned paragraph 1.
4. The implementing rules for paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
shall be laid down by the Commission in accordance with
Article 30.
Article 10
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to
ensure that those of their departments which are respon-
sible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of
goods between Member States have a register of intra-
Community operators at their disposal by 1 January 1993.
2. For the purposes of applying paragraph 1, a list shall
be established of upon dispatch the consignors, upon arri-
val the consignees and where necessary the declarants,
within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
2792/86 (1), who are involved from 1 January 1991 to 31
December 1992 in trade between Member States.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply in those Member States
which take the measures necessary to ensure that their tax
authorities have at their disposal, by 1 January 1993 at the
latest, a register:
(a) listing the parties liable to account for VAT who, dur-
ing the 12 months prior to that date, took part in the
trading of goods between Member States as con-
signors upon dispatch and as consignees upon arrival;
(b) intended to list legal persons not liable to account for
VAT and parties liable to account who carry out only
transactions not entitling them to any deduction of
VAT who, from that date, carry out their acquisitions,
within the meaning of Directive 91/680/EEC.
In those Member States, the abovementioned tax author-
ities shall, in addition to the identification number referred
to in paragraph 6, supply the statistical departments re-
ferred to in paragraph 1 with the information included in
that register which is used to identify those intra-Commun-
ity operators, under the conditions required for application
of this Regulation.
4. The list of minimum data to be recorded in the regis-
ter of intra-Community operators in addition to the
identification number referred to in paragraph 6 shall be
laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article 30.
(1) OJ No L 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 59.3330/91
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65. From 1 January 1993, the register of intra-Community
operators shall be managed and updated in the Member
States by the relevant departments on the basis of the dec-
larations referred to in Article 13 (1) or the lists referred
to in Article 11 (1), or other administrative sources.
Where required, the Commission shall draw up, in accord-
ance with Article 30, the other rules relating to the man-
agement and updating of the register of intra-Community
operators to be applied in the Member States by the rel-
evant departments.
6. Apart from exceptions which they shall justify to the
parties responsible for providing statistical information, the
relevant statistical departments shall use in their relations
with those parties, and in particular with a view to applica-
tion of Article 13 (1), the identification number allocated
to those parties by the tax authorities responsible.
Article 11
1. The tax authorities responsible in each Member State
shall, at least once every three months, furnish the depart-
ments in that Member State responsible for compiling stat-
istics relating to the trading of goods between Member
States with the lists of those liable to account for VAT whohave declared that, during the period in question, they
have made acquisitions in other Member States or deliv-
eries to other Member States.
2. The lists referred to in paragraph 1 shall also include:
(a) parties liable to account for VAT who have declared
that, during the period in question, they have con-
ducted trading of goods between Member States
which, although not resulting from acquisitions or de-
liveries, must be the subject of a periodic tax declar-
ation;
(b) legal persons not liable to account for VA
Ta n d
parties liable to account who carry out only transac-
tions not entitling them to any deduction of VA Tw h o
have declared that, during the same period, they have
conducted trading of goods between Member States
which must be the subject of a periodic tax declar-
ation.
3. The lists shall indicate, for each operator on them,
the value of trading of goods between Member States
which the operator has mentioned in his periodic tax dec-
laration in accordance with Directive 91/680/EEC.
4. Under restrictive conditions, which the Commission
shall determine pursuant to Article 30, each Member
State’s competent tax authorities shall in addition furnish
the departments in that Member State responsible for
compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods be-
tween Member States, on their own initiative or at the re-
quest of the latter, with any information capable of im-
proving the quality of statistics which those liable toaccount for VAT normally submit to the competent tax
authorities to comply with tax requirements.3330/91
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7The information communicated to them in accordance with
the first subparagraph shall be treated by the statistical de-
partments, vis-à-vis third parties, in accordance with the
rules applied to it by the tax authorities.
5. Whatever the administrative structure of the Member
State, the party responsible for providing statistical in-
formation may not be compelled to justify, other than
within the limits laid down by paragraph 1, 2 and 3 and by
the provisions provided for in paragraph 4, the information
he supplies in comparison with the data he communicates
to the competent tax authorities.
6. In their relations with persons liable to account for
VAT regarding the periodic declaration which such persons
must forward to it for tax purposes, the competent tax
authorities shall draw attention to the obligations which
they may incur as parties responsible for providing the in-
formation required by the Intrastat system.
7. For the purpose of applying paragraphs 4 and 6,
’parties liable to account for VAT’ shall also mean legal
persons not liable to account for VA T and parties liable to
account who carry out only transactions not entitling them
to any deduction of VA T who carry out acquisitions within
the meaning of Directive 91/680/EEC.
8. Administrative assistance between national depart-
ments of different Member States responsible for compil-
ing statistics relating to the trading of goods between
Member States shall, as necessary, be regulated by the
Commission pursuant to Article 30.
Article 12
1. The statistical information media required by the In-
trastat system shall be set up by the Commission pursuant
to Article 30 in respect of each category of statistics relat-
ing to the trading of goods between Member States.
2. In order to take account of their particular adminis-
trative arrangements, Member States may set up media
other than those referred to in paragraph 1, provided that
those responsible for providing information may choose
which of these media they will use.
Member States exercising this option shall inform the
Commission accordingly.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply:
(a) in cases where Article 28 (4) applies;
(b) in Member States where the periodic declaration re-
ferred to in Article 13 (1) is not distinct from the
periodic declaration required for tax purposes and in-
asmuch as the tax rules in force relating to declar-
ation obligations prevent such application.3330/91
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8Article 13
1. The statistical information required by the Intrastat
system shall be covered in periodic declarations to be sent
by the party responsible for providing the information to
the competent national departments, by deadlines and
under conditions which the Commission shall lay down
pursuant to Article 30.
2. The Commission shall determine, pursuant to Article
30:
— where not laid down by this Regulation, the reference
period applicable to each category of statistics relating
to the trading of goods between Member States,
— the procedures for the transmission of the informa-
tion, especially with a view to making available to the
parties responsible for providing information networks
of regional data collection offices.
3. The periodic declarations referred to in paragraph 1
or, in any case, the information which they contain shall be
retained by the Member States for at least two years fol-
lowing the end of the calendar year of the reference
period to which those declarations relate.
Article 14
Failure by any party responsible for providing statistical in-
formation to fulfil his obligations under this Regulation
shall be liable to the penalties which the Member States
shall lay down in accordance with their national provisions.
Article 15
Pursuant to Article 30, periodic surveys may be organized
on the trading of goods between Member States by private
individuals and on movements of goods or on intra-Com-
munity operators excluded from the returns benefitting
(SIC! benefiting) from simplification measures under spe-
cific provisions relating to the various statistics on the trad-
ing of goods.
Article 16
The Commission shall report to the European Parliament
and the Council in good time on the operation of the In-
trastat system for each category of statistics relating to the
trading of goods between Member States covered by the
Intrastat system, with a view to possible adaptation of the
system at the end of the transitional period referred to in
Article 1.3330/91
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9CHAPTER III
Statistics on trade between Member States
Article 17
Statistics on trade between Member States shall cover, on
the one hand, movements of goods leaving the Member
State of dispatch and, on the other, movements of goods
entering the Member State of arrival.
Article 18
1. The Member State of dispatch shall be the Member
State in which the goods leaving it are the subject of a
dispatch.
’Dispatch’ shall mean the shipment of goods referred to in
paragraph 2 to a destination in another Member State.
2. In a given Member State the following may be the
subject of a dispatch:
(a) Community goods which, in that Member State:
— are not in direct or interrupted transit,
— are in direct or interrupted transit, but, having
entered that Member State as non-Community
goods, have subsequently been released for free
circulation there;
(b) non-Community goods placed, maintained or obtained
in that Member State under inward processing cus-
toms arrangements or under arrangements for proces-
sing under customs control.
Article 19
The Member State of arrival shall be the Member State in
which the goods entering it:
(a) as Community goods:
— a r en o ti nd i r e c to ri n t e r r u p t e dt r a n s i ti nt h a t
Member State,
— are in direct or interrupted transit in that
Member State but leave it following formalities
for export from the statistical territory of the
Community;
(b) as non-Community goods referred to in Article 18 (2)
(b), are:
(1) released for free circulation;
(2) maintained under inward processing customs ar-
rangements or under arrangements for processing
under customs control or again made subject to
such arrangements.3330/91
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10Article 20
With a view to collecting the data required for the statis-
tics of trade between Member States, the provisions of
Chapter II shall be supplemented as follows:
(1) without prejudice to Article 34, the Intrastat system
shall apply to the goods referred to in Articles 18 (2)
(a) and 19 (a);
(2) the partner countries in trading of goods between
Member States within the meaning of Article 7 (1)
shall be the Member State of dispatch and the
Member State of arrival;
(3) within the Intrastat system, the Member State of dis-
patch shall be defined as that in which the goods
which are dispatched from there to another Member
S t a t ec o m eu n d e rt h et e r m so fA r t i c l e1 8( 2 )( a ) ;
(4) within the Intrastat system, the Member State of arri-
val shall be defined as that in which the goods whiche n t e rf r o ma n o t h e rM e m b e rS t a t ec o m eu n d e rt h e
terms of Article 19 (a)
;
(5) the party responsible for providing the information re-
ferred to in Article 8 shall be the natural or legal
person who:
(a) registered for value-added tax in the Member
State of dispatch:
— has concluded the contract, with the excep-
tion of transport contracts, giving rise to the
dispatch of goods or, failing this,
— dispatches or provides for the dispatch of
the goods or, failing this,
— is in possession of the goods which are the
subject of the dispatch;
(b) registered for value-added tax in the Member
State of arrival:
— has concluded the contract, with the expec-
tion (SIC! exception) of transport contracts,
giving rise to the delivery of goods or, fail-
ing this,
— takes possession or provides for possession
to be taken of the goods or, failing this,
— is in possession of the goods which are the
subject of the delivery;
(6) the Commission shall adopt the provisions provided
for in Article 7 (3) in due course;
(7) the reference period referred to in the first indent of
Article 13 (2) shall be:3330/91
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11— for goods to which the Intrastat system applies,
the calendar month during which the value-
added tax becomes due on intra-Community de-
liveries or acquisitions of goods, the movements
of which are to be recorded pursuant to this Ar-
ticle; when the period to which the periodic fis-
cal declaration of a party liable to account for
VAT refers does not correspond with a calendar
month, quarter, half-year or year, the Member
States may adapt the periodicity of the obliga-
tions relating to the statistical declarations of
that party to the periodicity of his obligations re-
lating to fiscal declarations,
— for goods to which the Intrastat system does not
apply, according to the circumstances:
— the calendar month during which the goods
are either placed or maintained under theinward processing customs procedure (sus-
pension system) or the procedure of proces-
sing under customs control or placed in free
circulation as a result of one of these pro-
cedures,
— the calendar month during which the goods,
circulating between parts of the statistical
territory of the Community, at least one of
which is not part of the territory of the
Community pursuant to Council Directive
77/388/EEC, have been subject to dispatch
or arrival procedures.
Article 21
On the statistical data medium to be transmitted to the
competent departments:
— without prejudice to Article 34, goods shall be desig-
n a t e di ns u c haw a ya st op e r m i te a s ya n dp r e c i s e
classification in the finest relevant subdivision of the
version of the combined nomenclature in force at the
time;
— the eight-digit code number of the corresponding
subdivision of the combined nomenclature shall also
be given for each type of goods.
Article 22
1. On the statistical data medium, the Member States
shall be described by the alphabetical or numerical codes
which the Commission shall determine pursuant to Article
30.3046/92
3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
122. Without prejudice to the provisions adopted by the
Commission pursuant to Article 30, the parties responsible
for providing information shall comply, for the purposes of
paragraph 1, with the instructions issued by the competent
national departments regarding the compiling of statistics
on trade between Member States.
Article 23
1. For each type of goods, the statistical data medium to
be transmitted to the competent departments must provide
the following data:
(a) in the Member State of arrival, the Member State of
consignment of the goods, within the meaning of Ar-
ticle 24 (1);
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the Member State
of destination of the goods, within the meaning of Ar-
ticle 24 (2);
(c) the quantity of goods, in net mass and supplementary
units;
(d) the value of the goods;
(e) the nature of the transaction;
(f) the delivery terms;
(g) the presumed mode of transport.2. Member States may not prescribe that data other
than those listed in paragraph 1 be provided on the stat-
istical data medium, except for the following:
(a) in the Member State of arrival, the country of origin;
however, this item may be required only as allowed
by Community law;
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the region of origin;
in the Member State of arrival, the region of destina-
tion;
(c) in the Member State of dispatch, the port or airport
of loading; in the Member State of arrival, the port
or airport of unloading;
(d) in the Member State of dispatch and in the Member
State of arrival, the presumed port or airport of trans-
hipment situated in another Member State provided
the latter prepares transit statistics;
(e) where appropriate, statistical procedure.
3. Insofar as not laid down in this Regulation, the data
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the rules governing
their inclusion on the statistical data medium shall be de-
fined by the Commission pursuant to Article 30.3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
13Article 24
1. When, before reaching the Member State of arrival,
goods have entered one or more countries in transit and
have been subject in those countries to halts or legal oper-
ations not inherent in their transport, the Member State of
consignment shall be taken to be the last Member State
where such halts or legal operations occurred. In other
cases, the Member State of consignment shall be the same
as the Member State of dispatch.
2. ’Member State of destination’ means the last country
to which it is known, at the time of dispatch, that the
goods are to be dispatched.
3. Notwithstanding Article 23 (1) (a), the party respon-
sible for providing information in the Member State of
arrival may, in the following order:
— if he does not know the Member State of consign-
ment, state the Member State of dispatch;
— if he does not know the Member State of dispatch,
state the Member State of purchase, within the mean-
ing of paragraph 4.
4. ’The Member State of purchase’ means the Member
State of residence of the contracting partner of the natural
or legal person who has concluded the contract, with the
exception of transport contracts, giving rise to the delivery
of goods in the Member State of arrival.
Article 25
1. The Community and the Member States shall compile
statistics on trade between Member States from the data
referred to in Article 23 (1).
2. Member States which do not compile statistics on
trade between Member States from the data referred to in
Article 23 (2) shall refrain from ordering the collection of
such data.
3. The Community and the Member States shall compile
statistics on trade between Member States, having regard
to such provisions as the Commission may adopt pursuant
to Article 30 on general and specific exemptions and the
statistical thresholds.
4. Any provision which has the effect of excluding goods
referred to in Articles 18 and 19 from the compilation of
the statistics of trade between Member States shall sus-
pend the obligation to supply statistical information on the
g o o d st h u se x c l u d e d .
Article 26
1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission their
monthly statistics on trade between Member States. These
statistics shall cover the data referred to in Article 23 (1).3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
142. Where necessary, the procedure for such transmission
shall be laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article
30.
3. Data declared confidential by the Member States
under the conditions referred to in Article 32 shall be
transmitted by them in accordance with Council Regulation
(Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11 June 1990 on the
transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to
the Statistical Office of the European Communities (1).
Article 27
Provisions regarding the simplification of statistical in-
formation shall be adopted by the Council on a proposal
from the Commission.
Article 28
1. For the purposes of this Chapter, statistical thresholds
shall be defined as limits expressed in terms of value, at
which level the obligations incumbent on parties respon-
sible for providing information shall be suspended or re-
duced.
These thresholds shall apply without prejudice to the
provisions of Article 15.
2. The statistical thresholds shall be known as exclusion,
assimilation or simplification thresholds.
3. Exclusion thresholds shall apply to the parties re-
quired to provide information referred to in the secondsubparagraph of Article 5.
They shall apply in all Member States and shall be deter-
mined, by each of the said Member States, in accordance
with national tax provisions adopted pursuant to Directive
77/388/EEC.
4. Assimilation thresholds shall exempt parties required
to provide information from having to supply the declar-
ations referred to in Article 13 (1); the periodic tax declar-
ation which they make as parties liable to account for VAT ,
including parties within the meaning of Article 11 (7), shall
be considered to be the statistical declaration.
Assimilation thresholds shall apply in all Member States
and shall be set, by each of the said Member States, at
higher levels than the exclusion thresholds.
5. Simplification thresholds shall exempt parties required
to provide information from the full provisions of Article
23; the declarations referred to in Article 13 (1) need only
state for each type of goods, in addition to the code
number referred to in the second indent of Article 21, the
Member State of consignment or destination and the value
of the goods.
(1) OJ No L 151, 15. 6. 1991, p. 1.3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
15Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph
9, they shall be applied at the levels determined by para-
graph 8 in Member States whose assimilation thresholds
are lower than these levels.
In Member States whose assimilation thresholds are set at
levels equal to or, pursuant to the first subparagraph of
paragraph 9, higher than those determined by paragraph 8,
simplification thresholds shall be optional.
6. Assimilation and simplificiation (SIC! simplification)
thresholds shall be expressed in annual values of intra-
Community trade operations.
They shall be determined by dispatch or arrival flows.
They shall apply separately to intra-Community operators
at the dispatch stage and to intra-Community operators at
the arrival stage. Without prejudice to paragraph 10, those
Member States which elect to use the option set out in the
first subparagraph of paragraph 9 may, however, determinethe obligations of those responsible for providing the in-
formation at both the dispatch and the arrival stages in
accordance with the flow for which the annual value of
their intra-Community operations is highest.
The assimilation and simplification thresholds may vary
from one Member State to another, by product group and
by period.
7. With a view to the application of the assimilation and
simplification thresholds by the Member States, the Com-
mission shall determine, pursuant to Article 30, the quality
requirements which must be met by the statistics compiled
by the Member States under Article 25 (1).
8. The simplification thresholds shall be set at ECU
100 000 for dispatch and ECU 100 000 for arrival.
Pursuant to Article 30, the Commission may raise the sim-
plification threshold levels, provided that the quality re-
quirements referred to in paragraph 7 above are met.
9. Member States may, provided that the requirements
set out in paragraph 7 are met, set their assimilation and
simplification thresholds at levels higher than those in
paragraph 8. They shall inform the Commission thereof.
Member States may, in order to comply with the require-
ments set out in paragraph 7, derogate to the extent
necessary from the requirements of the second subpara-
graph of paragraph 5. They shall inform the Commission
thereof.
The Commission may ask the Member States to justify the
measures which they take by providing it with all appropri-
ate information.3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
1610. If Member States’ application of the assimilation and
simplification thresholds affects the quality of intra-Com-
munity trade statistics, bearing in mind the data supplied
by the Member States, or increases the burden on parties
required to provide information, such that the objectives of
this Regulation are compromised, the Commission shall
adopt, pursuant to Article 30, provisions which restore the
conditions needed to ensure the required quality or to ease
the burden.
CHAPTER IV
Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods
between Member States
Article 29
1. A Committee on the statistics relating to the trading
of goods between Member States, hereinafter called ’the
Committee’, is hereby established. It shall be composed of
representatives of the Member States and chaired by a
Commission representative.
2. The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.
3. The Committee may examine any question relating to
the implementation of this Regulation raised by its chair-
man, either on his own initiative or at the request of the
representative of a Member State.
Article 30
1. The provisions required for the implementation of
this Regulation shall be adopted according to the pro-
cedure laid down in paragraph 2 and 3.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to
the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within atime limit which the chairman may lay down according to
the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered
by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the T reaty
in the case of decisions which the Council is required to
adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of
the representatives of the Member States within the com-
mittee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Ar-
ticle. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall
apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in
accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall
be communicated by the Commission to the Council forth-
with.
In that event, the Commission may defer application of the
measures which it has decided for a period of not more
than one month from the date of such communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a
different decision within the time limit referred to in the
second subparagraph.3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
17CHAPTER V
Final provisions
Article 31
On a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall
adopt the provisions necessary to enable the Community
or its Member States to compile the statistics other than
statistics of trade between Member States referred to in
Article 4.
Article 32
1. On a proposal from the Commission, the Council
shall decide on the conditions under which the Member
States may declare data compiled in accordance with this
Regulation, or the Regulations provided for herein, to be
confidential.
2. Until the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 have
been laid down, Member States’ provisions on this matter
shall apply.
Article 33
The Commission may, by the procedure laid down in Ar-
ticle 30, adapt as necessary the provisions of this Regula-
tion:
— to the consequences of amendments to Directive
77/388/EEC;
— to specific movements of goods within the meaning of
the statistical regulations of the Community.
Article 34
1. In respect both of goods subject to the Intrastat sys-
tem and of other goods, the Commission may, for the pur-
pose of facilitating the task of the parties responsible for
providing information, establish in accordance with Article
30 simplified data collection procedures and in particular
create the conditions for increased use of automatic data
processing and electronic data transmission.
2. In order to take account of their individual adminis-
trative arrangements, Member States may establish simpli-
fied procedures other than those referred to in paragraph
1, provided that those responsible for providing informa-
tion may choose the procedures they will use.
Member States exercising this option shall inform the
Commission accordingly.
Article 35
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day fol-
lowing that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities .3330/91
3330/91 - - - I
18Except insofar as they require the Council or the Commis-
sion to adopt provisions implementing this Regulation be-
f o r et h a td a t e ,A r t i c l e1t o9 ,1 11 3( 1 )a n d1 4t o2 7s h a l l
apply as from the date of implementation of Council Re-
gulation (EEC) No 2726/90 of 17 September 1990 on
Community transit (1).
As from the date referred to in the second subparagraph,
Regulation (EEC) No 2954/85 shall be repealed and Re-
gulation (EEC) No 1736/75 shall cease to apply to the
statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member
States to which it was applicable.
(1) OJ No L 262, 26. 9. 1990, p. 1.3330/91