A4-0230/98

Resolution on the Commission report on the vendor control systems applied by the Member States (COM(96)0245 - C4-0589/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission report (COM(96)0245 - C4-0589/96),

- having regard to Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover tax - Common system of value added tax: Uniform basis of assessment ((OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.)),

- having regard to Council Directive 92/12/EEC on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products ((OJ L 76, 23.3.1992, p. 1.)),

- having regard to Council Directive 69/169/EEC on the harmonization of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative provision relating to exemption from turnover tax and excise duty on imports in international travel ((OJ L 133, 4.6.1969, p. 6.)),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Cushnahan, Mrs Banotti, Mr Gillis and Mr McCartin, on duty-free sales after June 1999, (B4-1331/96),

- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mr Gerard Collins, Mr Andrews, Mr Crowley, Mr Fitzsimons, Mr Gallagher, Mr Hyland and Mr Killilea, on the sale of duty-free goods, (B4-0433/98),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0230/98),

A. whereas the vendor control systems which exist in the 15 Member States are applied differently,

B. whereas the vendor control systems which exist at points of international departure and on different modes of transport are applied differently,

C. whereas the checks on vendors by the tax authorities are almost always confined to checks on stock managers and guarantee merely that the goods do not leave the duty-free area without being registered, and having regard to the difficulty for the vendor of checking remaining stocks available after purchases or multiple or previous purchases,

D. whereas its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy has held hearings on the vendor control systems applied by the Member States,

1. Shares the objectives set for the implementation of an effective single market and incorporated in regulations by the Commission since 1991;

2. Points out that for the definitive implementation of a single market the existence of different tax islands within the EU is not acceptable, save on a temporary basis;

3. Notes that the only person capable of monitoring effective compliance with the limits on purchases is the actual manager of the sales outlets who at the same time is also seeking to increase his own sales;

4. Emphasizes that it is difficult for vendors to be in possession of all the travel information relating to the passenger at the time of an individual purchase;

5. Emphasizes the difficulties involved in setting up control systems on planes in so far as passengers are no longer in possession of suitable travel documents and therefore the only controls possible are those carried out by the cabin staff or by calculating the average purchase from the number of passengers on the flight;

6. Points out that the control of sales on board vessels is different from on other means of transport in so far as it is not carried out with the boarding card but with a separate voucher containing information relating to the quantitative limits on purchases;

7. Emphasizes that vendor control systems exist and as far as possible are applied, but there will continue to be objective difficulties in coordinating a single, harmonized control system between the various Member States and vendors, the various means of transport and possible times of purchase;

8. Calls for passengers departing from European Union ports or airports to final destinations in non-EU countries, and who check in twice, to be permitted to make use of duty-free sales facilities in the places of departure;

9. Notes that the vendor control system on airlines does not require the ticket to be stamped with the information that a person has purchased duty-free;

10. Recommends that only the part of the ticket to be retained by the passenger be franked;

11. Recommends that airlines adopt the franking of the part of the ticket retained by the passenger;

12. Recommends that all tickets franked be marked with a symbol representing the goods bought;

13. Recommends that where duty-free goods are purchased subject to a limit on value, the purchase price limit on value should also appear with the symbol on the franked ticket;

14. Believes that all the potential problems of the effectiveness of controls on purchases could be resolved by using more comprehensive data processing systems and that such computer programmes (which will be able to process different items of information simultaneously in different currencies) might initially be tested in the duty-free sector and then disseminated throughout the trading system at highly competitive prices when the single currency is launched;

15. Believes that support measures, using sector-based and regional aid, should be drawn up as a matter of urgency to assist those hardest hit by the abolition of duty-free sales within the EU and proposes, therefore, that Community funds be used to help in local cases in which the change-over to the new arrangement proves difficult;

16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.