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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/12/EEC
of 25 February 1992
on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and
monitoring of such products
(OJ L 76, 23.3.1992, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 92/108/EEC of 14 December 1992 L 390 124 31.12.1992
►M2Council Directive 94/74/EC of 22 December 1994 L 365 46 31.12.1994
►M3Council Directive 96/99/EC of 30 December 1996 L 8 12 11.1.1997
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 187, 7.7.1992, p. 48 (92/12)
►C2Corrigendum, OJ L 60, 9.3.1996, p. 30 (92/12)
►C3Corrigendum, OJ L 135, 6.6.1996, p. 35 (92/12)
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/12/EEC
of 25 February 1992
on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and
on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Havingreg ard to the Treaty establishingthe European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Article 99 thereof,
Havingreg ard to the proposal from the Commission(
1),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the European Parlament(2),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Whereas the establishment and functioningof the internal market
require the free movement of goods, including those subject of exciseduties;
Whereas provision should be made to define the territory on which this
Directive, as well as the Directive on the rates and structures of duty onproducts subject to excise duties, are to be applied;
Whereas the concept of products subject to excise duty should be
defined; whereas only goods which are treated as such in all theMember States may be the subject of Community provisions; whereassuch products may be subject to other indirect taxes for specificpurposes; whereas the maintenance or introduction of other indirecttaxes must not give rise to border-crossing formalities;
Whereas, in order to ensure the establishment and functioningof the
internal market, chargeability of excise duties should be identical in allthe Member States;
Whereas any delivery, holdingwith a view to delivery or supply for the
purposes of a trader carryingout an economic activity independently orfor the purposes of a body governed by public law, taking place in aMember State other than that in which the product is released forconsumption gives rise to chargeability of the excise duty in that otherMember State;
Whereas in the case of products subject to excise duty acquired by
private individuals for their own use and transported by them, the dutymust be charged in the country where they were acquired;
Whereas to establish that products subject to excise duty are not held
for private but for commercial purposes, Member States must takeaccount of a number of criteria;
Whereas products subject to excise duty purchased by persons who are
not approved warehousekeepers or registered or non-registered tradersand dispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or onhis behalf must be subject to excise duty in the Member State ofdestination;
Whereas in order to ensure that the tax debt is eventually collected it
should be possible for checks to be carried out in production andstorage facilities; whereas a system of warehouses, subject to authoriza-tion by the competent authorities, should make it possible to carry outsuch checks;
Whereas movement from the territory of one Member State to that of
another may not give rise to checks liable to impede free movementwithin the Community; whereas for the purposes of chargeability it isnevertheless necessary to know of the movements of products subject to
(1) OJ No C 322, 21. 12. 1990, p. 1; and OJ No C 45, 20. 8. 1992, p. 10.
(2) OJ No C 183, 15. 7. 1991, p. 131.
(3) OJ No C 169, 18. 3. 1991, p. 25.
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excise duty; whereas provision should therefore be made for an accom-
panyingdocument for such products;
Whereas the requirements to be complied with by authorized ware-
housekeepers and traders without authorized warehousekeeper statusshould be laid down;
Whereas provision should be made, to ensure the collection of taxes at
the rates laid down by Member States, for the establishment of aprocedure for the movement of such goods unter duty suspension;
Whereas in that respect provision should first be made for each consign-
ment to be easily identified; whereas provision should be made for thetax status of the consignment to be immediately identifiable; whereas itis therefore necessary to provide for an accompanyingdocumentcapable of meetingthese needs, which may be either an administrativeor commercial document; whereas the commercial document used mustcontain the essential elements which appear on the administrative docu-ment;
Whereas the procedure by which the tax authorities of the Member
States are informed by traders of deliveries dispatched or received bymeans of an accompanyingdocument should be explained;
Whereas there is no need for the accompanyingdocument to be used
when the products subject to excise duties are moved under aCommunity customs procedure other than release for free circulation orare placed in a free zone or a free warehouse;
Whereas in the context of national provisions, excise duty should, in the
event of an offence or irregularity, be collected in principle by theMember State on whose territory the offence or irregularity has beencommitted, or by the Member State where the offence or irregularitywas ascertained, or, in the event of non-presentation in the MemberState of destination, by the Member State of departure;
Whereas the Member States may provide that products released for
consumption should carry fiscal or national identification marks andwhereas the use of these marks should not place any obstacle in the wayof intra-Community trade;
Whereas payment of the excise duties in the Member State where the
products were released for consumption must give rise to the reimburse-ment of those duties when the products are not intended for consump-tion in that Member State;
Whereas, as a result of the abolition of the principle of taxes on imports
in relations between Member States, the provisions on exemptions andallowances on imports cease to apply in respect of relations betweenMember States; whereas these provisions should therefore be abolishedand the directives concerned adapted accordingly;
Whereas a Committee on Excise Duties should be set up to examine the
Community measures necessary for the implementation of the provi-sions on excise duties;
Whereas Article 1 (2) of the Regulation concerning the elimination of
controls and formalities applicable to the cabin and hold baggage ofpersons takingan intra-Community flig ht or makingan intra-Community sea-crossingstates that its enforcement is without prejudiceto controls relatingto bans or restrictions laid down by Member States,provided that they are compatible with the three Treaties establishingthe European Community; whereas in that context the verificationsnecessary for the enforcement of the quantitative restrictions referred toin Article 26 must be considered to be such controls and, as such, to becompatible with Community legislation;
Whereas a certain period of time will be required to take the necessary
measures to alleviate both the social repercussions in the sectorsconcerned and regional difficulties, particularly in border regions, whichmight arise as a result of the abolition of taxes on imports and exemp-tions on exports in trade between the Member States; whereas to thatend the Member States should be authorized, for a period endingon 30June 1999, to exempt products supplied, within the limits laid down, by
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tax-free shops in the context of passenger traffic by air or sea between
the Member States:
Whereas small wine producers may be exempted from certain require-
ments under the general arrangements for excise duty;
Whereas, finally, Council Directive 77/799/EEC of 19 December 1977
concerningmutual assistance by the competent authorities of theMember States in the field of direct taxation and value addes tax (
1)
should be amended in order to extend its provisions to cover exciseduties,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
TITLE I
General Provisions
Article 1
1. This Directive lays down the arrangements for products subject to
excise duties and other indirect taxes which are levied directly orindirectly on the consumption of such products, except for value addedtax and taxes established by the Community.
2. The particular provisions relatingto the structures and rates of
duty on products subject to excise duty shall be set out in specificDirectives.
Article 2
1. This Directive and the Directives listed in Article 1 (2) shall apply
in the territory of the Community as defined, for each Member State, bythe Treaty establishingthe European Economic Community, and inparticular Article 227 thereof, except for the followingnational terri-tories:
— in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Island of
Heligoland and the territory of Büsingen,
— in the case of the Italian Republic, Livigno, Campione d’Italia and
the Italian waters of Lake Lugano,
— in the case of the Kingdom of Spain, Ceuta and Melilla.
2. Notwithstandingparag raph 1, this Directive and the Directives
referred to in Article 1 (2) shall not apply to the Canary Islands.However, the Kingdom of Spain may give notice, by means of adeclaration, that these Directives apply to those territories in respect ofall or some of the products referred to in Article 3 (1) below, as fromthe first day of the second month followingdeposit of that declaration.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, neither this Directive nor
those referred to in Article 1 (2) shall apply to the overseas departmentsof the French Republic.
However, the French Republic may give notice, by means of a declara-
tion, that these Directives apply to those territories - subject to measuresto adjust to their extreme remoteness - from the first day of the secondmonth followingdeposit of the declaration.
4. The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure
that transactions originating in or intended for:
— the Principality of Monaco are treated as transactions originating in
or intended for the French Republic,
— Jungholz and Mittelberg (Kleines Walsertal) are treated as transac-
tions originating in or intended for the Federal Republic ofGermany,
(1) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 15. Directive as last amended by Directive
79/1070/EEC (OJ No L 331, 27. 12. 1979, p. 8).
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— the Isle of Man are treated as transactions originating in or intended
for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
— San Marino are treated as transactions originating in or intended for
the Italian Republic.
5. The provisions of this Directive shall not prevent Greece from
maintaining the specific status granted to Mount Athos as guaranteed byArticle 105 of the Greek Constitution.
6. If the Commission considers that the exclusions provided for in
paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 are no longer justified, particularly in terms offair competition, it shall submit appropriate proposals to the Council.
Article 3
1. This Directive shall apply at Community level to the following
products as defined in the relevant Directives:
— mineral oils,— alcohol and alcoholic beverages,— manufactured tobacco.
2. The products listed in paragraph 1 may be subject to other indirect
taxes for specific purposes, provided that those taxes comply with thetax rules applicable for excise duty and VAT purposes as far as deter-mination of the tax base, calculation of the tax, chargeability andmonitoringof the tax are concerned.
3. Member States shall retain the right to introduce or maintain taxes
which are levied on products other than those listed in paragraph 1provided, however, that those taxes do not give rise to border-crossingformalities in trade between Member States.
Subject to the same proviso, Member States shall also retain the right to
levy taxes on the supply of services which cannot be characterized asturnover taxes, includingthose relatingto products subject to exciseduty.
Article 4
For the purpose of this Directive, the followingdefinitions shall apply:
(a)authorized warehousekeeper : a natural or legal person authorized
by the competent authorities of a Member State to produce, process,hold, receive and dispatch products subject to excise duty in thecourse of his business, excise duty beingsuspended under tax-ware-housingarrang ement;
(b)tax warehouse : a place where goods subject to excise duty are
produced, processed, held, received or dispatched under duty-suspension arrangements by an authorized warehousekeeper in thecourse of his business, subject to certain conditions laid down bythe competent authorities of the Member State where the tax ware-house is located;
(c)suspension arrangement : a tax arrangement applied to the produc-
tion, processing, holding and movement of products, excise dutybeingsuspended;
(d)registered trader : a natural or legal person without authorized ware-
housekeeper status, authorized by the competent authorities of aMember State to receive, in the course of his business, productssubject to excise duty from another Member State under duty-suspension arrangements. This type of trader may neither hold nordispatch such products under excise duty-suspension arrangements;
(e)non-registered trader : a natural or legal person without authorized
warehousekeeper status, who is entitled, in the course of his busi-ness, to receive occasionally products subject to excise duty fromanother Member State under duty-suspension arrangements. Thistype of trader may neither hold nor dispatch products under exciseduty suspension arrangements. A non-registered trader must guar-antee payment of excise duty to the tax authorities of the MemberStates of destination prior to the dispatch of the goods.
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Article 5
1. The products referred to in Article 3 (1) shall be subject to excise
duty at the time of their production within the territory of theCommunity as defined in Article 2 or of their importation into thatterritory.
‘Importation of a product subject to excise duty'shall mean the entry of
that product into the territory of the Community, includingthe entry ofsuch a product from a territory covered by Article 2 (1), (2) and (3) orfrom the Channel Islands.
However, where the product is placed under a Community customs
procedure on entry into the territory of the Community, importationshall be deemed to take place when it leaves the Community customsprocedure.
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2. Without prejudice to national and Community provisionsregarding customs matters, when products subject to excise duty:
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— are comingfrom, or g oingto, third countries or territories referred
to in Article 2 (1), (2) and (3) or the Channel Islands and are placedunder one of the customs suspensive procedures listed in Article 84(1) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (
1) or in a free zone or a
free warehouse,
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or
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— are dispatched between Member States via EFTA countries or
between a Member State and an EFTA country under the internalCommunity transit procedure or via one or more non-EFTA thirdcountries under cover of a TIR or ATA carnet,
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the excise duty on them shall be deemed to be suspended.
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In cases where the single administrative document is used:
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— box 33 of the single administrative document shall be completed
with the appropriate CN code;
— it shall be clearly indicated in box 44 of the single administrative
document that a dispatch of products subject to excise duty isinvolved;
— a copy of ‘copy 1' of the single administrative document shall be
held by the consignor;
— a duly annotated copy of ‘copy 5' of the single administrative
document shall be sent back to the consignor by the consignee.
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3. Any additional details that have to be shown on the transport orcommercial documents servingas transit documents and the chang esthat have to be made to adapt the discharge procedure where goodssubject to excise duty move under a simplified internal Communitytransit procedure shall be established accordingto the procedureprovided for in Article 24.
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Article 6
1. Excise duty shall become chargeable at the time of release for
consumption or when shortages are recorded which must be subject toexcise duty in accordance with Article 14 (3).
(1) OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.
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Release for consumption of products subject to excise duty shall mean:
(a) any departure, includingirreg ular departure, from a suspension
arrangement;
(b) any manufacture, includingirreg ular manufacture, of those products
outside a suspension arrangement;
(c) any importation of those products, includingirreg ular importation,
where those products have not been placed under a suspensionarrangement.
2. The chargeability conditions and rate of excise duty to be adopted
shall be those in force on the date on which duty becomes chargeable inthe Member State where release for consumption takes place or short-ages are recorded. Excise duty shall be levied and collected according tothe procedure laid down by each Member State, it beingunderstood thatMember States shall apply the same procedures for levyingand collec-tion to national products and to those from other Member States.
Article 7
1. In the event of products subject to excise duty and already
released for consumption in one Member State beingheld for commer-cial purposes in another Member State, the excise duty shall be levied inthe Member State in which those products are held.
2. To that end, without prejudice to Article 6, where products already
released for consumption as defined in Article 6 in one Member Stateare delivered ►
M1or intended for delivery in another Member
State◄or used in another Member State for the purposes of a trader
carryingout an economic activity independently or for the purposes of abody governed by public law, excise duty shall become chargeable inthat other Member State.
3. Dependingon all the circumstances, the duty shall be due from the
person makingthe delivery or holdingthe products intended fordelivery or from the person receivingthe products for use in a MemberState other than the one where the products have already been releasedfor consumption, or from the relevant trader or body governed by publiclaw.
4. The products referred to in paragraph 1 shall move between the
territories of the various Member States under cover of an accompa-nyingdocument listingthe main data from the document referred to inArticle 18 (1). The form and content of this document shall be estab-lished in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24 of thisDirective.
5. The person, trader or body referred to in paragraph 3 must comply
with the followingrequirements:
(a) before the goods are dispatched, make a declaration to the tax
authorities of the Member State of destination and guarantee thepayment of the excise duty;
(b) pay the excise duty of the Member State of destination in accord-
ance with the procedure laid down by that Member State;
(c) consent to any check enablingthe administration of the Member
State of destination to satisfy itself that the goods have actuallybeen received and that the excise duty to which they are liable hasbeen paid.
6. The excise duty paid in the first Member State referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 22 (3).
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7. Where products subject to excise duty and already released forconsumption in a Member State are to be moved to a place of destina-tion in that Member State via the territory of another Member State,such movements shall take place under cover of the accompanyingdocument referred to in paragraph 4 and shall use an appropriate itin-erary.
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8. In the cases referred to in paragraph 7:
(a) the consignor shall, before the goods are dispatched, make a
declaration to the tax authorities of the place of departure respon-sible for carryingout excise-duty checks;
(b) the consignee shall attest to having received the goods in accord-
ance with the rules laid down by the tax authorities of the place ofdestination responsible for carryingout excise-duty checks;
(c) the consignor and the consignee shall consent to any check enabling
their respective tax authorities to satisfy themselves that the goodshave actually been received.
9. Where products subject to excise duty are moved frequently and
regularly under the conditions specified in paragraph 7, Member Statesmay agree bilaterally to authorize a simplified procedure in derogationfrom paragraphs 7 and 8.
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Article 8
As regards products acquired by private individuals for their own use
and transported by them, the principle governing the internal marketlays down that excise duty shall be charged in the Member State inwhich they are acquired.
Article 9
1. Without prejudice to Articles 6, 7 and 8, excise duty shall become
chargeable where products for consumption in a Member State are heldfor commercial purpose in another Member State.
In this case, the duty shall be due in the Member State in whose
territory the products are and shall become chargeable to the holder ofthe products.
2. To establish that the products referred to in Article 8 are intended
for commercial purposes, Member States must take account, inter alia ,
of the following:
— the commercial status of the holder of the products and his reasons
for holdingthem,
— the place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the mode
of transport used,
— any document relatingto the products,— the nature of the products,— the quantity of the products.
For the purposes of applyingthe content of the fifth indent of the first
subparagraph, Member States may lay down guide levels, solely as aform of evidence. These guide levels may not be lower than:
(a)Tobacco products
cigarettes 800 items
cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3 g
each)400 items
cigars 200 items
smokingtobacco 1,0 kg ;
(b)Alcoholic beverages
spirit drinks 10 l
intermediate products 20 lwines (includinga maximum of 60 l of sparkling
wines)90 l
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beers 110 l.
►C1Until 30 June 1997 Ireland ◄shall be authorized to apply guide
levels which may not be less than 45 litres for wine (includingamaximum of 30 litres of sparklingwine) and 55 litres for beer.
3. Member States may also provide that excise duty shall become
chargeable in the Member State of consumption on the acquisition ofmineral oils already released for consumption in another Member Stateif such products are transported usingatypical modes of transport byprivate individuals or on their behalf. Atypical transport shall mean thetransport of fuels other than in the tanks of vehicles or in appropriatereserve fuel canisters and the transport of liquid heatingproducts otherthan by means of tankers used on behalf of professional traders.
Article 10
1. Products subject to excise duty purchased by persons who are not
authorized warehousekeepers or registered or non-registered traders anddispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or on hisbehalf shall be liable to excise duty in the Member State of destination.For the purposes of this Article, ‘Member State of destination' shallmean the Member State of arrival of the dispatch or transport.
2. To that end, the delivery of products subject to excise duty already
released for consumption in a Member State and giving rise to thedispatch or transport of those products to a person as referred to inparagraph 1, established in another Member State, and which aredispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or on hisbehalf shall cause excise duty to be chargeable on those products in theMember State of destination.
3. The duty of the Member State of destination shall be chargeable to
the vendor at the time of delivery. However, Member States may adoptprovisions stipulatingthat the excise duty shall be payable by a taxrepresentative, other than the consignee of the products. Such a taxrepresentative must be established in the Member State of destinationand approved by the tax authorities of that Member State.
The Member State in which the vendor is established must ensure that
he complies with the followingrequirements:
— guarantee payment of excise duty under the conditions set by the
Member State of destination prior to dispatch of the products andensure that the excise duty is paid followingarrival of the products,
— keep accounts of deliveries of products.
4. In the case referred to in paragraph 2, the excise duty paid in the
first Member State shall be reimbursed in accordance with Article 22(4).
5. Subject to Community law, Member States may lay down specific
rules for applyingthis provision to products subject to excise dutywhich are covered by special national distribution arrangementscompatible with the Treaty.
TITLE II
Production, processing and holding
Article 11
1. Each Member State shall determine its rules concerningthe
production, processingand holdingof products subject to excise duty,subject to the provisions of this Directive.
2. Production, processingand holdingof products subject to excise
duty, where the latter has not been paid, shall take place in a taxwarehouse.
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Article 12
The openingand operation of tax warehouses shall be subject to author-
ization from the competent authorities of the Member States.
Article 13
An authorized warehousekeeper shall be required to:
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(a) provide a guarantee, if necessary, to cover production, processing
and holdingand a compulsory g uarantee to cover movement,subject to Article 15 (3), the conditions for which shall be set by thecompetent authorities of the Member State in which the tax ware-house is authorized;
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(b) comply with the requirements laid down by the Member State
within whose territory the tax warehouse is situated;
(c) keep, for each warehouse, accounts of stock and product move-
ments;
(d) produce the products whenever so required;
(e) consent to all monitoringand stock checks.
The requirements must respect the principle of non-discrimination
between national and intra-Community transactions.
Article 14
1. Authorized warehousekeepers shall be exempt from duty in
respect of losses occuringunder suspension arrang ements which areattributable to fortuitous events or force majeure and established by the
authorized of the Member State concerned. They shall also be exempt,under suspension arrangements, in respect of losses inherent in thenature of the products during production and processing, storage andtransport. Each Member State shall lay down the conditions underwhich these exemptions are granted. These exemptions shall applyequally to the traders referred to in Article 16 duringthe transport ofproducts under excise duty suspension arrangements.
2. Losses referred to in parag raph 1 occuringduringthe intra-
Community transport of products under excise duty suspension arrange-ments must be established accordingto the rules of the Member State ofdestination.
3. Without prejudice to Article 20, the duty on shortages other than
the losses referred to in paragraph 1 and losses for which the exemp-tions referred to in paragraph 1 are not granted shall be levied on thebasis of the rates applicable in the Member States concerned at the timethe losses, duly established by the competent authorities, occured, or ifnecessary at the time the shortage was recorded.
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4. The shortages referred to in paragraph 3 and losses which are notexempted under paragraph 1 shall, in all cases, be indicated by thecompetent authorities on the reverse of the copy of the accompanyingdocument referred to in Article 18 (1) to be returned to the consignor.
The procedure shall be as follows:
— in the case of losses or shortages occurring during intra-Community
transport of products subject to excise duty that are under dutysuspension arrangements, the competent authorities of the MemberState in which those losses or shortages are established shall anno-tate the return copy of the accompanyingdocument according ly,
— on the arrival of the products in the Member State of destination, the
competent authorities of that Member State shall indicate whetherthey are granting partial exemption or no exemption in respect ofthe losses established.
In the cases referred to above they shall specify the basis for calculation
of the excise duty to be levied in accordance with paragraph 3. Thecompetent authorities of the Member State of destination shall send a
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copy of the return copy of the accompanyingdocument to the
competent authorities of the Member State in which the losses wereestablished.
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TITLE III
Movement of goods
Article 15
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1. Without prejudice to Articles 5 (2), 16, 19 (4) and 23 (1a), themovement of products subject to excise duty under suspension arrange-ments shall take place between tax warehouses.
The first subparagraph shall apply to the intra-Community movement of
products subject to excise duty at a zero rate which have not beenreleased for consumption.
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2. Warehousekeepers authorized by the competent authorities of aMember State in accordance with Article 13 shall be deemed to beauthorized for both national and intra-Community movement.
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3. The risks inherent in intra-Community movement shall be coveredby the guarantee provided by the authorized warehousekeeper ofdispatch, as provided for in Article 13, or, if need be, by a guaranteejointly and severally bindingon both the consig nor and the transporter.The competent authorities in the Member States may permit the trans-porter or the owner of the products to provide a guarantee in place ofthat provided by the authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch. If appro-priate, Member States may require the consignee to provide a guarantee.
If mineral oils subject to excise duty are transported within the
Community by sea or by pipeline, Member States may relieve author-ized warehousekeepers of dispatch of the obligation to provide theguarantee referred to in the first subparagraph.
The detailed rules for the guarantee shall be laid down by the Member
States. The guarantee shall be valid throughout the Community.
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4. Without prejudice to the provision of Article 20, the liability ofthe authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch and, if the case arises, thatof the transporter may only be discharged by proof that the consigneehas taken delivery of the products, in particular by the accompanyingdocument referred to in Article 18 under the conditions laid down inArticle 19.
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5. An authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch or his agent mayamend the contents of boxes 4, 7, 7a, 13, 14 and/or 17 of the accompa-nyingdocument to show a new consig nee, who must be an authorizedwarehousekeeper or registered trader, or a new place of delivery. Thecompetent authority of dispatch must be notified immediately and thenew consignee or the new place of delivery shall immediately beindicated on the reverse of the accompanyingdocument.
6. In the case of intra-Community movement of mineral oils by sea
or inland waterway, the authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch neednot complete boxes, 4, 7, 7a, 13 and 17 on the accompanyingdocumentif, when the products are dispatched, the consignee is not definitivelyknown, provided that:
— the competent authorities of the Member State of departure
authorize the consignor in advance not to complete these boxes,
— the same authorities are notified of the name and address of the
consignee, his excise number and the country of destination as soonas they are known or at the latest when the products reach their finaldestination.
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Article 15a
1. By 1 April 1993 at the latest, the competent authority of each
Member State shall maintain an electronic data base which shall containa register of persons who are authorized warehousekeepers or tradersregistered for excise purposes as well as a register of those premisesauthorized as tax warehouses.
2. The register shall contain the following information:
(a) the identification number issued by the competent authorities in
respect of the person or premises;
(b) the name and address of the person or premises;
(c) the category of goods which may be held or received by the person
or on the premises;
(d) the address of the competent authorities which may be contacted for
further information;
(e) the date of issue and, where appropriate, the date of cessation of
validity of the identification number.
3. The data described in paragraphs 1 and 2 (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall
be communicated to the competent authority of each Member State. Inthose cases where the data described in paragraph 2 (e) are not commu-nicated automatically, they shall be provided at the specific request ofany Member State. All data shall be used solely to identify the authori-zation or registration or otherwise of a person and premises.
4. The competent authority of each Member State shall ensure that
persons involved in the intra-Community movement of products subjectto excise duty are allowed to obtain confirmation of the informationheld under the terms of this Article.
5. Any information communicated in whatever form pursuant to this
Article shall be of a confidential nature. It shall be covered by theobligation of professional secrecy and shall enjoy the protectionextended to similar information under the national law of the MemberState which received it.
6. By way of derogation from paragraph 5, the competent authority
of the Member State providingthe information shall permit its use forother purposes in the Member State of the applicant authority, if, underthe legislation of the Member State of the requested authority, theinformation could be used in the Member State of the requestedauthority for similar purposes.
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Article 15b
1. With regard to the spot checks provided for in Article 19 (6), the
competent authorities in a Member State may request the competentauthorities of another Member State for information in addition to thatset out in Article 15a. The provisions governing data protection inDirective 77/799/EEC (
1)shall apply to such exchanges of information.
2. Where information is exchanged pursuant to paragraph 1 and
internal legislation in a Member State stipulates that the personsconcerned by the exchange of information must be consulted, suchlegislation may continue to be applied.
3. The information necessary to carry out spot checks under para-
graph 1 shall be exchanged by means of a uniform control document.The form and content of that document shall be established in accord-ance with the procedure laid down in Article 24.
(1) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 15.
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Article 16
1. NotwithstandingArticle 15 (1), the consig nee may be a profes-
sional trader without authorized warehousekeeper status. This tradermay, in the course of his business, receive products subject to exciseduty from other Member States under duty-suspension arrangements.However, he may neither hold nor dispatch such products under exciseduty-suspension arrangements.
Subject to Community law, Member States may lay down specific rules
for applyingthis provision to products subject to excise duty that arecovered by special national distribution arrangements compatible withthe Treaty.
2. The above trader may request, prior to the receipt of goods, to be
registered by the tax authorities of his Member State.
A registered trader must comply with the following requirements:
(a) guarantee payment of excise duty under the conditions set by the
tax authorities of his Member State, without prejudice to Article 15(4) layingdown the liability of the authorized warehousekeeper ofdispatch and, if the case arises, of the transporter;
(b) keep accounts of deliveries of products;
(c) produce the products whenever so required;
(d) consent to all monitoringand stock checks.
For this type of trader excise duty shall be chargeable at the time of
receipt of the goods and shall be paid in accordance with the procedurelaid down by each Member State.
3. If the trader referred to in paragraph 1 above is not registered with
the tax authorities of his Member State, he must comply with thefollowingrequirements:
(a) before the goods are dispatched, make a declaration to the tax
authorities of the Member States of destination and guarantee thepayment of excise duty, without prejudice to Article 15 (4) layingdown the liability of the authorized warehousekeeper of dispatchand, if the case arises, of the transporter;
(b) pay the excise duty of the Member State of destination at the time
of receipt of the goods in accordance with the procedure laid downby that Member State;
(c) consent to any check enablingthe administration of the Member
State of destination to satisfy itself that the goods have actuallybeen received and that the excise duty to which they are liable hasbeen paid.
4. Subject to the provisions set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, the
provisions of this Directive relatingto the movement of productssubject to excise duty under duty-suspension arrangements shall apply.
Article 17
A tax representative may be appointed by the authorized warehouse-
keeper of dispatch. This tax representative must be established in theMember State of destination and authorized by the tax authorities ofthat State. He must, instead of and in the place of the consignee withoutauthorized warehousekeeper status, comply with the followingrequire-ments:
(a) guarantee the payment of excise duty under the conditions set by
the tax authorities of the Member State of destination, withoutprejudice to Article 15 (4) layingdown the liability of the author-ized warehousekeeper of dispatch and, if the case arises, the trans-porter;
(b) pay the excise duty of the Member State of destination at the time
of receipt of the goods in accordance with the procedure laid downby the Member States of destination;
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(c) keep an account of deliveries of products and advise the tax authori-
ties of the Member States of destination of the place where thegoods are delivered.
Article 18
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1. Notwithstandingthe possible use of computerized procedures, allproducts subject to excise duty movingunder duty-suspension arrang e-ments between Member States, includingthose movingby sea or airdirectly from one Community port or airport to another, shall be accom-panied by a document drawn up by the consignor. This document maybe either an administrative document or a commercial document. Theform and content of this document, and the procedure to be followedwhere its use is objectively inappropriate, shall be established in accord-ance with the procedure laid down in Article 24.
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2. In order to identify the goods and conduct checks, the packagesshould be numbered and the products described usingthe documentreferred to in paragraph 1. If need be, each container should be sealedby the consignor when the means of transport is recognized as suitablefor sealingby the Member States of departure or the packag es should besealed by the consignor.
3. In cases where the consignee is not an authorized warehouse-
keeper or a registered trader and notwithstanding Article 17, the docu-ment referred to in paragraph 1 must be accompanied by a documentcertifyingthat excise duty has been paid in the Member State ofdestination or that any other procedure for collection of duty has beencomplied with in accordance with the conditions laid down by thecompetent authorities of the Member State of destination.
This document must give:
— the address of the office concerned of the tax authorities in the
Member State of destination,
— the date and reference of payment or of the acceptance of the
guarantee of payment by this office.
4. Paragraph 1 shall not apply when products subject to excise duty
move under the conditions referred to in Article 5 (2).
5. Without prejudice to Article 3 (1), Member States may maintain
their rules on movement and storage of raw materials used in themanufacture or preparation of products subject to excise duty.
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6. This Article shall also apply to products subject to excise dutymovingunder duty-suspension arrang ements between two tax ware-houses located in the same Member State via the territory of anotherMember State.
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Article 19
1. The tax authorities of the Member States shall be informed by
traders of deliveries dispatched or received by means of the documentor a reference to the document specified in Article 18. This documentshall be drawn up in quadruplicate:
— one copy to be kept by the consignor,— one copy for the consignee,— one copy to be returned to the consignor for discharge,— one copy for the competent authorities of the Member State of
destination.
The competent authorities of each Member State of dispatch may
provide for the use of an additional copy of the document for thecompetent authorities of the Member State of departure.
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The competent authorities of the Member State of dispatch and destina-tion may stipulate that the information contained in the copies of the
1992L0012 — EN — 01.01.1997 — 001.001 — 15
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accompanyingdocument intended for them is to be sent by computer-
ized means.
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The Member States of destination may stipulate that the copy to bereturned to the consignor for discharge should be certified or endorsedby its national authorities. Member States applyingthis provision mustinform the Commission which shall in turn inform the other MemberStates thereof.
The procedure to be followed with respect to the copy for the competent
authorities of the Member States of destination shall be adopted inaccordance with the procedure provided for in Article 24.
2. When products subject to excise duty move under the duty-
suspension arrangements to an authorized warehousekeeper or to aregistered or non-registered trader, a copy of the accompanyingadministrative document or a copy of the commercial document, dulyannotated, shall be returned by the consignee to the consignor fordischarge, at the latest within 15 days following the month of receipt bythe consignee.
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Notwithstandingthe above provisions, Member States of dispatch mayprovide for a copy of the return copy to be sent immediately to theconsignor by fax so that the guarantee may be released quickly. Thisshall not affect the obligation to return the original pursuant to the firstsentence.
Where products subject to excise duty move frequently and regularly
between two Member States under duty suspension arrangements, thecompetent authorities of those Member States may, by mutual agree-ment, authorize the procedure for discharg ingthe accompanyingdocu-ment to be simplified by means of summary or automated certification.
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The copy to be returned must contain the followingdetails which arerequired for discharge:
(a) the address of the office of the tax authority for the consignee;
(b) the date and place of receipt of the goods;
(c) a description of the goods received in order to check whether the
consignment tallies with the details contained in the document. If itdoes, the note ‘consignment checked' must be added;
(d) the reference or registration number issued, where appropriate, by
the competent authorities of the Member State of destination whichuse such numberingand/or the endorsement of the competentauthorities of the Member State of destination if that Member Statestipulates that the copy to be returned must be certified or endorsedby its authorities;
(e) the authorized signature of the consignee.
3. The duty-suspension arrangements as defined in Article 4 (c) shall
be discharged by the placing of the products subject to excise dutyunder one of the arrangements referred to in Article 5 (2) and subject tothe conditions referred to therein, after the consignor has received thecopy to be returned of the accompanyingadministrative document or acopy of the commercial document, duly annotated, in which it must benoted that the products have been placed under such an arrangement.
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4. Products subject to excise duty that are dispatched by an author-ized warehousekeeper established in a Member State for exportation viaone or more other Member States shall be permitted to move under theduty-suspension arrangements as defined in Article 4 (c). Thosearrangements shall be discharged by an attestation drawn up by thecustoms office of departure from the Community confirmingthat theproducts have indeed left the Community. That office must send back tothe consignor the certified copy of the accompanying documentintended for him.
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5. If there is no discharge, the consignor shall inform the tax authori-ties of his Member State within a time limit to be fixed by those taxauthorities. The time limit may not, however, exceed three months fromthe date of dispatch of the goods.
6. Member States shall cooperate to introduce spot checks which
may be conducted, as necessary, by computerized procedures.
Article 20
1. Where an irregularity or offence has been committed in the course
of a movement involvingthe charg eability of excise duty, the exciseduty shall be due in the Member State where the offence or irregularitywas committed from the natural or legal person who guaranteedpayment of the excise duties in accordance with Article 15 (3), withoutprejudice to the bringing of criminal proceedings.
Where the excise duty is collected in a Member State other than that of
departure, the Member State collectingthe duty shall inform thecompetent authorities of the country of departure.
2. When, in the course of movement, an offence or irregularity has
been detected without it beingpossible to determine where it wascommitted, it shall be deemed to have been committed in the MemberState where it was detected.
3. Without prejudice to the provision of Article 6 (2), when products
subject to excise duty do not arrive at their destination and it is notpossible to determine where the offence of irregularity was committed,that offence or irregularity shall be deemed to have been committed inthe Member State of departure, which shall collect the excise duties atthe rate in force on the date when the products ►
C1were dispatched
unless within a period of four months from the date of dispatch of theproducts evidence is produced to the satisfaction of the competentauthorities of the correctness of the transaction or of the place where theoffence or irregularity was actually committed. ◄►
M1Member
States shall take the necessary measures to deal with any offence orirregularity and to impose effective penalties. ◄
4. If, before the expiry of a period of three years from the date on
which the accompanyingdocument was drawn up, the Member Statewhere the offence or irregularity was actually committed is ascertained,that Member States shall collect the excise duty at the rate in force onthe date when the goods were dispatched. In this case, as soon asevidence of collection has been provided, the excise duty originallylevied shall be refunded.
Article 21
1. Without prejudice to Article 6 (1), Member States may require
that products released for consumption in their territory shall carry taxmarkings or national identification marks used for fiscal purposes.
2. Any Member State which requires the use of tax markingor
national identification marks as set out in paragraph 1 shall be requiredto make them available to authorized warehousekeepers of the otherMember States. However, each Member State may require that fiscalmarks be made available to a tax representative authorized by the taxauthority of that Member State.
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Without prejudice to any provisions they may lay down in order toensure that this Article is implemented properly and to prevent anyfraud, evasion or abuse, Member States shall ensure that these marks ormarkings do not create obstacles to the free movement of productssubject to excise duty.
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3. Tax markings or identification marks within the meaning of para-graph 1 shall be valid in the Member State which issued them.
However, there may be mutual recognition of these markings between
Member States.
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4. Mineral oils may be held, transported or used in Ireland, other
than in the runningtanks of vehicles permitted to use rebated fuel, onlywhere they comply with that State’s control and markingrequirements.
5. Intra-Community movement of products carryinga tax markingor
national identification mark of a Member State within the meaningofparagraph 1 and intended for sale in that Member State, which arewithin the territory of another Member State, shall take place undercover of an accompanyingdocument as provided for in Article 18 (1)and (3), or if the case arises, in accordance with Article 5 (2).
TITLE IV
Reimbursement
Article 22
1. In appropriate cases, products subject to excise duty which have
been released for consumption may, at the request of a trader in thecourse of his business, be eligible for reimbursement of excise duty bythe tax authorities of the Member State where they were released forconsumption when they are not intended for consumption in thatMember State.
However, Member States may refuse request for reimbursement where
it does not satisfy the correctness criteria they lay down.
2. In the application of paragraph 1, the following provisions shall
apply:
(a) before dispatch of the goods, the consignor must make a request for
reimbursement from the competent authorities of his Member Stateand provide proof that the excise duty has been paid. However, thecompetent authorities may not refuse reimbursement on the solegrounds of non-presentation of the document prepared by the sameauthorities certifyingthat the initial payment had been made;
(b) movement of the goods referred to in (a) shall take place ►
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accordance with the provisions of Title III; ◄
(c) the consignor shall submit to the competent authorities of his
Member State the returned copy of the document referred to in (b)duly annotated by the consignee which must either be accompaniedby a document certifyingthat the excise duty has been secured inthe Member State of consumption or have the followingdetailsadded:
— the address of the office concerned of the tax authorities in the
Member State of destination,
— the date of acceptance of the declaration by this office together
with the reference or registration number of that declaration;
(d) products subject to excise duty and released for consumption in a
Member State and thus bearinga tax markingor an identificationmark of that Member State may be eligible for reimbursement ofthe excise duty due from the tax authorities of the Member Stateswhich issued the tax markings or identification marks, provided thatthe tax authorities of the Member State which issued them hasestablished that such markings or marks have been destroyed.
3. In the cases referred to in Article 7, the Member State of departure
is required to reimburse the excise duty paid only where the excise dutywas previously paid in the Member State of destination in accordancewith the procedure laid down in Article 7 (5).
However, Member States may refuse this request for reimbursement
where it does not satisfy the correctness criteria they lay down.
4. In the cases referred to in ►
C1Article 10 ◄the Member State
of departure must, at the vendor’s request, reimburse the excise dutypaid where the vendor has followed the procedures laid down in Article10 (3).
However, Member States may refuse this request for reimbursement
where it does not satisfy the correctness criteria they lay down.
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Where the vendor is an authorized warehousekeeper, Member States
may stipulate that the reimbursement procedure be simplified.
5. The tax authorities of each Member State shall determine the
monitoringprocedures and methods applyingto reimbursement made intheir territory. Member States shall ensure that the reimbursement ofexcise duty does not exceed the sum actually paid.
TITLE V
Exemptions
Article 23
1. Products subject to excise duty shall be exempted from payment
of excise duty where they are intended:
— for delivery in the context of diplomatic or consular relations,— for international organizations recognized as such by the public
authorities of the host Member State, and by members of suchorganizations, within the limits and under the conditions laid downby the international conventions establishingsuch org anizations orby headquarters agreements,
— for the armed forces of any State party to the North Atlantic Treaty
other than the Member State within which the excise duty is charge-able as well as for the armed forces referred to in Article 1 ofDecision 90/640/EEC (
1), for the use of those forces, for the civilian
staff accompanyingthem or for supplyingtheir messes or canteens,
— for consumption under an agreement concluded with non-member
countries or international organizations provided that such an agree-ment is allowed or authorized with regard to exemption from VAT.
These exemptions shall be subject to conditions and limitations laid
down by the host Member State until uniform tax rules are adopted.Eligibility for exemption may be granted in accordance with a proce-dure for reimbursingexcise duties.
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1a. The armed forces and organizations referred to in paragraph 1shall be authorized to receive products from other Member States underexcise-duty suspension arrangements under cover of the accompanyingdocument referred to in Article 18 provided that the document isaccompanied by an exemption certificate. The form and content of theexemption certificate shall be determined in accordance with the proce-dure laid down in Article 24.
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2. The Council, actingunanimously on a proposal from the Commis-sion, may authorize any Member State to conclude with a non-membercountry or an international organization an agreement which maycontain exemptions from excise duty.
A State wishingto conclude such an ag reement shall bringthe matter to
the notice of the Commission and provide all the background informa-tion necessary. The Commission shall inform the other Member Stateswithin one month. The Council’s decision shall be deemed to have beenadopted if, within two months of other Member States beinginformed,the matter has not been raised before the Council.
3. The provisions on excise duty laid down in the followingDirect-
ives shall cease to apply on 31 December 1992:
(1) OJ No L 349, 13. 12. 1990, p. 19.
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— Directive 74/651/EEC (1),
— Directive 83/183/EEC (2),
— Directive 68/297/EEC (3).
4. The provisions on excise duty laid down in Directive 69/
169/EEC (4) shall cease to apply on 31 December 1992 in respect of
relations between Member States.
5. Until the Council, actingunanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, has adopted Community provisions on stores for boats andaircraft, Member States may maintain their national provisions on thesubject.
TITLE VI
Committee on excise duties
Article 24
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee on Excise
Duties, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee'.The Committee shallbe composed of the representatives of the Member States and chairedby a Commission representative. The Committee shall draw up its rulesof procedure.
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2. The measures necessary for the application of Articles 5, 7, 15b,18, 19 and 23 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedures laiddown in paragraphs 3 and 4.
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3. The Commission representative shall submit to the Commission adraft of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver itsopinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairman may laydown accordingto the urg ency of the matter. The Committee shall takeits decision by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty.The Chairman shall not vote.
4. (a) The Commission shall adopt the intended measures where they
are in accordance with the Committee’s opinion.
(b) Where the intended measures are not in accordance with the
opinion of the Committee, or in the absence of any opinion, theCommission shall forthwith, submit to the Council a proposalrelatingto the measures to be taken. The Council shall act on aqualified majority.
If, on the expiry of three months from the date on which the
matter was referred to it, the Council has not adopted any meas-ures, the Commission shall adopt the proposed measures, savewhere the Council has decided against the said measures on asimple majority.
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5. In addition to the measures referred to in paragraph 2, theCommittee shall examine the matters referred to it by its chairman,either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of aMember State, concerningthe application of Community provisions onexcise duties.
(1) OJ No L 354, 30. 12. 1974, p. 6; Directive as last amended by Directive
88/663/EEC (OJ No L 382, 31. 12. 1988, p. 40).
(2) OJ No L 105, 23. 4. 1983, p. 64; Directive amended by Directive 89/
604/EEC (OJ No L 348, 29. 11. 1989, p. 28).
(3) OJ No L 175, 25. 7. 1968, p. 15; Directive as last amended by Directive
85/347/EEC (OJ No L 183, 16. 7. 1985, p. 22).
(4) OJ No L 135, 4. 6. 1969, p. 6. Directive as last amended by Directive
91/191/EEC (OJ No L 94, 16. 4. 1991, p. 24).
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Article 25
The Member States and the Commission shall examine and assess the
application of Community provisions on excise duties.
TITLE VII
Final provisions
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Article 26
1. Without prejudice to Article 8, until 31 December 2003, Denmark
and Finland shall be authorized to apply the specific arrangements laiddown in the second and third subparagraphs to certain alcoholic drinksand tobacco products brought into their territory by private individualsfor their own use.
From 1 January 1997, Denmark and Finland shall be authorized to
continue to apply the same restrictions on the quantity of goods whichmay be brought into their territories without further excise dutypayment as they applied on 31 December 1996. Those restrictions shallbe progressively removed by these Member States.
Where such goods are imported by persons resident within their terri-
tories, Denmark and Finland shall be authorized to restrict the grant ofadmission without payment of duty to persons who have been absentfrom their territory for a period of more than 24 hours.
2. Before 30 June 2000, the Commission shall report to the European
Parliament and the Council on the operation of paragraph 1.
3. Without prejudice to Article 8, from 1 January 1997 to 30 June
2000, and subject to a review mechanism similar to that laid down inArticle 28l of Directive 77/388/EEC, Sweden shall be authorized tocontinue to apply the same restrictions as it applied on 31 December1996 on the quantity of alcoholic drinks and tobacco products whichmay be brought into Swedish territory without further excise dutypayment by private individuals for their own use.
4. Denmark, Finland and Sweden may collect excise duties and carry
out the necessary checks with respect to the products covered by thisArticle.
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Article 26a
Products subject to excise duty that are under a suspension arrangement
other than as specified in Articles 5 (2) and 18 (1) before 1 January1993 and which has not been discharged, shall be deemed, after thatdate, to be under suspension of excise duty.
When the situation described in the first subparagraph involves the
internal Community transit suspension arrangements, the provisions inforce at the time when the products were placed under these arrange-ments shall continue to apply duringthe period when these products areunder these arrangements, which shall be determined in accordance withthe said provisions.
When the said situation involves national suspension arrangements,
Member States shall determine the conditions and the formalities underwhich the suspension arrangements are discharged after 1 January 1993.
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Article 27
Before 1 January 1997 the Council, actingunanimously on the basis of
a report from the Commission, shall re-examine the provisions ofArticles 7, 8, 9 and 10 and, on the basis of a proposal from theCommission after consultingthe European Parliament, adopt any neces-sary amendments.
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Article 28
The followingprovisions shall apply for the period endingon 30 June
1999:
1. Member States may exempt products supplied by tax-free shops
which are carried away in the personal luggage of travellers takingan intra-Community flight or sea-crossing to another Member State.
For the purposes of this provision:
(a)‘tax-free shop ' shall mean any establishment situated within an
airport or port which fulfils the conditions laid down by thecompetent public authorities, pursuant in particular to paragraph3 of this Article;
(b)‘traveller to another Member State ' shall mean any passenger
holdinga transport document, for air or sea travel, statingthatthe immediate destination is an airport or port situated in anotherMember State;
(c)‘intra-Community flight or sea-crossing ' shall mean any trans-
port, by air or sea, commencingwithin a Member State, wherethe actual place of arrival is situated within another MemberState.
Products supplied on board an aircraft or ship duringthe intra-
Community passenger service shall be treated in the same way asproducts supplied by tax-free shops.
This exemption shall also apply to products supplied by tax-free
shops situated within one of the two access terminals to the ChannelTunnel to passengers holding transport documents which are validfor the journey between those two terminals.
2. The exemption provided for in paragraph 1 shall apply only to
products in quantities which do not exceed the limits, by person andby journey, laid down by Community provisions in force in thecontext of the movement of travellers between third countries andthe Community.
3. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the
exemption provided for in this Article are applied correctly andstraightforwardly, and to prevent any possible evasion, avoidance orabuse.
Article 29
1. Member States may exempt small wine producers from the
requirements of Titles II and III and from the other requirementsrelatingto movement and monitoring . Where these small producersthemselves carry out intra-Community transactions, they shall informtheir relevant authorities and comply with the requirements laid downby Commission Regulation (EEC) No 986/89 (
1) of 10 April 1989
particularly as regards the register of outgoing products and the accom-panyingdocument.
‘Small wine producers' should be understood to mean persons
producingon averag e less than 1 000 hl of wine per year.
2. The tax authorities of the Member State of destination shall be
informed by the consignee of wine deliveries received by means of thedocument referred to in paragraph 1 or by making a reference to it.
3. Member States shall take the measures necessary on a bilateral
basis to introduce spot checks, which may be conducted, as necessary,by computerized procedures.
(1) OJ No L 106, 18. 4. 1989, p. 1; Regulation as last modified by Regula-
tion (EEC) No 592/91 (OJ No L 66, 13. 3. 1991, p. 13).
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Article 30
Directive 77/799/EEC is amended as follows:
1. The title shall be replaced by the following:
‘Council Directive of 19 December 1977 concerningmutual assis-
tance by the competent authorities of the Member States in the fieldof direct and indirect taxation'.
2. In Article 1:
(a) Paragraph 1 shall be replaced by the following:
‘1. In accordance with this Directive the competent authori-
ties of the Member State shall exchange any information thatmay enable them to effect a correct assessment of taxes onincome and capital and any information relatingto the assess-ment of the followingindirect taxes:
— value added tax,— excise duty on mineral oils,— excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages,— excise duty on manufactured tobacco.'
(b) Paragraph 5 shall be replaced by the following in respect of
Denmark, Greece, the United Kingdom and Portugal:
‘in Denmark:
— Skatteministeren or an authorized representative;
in Greece:Υπουργός Οικονοµικών or an authorized representative;
in the United Kingdom:
— The Commissioners of Customs and Excise or an authorized
representative for information required concerningvalueadded tax and excise duty,
— The Commissioners of Inland Revenue or an authorized
representative for all other information;
in Portugal:
— O Ministro das Finanças or an authorized representative.'
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Article 30a
Directive 76/308/EEC is amended as follows:
1. The title shall be replaced by the following:
‘Council Directive of 15 March 1976 on mutual assistance for the
recovery of claims resultingfrom operations formingpart of thesystem of financingthe European Ag ricultural Guidance and Guar-antee Fund, and of agricultural levies and customs duties, and inrespect of value added tax and certain excise duties.'
2. in Article 2
(a) letter ‘(e)' shall be replaced by ‘(f)',
(b) the followingpoint shall be inserted after point ‘(d)':
‘(e) the followingexcise duties:
— excise duty on manufactured tobacco,— excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages,— excise duty on mineral oils.'
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Article 31
1. Member States shall bringinto force the laws, reg ulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive on 1January 1993.
However, with regard to Article 9 (3) the Kingdom of Denmark is
authorized to introduce the laws, regulations and administrative provi-
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sions required for complyingwith this provision by 1 January 1993 atthe latest.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a refer-
ence to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on theoccasion of their official publication. The methods of makingsuch areference shall be laid down by the Member State.
2. The Member States shall inform the Commission of the main
provisions of national law which they adopt to comply with thisDirective.
Article 32
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.