31. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 332/1 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
Opinion on the amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the statistics relating 
to the trading of goods between Member States (*) 
(90/C 332/01) 
On 17 July 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 100A of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Economic, Financial and Monetary Questions, which was responsible for 
preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 11 September 1990. 
The Rapporteur was Mr Giacomelli with Mr Vasco Cal and Mr Vlassopoulos acting as Co-
Rapporteurs. 
At its 279th plenary session (meeting of 19 September 1990) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following Opinion unanimously. 
1. Introduction 
1.1. The proposal is one of a series of three, the 
other two of which are: 
a) proposal for an amendment to the proposal for a 
Council Directive supplementing the common sys­
tem of value added tax and amending Directive 
77/388/EEC—transitional arrangements for tax­
ation with a view to establishment of the Internal 
Market [COM(90) 182 final—SYN 274]. 
b) proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) concerning 
administrative cooperation in the field of indirect 
taxation [COM(90) 183 final—SYN 275]. 
These other proposals are being dealt with in separate 
Committee Opinions. 
1.2. The proposal changes to the draft statistics 
Regulation are based on the conclusions reached at the 
ECOFIN Council on 13 November 1989. This meeting 
confirmed the abolition of intra-Community frontier 
(!) OJ No C 209, 22. 8. 1990, p. 29. controls by 1 January 1993—the date of the Single 
Market's completion—but stated that the principle of 
charging Value Added Tax in the country of destination 
would be maintained—with some adaptations—during 
a transitional period extending beyond 1992. The intro­
duction of uniform arrangements for taxation in the 
country of origin remained a medium-term objective, 
since it presupposed the approximation of Member 
States' VAT rates. 
1.3. As the transitional scheme will abolish fiscal 
frontiers, there will be no more stoppages at intra-
Community frontiers to carry out tax checks before­
hand. It has therefore been necessary to make provision 
for ex post facto checks by increasing cooperation 
between Member States' tax authorities. In the field of 
intra-Community trade statistics, which will not be able 
to use customs documents after 1 January 1993, the 
inital proposal of 11 January 1989 on the collection—in 
the absence of material from tax sources—of statistics 
on intra-Community trade in goods and the establish­
ment of the system of the International Trade Statistics 
Users [COM(88) 810 final—SYN 181] has also had to 
be adapted to the transitional scheme [maintenance 
of taxation in the country of destination coupled 
with abolition of the single administrative document 
(SAD)]. 
No C 332/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 90 
1.4. The Committee commented on this initial pro­
posal in its Opinion of 26 April 1989 (*). It welcomed 
the proposal, but voiced a number of reservations and 
proposed a number of amendments. However, it con­
sidered the proposed formula to be a possible solution 
to the problem which the establishment of statistics on 
trade in goods between Member States would pose after 
the abolition of frontier checks. 
2. Preliminary reservations 
2.1. The reservations voiced by the Committee in its 
Opinion of 26 April 1989 still hold true insofar as 
the proposal under consideration and in particular the 
provisions taken over unchanged from the original pro­
posal are still dependent on (a) the introduction of 
taxation in the country of origin and (b) the harmoniza­
tion of indirect taxation, i.e. the approximation of VAT 
rates and excise duties. This harmonization is the sine 
qua non for switching the place where the VAT is 
charged. However, if the Council regards taxation in 
the country or origin to be the medium-term objective 
and if this is likely to become the definitive solution 
provided that unanimous agreement is reached at the 
Council, there are still a good many questions to be 
answered with regard to the approximation of indirect 
tax rates. There is also still a need to define various 
schemes for allocation (VAT compensation scheme) 
and collection (systems of interconnected warehouses 
for excise duties). With regard to the fiscal uncertainties 
which still hang over a good many of the proposal's 
provisions, the Committee can merely reiterate the cau­
tious and guarded approach of earlier Opinions and 
the questions raised therein with regard to the harmon­
ization of Member States' indirect taxation. Some of 
these Opinions—on a initial set of 1987 Commission 
proposals—were adopted at the 7 July 1988 plenary 
session (2), while the others adopted on 19 December 
1989 (3) and 4 July (4) dealt with new Commission 
guidelines set out in revised communications and pro­
posals for the approximation of VAT rates and excise 
duties. 
2.2. Other reservations and remarks—some old 
and some new—must be voiced with regard to both 
the unchanged provisions and the provisions which 
(!) OJ No C 159/16, 26. 6. 1989. 
(2) OJ No C 237/14, 12. 9. 1988. 
(3) OJ No C 62/17, 12. 3. 1990. 
(4) OJ No C 225, 10. 9. 1990, p. 19. have been amended or added for the transitional period. 
According to the Commission this period will have to 
end on 31 December 1996 when the definitive tax 
scheme will have to take effect. 
2.2.1. Although the new Article 16F, combined with 
Article 11, establishes a certain link between statistical 
and fiscal returns on the vital issue of the value of traded 
goods, doubts continue to exist about INTRASTATE 
future ability, in the absence of the fiscal information 
currently provided by transit documents, to collect stat­
istics on intra-Community trade which are sufficiently 
exhaustive to meet the needs of users in full, regardless 
of whether these are Member States, firms or even 
regions which, in the large Single Market, will be more 
interested in the figures for their trade with other 
regions. 
2.2.2. In the absence of a trial period, as the ESC 
Opinion of 26 April 1989 suggested, uncertainty still 
remains about the applicability of INTRASTAT and 
the reliability of its statistics, especially if the parties 
responsible for supplying the information have no tax-
related reasons for doing so. 
2.3. The amended proposal of 27 June 1990 takes 
practically no account of the comments and suggestions 
made by the Committee in its Opinion of 26 April 1989 
with regard to: 
2.3.1. Article 7 (derogation permitting the mainten­
ance of the Single Declaration for intra-Benelux trade 
and avoiding the break-up of small geographical areas 
within the Community); 
2.3.2. Articles 28 and 29 concerning the establish­
ment of a 'committee on the statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States' and its status 
as a simple advisory committee, despite arguments justi­
fying its establishment as a management committee; 
2.3.3. Articles 29 and 30 which are to be maintained 
as such, thereby causing uncertainty to hang over too 
many key implementing provisions still to be adopted 
under these two Articles; Article 29 is still a real catch­
all provision, and it is impossible to make a fully-
informed appraisal of INTRASTATE suitability in the 
transitional and definitive stages for the needs of the 
Single Market. The Committee regrets that these well-
founded comments have been ignored and consequently 
has reservations about the whole of the amended text. 
31. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 332/3 
2.4. Finally, there has been no response to the Com­
mittee's request for countries without sufficient person­
nel or technical facilities to be provided with technical 
training and financial assistance so that they can cope 
with the new demands made by INTRASTAT. 
3. General comments on the amended proposal of 27 
June 1990 
3.1. The Committee would underline from the outset 
that it is vital for the Council to discuss, and take 
decisions on the proposal concerning transitional 
arrangements for taxation [COM(90) 182 final— 
SYN 274] and the proposal concerning the statistics 
relating to the trading of goods between Member States 
[COM(90) 177 final—SYN 181] simultaneously. Since 
the two proposals are very closely linked, it is obvious 
that implementation of the one is inconceivable without 
implementation of the other. 
3.2. The general comments made by the Committee 
in its Opinion of 26 August 1989 on the original pro­
posal still apply since almost the amendements consist 
of additional provisions. The main aim of these 
additions, some of which will no doubt continue to 
apply to the definitive scheme, is to permit the launch 
of INTRASTAT—a system based on the principle of 
taxation in the country of origin—at the start of the 
transitional period on 1 January 1993 even though the 
goods traded within the Community which are recorded 
will still circulate for a certain period (the Commission 
is talking of a four-year period up to 31 December 1996) 
as goods 'net of tax'. 
3.3. This having been said, the Committee welcomes 
the amendments and additions in principle subject to 
the specific comments below. However, this does not 
prejudge the decisions to be taken by the Council with 
regard to the harmonization of taxes and the nature 
and timescale for the launch of the definitive scheme, 
having regard to experience in the transitional period 
and the constraints and uncertainties hanging over the 
approximation of VAT rates and excise duties. 
3.4. Seen in isolation, the statistical provisions for 
the transitional period undoubtedly tally with the con­
clusions adopted by the Council on the abolition of 
fiscal frontiers by 1 January 1993. It was also agreed 
when these conclusions were adopted at the end of 1989 
that the principle of taxation in the Member States of 
destination should continue to apply for a limited per­
iod beyond 1992. 
3.5. Deprived of the tax-related information from 
the SAD, which will be abolished in conjunction with other intra-Community customs procedures from 
1 January 1993—the date of the Single Market's launch 
—statistics on intra-Community trade, which were 
originally due to be based on the principle of taxation 
in the country of origin, have had to be adapted for 
the transitional period. Provisions for the transitional 
period (titles Ha and Ilia) have been added to the 
two main sections of the 11 January 1989 proposal 
(introduction of a statistical collection system 
INTRASTAT—title II—and statistics on trade between 
Member States—title III). 
3.6. In addition, the authors of the amended pro­
posal have been able to base themselves on the Council's 
express affirmation for the first time of the link between 
fiscal and statistical requirements. These two require­
ments are two different aspects of the same administrat­
ive burden and thus a chance has been offered to lighten 
this burden. 
3.7. The proposed scheme for VAT (hospitals, public 
authorities) ans parties exempt from VAT (banks, 
insurance companies) on the same footing from the 
administrative point of view as parties liable to account 
for VAT. Apart from private individuals who will ben­
efit from the total abolition of restrictions on travellers' 
purchases, the fiscal population will therefore corre­
spond to the statistical population. As a result, Member 
States, while ensuring that the parties responsible for 
providing the information remain protected, may now 
combine the registers needed to ensure the accomplish­
ment of fiscal obligations and the quality of statistics. 
Furthermore since the statistical return will be com­
pleted ex post facto, i.e. separate from the movements 
of the goods to which it refers, the separate periodic 
submission of these returns will fit in with the abolition 
of formalities and checks at intra-Community frontiers. 
3.8. Finally, the amended proposal simplifies the 
content of statistics. The data required for the compil­
ing of these statistics is to be restricted to a minimum, 
i.e. classification of products (combined nomenclature), 
only seven Community items of information and only 
three national items of information. It is also planned 
to lay down statistical thresholds which define three 
categories of parties responsible for providing infor­
mation, viz.: 
— those exempt from the compilation of statistics for 
trade between Member States because they fall 
below the thresholds laid down under Articles 24, 
25 and 28(b) of Directive 77/388/EEC (less than 
37 000 ECU), 
No C 332/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 90 
— those for whom the tax return counts as the statisti­
cal return (two items of information to be provided 
with regard to imports and exports), 
— those whose returns may be more detailed depend­
ing on the threshold and may or may not be included 
in the fiscal returns depending on the rules govern­
ing the secrecy of statistics in force in their country 
of residence. 
According to the member of the Commission respon­
sible for the European Community's statistical office, 
most firms will be exempt from having to submit any 
returns or will only have to provide the import/export 
information. Only the largest firms, representing about 
20 % of the Community total and accounting for about 
90% of intra-Community trade, will be obliged to 
complete the new simplified statistical forms (seven 
mandatory items of Community information, three 
optional items of national information) introduced after 
the abolition of the SAD, on which up to 55 items of 
information had to be provided. 
3.9. It may be assumed that some of the provisions 
amending the initial proposal to allow INTRASTAT 
to operate during the transitional period will remain in 
force once the final scheme comes into being regardless 
of the arrangements decided on by the Council for this 
scheme. It is even in the realm of the possible that 
although taxation in the country of origin is said to 
be the medium-term objective, no unanimity will be 
reached on the harmonization of indirect taxes and the 
transitional scheme will be prolonged or even become 
definitive. If this is so, the transitional scheme's present 
provisions must form a coherent whole and be consist­
ent with the rest of the text, given that such provisions 
are likely to be applied well beyond the time limit set 
by the Commission, or perhaps even permanently. 
3.10. It is fair to assume that the transitional pro­
visions likely to be retained in the event of taxation in 
the country of origin becoming definitive will include 
those which ease the administrative burden of both the 
authorities and the parties responsible for providing 
the information, even if these provisions have to be 
amended. This chiefly concerns the threshold for the 
exemption from having to provide information, the 
limitation to two items of information on tax returns 
and the use of a simplified form by firms above a certain 
statistical threshold. 
3.11. Because of the complexity of the text and its 
numerous cross-references and intricacies, it is virtually 
impossible to go beyond 3.10's initial analysis. This is also the reason why the European Parliament Rappor­
teur has urged that, prior to any further progress, the 
Commission should revamp its proposal and submit: 
— a proposal for a basic Regulation on statistics for 
trade in goods between Member States which 
should include the provisions that can be taken over 
from the transitional period, and 
— a proposal for an implementing Regulation relating 
specifically to the transitional period. 
This at least is what emerges from the European Parlia­
ment's draft report of 6 July 1990, even though the 
document in question has not been put to the vote. In 
the meantime, however, it transpires that agreement 
has been reached on a 'double' Council Regulation 
where the transitional and definitive stages have been 
separated although all provisions applicable to both 
stages have been grouped together at the risk of there 
being some repetition. A revamped proposal has thus 
been around for a short time although the text has not 
yet been officially divulged. It would therefore help to 
know whether the Economic and Social Committee 
will be asked to deliver an additional Opinion on this 
revamped proposal. The ESC should at all events press 
hard for a referral—unless of course the Commission 
designs to take on board the comments and suggestions 
made in the present Opinion, which was not the case 
with the Committee's Opinion of 26 April 1989 
(CES 356/89 fin.) on the proposal submitted in 1988. 
3.12. Since this revamping will most certainly involve 
only the form and not the substance, the Committee, 
so as not to waste time, has agreed to deliver its Opinion 
on the present amended proposal of 27 June 1990 which 
has been referred to it. 
3.13. Finally, the proposal must not take effect by 
itself, prior to the other two proposals referred to in 
1.1. 
4. Specific comments 
4.1. New recital to be inserted after the 13th 
The proposal is for a Council Regulation which, after 
having been adopted by a qualified majority (Article 
100A), will be directly applicable in Member States. 
The new recital to be added depends in advance on 'the 
transition to uniform tax arrangements in the country 
of origin'; this may be the medium-term objective but 
it is made uncertain by the uncertainty hanging over the 
harmonization of indirect taxation. Hence the recital 
prejudges a decision which only the Council can take 
by a unanimous vote once agreement has been reached 
31. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 332/5 
on the details of the scheme to follow after the tran­
sitional period. Thus the phrase in question should be 
deleted and the recital should read: 
'Whereas it will not be possible to apply the new 
collection system as it stands during the limited 
period which it has been agreed to introduce from 
1 January 1993; whereas its adaptation should be 
defined ...' 
4.2. Article 7(5) 
This provision remains unchanged, but reference should 
be made to the comments and suggestions made in the 
Opinion of 26 April 1989. 
4.3. Article 10(2) 
The amendment is no doubt due to the fact that in the 
transitional scheme the statistical and fiscal obligations 
are identical and the identification number of those 
responsible for providing information—a code number 
allocated to intra-Community operators under the 
definitive scheme—is in the transitional period the same 
as that used for the collection of VAT. 
4.4. Article 16A(l) 
The comment made on the new recital above applies 
also to this provision, viz. the provision is based on an 
assumption which is out of place in the proposal under 
consideration. This paragraph should therefore read: 
'The INTRASTAT system transition phase shall be 
taken to mean the form in which the system shall 
apply from 1 January 1993 until the moment when 
a decision is reached on a definitive system of tax­
ation on goods which, during an agreed limited 
period, will continue to benefit from a 'net of tax' 
status in intra-Community trade.' 
4.5. Article 16C(2) 
This means any natural or legal person who is involved 
in the trading of goods between Member States within 
the meaning of Article 8 (2). 
4.6. Article 16D 
This Article deals with the possibility of transferring 
the task of providing the information to a third party, 
which under the transitional scheme can only be done 
within the limits of title Ua. 4.7. Article 16E(l)(a) and (b) 
The aim of this provision is to exempt Member States, 
during the transitional period, from compiling a register 
of intra-Community operators when the provide proof 
by 1 January 1993 of the existence of a register of 
parties liable to account for VAT and a register of 
institutional parties not liable to account for VAT and 
of parties exempt form VAT as defined in indents (a) 
and (b). 
However, this may pose a problem insofar as the tax 
registers based on data for the twelve months preceding 
1 January 1993 are not normally available before 15 
April 1993. Hence a statistical vacuum may be created 
for the first quarter of 1993. 
Article 10 of the proposal (taken over from the original 
proposal) is likely to be applicable in full under the 
definitive scheme and it would no doubt simplify the 
administrative work and avoid duplication if the rule 
exempting Member States from keeping a register of 
intra-Community operators was extended beyond the 
transitional period when national legislation grants 
statisticals departements access to tax registers. Article 
10 should therefore be amended along these lines to 
make it more flexible. 
It goes without saying that Member States will not be 
granted this concession and will still need to keep a 
register of intra-Community operators if they do not 
have, or are not in the process of compiling, a complete 
register of (a) parties liable to account for VAT, (b) 
parties exempt from VAT, and (c) institutional parties 
not liable to account for VAT. 
4.8. Article 16G 
Article 27G (2) (a) indicates that, once the definitive 
scheme has been introduced, the tax return (which is 
normally quarterly) will continue to count as a statisti­
cal return for a large number of small and medium-
sized enterprises (SME) falling below the threshold to 
be laid down under Article 29, which is called a 'catch­
all' provision above. It is also fair to expect that, in the 
end, only 20 % of firms—the large ones—will have to 
submit the (in principle, monthly) detailed returns. 
4.9. Article 21 (2) 
It is possible to assume that the proposed amendment, 
under which there will be no time-limit any more for 
the establishment of the classification referred to in 
paragraph 1, will also apply to the definitive scheme. 
4.10. Article 23(1) and (2) 
The Committee would refer here to the comments made 
in 3.2 of its Opinion of 26 April 1989 highlighting most 
No C 332/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 90 
Member States' wish for the country of origin to be 
included in the data on the statistical data medium. 
Although Article 23 of the initial proposal remains 
unchanged, the Committee is pleased to note that 
Article 27F (2) (a) of title Ilia on the transitional period 
allows Member States to lay down that the third coun­
try of origin be indicated in the Member State of arrival, 
though this item may be required 'only as allowed by 
Community law'. 
This said, there is still question of why indication of 
the country of origin has not been included in the list 
of mandatory items of data to be provided. Several 
branches of economic activity, particularly the steel 
industry, have repeatedly urged that such information 
be made obligatory (cf. Resolution of the ECSC Con­
sultative Committee of 21 September 1989— 
OJ No C 257/2). 
Problems of whether the INTRASTAT system is suf­
ficiently exhaustive continue to also preoccupy the 
chemical industry which, while hoping that the statisti­
cal thresholds still to be determined will be set at a 
level that guarantees sufficiently representative data for 
each type of good, regrets that the proposal in question 
does not contain a single provision which would allow 
a Member State to collect more detailed data than 
those provided under the eight-digit code number. It is 
therefore proposed to amend Article 23(2) to enable 
Member States to stipulate, in accordance with the 
specific needs of specific sectors, that data other than 
those referred to in paragraph 1 can be given on the 
statistical data medium, such a stipulation being subject 
to the approval of the Commission and the other Mem­
ber States. This amendment, which might also interest 
other highly sensitive sectors such as the textile indus­
try, would be of particular help to the British chemical 
industry which hopes to retain its special statistical 
status; such a request by the British is likely to be 
granted by the European Council of chemical Manufac­
turers' Federations (CEFIC), the European umbrella 
organization bringing together national associations of 
chemical industries. 
4.11 Article 21A to H 
The aim of these amendements is to make title III on 
statistics on trade between Member States applicable 
during the transitional period. 
Some of these amendments, insofar as they will ligthen 
the burden of statistical work or explain or add to the 
information contained in the initial proposal (Articles 
27E, F and G), will no doubt be included in the definitive 
scheme. 
The text should state clearly, in connection with points 
(d) and (f) of Article 27F(1), that the value of goods 
bought or sold is the same as the invoiced price inclusive 
of the delivery terms. As for transactions liable to indirect taxation, but where there is no sale or purchase, 
the value will be identical to the 'normal' value subject 
to VAT in the Member State of destination. The final 
question to be addressed is that of the value, for purely 
statistical purposes, of transactions exempt from tax­
ation. 
The amendment to Article 23(2) proposed above is 
equally valid for Article 27F(2) which is applicable 
during the transitional period. 
4.12 Articles 28 and 29 
The Committee would emphasize the comments in 3.3 
of its Opinion of 26 April 1989. These have not been 
taken into account in the amended proposal. 
The Committee strongly criticized the fact that the 
'committee on the statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States' provided for in Article 
28 was given only the duties of an advisory committee 
by Article 29 'even though the provisions necessary to 
the implementation of the draft Regulation which may 
be enacted in pursuance of this same Article 29 may be 
the source of decisions involving financial investments 
by companies and administrative authorithies in the 
different Member States'. The Opinion continued by 
saying that 'it therefore seems inadmissible to exclude 
the committee from the decision-making process, 
especially as Article 29 gives a maximum of powers to 
the Commission; the only restriction is that in Article 
27(b), which states that measures adopted by the Com­
mission concerning the simplification of statistical 
information cannot apply before 1 January 1999'. 
Furthermore, the Committee noted that 'as regards the 
function of the committee, it is worth noting that the 
present committee on external trade statistics is a man­
agement committee. In view of the implications of 
Article 29 therefore, among other things, it is requested 
that the committee on the statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States also be made 
a management committee where the Member States can 
be involved more effectively in the taking of decisions 
concerning the measures provided for within the frame­
work of the present draft regulation. Article 29 will 
therefore have to be amended, which will avoid diver­
gences arising between the structures of the committees 
dealing with intra-Community and extra-Community 
trade statistics'. 
The same argument was used by the Committee in its 
Opinion of May 1990 (l) on the proposal for a Council 
Regulation (EEC) on the statistical classification of 
economic activities in the European Communities— 
NACE Rev. 1 (COM(90) 1 final—SYN 241). Article 7 
(!) OJ No C 182/1, 23. 7. 1990. 
31. 12. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 332/7 
of this proposal stipulates that the Commission is to be 
assisted by an advisory committee on the classification 
of economic activities. The Committee is pleased to 
note that its request for the establishment of a manage­
ment committee under this Regulation was accepted by 
the Council in its common position of 22 June 1990 
(6691/90), which states with regard to Article 7, 8 and 
9 on questions of committee procedure that Article 9 
of the version adopted by the Council establishes the 
procedural rules for the adoption of the measures pro­
vided for by the Regulation in accordance with the 
management committee formula laid down by Council 
Decision 87/373/EEC [procedure II, variant (b)] and 
proposed by the Economic and Social Committee. 
This decision by the Council should give adequate 
backing to the Committee's request on the role of he 
committee provided for in Article 28. The Committee 
therefore trusts that the Commission will amend this 
proposal accordingly. 
4.13. Articles 29 and 30 
The Committee still deplores the fact that the Com­
mission has not considered it expedient to prepare the 
essential implementing provisions which still have to 
be adopted under Articles 28 and 29. It would refer in 
this context to its comments in 3.4 of its Opinion of 26 
April 1989, where it is noted that reference is made in 
no less than 24 different places to the implementing 
measures which the Commission is empowered to adopt 
under Article 29. The amendments increase this number 
of references by at least five. In addition, there are the 
measures which the Council itself, acting on a proposal 
from the Commission, can adopt under Article 30. 
These measures are still to be divulged. 
Therefore the Committee can only reiterate its regret 
at not being able to comment, with all the facts at its 
disposal, on a proposal which, after its adoption, will 
be fully and directly applicable in national law. The 
Committee would therefore ask the proposal's authors 
once again to limit the references to Article 29 to a 
strict minimum and to draft straightaway as many 
implementing provisions as possible. These could either 
be inserted in the text or appended thereto. This is an 
extremely urgent measure, especially as far as the fixing 
of the statistical thresholds is concerned. 
Member States can hardly be expected to incorporate 
a text in their national legislation when, because of the 
persisting uncertaintly caused by Articles 29 and 30, 
they are unaware of the text's vital from the very start. 
The Economic and Social Committee believes that it is 
vitally important, particularly for firms and users of 
statistics, to have a text right from the beginning which 
is as comprehensive and clear as possible. 4.14. Article 34(2) 
The proposal's entry into force cannot be divorced 
from the entry into force of the other two proposals in 
the series (cf. 3.13 above), since it depends on the 
adoption of the proposal on transitional VAT arrange­
ments (COM(90) 182 final—SYN 274), which in turn 
may be considered to be the reason behind the proposal 
on administrative cooperation (COM(90) 183 final— 
SYN 275). 
5. Conclusion 
In conclusion, the Committee would point out that 
its general and specific comments can only be fully 
understood in the light of the preliminary reservations 
expressed in chapter 2 (fiscal uncertainties). 
Accordingly, the Committee wishes to re-emphasize the 
need for the new INTRASTAT system to be usable. The 
reliability, quality and exhaustiveness of the statistics 
collected must also be ensured in all respects. 
According to point 5 of the impact assessment sheet 
appended to the proposal, the heads of the main Euro­
pean socio-occupational organizations were contacted. 
This resulted in a 'better understanding of the statistical 
problems faced by both sides'. It is also stated that 
'employer and.worker representatives were also invited 
to express their views during the discussion of the 
proposal by the ECSC Consultative Committee and 
through the Opinion it delivered'. The iron and steel 
industry, emphasizing its special demands under the 
ECSC Treaty, was particularly hesitant about the orig­
inal proposal, though according to information from 
the European Communities' statistical office, it would 
seem that this hesitancy is now less pronounced. 
On the basis of this information it is therefore to be 
suppose that the reservations expressed in the Resol­
ution of the ECSC Consultative Committee of 21 Sep­
tember 1989, and referred to in point 4.10 above (reser­
vations concerning notably the obligatory indication of 
the country of origin and the Commission proposal's 
failings in respect of the information to be collected 
under Articles 3, 46 and 47 of the ECSC Treaty), have 
been dispelled in one way or the other. The contacts 
and consultations described in the impact assessment 
sheet, however, do not seem to have had the same 
positive effect on all trade associations, witness the 
reaction of the British chemical industry reported in the 
fourth paragraph of point 4.10. 
Nor is it possible to ignore the fears, expressed in 
various quarters, that the simplification of data collec­
tion and statistical back-up services will lead to the 
No C 332/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 90 
impoverishment and even deterioration and disman­
tling of a mechanism which should be available in the 
future to all sorts of users (be they economic operators 
or government departments) for all sorts of purposes. 
Evidence of this is to be found in the concerned reaction 
of the INTRASTAT group which first of all calls into 
question what it calls the '80/20' solution, i.e. the thres­
hold fixed at a level whereby only 20% of the most 
important Community firms, accounting for about 
90 % of intra-Community trade, are required to submit 
returns (limited to seven mandatory and three optional 
items). Users even claim that when the Single Market 
comes into force the collection of detailed data will be 
not less but more necessary than ever before. They also 
underline the importance of making it obligatory to 
indicate the country of origin. Finally they share doubts 
about whether the new INTRASTAT system will be 
functional, exhaustive and reliable, unless of course 
Done at Brussels, 19 September 1990. there is evidence to the contrary once the system has 
started operating. 
The Committee acknowledges futher that even if all its 
remaining doubts and reservations can be dispelled, the 
authors of the revamped proposal will still be 
reproached for having initially ignored the comments 
and suggestions in the ESC's previous Opinions of 26 
April 1989. 
However, it is equally true that the authors of the 
present proposal have endeavoured to make a useful 
contribution towards the abolition of frontier checks 
by making it possible for INTRASTAT to operate 
without information from tax sources, despite the reten­
tion for the time being of taxes - in the form of VAT -
on imports in the country of destination (the chargeable 
events in the Single Market being known henceforth as 
'acquisitions' instead of imports). 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE