1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of28May1969
ontheharmonisationofprovisionslaiddownbylaw,regulationoradministrativeactionrelating
toexemptionfromturnovertaxandexcisedutyonimportsininternationaltravel
(69/169/EEC)
(OJ L 133, 4.6.1969, p. 6)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Second Council Directive 72/230/EEC of 12 June 1972 L 139 28 17.6.1972
►M2Third Council Directive 78/1032/EEC of 19 December 1978 L 366 28 28.12.1978
►M3Fourth Council Directive 78/1033/EEC of 19 December 1978 L 366 31 28.12.1978
►M4Council Directive 81/933/EEC of 17 November 1981 L 338 24 25.11.1981
►M5Council Directive 82/443/EEC of 29 June 1982 L 206 35 14.7.1982
►M6Council Directive 84/231/EEC of 30 April 1984 L 117 42 3.5.1984
►M7Council Directive 85/348/EEC of 8 July 1985 L 183 24 16.7.1985
►M8Council Directive 87/198/EEC of 16 March 1987 L 78 53 20.3.1987
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of28May1969
ontheharmonisationofprovisionslaiddownbylaw,regulationor
administrative action relating to exemption from turnover tax and
excise dutyonimportsininternationaltravel
(69/169/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 99 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;Whereas, notwithstanding the achievement of the customs union, which
involvesthe abolition of cus tomsdutiesand the majority of the chargeshaving equivalent effect in trade between Member States, it is neces-
sary, until harmonisation of indirect taxes has reached an advanced
stage, to retain the imposition of tax on importation and the remissionof tax on exportation in such trade;
Whereas it is desirable that, even before such harmonisation, the popu-
lations of the Member States should become more strongly consciousof the reality of the common market and that to thisend meas ures
should be adopted for the greater liberalisation of the system of taxes
on imports in travel between Member States; whereas the need for suchmeasures has been emphasised repeatedly by members of theAssembly;
Whereas reductions of this kind in respect of travel constitute a further
step in the direction of the reciprocal opening of the markets of the
Member States and the creation of conditions similar to those of a
domestic market;
Whereas such reductions must be limited to non-commercial importa-
tions of goods by travellers; whereas, as a general rule, such goodscan only be obtained in the country from which they come (countryof exit) already taxed, so that if the country of entry forgoes, within
the prescribed limits, charging turnover tax and excise duty on imports,
thisavoidsdouble taxation without leading to an abs ence of taxation;
Whereas a Community system of tax reductions on imports has proved
necessary also in respect of travel between third countries and theCommunity;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. Goodscontained in the pers onal luggage of travellerscoming
from third countries shall be exempt from the turnover tax and exciseduty levied on importsif the imported goodshave no commercial char-
acter and the total value of the goodsdoesnot exceed
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M445 ECU ◄per person.
2. Member Statesmay reduce thisexemption to ►M423 ECU ◄
for travellersunder fifteen yearsold.
3. Where the total value per person of several items exceeds
►M5the amount set out in paragraph 1 ◄or the amount fixed
pursuant to paragraph 2, as the case may be, exemption up to theseamounts shall be granted for such of the items as would, if importedseparately, have been granted exemption, it being understood that thevalue of an individual item cannot be split up.1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 2
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Article 2
1. Exemption from turnover tax and excise duty on imports shall
apply to goodscontained in the pers onal luggage of travellerscomingfrom Member Statesof the Community provided that they fulfil theconditionslaid down in Articles9 and 10 of the Treaty, have beenacquired subject to the general rules governing taxation on the
domestic market of one of the Member States and have no commercial
character and that the total value of the goodsdoesnot exceed►
M7350 ECU ◄per person.
2. Member Statesmay reduce thisexemption to ►M7up to
90 ECU ◄for travellersunder fifteen yearsold.
3. Where the total value per person of several items exceeds
►M5the amount set out in paragraph 1 ◄or the amount fixed
pursuant to paragraph 2, as the case may be, exemption up to theseamounts shall be granted for such of the items as would, if importedseparately, have been granted exemption, it being understood that thevalue of an individual item cannot be split up.
4. Where the travel referred to in paragraph 1:
— involvestrans it through the territory of a third country; overflying
without landing shall not, however, be regarded as transit withinthe meaning of thisDirective,
— beginsin a part of the territory of another Member State in which
turnover tax and/or excise duty is not chargeable on goodsconsumed within that territory,
the traveller must be able to establish that the goods transported in his
luggage have been acquired subject to the general conditions governingtaxation on the domestic market of a Member State and do not qualifyfor any refunding of turnover tax and/or excise duty, failing which
Article 1 shall apply.
5. Under no circumstances may the total value of the goods
exempted exceed the amount provided for in paragraph 1 or 2.
6. Every two years, and for the first time on 31 October 1987 at the
latest, the Council, acting in accordance with the procedures provided
for by the Treaty on this point, shall adjust the amounts of the exemp-
tionsreferred to in paragraphs1 and 2 in order to maintain the genuinevalue.
Article 3
For the purposes of this Directive:1. The value of personal effects which are imported temporarily or are
re-imported following their temporary export shall not be taken intoconsideration for determining the exemption referred to in Articles 1and 2.
2. Importationss hall be regarded ashaving no commercial character if
they:
(a) take place occasionally, and
(b) consist exclusively of goods for the personal or family use of the
travellers, or of goods intended as presents; the nature or quan-
tity of such goods must not be such as might indicate that theyare being imported for commercial reasons.
3. ‘Personal luggage’ shall mean the whole of the luggage which a
traveller is in a position to submit to the customs authorities uponhisarrival, aswell asluggage which he s ubmitslater to the s ameauthorities, subject to proof that such luggage was registered as1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 3
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accompanied luggage, at the time of hisdeparture, with the
company which has been responsible for conveying him.
The definition of ‘personal luggage’ shall not cover portable
containerscontaining fuel. However, for each meansof motor trans -port a quantity of fuel not exceeding 10 litress hall be admittedduty-free in such a container, without prejudice to national provi-
sions governing the possession and transport of fuel.
Article 4
1. Without prejudice to national provisions applicable to travellers
whose residence is outside Europe, each Member State shall set thefollowing quantitative limitsfor exemptionsfrom turnover tax andexcise duty of the goods listed below:
I
Travel between third
countriesand the
CommunityII
Travel between Member
States
(a) Tobacco products:
cigarettesor 200 300
cigarillos(cigarsof a maximum weight
of 3 grammeseach) 100 150
orcigarsor 50 75smoking tobacco 250 g 400 g
(b) Alcohol and alcoholic beverages:
—distilled beverages and spirits of an
alcoholic strength exceeding 22 %
vol; undenatured ethyl alcohol of80 % vol and over/C148/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C149/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C150a total of 1 litre a total of 1,5 litres
or distilled beverages and spirits,
and aperitifswith a wine or alcoholbase, tafia, sake or similar
beveragesof an alcoholic s trength
not exceeding 22 % vol; sparklingwines, fortified wines and/C148/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C149/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C147/C150a total of 2 litresa total of 3 litres
—still wines a total of 2 litresa total of 5 litres
(c) Perfumes50 g 75 g
and
toilet waters¼ litre ⅜litre
(d) Coffee 500 g 1 000 g
orcoffee extracts and essences 200 g 400 g
(e) Tea 100 g 200 g
ortea extracts and essences 40 g 80 g
2. Exemption of the goodsmentioned in paragraph 1 (a) and (b)
shall not be granted to travellers under 17 years of age.
Exemption for the goodsmentioned in paragraph 1 (d) s hall not be
granted to travellersunder 15 yearsof age.1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 4
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3. Within the quantitative limitss et in paragraph 1 and taking
account of the restrictions in paragraph 2, the value of the goods listedin paragraph 1 shall not be taken into consideration in determining the
exemption referred to in Articles1 and 2.
4. Where the travel referred to in Article 2 (1):
— involvestrans it through the territory of a third country; overflying
without landing shall not, however, be regarded as transit within
the meaning of thisDirective,
— beginsin a part of the territory of another Member State in which
turnover tax and/or excise duty is not chargeable on goodsconsumed within that territory,
the traveller must be able to establish that the goods transported in his
luggage have been acquired subject to the general conditions governingtaxation on the domestic market of a Member State and do not qualifyfor any refunding of turnover tax and/or duty, failing which the quanti-
ties set out in paragraph 1, column I, shall apply.
5. Under no circumstances may the total quantity of goods exempted
exceed the quantitiesprovided for in paragraph 1, column II.
Article 5
1. Member Statesmay reduce the value and/or quantity of the goods
which may be admitted duty free, down to one-tenth of the valuesand/
or quantitiesprovided for in Articles2 and 4 (1), column II, where
such goods are imported from another Member State by persons resi-dent in the frontier zone of the importing Member State or in that ofthe neighbouring Member State, by frontier zone workers, or by thecrew of the means of transport used in international travel.
However, duty free entitlement in respect of the goods listed below
may be asfollows :
(a) Tobacco products:
Cigarettes40
orcigarillos
(cigarsof a maximum weight of 3
grammeseach) 20
orcigars10orsmoking tobacco 50 g
(b) alcoholic beverages:
— distilled beverages and spirits, of an
alcoholic strength exceeding►
M522 % vol ◄ 0·25 litre
or
— distilled beverages and spirits, and
aperitifswith a wine or alcohol bas e
of an alcoholic strength not exceeding
►M522 % vol ◄;
sparkling wines, fortified wines 0·50 litre
and
— still wines 0·50 litre1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 5
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2. Member Statesmay s et lower limitsasto value and/or quantity
for the exemption of goodswhen they are imported from a thirdcountry by persons resident in the frontier zone, by frontier zone
workers or by the crew of the means of transport used in travel
between third countriesand the Community.
3. Member Statesmay s et lower limitsasto value and/or quantity
for the exemption of goodswhen they are imported from anotherMember State by membersof the armed forcesof a Member State,including civilian personnel and spouses and dependent children,
stationed in another Member State.
4. The restrictions in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply where the
persons referred to therein produce evidence to show that they are
going beyond the frontier zone or that they are not returning from thefrontier zone of the neighbouring Member State or third country.
These restrictions shall, however, still apply to frontier zone workers
and to the crew of the means of transport used in international travelwhere they import goodswhen travelling in the cours e of their work.
5. For the purposes of paragraphs 1, 2 and 4:
— ‘frontier zone’ meansa zone which, asthe crow flies , doesnot
extend more than 15 kilometresfrom the frontier of a Member
State. Each Member State must however include within its frontierzone the local administrative districts part of the territory of whichlieswithin the zone;
— ‘frontier zone worker’ means any person whose normal activities
require that he should go to the other side of the frontier onworking days.
►
M16.◄Member Statesmay exclude from exemption goods
falling within headingsNos71.07 and 71.08 of the Common Cus toms
Tariff.
►M17.◄Member Statesmay reduce the quantitiesof the goods
referred to in Article 4 (1) (a) and (d) for travellerscoming from athird country who enter a Member State.
Article 6
►
M11.◄Member States shall take appropriate measures to
avoid remission of tax being granted for deliveries to travellers whosedomicile, habitual residence or place of work is situated in a MemberState and who benefit from the arrangementsprovided for in thisDirective.
2. Without prejudice to rulesrelating to s alesmade at airport s hops
under customs control and on board aircraft, Member States shall take
the necessary steps with regard to sales at the retail stage to permit inthe cases and under the conditions provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4the remission of turnover tax on deliveries of goods carried in thepersonal luggage of travellers leaving a Member State. No remissionmay be granted in respect of excise duty.
3. As regards travellers whose domicile or habitual residence is situ-
ated outside the Community, each Member State may set limits and lay
down conditions of application in respect of tax remission.
As regards travellers whose domicile, habitual residence or place of
work is situated in a Member State, there may be remission of taxonly in respect of items the individual value of which, inclusive oftax, exceedsthe amount s pecified in Article 2 (1).
Member Statesmay exclude their res identsfrom the benefit of thistax
remission.1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 6
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4. Remission of tax shall be subject:
(a) in the cases referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, to
production of a copy of the invoice or other document in lieuthereof, endorsed by the customs of the exporting Member Statesto certify exportation of the goods;
(b) in the cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3,
to production of a copy of the invoice or other document in lieuthereof, endorsed by the customs of the Member State where final
importation takesplace or by another authority of that Member
State competent in mattersof turnover tax ►
M7proving that the
turnover tax hasbeen or will be applied ◄.
5. For the purposes of this Article:
— ‘domicile or habitual residence’ means the place entered as such in
a passport, identity card or, failing those, other identity documents
which the exporting Member State recognizesasvalid;
— ‘item’ meansa thing or a group of thingswhich normally cons titute
a whole.
Article 7
1. For the purposes of this Directive, ‘European unit of account’
(EUA) shall be as defined in the Financial Regulation of 21 December1977(
1).
2. The EUA equivalent in national currency which shall apply for
the implementation of thisDirective s hall be fixed once a year. Therates applicable shall be those obtaining on the first working day ofOctober with effect from 1 January of the following year.
3. Member Statesmay round off the amountsin national currency
resulting from the conversion of the amounts in EUA provided for inArticles1 and 2, provided s uch rounding-off doesnot exceed 2 EUA.
4. Member Statesmay maintain the amountsof the exemptionsin
force at the time of the annual adjustment provided for in paragraph 2if, prior to the rounding-off provided for in paragraph 3, conversion ofthe amounts of the exemptions expressed in EUA would result in a
change of less than 5 % in the exemption expressed in national
currency ►
M7or to a lowering of thisexemption ◄.
Article 7a
Member Statess hall, within the framework of intra-Community travel,
take the necessary steps to enable travellers to confirm tacitly or by a
simple oral declaration that they are complying with the authorizedlimitsand conditionsfor the duty-free entitlements .
It shall be open to Member States not to levy turnover tax or excise
duty on the import of goodsby a traveller when the amount of the taxwhich should be levied is equal to, or less than, 5 ECU.
Article 7b
1. By way of derogation from Article 2 (1):
(a) the Kingdom of Denmark and the Hellenic Republic shall be
authorized to exclude, from the exemption, goodsthe unit valueof which exceeds280 ECU;
(b) Ireland shall be authorized to exclude, from the exemption, goods
the unit value of which exceeds77 ECU.1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 7
(1) OJ No L 356, 31. 12. 1977, p. 1.▼M2
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2. By way of derogation from Article 2 (2), Ireland shall be author-
ized to exclude, from the exemption, goodsthe unit value of whichexceeds77 ECU.
3. Throughout the period during which the derogationsreferred to in
paragraph 1 are applied, the other Member Statess hall take themeasures necessary to enable remission of tax, according to the proce-duresreferred to in Article 6, to take place for goodsimported intoDenmark, into Greece and into Ireland which are excluded from theexemption in these countries.
4. Every two years, and for the first time on 31 October 1987 at the
latest, the Council, acting in accordance with the procedures provided
for by the Treaty on this point, shall adjust the amounts of the exemp-tionsreferred to in paragraphs1 and 2 in order to maintain the genuinevalue.
Article 7c
By way of derogation from Article 4 (1) the Kingdom of Denmark
shall be authorized:
(a) to apply to still wine, in travel between Member States, a limit of
four litres;
(b) to apply until 31 December 1988 the following quantitative limits
asregardsexemption for importsof goodshereinafter mentioned,where such goods are imported by travellers resident in Denmark
after a stay of less than 48 hours in another country:
— cigarettes60
or
— smoking tobacco where the tobacco particles have
a width of less than 1,5 mm (fine cut) 100 grams
— distilled beverages and spirits of an alcoholic
strength exceeding 22 % vol. nil.
Article 8
1. Member Statess hall bring into force not later than 1 January
1970 the measures necessary to comply with this Directive.
2. Each Member State shall inform the Commission of the measures
which it adoptsto implement thisDirective.
The Commission shall communicate such information to the other
Member States.
Article 9
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1969L0169 — EN — 20.03.1987 — 007.001 — 8
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