1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of28March1983
on tax exemptions within the Community for certain means of transport temporarily imported
intooneMember Statefromanother
(83/182/EEC)
(OJ L 105, 23.4.1983, p. 59)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A2Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of28March1983
on tax exemptions within the Community for certain means of
transport temporarily imported into one Member State from
another
(83/182/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(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(3),
Whereas the freedom of movement of Community residents within the
Community is hampered by the taxation arrangements applied to the
temporary importation of certain means of transport for private or busi-
ness use;
Whereas the elimination of the obstacles resulting from these taxation
arrangements is particularly necessary if an economic market having
features similar to those of a domestic market is to be established;
Whereas it must be possible in certain cases to establish definitely
whether or not a person is in fact resident in a given Member State;
Whereas it appears desirable in a first stage to limit the scope of this
Directive concerning certain means of transport to those acquired orimported in accordance withth e general conditions of taxation in forceon the domestic market of a Member State.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Scope
1. Member States shall, under the conditions laid down below,
exempt temporary imports from another Member State of motor-driven
road vehicles (including their trailers), caravans, pleasure boats, private
aircraft, bicycles, tricycles and saddle-horses from:
— turnover tax, excise duties and any other consumption tax,
— the taxes listed in the Annex hereto.
2. The exemption referred to in paragraph 1 shall also apply to the
normal spare parts, accessories and equipment imported withth esemeans of transport.
3. Commercial vehicles shall be excluded from the exemption
referred to in paragraph1.
4. (a) The scope of this Directive shall not extend to the temporary
importation of private vehicles, caravans, pleasure boats, privateaircraft, bicycles and tricycles for private use which have not
been acquired or imported in accordance withth e general condi-
tions of taxation in force on the domestic market of a MemberState and/or which are subject by reason of their exportation toany exemption from or refund of turnover tax, excise duty orany other consumption tax.1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 267, 21. 11. 1975, p. 8.
(2) OJ No C 53, 8. 3. 1976, p. 37.
(3) OJ No C 131, 12. 6. 1976, p. 50.
▼B
For the purposes of this Directive, means of transport acquired
under the conditions referred to in Article 15 (10) of Directive77/388/EEC(
1) shall be deemed to have satisfied the general
conditions of taxation in force on the domestic market of a
Member State; however, Member States may deem means oftransport acquired under the conditions referred to in the thirdindent of the said point 10 not to have satisfied these conditions.
(b) The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, shall, before 31 December 1985, adopt Communityrules on the grant of exemption to the means of transportreferred to in the first paragraph of (a) above, taking intoaccount the need to avoid cases of double taxation and the
need to ensure normal, full taxation of means of transport for
private use.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purpose of this Directive:
(a) ‘commercial vehicle’ means any road vehicle which, by its design
or equipment, is suitable for and intended for transporting, whetherfor payment or not:
— more than nine persons, including the driver,
— goods,
as well as any road vehicle for special use other than transport as
such;
(b) ‘private vehicle’ means any road vehicle, including its trailer, if
any, other than those referred to in subparagraph (a);
(c) ‘business use’ of a means of transport means the use thereof in the
direct exercise of an activity carried out for consideration or finan-cial gain;
(d) ‘private use’ means any use other than business use.
Article 3
Temporary importation of certain means of transport for private
use
Where a private vehicle, caravan, pleasure boat, private aircraft,
tricycle or bicycle is imported temporarily, the item imported shall beexempt from the taxes specified in Article 1 for a period, continuous orotherwise, of not more than six months in any 12 months, provided
that:
(a) the individual importing such goods:
(aa) has his normal residence in a Member State other than the
Member State of temporary importation;
(bb) employs the means of transport in question for his private use;
(b) the said means of transport is not disposed of or hired out in the
Member State of temporary importation or lent to a resident ofthat State. However, private vehicles belonging to a car-hire firmhaving its head office in the Community may be re-hired to non-
residents with a view to being re-exported, if they are in the
country as a result of a hire contract which ended in that country.They may also be returned by an employee of the car-hire firm tothe Member State where they were originally hired, even if suchemployee is resident in the Member State of temporary importa-tion.1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
▼B
Article 4
Temporaryimportationofprivatevehiclesforbusinessuse
1. A private vehicle imported temporarily for business use shall be
exempt from the taxes specified in Article 1, provided that:
(a) the individual importing the private vehicle:
(aa) has his normal residence in a Member State other than the
Member State of temporary importation;
(bb) does not use the vehicle within the Member State of
temporary importation in order to carry passengers for hire or
material reward of any kind, or for the industrial and/or
commercial transport of goods, whether for reward or not;
(b) the private vehicle is not disposed of, hired out or lent in the
Member State of temporary importation;
(c) the private vehicle has been acquired or imported in accordance
with the general conditions of taxation in force on the domestic
market of the Member State of normal residence of the user and
is not subject by reason of its exportation to any exemption fromor refund of turnover tax, excise duty or any other consumptiontax.
This condition shall be presumed to be satisfied if the private vehicle
bears a standard registration plate of the Member State of registration,all types of temporary plate being excluded.
However, in the case of private vehicles registered in a Member State
where the issue of standard registration plates is not conditional uponcompliance with the general conditions of taxation in force on thedomestic market, users shall be required to produce any appropriateevidence as proof of payment of consumption taxes.
2. The exemption provided for in paragraph 1 shall apply for a
period, whether continuous or not, of:
— seven months in any 12, in the case of private vehicles imported by
one of the commercial intermediaries referred to in Article 3 of
Directive 64/224/EEC(
1),
— six months in any 12 in all other cases.
Article 5
Specificcasesoftemporary importationofprivatevehicles
1. Private vehicles imported temporarily shall be exempt from the
taxes referred to in Article 1 in the following cases:
(a) where a private vehicle registered in the country of normal resi-
dence of the user is used regularly for the journey from hisresidence to his place of work in an undertaking in the territory ofanother Member State, and vice versa. Exemptions under this head
shall not be subject to any time limit;
(b) where a student uses a private vehicle registered in the Member
State of his normal residence in the territory of another Member
State in which the student is residing for the sole purpose of
pursuing his studies.
2. Grant of the exemptions provided for in paragraph 1 shall be
subject to the sole condition that the provisions of Article 4 (1) (a),(b) and (c) are satisfied.1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ No 56, 4. 4. 1964, p. 869/64.
▼B
Article 6
Exemption for the temporary importation of saddle-horses on
horse-ridingexcursions
Saddle-horses imported temporarily into a Member State shall be
exempt for three months from the taxes specified in Article 1, providedthat:
(a) the said horses enter the territory of the Member State of temporary
importation for the purposes of and/or in the course of horse-riding
excursions by their riders. Member States may exclude from this
exemption the importation by their residents of horses carried onboard means of transport;
(b) exemption is requested not later than the time of entry into the
territory of the Member State of temporary importation. Whereexemption is requested before temporary importation, the ridermay be exempted from the requirement to enter the territory ofthe Member State of temporary importation via a frontier post;
(c) the said horses are not hired out, lent, or disposed of to a third
party in the Member State of temporary importation, or used forpurposes other than that of the excursion.
Article 7
General rulesfordeterminingresidence
1. For the purposes of this Directive, ‘normal residence’ means the
place where a person usually lives, that is for at least 185 days in eachcalendar year, because of personal and occupational ties, or, in the caseof a person withno occupational ties because of personal ties wh ichshow close links between that person and the place where he is living.
However, the normal residence of a person whose occupational ties are
in a different place from his personal ties and who consequently livesin turn in different places situated in two or more Member States shallbe regarded as being the place of his personal ties, provided that suchperson returns there regularly. This last condition need not be met
where the person is living in a Member State in order to carry out a
task of a definite duration. Attendance at a university or school shallnot imply transfer of normal residence.
2. Individuals shall give proof of their place of normal residence by
any appropriate means, such as their identity card or any other validdocument.
3. Where the competent authorities of the Member State of importa-
tion have doubts as to the validity of a statement as to normal residencemade in accordance withparagraph2, or for th e purpose of certainspecific controls, they may request any additional information orevidence.
Article 8
Supplementary rules for determination of residence in the case of
businessuseofaprivatevehicle
In exceptional cases where, despite the supply of the additional infor-
mation referred to in Article 7 (3) to the competent authorities of theMember State of importation, serious doubts still remain, temporary
importation of a private vehicle for business use may be made condi-
tional upon payment of a security.
However, when the user of the vehicle produces evidence that he has
his normal residence in another Member State, the authorities of theMember State of temporary importation shall refund the security withintwo months following the date on which the evidence is produced.1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 5
▼B
Article 9
Specialarrangements
1. Member States may maintain and/or introduce more liberal
arrangements than those provided for in this Directive. In particular,
they may, at the request of the importer, permit temporary importation
for a period longer than those referred to in Articles 3 and 4 (2). In thelatter event, Member States may levy the taxes mentioned in the Annexfor periods exceeding those laid down by this Directive. Member Statesmay also permit the private vehicles referred to in the second sentenceof Article 3 (b) to be re-hired to a resident of the Member State of
importation witha view to th eir re-exportation.
2. Member States may under no circumstances apply, in pursuance
of this Directive, tax exemptions within the Community which areless favourable than those which they would grant in respect of meansof transport originating in a third country.
3. The Kingdom of Denmark is authorized to maintain the rules
applying in that country in connection with normal residence according
to which any person, including a student, in respect of the case referred
to in Article 5 (1) (b), is regarded as having his normal residence inDenmark if he lives there for a year or 365 days in a period of 24months.
However, to avoid double taxation:
— where, as a result of the application of these rules, a person is
considered to have two residences, the normal residence of that
person is situated where his spouse and children live,
— in similar cases, the Kingdom of Denmark shall consult with the
other Member State concerned to decide which of the two resi-dences should be used for the purposes of taxation.
Before a period of three years has elapsed, the Council, on the basis of
a report by the Commission, will re-examine the derogation covered bythis paragraph and, if necessary, will adopt measures, on a proposal
from the Commission based on Article 99 of the Treaty, to ensure the
abolition of the derogation.
4. Member States shall inform the Commission of the arrangements
referred to in paragraph 1 at the same time as they fulfil the obligationslaid down in Article 10. The Commission shall subsequently communi-cate these arrangements to the other Member States.
Article 10
Finalprovisions
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply withth is Directive by 1
January 1984. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Where the practical application of this Directive gives rise to
difficulties, the competent authorities of the Member States concernedshall take the necessary decisions by mutual agreement, particularly inthe light of the Conventions and Community Directives on mutualassistance.
3. Member States shall see to it that they communicate to the
Commission the texts of the main subsequent provisions of national
law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
4. Every two years the Commission shall, after consulting the
Member States, submit to the Council and ' the European Parliament areport on the application of this Directive in the Member States, withparticular reference to the concept of ‘normal residence’, and shallpropose the necessary Community provisions to bring about the estab-
lishment of a uniform system in all the Member States.
Article 11
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 6
▼A2
ANNEX
Listoftaxesreferred tointhesecondindentofArticle1(1)
BELGIUM
— Taxe de circulation sur les véhicules automobiles (Arrêté royal du 23
novembre 1965 portant codificationdes dispositions légales relatives aux
taxes assimilées aux impôts sur les revenus — Moniteur belge du 18 janvier
1966)
— Verkeersbelasting op de autovoertuigen (Koninklijk Besluit van 23
november 1965 houdende codificatievan de wettelijke bepalingen betref-
fende de met de inkomstenbelastingen gelijkgestelde belastingen —
BelgischStaatsblad van 18 januari 1966)
DENMARK
— Vægtafgift af motorkøretøjer (Lovbekendtgørelse nr. 163 af 31. marts 1993)
GERMANY
— Kraftfahrzeugsteuer (Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz — 1979)
— Kraftfahrzeugsteuer (Durchführungsverordnung — 1979)
GREECE
—Τέλη κυκλοφορίας (Ν 2367 /53όπως ισχύει σήµερα)
SPAIN
— Tributos Locales sobre circulación de vehículos automóviles (establecido en
base a la Ley 41/1979,de 19 de noviembre, de Bases de Régimen Local y al
Real Decreto 3250/1976, de 30 de diciembre)
FRANCE
— Taxe différentielle sur les véhicules à moteur (Loi no77 — 1467 du 30
décembre 1977)
— Taxe sur les véhicules d'une puissance fiscale supérieure à 16 CV immatri-
culés dans la catégoriedes voitures particulières (Loi de finances 1979 -
Article 1007 du code général des impôts)
IRELAND
— Motor vehicle excise duties (Finance (Excise duties) (Vehicles) Act 1952 as
amended, and Section 94, Finance Act 1973 as amended)
ITALY
— Tassa sulla circolazione degli autoveicoli (TU delle leggi sulle tasse automo-
bilistiche approvato con DPR N. 39 del 5 febbraio 1993 e successive
modificazioni)
LUXEMBOURG
— Taxe sur les véhicules automoteurs (Loi allemande du 23 mars 1935 (Kraft-
fahrzeugsteuergesetz) maintenue en vigueur par l'arrêté grand-ducal du 26
octobre 1944, modifiée par la loi du 4 août 1975 et les règlements grand-
ducaux du 15 septembre 1975 et du 31 octobre 1975 et du 31 octobre 1975)
NETHERLANDS
— Motorrijtuigenbelasting (wet op de motorrijtuigenbelasting 21 juli 1966, Stb
332 — wet van 18 december 1969/Stb 548)
AUSTRIA
— Kraftfahrzeugsteuer (BGBl. Nr. 449/1992)
PORTUGAL
— Imposto sobre veículos (Decreto-Lei no143/78, de 12 de Junho)
— Imposto de compensação (Decreto-Lei no354-A/82, de 9 de Setembro)1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 7
▼A2
FINLAND
— Moottoriajoneuvovero —motorfordonsskatt(Laki moottoriajoneuvoverosta —
Lag om skatt på motorfordon 722/66)
SWEDEN
— Fordonsskatt (Fordonsskattelagen 1988:327)
UNITED KINGDOM
— Vehicle excise duty (Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971)1983L0182 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 8