1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE92/12/EEC
of25February1992
on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement
andmonitoringofsuchproducts
(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
►M4Council Directive 2000/44/EC of 30 June 2000 L 161 82 1.7.2000
►M5Council Directive 2000/47/EC of 20 July 2000 L 193 73 29.7.2000
►M6Council Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 of 14 April 2003 L 122 36 16.5.2003
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 187, 7.7.1992, p. 48 (92/12/EEC)
►C2Corrigendum, OJ L 60, 9.3.1996, p. 30 (92/12/EEC)
►C3Corrigendum, OJ L 135, 6.6.1996, p. 35 (92/12/EEC)
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE92/12/EEC
of25February1992
on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty
andontheholding,movementandmonitoringofsuchproducts
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Article 99 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas the establishment and functioning of the internal market
require the free movement of goods, including those subject of excise
duties;
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
on products 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 the
Member States may be the subject of Community provisions; whereassuchproducts may be subject to oth er 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 functioning of the
internal market, chargeability of excise duties should be identical inall the Member States;
Whereas any delivery, holding with a view to delivery or supply for the
purposes of a trader carrying out 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 for
consumption gives rise to chargeability of the excise duty in that other
Member State;
Whereas in the case of products subject to excise duty acquired by
private individuals for their own use and transported by them, the
duty must 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 take
account of a number of criteria;
Whereas products subject to excise duty purchased by persons who are
not approved warehousekeepers or registered or non-registered traders
and dispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or
on his 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 outsuchch ecks;
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 subject1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 2
(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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to excise duty; whereas provision should therefore be made for an
accompanying document for suchproducts;
Whereas the requirements to be complied with by authorized warehou-
sekeepers and traders without authorized warehousekeeper status
should 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 a proce-dure for the movement of such goods unter duty suspension;
Whereas in that respect provision should first be made for each
consignment to be easily identified; whereas provision should be
made for the tax status of the consignment to be immediately identifi-able; whereas it is therefore necessary to provide for an accompanyingdocument capable of meeting these needs, which may be either anadministrative or commercial document; whereas the commercial docu-ment used must contain the essential elements which appear on the
administrative document;
Whereas the procedure by which the tax authorities of the Member
States are informed by traders of deliveries dispatched or received bymeans of an accompanying document should be explained;
Whereas there is no need for the accompanying document to be used
when the products subject to excise duties are moved under a Commu-
nity customs procedure other than release for free circulation or are
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 irregularity
was ascertained, or, in the event of non-presentation in the Member
State 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
way of 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 reimbur-sement of those duties when the products are not intended forconsumption 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 exemp-
tions and allowances on imports cease to apply in respect of relations
between Member States; whereas these provisions should therefore beabolished and 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
provisions 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 taking an intra-Community flight or making an intra-Commu-nity sea-crossing states that its enforcement is without prejudice tocontrols relating to bans or restrictions laid down by Member States,
provided that they are compatible with the three Treaties establishing
the European Community; whereas in that context the verificationsnecessary for the enforcement of the quantitative restrictions referredto in Article 26 must be considered to be suchcontrols and, as such ,to be compatible withCommunity legislation;
Whereas a certain period of time will be required to take the necessary
measures to alleviate both the social repercussions in the sectors
concerned and regional difficulties, particularly in border regions,which might arise as a result of the abolition of taxes on imports andexemptions on exports in trade between the Member States; whereas tothat end the Member States should be authorized, for a period endingon 30 June 1999, to exempt products supplied, within the limits laid1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 3
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down, by 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
concerning mutual 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 excise
duties,
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 or indir-ectly on the consumption of such products, except for value added tax
and taxes established by the Community.
2. The particular provisions relating to the structures and rates of
duty on products subject to excise duty shall be set out in specific
Directives.
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 MemberState, by the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,and in particular Article 227 thereof, except for the following national
territories:
— in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Island of Heli-
goland 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. Notwithstanding paragraph 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 respectof all or some of the products referred to in Article 3 (1) below, as
from the first day of the second month following deposit 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 depart-
ments of 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
measures to adjust to their extreme remoteness - from the first day ofthe second month following deposit 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,1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 4
(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
by Article 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
of fair 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 complywithth e tax rules applicable for excise duty and VAT purposes as faras determination of the tax base, calculation of the tax, chargeabilityand monitoring of 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
1 provided, however, that those taxes do not give rise to border-
crossing formalities 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 characterizedas turnover taxes, including those relating to products subject to exciseduty.
Article 4
For the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions 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 dutyin the course of his business, excise duty being suspended under
tax-warehousing arrangement;
(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 the
course of his business, subject to certain conditions laid down by
the 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 duty
being suspended;
(d)registered trader : a natural or legal person without authorized
warehousekeeper status, authorized by the competent authorities ofa Member State to receive, in the course of his business, products
subject to excise duty from another Member State under duty-
suspension arrangements. This type of trader may neither hold nordispatchsuchproducts 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 from
another 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.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 5
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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 the Commu-
nity as defined in Article 2 or of their importation into that territory.
‘Importation of a product subject to excise duty’ shall mean the entry
of that product into the territory of the Community, including the entryof sucha product from a territory covered by Article 2 (1), (2) and (3)or from 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.
2. Without prejudice to national and Community provisions
regarding customs matters, when products subject to excise duty:
— are coming from, or going to, 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,
or
— are dispatched between Member States via EFTA countries or
between a Member State and an EFTA country under the internal
Community transit procedure or via one or more non-EFTA third
countries under cover of a TIR or ATA carnet,
the excise duty on them shall be deemed to be suspended.
In cases where the single administrative document is used:
— box 33 of the single administrative document shall be completed
withth e 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 is
involved;
— 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 docu-
ment shall be sent back to the consignor by the consignee.
3. Any additional details that have to be shown on the transport or
commercial documents serving as transit documents and the changesthat have to be made to adapt the discharge procedure where goodssubject to excise duty move under a simplified internal Communitytransit procedure shall be established according to the procedureprovided for in Article 24.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 6
(1) OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.▼M1
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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 withArticle 14 (3).
Release for consumption of products subject to excise duty shall mean:
(a) any departure, including irregular departure, from a suspension
arrangement;
(b) any manufacture, including irregular manufacture, of those
products outside a suspension arrangement;
(c) any importation of those products, including irregular 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 chargeablein the Member State where release for consumption takes place or
shortages are recorded. Excise duty shall be levied and collected
according to the procedure laid down by each Member State, it beingunderstood that Member States shall apply the same procedures forlevying and collection to national products and to those from otherMember States.
Article 7
1. In the event of products subject to excise duty and already
released for consumption in one Member State being held for commer-
cial purposes in another Member State, the excise duty shall be leviedin the 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 oneMember State are delivered ►
M1or intended for delivery in another
Member State ◄or used in another Member State for the purposes of
a trader carrying out an economic activity independently or for the
purposes of a body governed by public law, excise duty shall become
chargeable in that other Member State.
3. Depending on all the circumstances, the duty shall be due from
the person making the delivery or holding the products intended for
delivery or from the person receiving the 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 bypublic law.
4. The products referred to in paragraph 1 shall move between the
territories of the various Member States under cover of an accompa-nying document listing the main data from the document referred to
in Article 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 withth e following requirements:
(a) before the goods are dispatched, make a declaration to the tax
authorities of the Member State of destination and guarantee the
payment of the excise duty;
(b) pay the excise duty of the Member State of destination in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down by that Member State;
(c) consent to any check enabling the 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
has been paid.
6. The excise duty paid in the first Member State referred to in para-
graph1 sh all be reimbursed in accordance withArticle 22 (3).1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 7
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7. Where products subject to excise duty and already released for
consumption 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 accompanying
document referred to in paragraph4 and sh all use an appropriate itin-erary.
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 carrying out excise-duty checks;
(b) the consignee shall attest to having received the goods in accor-
dance with the rules laid down by the tax authorities of the placeof destination responsible for carrying out excise-duty checks;
(c) the consignor and the consignee shall consent to any check
enabling their respective tax authorities to satisfy themselves thatthe goods have 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 derogation
from paragraphs 7 and 8.
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 terri-
tory the products are and shall become chargeable to the holder of the
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 holding them,
— the place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the
mode of transport used,
— any document relating to the products,
— the nature of the products,— the quantity of the products.
For the purposes of applying the 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
smoking tobacco 1,0 kg;
(b)Alcoholic beverages
spirit drinks 10 l1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 8
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intermediate products 20 l
wines (including a maximum of 60 l of sparkling
wines)90 l
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 (including amaximum of 30 litres of sparkling wine) 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 suchproducts are transported using atypical modes of transport byprivate individuals or on their behalf. Atypical transport shall meanthe transport of fuels other than in the tanks of vehicles or in appro-
priate reserve fuel canisters and the transport of liquid heating
products other than by means of tankers used on behalf of professionaltraders.
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’ shall
mean 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 tothe dispatch or transport of those products to a person as referred to inparagraph 1, established in another Member State, and which are
dispatched or transported directly or indirectly by the vendor or on his
behalf 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 mayadopt provisions stipulating that the excise duty shall be payable by a
tax representative, other than the consignee of the products. Such a tax
representative 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 following requirements:
— guarantee payment of excise duty under the conditions set by the
Member State of destination prior to dispatchof th e products andensure that the excise duty is paid following arrival 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 applying this provision to products subject to excise duty
which are covered by special national distribution arrangements compa-
tible withth e Treaty.
TITLE II
Production,processingandholding
Article 11
1. Each Member State shall determine its rules concerning the
production, processing and holding of products subject to excise duty,subject to the provisions of this Directive.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 9
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2. Production, processing and holding of products subject to excise
duty, where the latter has not been paid, shall take place in a tax ware-house.
Article 12
The opening and operation of tax warehouses shall be subject to
authorization from the competent authorities of the Member States.
Article 13
An authorized warehousekeeper shall be required to:
(a) provide a guarantee, if necessary, to cover production, processing
and holding and a compulsory guarantee to cover movement,
subject to Article 15 (3), the conditions for which shall be set by
the competent authorities of the Member State in which the taxwarehouse is authorized;
(b) comply with the requirements laid down by the Member State
within whose territory the tax warehouse is situated;
(c) keep, for eachwareh ouse, accounts of stock and product move-
ments;
(d) produce the products whenever so required;
(e) consent to all monitoring and 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 occuring under suspension arrangements which areattributable to fortuitous events or force majeure and established by
the authorized of the Member State concerned. They shall also beexempt, under suspension arrangements, in respect of losses inherentin the nature of the products during production and processing, storage
and transport. Each Member State shall lay down the conditions under
which these exemptions are granted. These exemptions shall applyequally to the traders referred to in Article 16 during the transport ofproducts under excise duty suspension arrangements.
2. Losses referred to in paragraph1 occuring during th e intra-
Community transport of products under excise duty suspension
arrangements must be established according to the rules of the MemberState of destination.
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 the
basis of the rates applicable in the Member States concerned at thetime the losses, duly established by the competent authorities, occured,or if necessary at the time the shortage was recorded.
4. The shortages referred to in paragraph 3 and losses which are not
exempted 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 duty
suspension arrangements, the competent authorities of the MemberState in which those losses or shortages are established shall anno-tate the return copy of the accompanying document accordingly,
— on the arrival of the products in the Member State of destination,
the competent authorities of that Member State shall indicate1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 10
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whether they are granting partial exemption or no exemption in
respect of the losses established.
In the cases referred to above they shall specify the basis for calcula-
tion of the excise duty to be levied in accordance with paragraph 3.The competent authorities of the Member State of destination shallsend a copy of the return copy of the accompanying document to thecompetent authorities of the Member State in which the losses were
established.
TITLE III
Movement ofgoods
Article 15
1. Without prejudice to Articles 5 (2), 16, 19 (4) and 23 (1a), the
movement 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 been
released for consumption.
2. Warehousekeepers authorized by the competent authorities of a
Member State in accordance withArticle 13 sh all be deemed to beauthorized for both national and intra-Community movement.
3. The risks inherent in intra-Community movement shall be
covered by the guarantee provided by the authorized warehousekeeper
of dispatch, as provided for in Article 13, or, if need be, by a guarantee
jointly and severally binding on both the consignor 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 the
guarantee 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.
4. Without prejudice to the provision of Article 20, the liability of
the authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch and, if the case arises,
that of the transporter may only be discharged by proof that theconsignee has taken delivery of the products, in particular by theaccompanying document referred to in Article 18 under the conditionslaid down in Article 19.
5. An authorized warehousekeeper of dispatch or his agent may
amend the contents of boxes 4, 7, 7a, 13, 14 and/or 17 of the accom-
panying document to show a new consignee, who must be anauthorized warehousekeeper or registered trader, or a new place ofdelivery. The competent authority of dispatch must be notified immedi-ately and the new consignee or the new place of delivery shallimmediately be indicated on the reverse of the accompanying docu-
ment.
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 accompanying docu-1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 11
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ment if, when the products are dispatched, the consignee is not defini-
tively known, 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 assoon as they are known or at the latest when the products reachtheir final destination.
Article 15a
1. By 1 April 1993 at the latest, the competent authority of each
Member State shall maintain an electronic data base which shallcontain a register of persons who are authorized warehousekeepers ortraders registered for excise purposes as well as a register of those
premises authorized 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 author-
ization 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 information
held 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 the obli-
gation of professional secrecy and shall enjoy the protection extended
to similar information under the national law of the Member Statewhich received it.
6. By way of derogation from paragraph 5, the competent authority
of the Member State providing the information shall permit its use for
other 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.
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 that
set out in Article 15a. The provisions governing data protection in
Directive 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 persons1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 12
(1) OJ No L 336, 27. 12. 1977, p. 15.▼M1
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concerned by the exchange of information must be consulted, such
legislation 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 accor-
dance withth e procedure laid down in Article 24.
Article 16
1. Notwithstanding Article 15 (1), the consignee 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 excise
duty-suspension arrangements.
Subject to Community law, Member States may lay down specific rules
for applying this 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 withth e following requirements:
(a) guarantee payment of excise duty under the conditions set by the
tax authorities of his Member State, without prejudice to Article15 (4) laying down the liability of the authorized warehousekeeperof dispatch 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 monitoring and 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 procedure
laid down by eachMember 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 the
following requirements:
(a) before the goods are dispatched, make a declaration to the tax
authorities of the Member States of destination and guarantee the
payment 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 down
by that Member State;
(c) consent to any check enabling the 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 liablehas been paid.
4. Subject to the provisions set out in paragraphs 2 and 3, the provi-
sions of this Directive relating to the movement of products subject 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 consignee1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 13
▼B
▼B
without authorized warehousekeeper status, comply with the following
requirements:
(a) guarantee the payment of excise duty under the conditions set by
the tax authorities of the Member State of destination, without
prejudice to Article 15 (4) laying down the liability of the author-ized warehousekeeper of dispatch and, if the case arises, thetransporter;
(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;
(c) keep an account of deliveries of products and advise the tax autho-
rities of the Member States of destination of the place where thegoods are delivered.
Article 18
1. Notwithstanding the possible use of computerized procedures, all
products subject to excise duty moving under duty-suspension arrange-ments between Member States, including those moving by sea or airdirectly from one Community port or airport to another, shall beaccompanied by a document drawn up by the consignor. This docu-ment may be either an administrative document or a commercial
document. The form and content of this document, and the procedure
to be followed where its use is objectively inappropriate, shall be estab-lished in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24.
2. In order to identify the goods and conduct checks, the packages
should be numbered and the products described using the documentreferred to in paragraph1. If need be, eachcontainer sh ould be sealedby the consignor when the means of transport is recognized as suitablefor sealing by the Member States of departure or the packages shouldbe sealed by the consignor.
3. In cases where the consignee is not an authorized warehouse-
keeper or a registered trader and notwithstanding Article 17, thedocument referred to in paragraph1 must be accompanied by a docu-ment certifying that excise duty has been paid in the Member State ofdestination or that any other procedure for collection of duty has been
complied within accordance withth e conditions laid down by th e
competent 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 guar-
antee 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 the
manufacture or preparation of products subject to excise duty.
6. This Article shall also apply to products subject to excise duty
moving under duty-suspension arrangements between two tax ware-
houses located in the same Member State via the territory of another
Member State.
Article 19
1. The tax authorities of the Member States shall be informed by
traders of deliveries dispatched or received by means of the document1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 14
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or a reference to the document specified in Article 18. This document
shall 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.
The competent authorities of the Member State of dispatch and destina-
tion may stipulate that the information contained in the copies of the
accompanying document intended for them is to be sent by computer-ized means.
The Member States of destination may stipulate that the copy to be
returned to the consignor for discharge should be certified or endorsed
by its national authorities. Member States applying this 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 compe-
tent authorities of the Member States of destination shall be adopted inaccordance withth e 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 accompanying admin-istrative document or a copy of the commercial document, duly
annotated, shall be returned by the consignee to the consignor for
discharge, at the latest within 15 days following the month of receiptby the consignee.
Notwithstanding the above provisions, Member States of dispatch may
provide for a copy of the return copy to be sent immediately to the
consignor 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 discharging the accompanying
document to be simplified by means of summary or automated certifi-
cation.
The copy to be returned must contain the following details which are
required 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
it does, 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 numbering and/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 endorsed
by 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 excise1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 15
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duty under one of the arrangements referred to in Article 5 (2) and
subject to the conditions referred to therein, after the consignor hasreceived the copy to be returned of the accompanying administrative
document or a copy of the commercial document, duly annotated, in
which it must be noted that the products have been placed under suchan arrangement.
4. Products subject to excise duty that are dispatched by an author-
ized warehousekeeper established in a Member State for exportationvia one or more other Member States shall be permitted to move underthe duty-suspension arrangements as defined in Article 4 (c). Those
arrangements shall be discharged by an attestation drawn up by the
customs office of departure from the Community confirming that theproducts have indeed left the Community. That office must send backto the consignor the certified copy of the accompanying documentintended for him.
5. If there is no discharge, the consignor shall inform the tax autho-
rities of his Member State within a time limit to be fixed by those tax
authorities. The time limit may not, however, exceed three months
from the 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 involving the chargeability of excise duty, the
excise duty shall be due in the Member State where the offence or irre-
gularity was committed from the natural or legal person whoguaranteed payment of the excise duties in accordance with Article 15(3), without prejudice to the bringing of criminal proceedings.
Where the excise duty is collected in a Member State other than that of
departure, the Member State collecting the 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 being possible to determine where it was
committed, it shall be deemed to have been committed in the Member
State 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 at
the 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 wherethe offence or irregularity was actually committed. ◄►
M1Member
States shall take the necessary measures to deal with any offence or
irregularity and to impose effective penalties. ◄
4. If, before the expiry of a period of three years from the date on
which the accompanying document was drawn up, the Member State
where 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 originally
levied 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.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 16
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2. Any Member State which requires the use of tax marking or
national identification marks as set out in paragraph1 sh all be requiredto make them available to authorized warehousekeepers of the other
Member States. However, eachMember State may require th at fiscal
marks be made available to a tax representative authorized by the taxauthority of that Member State.
Without prejudice to any provisions they may lay down in order to
ensure that this Article is implemented properly and to prevent anyfraud, evasion or abuse, Member States shall ensure that these marks
or markings do not create obstacles to the free movement of products
subject to excise duty.
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.
4. Mineral oils may be held, transported or used in Ireland, other
than in the running tanks of vehicles permitted to use rebated fuel,only where they comply with that State's control and marking require-
ments.
5. Intra-Community movement of products carrying a tax marking
or national identification mark of a Member State within the meaningof paragraph 1 and intended for sale in that Member State, which are
within the territory of another Member State, shall take place under
cover of an accompanying document 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 dutyby the tax authorities of the Member State where they were releasedfor consumption when they are not intended for consumption in that
Member 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 State
and 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 thesame authorities certifying that the initial payment had been made;
(b) movement of the goods referred to in (a) shall take place ►
M1in
accordance withth e 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 accompanied
by a document certifying that the excise duty has been secured in
the Member State of consumption or have the following detailsadded:
— 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;1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 17
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(d) products subject to excise duty and released for consumption in a
Member State and thus bearing a tax marking or an identificationmark of that Member State may be eligible for reimbursement of
the excise duty due from the tax authorities of the Member States
which issued the tax markings or identification marks, providedthat the tax authorities of the Member State which issued themhas established that such markings or marks have been destroyed.
3. In the cases referred to in Article 7, the Member State of depar-
ture is required to reimburse the excise duty paid only where the exciseduty was previously paid in the Member State of destination in accor-dance withth e 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.
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
monitoring procedures and methods applying to reimbursement madein their territory. Member States shall ensure that the reimbursementof excise 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 suchby th e public
authorities of the host Member State, and by members of such orga-
nizations, within the limits and under the conditions laid down bythe international conventions establishing such organizations or byheadquarters 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
chargeable as well as for the armed forces referred to in Article 1of Decision 90/640/EEC (
1), for the use of those forces, for the civi-
lian staff accompanying them or for supplying their messes orcanteens,
— for consumption under an agreement concluded withnon-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 witha proce-dure for reimbursing excise duties.
1a. The armed forces and organizations referred to in paragraph 1
shall 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 the1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 18
(1) OJ No L 349, 13. 12. 1990, p. 19.▼M2
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exemption certificate shall be determined in accordance with the proce-
dure laid down in Article 24.
2. The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, may authorize any Member State to conclude with anon-member country or an international organization an agreement
which may contain exemptions from excise duty.
A State wishing to conclude such an agreement shall bring the matter
to the notice of the Commission and provide all the background infor-
mation necessary. The Commission shall inform the other MemberStates within one month. The Council's decision shall be deemed tohave been adopted 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 following Direc-
tives shall cease to apply on 31 December 1992:
— 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 rela-
tions between Member States.
5. Until the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, has adopted Community provisions on stores for boats
and aircraft, Member States may maintain their national provisions onthe subject.
TITLE VI
Committee onexciseduties
Article 24
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee referred to as
the ‘Committee on Excise Duties’.
2. The measures necessary for the application of Articles 5, 7, 15b,
18, 19 and 23 shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laiddown in paragraph3.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC (
5) shall apply.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
4. In addition to the measures referred to in paragraph 2, the
Commitee shall examine the matters raised by its chairman, either onhis own initiative or at the request of the representative of a MemberState, concerning the application of Community provisions on excise
duties.
5. The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 19
(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).
(5) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.▼B
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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
Finalprovisions
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 drinks
and tobacco products brought into their territory by private individuals
for 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 duty
payment as they applied on 31 December 1996. Those restrictions shall
be progressively removed by these Member States. ►
M5Finland shall
increase the quantitative restrictions for beer to at least 24 litres fromthe entry into force of the Finnish legislation transposing Article 5(9)of Directive 69/169/EEC, to at least 32 litres from 1 January 2001
and to at least 64 litres from 1 January 2003. ◄
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, Sweden shall be authorised to
apply the restrictions set out in the Annex on the quantity of alcoholicdrinks and tobacco products.
The authorisation shall concern the quantity of alcoholic drinks and
tobacco products which may be brought into Swedish territory by
private individuals for their own use without further payment of excise
duty.
It shall apply until 31 December 2003.
4. Denmark, Finland and Sweden may collect excise duties and
carry out the necessary checks with respect to the products covered bythis Article.
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 during the period when these productsare under these arrangements, which shall be determined in accordance
withth e 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 January1993.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 20
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Article 27
Before 1 January 1997 the Council, acting unanimously on the basis of
a report from the Commission, shall re-examine the provisions of Arti-
cles 7, 8, 9 and 10 and, on the basis of a proposal from theCommission after consulting the European Parliament, adopt anynecessary amendments.
Article 28
The following provisions shall apply for the period ending on 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
holding a transport document, for air or sea travel, stating thatthe immediate destination is an airport or port situated in
another Member State;
(c) ‘intra-Community flight or sea-crossing ’ shall mean any trans-
port, by air or sea, commencing within a Member State, where
the actual place of arrival is situated within another Member
State.
Products supplied on board an aircraft or ship during the intra-
Community passenger service shall be treated in the same way as
products 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 Channel
Tunnel 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 personand by journey, laid down by Community provisions in force inthe context of the movement of travellers between third countriesand the 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, avoidanceor abuse.
Article 29
1. Member States may exempt small wine producers from the
requirements of Titles II and III and from the other requirementsrelating to movement and monitoring. Where these small producersthemselves carry out intra-Community transactions, they shall informtheir relevant authorities and comply with the requirements laid down
by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 986/89 (
1) of 10 April 1989
particularly as regards the register of outgoing products and the accom-panying document.
‘Small wine producers’ should be understood to mean persons produ-
cing on average 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 ofthe document referred to in paragraph 1 or by making a reference to it.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 21
(1) OJ No L 106, 18. 4. 1989, p. 1; Regulation as last modified by Regulation
(EEC) No 592/91 (OJ No L 66, 13. 3. 1991, p. 13).
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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.
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 concerning mutual assis-
tance by the competent authorities of the Member States in the
field of 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 relating to the assess-ment of the following indirect 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 concerning valueadded 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.’
Article 30a
Directive 76/308/EEC is amended as follows:1. The title shall be replaced by the following:
‘Council Directive of 15 March1976 on mutual assistance for th e
recovery of claims resulting from operations forming part of thesystem of financing the European Agricultural Guidance and Guar-antee Fund, and of agricultural levies and customs duties, and in
respect of value added tax and certain excise duties.’
2. in Article 2
(a) letter ‘(e)’ shall be replaced by ‘(f)’,
(b) the following point shall be inserted after point ‘(d)’:
‘(e) the following excise duties:
— excise duty on manufactured tobacco,
— excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages,— excise duty on mineral oils.’1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 22
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Article 31
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply withth is Directive on 1
January 1993.
However, withregard to Article 9 (3) th e Kingdom of Denmark is
authorized to introduce the laws, regulations and administrative provi-sions required for complying withth is 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 making such a
reference 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 this Direc-tive.
Article 32
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 23
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ANNEX
Article26(3)
Quantity of alcoholic drinks and tabacco products which may be brought
into Swedish territory by private individuals for their own use without
furtherpaymentofexciseduty
Alcoholic drinks
From 1 July
2000From 1
January
2001From 1
January
2002From 1
January
2003
Spirits 1 l 1 l 2 l 5 l
Intermediate products 3 l 3 l 3 l 3 l
Wines (including spark-
ling wine)20 l 26 l 26 l 52 l
Beer 24 l 32 l 32 l 64 l
Tobacco products
From 1 July 2000
Cigarettes or 400
cigarillos or 200
cigars or 100
smoking tobacco 550 g1992L0012 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 004.001 — 24