1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)No 3330/91
of 7 November 1991
on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
(OJ L 316, 16.11.1991, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
Nopage date
►M1Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3046/92 of 22 October 1992 L 307 27 23.10.1992
►M2Regulation (EC) No 1182/1999 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 10 May 1999 L 144 1 9.6.1999
►M3Regulation (EC) No 1624/2000 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 10 July 2000 L 187 1 26.7.2000
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).
▼B
COUNCIL 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 Treaty establishing the European Economic
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; whereas a satisfactory levelof information on the trading of goods between Member States should
thus be ensured by means other than those involving checks, even
indirect ones, 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 willpersist 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 accounts or the balance ofpayments, and many of them cannot be met by means of highly
aggregated data alone; whereas matters such as trade policy, sectoral
analyses, competition rules, the management and guidance of agricultureand fisheries, regional development, energy projections and theorganization of transport must on the contrary be based on statisticaldocumentation providing the most up-to-date, accurate and detailedview 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 theinternal market, thereby speeding up its completion and consolidating iton 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, documentationand controls which the customs authorities, for their own requirements
or for those of other departments, prescribe for consignors and
consignees of goods in circulation between Member States, but whichwill disappear through the elimination of physical frontiers and taxbarriers;
Whereas it will consequently be necessary to collect directly from the
consignors and consignees the data necessary to compile statistics
relating to the trading of goods between Member States, using methodsand techniques which will ensure that they are exhaustive, reliable andup to date, without giving rise for the parties concerned, in particular forsmall 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 thosestatistics which are not to be harmonized or made compulsory by theCommunity before 1993;1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ NoC 254, 9. 10. 1990, p. 7 and
OJ NoC 47, 23. 2. 1991, p. 10.
(2) OJ NoC 324, 24. 12. 1990, p. 268 and
OJ NoC 280, 28. 10. 1991.
(3) OJ NoC 332, 31. 12. 1990, p. 1.
▼B
Whereas the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member
States are a function of the movements of goods involved; whereas theymay include data on transport, 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 toensure that these advantagesare not diminished in their eyes by requirements for statisticalinformation; whereas the provision of such information wouldundoubtedly impose an obligation which private individuals wouldconsider inconvenient 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 forproviding such information, apart from suitable periodic surveys;
Whereas the new collection system to be introduced is to apply to all
statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States;whereas it must therefore be defined first in a general context involvingnew concepts, particularly as regards the scope, the party responsible forproviding 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 confusion arisingin the minds of the parties responsible for providing informationbetween their statistical and their tax obligations;
Whereas it is vital touse existing so urces toco mpile basic
documentation in each Member State regarding consignors andconsignees of goods which are covered by statistics of trade betweenMember States, so as to identify, in preparation for 1992, the main
parties concerned and to develop modern data transmission techniques
with their assistance;
Whereas implementation alone will reveal loopholes or weaknesses in
the new collection system; whereas improvements and simplifications
should be introduced within a reasonable period of time in order toprevent defects from having negative repercussions on the trading ofgoods between Member States;
Whereas, among the statistics relating to the trading of goods between
Member States, statistics of trade between Member States must receivepriority, for obvious reasons of importance and continuity; whereas,however, substantial 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 toreview, interalia, the definition of
their content, the goods classification applicable to them and the list ofdata to be collected to compile them; whereas it is desirable to adoptforthwith the principle on which the statistical thresholds will 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 committee 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 thetrading of goods between Member States following the numerousinnovations introduced by the new collection system;
Whereas relevant Community legislation should be supplemented
systematically by provisions adopted either by the Council or by theCommission;
Whereas some of the provisions of this Regulation must enter into force
without delay so that the Community and its Member States can preparefor the practical consequences which it will entail as from 1 January1993;
Whereas one of these consequences is that Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2954/85 of 22 October 1985 laying down certain measures for thestandardization and simplification of the statistics of trade between1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 3
▼B
Member States(1) must be repealed and that Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1736/75 of 24 June 1975 on the external trade statistics of theCommunity and statistics of trade between Member States(
2), as last
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1629/88(3), will nolo nger be
applicable to statistics relating to the trading of goods between MemberStates,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The Community and its Member States shall compile statistics relating
to the trading of goods between Member States, in accordance with therules laid down by this Regulation, during the transitional period whichshall begin on 1 January 1993 and end on the date of changeover to aunified 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 orterritories which are not part of the customs territory of theCommunity,
— from countries or territories not forming part of the customs
territory of the Community which have been released for free
circulation in a Member State,
— obtained in the customs territory of the Community either from
the goods referred to exclusively in the second indent or from the
goods referred 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 implementation of the Community transitarrangements, goods which, while fulfilling the conditions laiddown in (c), are reintroduced into the customs territory of theCommunity after export therefrom are also considered as non-
Community goods;
(e) ‘Member State’, when the term is used in the geographical 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 theCommunity, as this latter is defined in Article 3 of Regulation(EEC) No1736/75;
(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
formalities linked to the crossing of internal frontiers;
(h) ‘private individual’ means any natural person not liable to account
for VAT in connection with a given movement of goods.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ NoL 285, 25. 10. 1985, p. 1.
(2) OJ NoL 183, 14. 7. 1975, p. 3.
(3) OJ NoL 147, 14. 6. 1988, p. 1.
(4) OJ NoL 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
▼B
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 MemberState to another if, in so doing, they cross the external frontier of theCommunity, whether of (SIC! or) not they subsequently enter theterritory 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 a Member State without beingstored 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 orleave storage facilities determined by the Commission in accordancewith 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, whilemeeting either of those conditions, are expressly designated by thisRegulation 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 thetrading of goods between Member States.
2. Without prejudice to Community provisions on statistical returns
in respect of carriage of goods, the data on the movement of goods
subject tothe statistics referred toin paragraph 1 shall be included, asnecessary, in the list of data relating to each of these categories ofstatistics on the conditions and terms laid down by this Regulation or bythe 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
toin Article 4.
This exemption shall also apply to the party responsible for providing
information who, being liable to account for VAT, qualifies, in theMember State in which he is responsible for providing information, forone of the special schemes provided for by Articles 24 and 25 of
Directive 77/388/EEC. This provision shall be extended, mutatis
mutandis,t o►
M1legal persons not liable to account for VAT ◄
and to►M1parties liable to account who carry out only transactions
not entitling them to any deduction of VAT ◄, who,►M1pursuant to
Council Directive 91/680/EEC(1)◄, are not required to submit a tax
declaration.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ NoL 376, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1.
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CHAPTER II
Statistical collection system
Intrastat
Article 6
With a view to compiling the statistics relating to the trading of goods
between Member States, a statistical collection system shall be set up,hereinafter referred toas 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 referred 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 formalities prescribed byCommunity legislation on the circulation of goods, are expresslydesignated either by this Regulation or by the Commission pursuant
toArticle 30.
3. The collection of data on the goods referred to in Article 3 to
which the Intrastat system does not apply shall be regulated by theCommission pursuant to Article 30 within the framework of theformalities referred to in paragraph 2 (b).
4. The Intrastat system shall apply:
(a) tostatistics o f trade between Member States, pursuant toArticle 17
to28;
(b) to transit and storage statistics, in accordance with provisions laid
down by the Council on a proposal from the Commission pursuant
toArticle 31.
5. Saving a decision to the contrary by the Council on a proposal
from the Commission, in particular pursuant to Article 31, nationalprovisions on the statistics referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, inso 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 incumbent on any natural orlegal person who is involved in the trading of goods between MemberStates.
Among those incurring this obligation, the party responsible for
providing information for each category of statistics 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 athird party residing in a Member State, but such transfer shall in noway
reduce the responsibility of the said party.
The party responsible for providing information shall provide such third
party with all the information necessary to fulfil his obligations as partyresponsible.
2. The party responsible for providing information may be required,
at the express request of the departments responsible for compiling1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 6
▼B
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 byhimself or by a third party,
— he has transferred the task of providing the information required by
the Intrastat system tothat third party, who m he shall identify.
3. Paragraph 1 shall not apply:
(a) in cases where Article 28 (4) applies;
(b) in Member States where the periodic declaration referred to in
Article 13 (1) is not distinct from the periodic declaration requiredfor tax purposes and inasmuch as the tax rules in force relating todeclaration 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 toensure that
those of their departments which are responsible for compiling statistics
relating to the trading of goods between Member States have a registerof 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 arrival the consignees and where
necessary the declarants, within the meaning of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No2792/86(
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 toensure that their tax autho rities have at their
disposal, by 1 January 1993 at the latest, a register:
(a) listing the parties liable to account for VAT who, during the 12
months prior to that date, took part in the trading of goods betweenMember States as consignors upon dispatch and as consignees uponarrival;
(b) intended tolist ►
M1legal persons not liable to account for
VAT◄and►M1parties liable to account who carry out only
transactions not entitling them to any deduction of VAT ◄who,
from that date, carry out their acquisitions, ►M1within the
meaning of Directive 91/680/EEC ◄.
In those Member States, the abovementioned tax authorities shall, in
addition to the identification number referred to in paragraph 6, supplythe statistical departments referred toin paragraph 1 with the
information included in that register which is used to identify those
intra-Community operators, under the conditions required for applica-tion of this Regulation.
4. The list of minimum data to be recorded in the register 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.
5. From 1 January 1993, the register of intra-Community operators
shall be managed and updated in the Member States by the relevantdepartments on the basis of the declarations 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 accordance with
Article 30, the other rules relating to the management and updating ofthe register of intra-Community operators to be applied in the MemberStates by the relevant departments.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 7
(1) OJ NoL 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 1.
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6. Apart from exceptions which they shall justify to the parties
responsible for providing statistical information, the relevant statisticaldepartments shall use in their relations with those parties, and in
particular with a view to application 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 departments in that Member State
responsible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of goodsbetween Member States with the lists of those liable to account for VATwho have declared that, during the period in question, they have madeacquisitions in other Member States or deliveries to other Member
States.
2. The lists referred toin paragraph 1 shall alsoinclude:
(a) parties liable to account for VAT who have declared that, during the
period in question, they have conducted trading of goods between
Member States which, although not resulting from acquisitions or
deliveries, must be the subject of a periodic tax declaration;
(b)►
M1legal persons not liable to account for VAT ◄and
►M1parties liable to account who carry out only transactions
not entitling them to any deduction of VAT ◄whohave declared
that, during the same period, they have conducted trading of goodsbetween Member States which must be the subject of a periodic taxdeclaration.
3. The lists shall indicate, for each operator on them, the value of
trading of goods between Member States which the operator hasmentioned in his periodic tax declaration in accordance with►
M1Directive 91/680/EEC ◄.
4. Under restrictive conditions, which the Commission shall deter-
mine pursuant toArticle 30, each Member State's co mpetent taxauthorities shall in addition furnish the departments in that MemberState responsible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of goodsbetween Member States, on their own initiative or at the request of the
latter, with any information capable of improving the quality of statistics
which those liable to account for VAT normally submit to the competenttax authorities to comply with tax requirements.
The information communicated to them in accordance with the first
subparagraph shall be treated by the statistical departments, vis-à-vis
third parties, in accordance with the rules applied to it by the taxauthorities.
5. Whatever the administrative structure of the Member State, the
party responsible for providing statistical information 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, theinformation he supplies in comparison with the data he communicates tothe 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 taxpurposes, the competent tax authorities shall draw attention to theobligations which they may incur as parties responsible for providing theinformation required by the Intrastat system.
7. For the purpose of applying paragraphs 4 and 6, ‘parties liable to
account for VAT’ shall also mean ►
M1legal persons not liable to
account for VAT ◄and►M1parties liable to account who carry out
only transactions not entitling them to any deduction of VAT ◄who
carry out acquisitions within the meaning of ►M1Directive 91/680/
EEC◄.
8. Administrative assistance between national departments of
different Member States responsible for compiling statistics relating tothe trading of goods between Member States shall, as necessary, beregulated by the Commission pursuant to Article 30.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 8
▼B
Article 12
1. The statistical information media required by the Intrastat system
shall be set up by the Commission pursuant to Article 30 in respect ofeach category of statistics relating to the trading of goods betweenMember States.
2. In order to take account of their particular administrative
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 referred to in
Article 13 (1) is not distinct from the periodic declaration required
for tax purposes and inasmuch as the tax rules in force relating todeclaration obligations prevent such application.
Article 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, 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 ofgoods between Member States,
— the procedures for the transmission of the information, especially
with a view tomaking available tothe parties respo nsible fo rproviding 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 MemberStates for at least two years following the end of the calendar year of thereference period to which those declarations relate.
Article 14
Failure by any party responsible for providing statistical information to
fulfil his obligations under this Regulation shall be liable to the penaltieswhich the Member States shall lay down in accordance with theirnational 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-Community operators excluded fromthe returns benefitting (SIC! benefiting) from simplification measuresunder specific provisions relating to the various statistics on the tradingof goods.
Article 16
The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the
Council in good time on the operation of the Intrastat system for eachcategory of statistics relating to the trading of goods between MemberStates covered by the Intrastat system, with a view to possible adaptationof the system at the end of the transitional period referred to in Article 1.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 9
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CHAPTER 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 beenreleased for free circulation there;
(b) non-Community goods placed, maintained or obtained in that
Member State under inward processing customs arrangements orunder arrangements for processing 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:
— are not in direct or interrupted transit in that Member State,
— are in direct or interrupted transit in that Member State but leave
it following formalities for export from the statistical territory ofthe 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 arrangements or
under arrangements for processing under customs control or
again made subject tosuch arrangements.
Article 20
With a view to collecting the data required for the statistics 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 dispatch shall be
defined as that in which the goods which are dispatched from there
to another Member State come under the terms of Article 18 (2) (a)►
M1 ◄;
(4) within the Intrastat system, the Member State of arrival shall be
defined as that in which the goods which enter from anotherMember State come under the terms of Article 19 (a)►
M1 ◄;1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 10
▼B
(5) the party responsible for providing the information referred to in
Article 8 shall be the natural or legal person who:
(a)►M1registered for value-added tax ◄in the Member State of
dispatch:
— has concluded the contract, with the exception 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)►M1registered for value-added tax ◄in the Member State of
arrival:
— has concluded the contract, with the expection (SIC!
exception) of transport contracts, giving rise to the deliveryof goods or, failing 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:
— for goods to which the Intrastat system applies, the calendar
month during which the value-added tax becomes due on intra-Community deliveries or acquisitions of goods, the movementsof which are to be recorded pursuant to this Article; when the
period to which the periodic fiscal declaration of a party liable to
account for VAT refers does not correspond with a calendarmonth, quarter, half-year or year, the Member States may adaptthe periodicity of the obligations relating to the statisticaldeclarations of that party to the periodicity of his obligationsrelating tofiscal declaratio ns,
— for goods to which the Intrastat system does not apply, according
tothe circumstances:
— the calendar month during which the goods are either placed
or maintained under the inward processing customs proce-
dure (suspension system) or the procedure of processingunder customs control or placed in free circulation as a resultof one of these procedures,
— 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, havebeen subject to dispatch or arrival procedures.
Article 21
On the statistical data medium tobe transmitted tothe co mpetent
departments:
— without prejudice to Article 34, goods shall be designated in such a
way as topermit easy and precise classificatio n in the finest relevantsubdivision of the version of the combined nomenclature in force atthe time;
— the eight-digit code number of the corresponding subdivision of the
combined nomenclature shall also be given for each type of goods.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 11
▼M1
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Article 22
1. On the statistical data medium, the Member States shall be
described by the alphabetical or numerical codes which the Commissionshall determine pursuant toArticle 30.
2. 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 ofstatistics 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 Article 24 (1);
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the Member State of destination of
the goods, within the meaning of Article 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.
2. Member States may prescribe that the following additional data be
provided on the statistical data medium:
(a) in the Member States of arrival, the country of origin; however, that
information may only be prescribed within the limits of Communitylaw;
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the region of origin; in the Member
State of arrival, the region of destination.
3. In the case of providers of statistical information whose annual
value of arrivals or dispatches falls below the thresholds fixed by theCommission in accordance with the procedure established under Article30, it shall not be prescribed that data other than those listed inparagraphs 1 and 2 be provided for such arrivals or dispatches on the
statistical data medium.
Apart from the data provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2, Member States
may, solely in respect of providers of statistical information withdispatches or arrivals of an annual value in excess of the abovethresholds, prescribe that the following additional data be provided onthe statistical data medium:
(a) the delivery terms;
(b) the presumed mode of transport;
(c) the statistical procedure.
►
M24.◄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 defined by the Commissionpursuant toArticle 30.
5. The Commission shall ensure publication of a list of the data
required of providers of statistical information by the Member States, aswell as the thresholds referred to in paragraph 3, in the Official Journal
of the European Communities .1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 12
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Article 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 operations not inherent in their transport, theMember State of consignment shall be taken to be the last Member Statewhere such halts or legal operations occurred. In other cases, theMember State of consignment shall be the same as the Member State ofdispatch.
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 responsible for
providing information in the Member State of arrival may, in the
following order:
— if he does not know the Member State of consignment, state the
Member State of dispatch;
— if he does not know the Member State of dispatch, state the Member
State of purchase, within the meaning 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 whohas 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 theCommission may adopt pursuant to Article 30 on general and specificexemptions 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 tradebetween Member States shall suspend the obligation to supply statisticalinformation on the goods thus excluded.
Article 26
1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission their monthly
statistics on trade between Member States. These statistics shall coverthe data referred toin Article 23 (1).
2. 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 inaccordance with Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of 11June 1990 on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidenti-ality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities(
1).
Article 27
Provisions regarding the simplification of statistical information 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 the1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 13
(1) OJ NoL 151, 15. 6. 1990, p. 1.
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obligations incumbent on parties responsible for providing information
shall be suspended or reduced.
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 required to provide
information referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 5.
They shall apply in all Member States and shall be determined, by each
of the said Member States, in accordance with national tax provisionsadopted pursuant to Directive 77/388/EEC.
4. Assimilation thresholds shall exempt parties required to provide
information from having to supply the declarations referred to in Article
13 (1); the periodic tax declaration which they make as parties liable toaccount 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; these parties needonly report in the declarations referred to in Article 13(1) a maximum often of the finest relevant subheadings of the combined nomenclature that
are the most important in terms of value and shall regroup the other
products in residual subheadings according to detailed arrangements tobe determined bythe Commission pursuant to Article 30. Foreach oftheaforementioned subheadings, in addition to the code number referred toin the second indent of Article 21, the Member State of consignment ordestination and the value of the goods need to be stated.
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph 9, they shall be
applied at the levels determined by paragraph 8 in Member States whoseassimilation 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 thosedetermined 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. Withoutprejudice toparagraph 10, tho se Member States which elect touse theoption set out in the first subparagraph of paragraph 9 may, however,determine the obligations of those responsible for providing the
information at both the dispatch and the arrival stages in accordance
with the flow for which the annual value of their intra-Communityoperations 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 simplifica-
tion thresholds by the Member States, the Commission shall determine,
pursuant toArticle 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 100000 for
dispatch and ECU 100000 for arrival.
Pursuant to Article 30, the Commission may raise the simplification
threshold levels, provided that the quality requirements referred to inparagraph 7 above are met.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 14
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9. Member States may, provided that the requirements set out in
paragraph 7 are met, set their assimilation and simplification thresholdsat levels higher than those in paragraph 8. They shall inform the
Commission thereof.
Member States may, in order to comply with the requirements set out in
paragraph 7, derogate to the extent necessary from the requirements ofthe second subparagraph of paragraph 5. They shall inform theCommission thereof.
The Commission may ask the Member States to justify the measures
which they take by providing it with all appropriate information.
10. If Member States' application of the assimilation and simplifica-
tion thresholds affects the quality of intra-Community trade statistics,
bearing in mind the data supplied by the Member States, or increases the
burden on parties required to provide information, such that theobjectives of this Regulation are compromised, the Commission shalladopt, pursuant to Article 30, provisions which restore the conditionsneeded toensure the required quality o r toease 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 herebyestablished. It shall be composed of representatives of the MemberStates 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 chairman, either on hisown 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 procedure 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 shalldeliver its opinion on the draft within a time 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 Treaty inthe case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on aproposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of theMember States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply
immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance withthe opinion of the committee, they shall be communicated by theCommission to the Council forthwith.
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 thedate 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.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 15
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CHAPTER 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 tocompile the statistics other than statistics of trade between Member
States referred toin 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 Regulationsprovided 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 Article 30, adapt
as necessary the provisions of this Regulation:
— 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 system and of other
goods, the Commission may, for the purpose of facilitating the task of
the parties responsible for providing information, establish in accor-dance with Article 30 simplified data collection procedures and inparticular create the conditions for increased use of automatic dataprocessing and electronic data transmission.
2. In order to take account of their individual administrative
arrangements, Member States may establish simplified procedures other
than those referred to in paragraph 1, provided that those responsible forproviding information 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 following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Except insofar as they require the Council or the Commission to adopt
provisions implementing this Regulation before that date, Article 1 to 9,
11 13 (1) and 14 to 27 shall apply as from the date of implementation of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2726/90 of 17 September 1990 onCommunity transit(
1).
As from the date referred to in the second subparagraph, Regulation
(EEC) No2954/85 shall be repealed and Regulatio n (EEC) No1736/75shall cease to apply to the statistics relating to the trading of goodsbetween Member States towhich it was applicable.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.1991R3330 — EN — 01.01.2001 — 002.001 — 16
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