28.2. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 53/9 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending for the third time Directive 83/181/EEC 
determining the scope of Article 14 (1) (d) of Directive 77/388/EEC as regards exemption from 
value added tax on the final importation of certain goods 
COM(87) 21 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 9 February 1987) 
(87/C 53/12) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 99 and 
100 thereof, Article 1 
Directive 83/181/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 1. Article 22 is replaced by the following: 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 'Article 22 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the system of exemptions from VAT on import 
laid down in Council Directive 83/181/EEC (') is based 
upon the system of reliefs from customs duty established 
in Council Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 (2); 
Whereas the Commission has proposed certain 
amendments (J) to Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 which 
should be reflected in Directive 83/181/EEC; Goods of a total value not exceeding 22 ECU 
imported from another Member State shall be 
exempt on admission. Member States may grant the 
same or a smaller exemption for goods imported 
from third countries but shall, in all cases, grant 
exemption for any imported goods of a total value 
not exceeding 10 ECU.' 
In the second indent of Article 35 (1) (b) the words 
'Article 60 (1) (b)' are replaced by 'Article 60'. 
3. The following new Chapter IIA is inserted after 
Article 38: 
Whereas exemptions from VAT on import can be 
granted only on condition that they are not liable to 
affect conditions of competition on the home market; 
Whereas arrangements for VAT should be introduced 
that differ according to whether goods are imported 
from third countries or come from other Member States, 
and to the extent necessary to comply with the objectives 
of tax harmonization, 
O OJ No L 105, 23. 4. 1983, p. 38. 
O OJ No L 105, 23. 4. 1983, p. 1. 
(5) OJ No C 254, 11. 10. 1986, p. 7. 'CHAPTER IIA 
Reference substances for the quality control of 
medical products 
Article 38 (a) 
Consignments which contain samples of reference 
substances approved by the World Health Organi­
zation for the quality control of materials used in the 
manufacture of medicinal products and which are 
addressed to consignees authorized to receive such 
consignments free of tax shall be exempt on 
admission.' 
No C 53/10 Official Journal of 
4. Article 46 (1) is replaced by the following: 
'1. Articles specially designed for the education, 
employment or social advancement of blind or other 
physically or mentally handicapped persons shall be 
exempt on admission where they are imported by 
institutions or organizations that are principally 
engaged in the education of, or the provision of 
assistance to, handicapped persons and are auth­
orized by the competent authorities of the Member 
States to receive such articles exempt from tax.' 
5. The following is added to Article 56: 
'(d) awards, trophies and souvenirs of a symbolic 
nature intended for distribution free of charge 
at business conferences or similar international 
events to persons normally resident in third 
countries; their nature, unitary value or other 
features, must not be such as might indicate that 
they are being imported for commercial 
reasons.' 
6. Articles 62 and 63 are replaced by the following: 
'Article 62 
Subject to Article 63, printed advertising matter such 
as catalogues, price lists, directions for use or 
brochures shall be exempt on admission provided 
that they relate to: 
(a) goods for sale or hire by a person established 
outside the Member State of import, 
or 
(b) services offered by a person established in 
another Member State, 
or 
(c) transport, commercial insurance or banking 
services offered by a person established in a third 
country. 
Article 63 
The exemption referred to in Article 62 shall be 
limited to printed advertisements which fulfil the 
following conditions: 
(a) printed matter must clearly display the name of 
the undertaking which produces, sells or hires 
out the goods, or which offers the services to 
which it refers; 
(b) each consignment must contain no more than 
one document or a single copy of each 
document if it is made up of several documents. 
Consignments comprising several copies of the 
same document may nevertheless be granted 
exemption provided their total gross weight does 
not exceed one kilogram; European Communities 28. 2. 87 
(c) printed matter may not be the subject of 
grouped consignments from the same consignor 
to the same consignee. 
However, the conditions at (b) and (c) above shall 
not apply to printed matter relating to either goods 
for sale or hire or services offered by a person 
established in another Member State provided that 
the printed matter has been imported, and will be 
distributed, free of charge.' 
7. The following are added to Article 79: 
'(s) mint postage stamps valid for use for postal 
services in another Member State and sold by 
the postal authorities of that country at face 
value; 
(t) imports of official publications issued under the 
authority of Member States, international 
institutions, regional or local authorities and 
bodies under public law, and printed matter 
distributed on a non-commercial basis by 
political organizations officially recognized as 
such in the Member States either on the 
occasion of elections to the European Par­
liament or on the occasion of national elections 
in the country in which the printed matter orig­
inates.' 
8. Article 82 is replaced by the following: 
Article 82 
1. Subject to Articles 83 to 85, the following shall 
be exempt on admission: 
(a) fuel contained in the standard tanks of: 
— private and commercial motor vehicles and 
motor cycles, 
— specialized containers; 
(b) fuel contained in portable tanks carried by 
private motor vehicles and motor cycles, up to a 
maximum of 10 litres per vehicle and without 
prejudice to national provisions on the holding 
and transport of fuel. 
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1: 
(a) "commercial motor vehicle" means any motorized 
road vehicle (including tractors with trailers) 
which by its type of construction and equipment 
is designed for and capable of transporting, 
whether for payment or not: 
— more than nine persons including the driver, 
— goods, 
and any road vehicle for a special purpose other 
than transport as such; 
28. 2. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 53/11 
(b) "private motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle 
not covered by the definition set out in (a); 
(c) "standard tanks" means: 
— the tanks permanently fixed by the manu­
facturer to all motor vehicles of the same 
type as the vehicle in question and whose 
permanent fitting enables fuel to be used 
directly, both for the purpose of propulsion 
and, where appropriate, for the operation of 
refrigeration systems and other systems with 
which special vehicles are equipped. 
Gas tanks fitted to motor vehicles designed 
for the direct use of gas as a fuel and tanks 
fitted to ancillary systems with which the 
vehicle may be equipped shall also be 
considered to be standard tanks; 
— tanks permanently fixed by the manufacturer 
to all containers of the same type as the 
container in question and whose permanent 
fitting enables fuel to be used directly for the 
operation of refrigeration systems and other 
systems with which special containers are 
equipped.' 
9. The following is added to Article 91: 
'(c) exemptions in the context of agreements entered 
into on the basis of reciprocity with third 
countries that are contracting parties to the 
Convention on International Civil Aviation 
(Chicago 1944) for the purpose of implementing 
Recommended Practices 4.42 and 4.44 in Annex 
9 to the Convention (eight edition, July 1980).' 
10. Article 92 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 92 
Until 31 December 1990, Member States may 
maintain, up to a limit of 210 ECU, any exemption 
in excess of that laid down in Article 1 of Council 
Directive 69/169/EEC (') which they granted on 1 
January 1983 to merchant navy seamen involved in 
international transport. 
0) OJ No L 133, 4. 6. 1969, p. 6.' 
Article 2 
The following language versions of Article 11 (2) of 
Directive 83/181/EEC are hereby amended as follows: in Dutch: 
Vrijstelling wordt eveneens verleend voor door personen 
die hun normale verblijfplaats buiten de Gemeenschap 
hebben, gewoonlijk ter gelegenheid van een huwelijk aan 
een persoon die aan de in lid 1 genoemde voorwaarden 
voldoet, aangeboden geschenken. De vrijstelling is van 
toepassing op geschenken waarvan de waarde per 
eenheid niet meer bedragt dan 200 Ecu. De Lid-Staten 
kunnen evenwel een vrijstelling van meer dan 200 Ecu 
verlenen mits de waarde van elk geschenk dat met 
vrijstelling mag worden ingevoerd, niet meer bedraagt 
dan 1 000 Ecu. 
In English: 
Exemption shall also be granted in respect of presents 
customarily given on the occasion of a marriage which 
are made to a person fulfilling the conditions laid down 
in paragraph 1 by persons having their normal place of 
residence in a country situated outside the Community. 
The exemption shall apply to presents of a unit value of 
not more than 200 ECU. Member States may, however, 
grant exemption for more than 200 ECU provided that 
the value of each such exempt present does not exceed 
1 000 ECU. 
in French: 
Sont egalement admis en exoneration les cadeaux habi-
tuellement offerts a l'occasion d'un manage qui sont faits 
a une personne repondant aux conditions prevues au 
paragraphe 1 par des personnes ayant leur residence 
normale dans un pays situe en dehors de la 
Communaute. L'exoneration s'applique aux cadeaux 
dont la valeur unitaire ne depasse pas 200 Ecus. Les 
Etats membres peuvent toutefois accorder une 
exoneration depassant 200 Ecus pour autant que la 
valeur de chaque cadeau admis en exoneration n'excede 
pas 1 000 ECUs. 
in Greek: 
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8l8ovxai ae 7tp6aco7to no\) auyKevxpcbvei XIQ npotinoSeaEic, 
TT|I; napaypaqmi) 1, an6 jip6aco7ta Ttoi) t%ow TT| auvf|$T| 
Kaxoiida xoug ae %<bpa noi) 6piaicexai eicx6g -rng Koiv6xr|xac,. 
H aitaXktyi] xopnyetxai yia 8cbpa xwv orcolcov r\ a£la 8ev 
i)7tep6aivei xa 200 ECU yia Ka$e 8d)po. navxcog, xa Kpaxn 
\x£kx\ (XTtopouv va xoprjyfiaouv a7taAiayf| yia 8cbpa a£la; 
HeyaX,()xepT)i; xoov 200 ECU, e(p6aov T) a£ia K&OE 86po\) 8ev 
i)7tep6alvEi xa 1 000 ECU. 
Article 3 
Member States shall take the measures necessary to 
comply with this Directive not later than 1 March 1987. 
They shall forth with inform the Commission thereof. 
Article 4 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.