ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (72)1659
Vol.1972/0230

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROEHAN COMMUNITTES
COM(72 )1659 final
Brussels ,4January 1973
Proposal fora
Regulation oftheCouncil
onthe admission free ofcustoms duties
within theenlarged Community ofsmall consignments
ofCommunity goods ofanon-commercial character
(Submitted bytheCouncil totheCommission )
COM(72 )1659 final

■ EXPLANAT03Y NOTE . - t •
Theproposal for aDirective onthetax-free importation of
small consignments intended forpersonal use ,submitted tothe
Council bytheCommission on12September 1972 (doc .C0M'(72 )1030 final )
provides that small consignments ofgoods sent ,from onemember State
byaprivate -individual irrespective ofhis dori ^.3,e,.usual place
ofresidence' orplace ofwork ,toaprivate indiiridnal inanother
Member State ,shall beadmitted -into' that Heaber £tat-0 /without
payment ofturnover taxand/orexcise duty .
Within the Community asoriginally constituted ,where all customs
duties have been abolished ,such ameasure would enable small con­
signments ofanon-commercial nature ,tobesent under the same
conditions asapply within thegeographical frontiers ofany one
Member State .
.Inorder that thesame conitions should apply within the'enlarged
Community ,the tayexemption provided for inthe Directive referred to
above must becomplemented byanexemption from customs duties which
byvirtue ofArticle 31 (l)oftheActofAccession ,would not
normally 'beabolished until 1July 1977 »
Itismost desirable that Exchanges ofsmall consignments ofa
non-commercial character between the Community asoriginally constituted
and the new Member States and between the nej/Member Spates themselves ,
should beunrestricted -;Thepsychol6gical 'impact ;of -such ...ameasure ,
inasmuch asthe peoples ofthe new Member States .,would *atonce
experience thebeneficial effect ofaccession tothd :Community

byfarouthweighs theinsignificant financial loss resulting
from thepremature abolition oftheduties involved (only consign­
ments ofanon-commercial nature inanycase ofminimal economic
significance areconcerned }* • ■!
...However ,there isnoprovision intheActofAccession
enabling theauthorities tointroduce theproposed exemption from
customs duty atthis stage .Indeed ,ifinpursuance ofthepro­
visions ofArticle thenewMember States accelerate the
progressive abolition ofcustoms duties onimports from other '
Member States ,nosimilar provision exists enabling the
Community asoriginally constituted toreciprocate inrespect
ofimports from thenewMember States .Noristhere anyspecific
provision oftheTreaty establishing theEconomic European
Community which could beinvpke ^..forthat purpose .
I'However ,ifreference ismade toArticle 32(2)(c )ofthe
Act ;ofAccession itwill benoted that inrespect ofimported
goods ofanon-commercial character (inthis case ,goods imported
inatraveller 'spersonal luggage ),theneed forclose alignment ,i.•
within theenlarged Community ,between tax-relief andrelief
from customs duties hasbeen recognized .Given that persons v.
travelling from oneMember State toanother establish acloser
relationship the exchange ofsmall consignments ofgoods between re­
sidents ofdifferent Member States ,doas thesame thing an4 '
itistherefore probable that ,had thete been atax-exemption
inrespect ofparcels atthe time the Actwas drawn up,Article -1
32(2)(c)would hav*been extended toinclude provision to ''
exempt such small consignments front customs duties .

3
Drawing aparallel between these cases theCommission considers
that itwould belegitimate toinvoke Article 235 ofthe
EEX Treaty for thepurpose ofproviding for theadmission
free ofcustoms duties within theenlarged Community ofsmall
consignments ofgoods ofanon-commercial character .
This proposal oftheCommission isthelogical consequence
toit4proposal for aDirective onthe tax-free importation of
small consignments ofgoods intended forpersonal use .Asitis
tobemade under Article 235 oftheTreaty theEuropean Parliament
must first beconsulted .Moreover invie»of itspurpose ,it
would inother respects appear desirable torefer ittothe
Economic and Social Committee .
SThenewMember States have been consulted andhave raised no
objection totheproposed Regulation /'

Proposal for a
Regulation oftheCouncil
ontheadmissipn free ofcustoms duties
within ;theenlarged Community ofsmall consignments
.ofCommunity goods ,ofanon-commercial character
THE COIJNCIL OFEUROPE ANCOMMUNITIES ,
HAVING REGARD tothe "treaty establishing theEconomic European
Community ,andinparticular Article 235thereof ,
. ■ Â. . ■ v •
HAVING REGARD totheproposal from theCommission ,
HAVING REGARD totheopinion oftheEuropean parliament , ,
JWffilREAS Article 32(2)(c)oftheActconcerning theConditions
ofAcession andtheAdjustments totheTreaties (1)provides
that duty-free entry shall ,from the date ofaccession ,apply
toimports which benefit from theprovisions relating totax
exemptions applicable topersons travelling from oneMember State
toanother ;whereas thepurpose ofthis provision istofacilitate
exohanges within theenlarged Community ,
WHEREAS inmuch thesame way astravel between theStates parcels
ofgoods s.ent between persons residing indifferent Member States
contributes totheir closer relationship ;whereas there isa
similarity between these circumstances and theprovisions of
Council Directive of ....( 2)onthe tax-f»*ee importation of
parcels ofgoods intended forpersonal use under which small
consignments ofgoods sent byaperson inoneMember State to
another person inanother Member State shall befree onimportation
ofturnover tax and excise duty :
(1)OJNoL.73 ,2?March 1972 ,p.1*f
(2)OJ.No

WHEREAS ,,asregards goods sent between theCbmmunity asoriginally
constituted and the new Member States and between the new Member
States themselves endsince the goods Inquestion JaUL within
<.i
.Articles 9and 10ox.the EFfir tyeaty thi g>provision cannot be
fully effective unless complemented byprovision foradmission
free ofcustoms duties ; •v
" i .'
» ■ i
WHEEEAS since neither theActconcerning theConditions of
Accession and theAdjustments totheTreaties ,nor theprovisions
oftheTreaty establishing theEconomic European Community re­
lating totheapplication .ofaCommon Customs Tariff ,,confer
upon theCommunity thepowers which would enable them topro­
vide for this exemption ,itisnecessary toinvolve Article
235oftheTreaty establishing theEconomic European Community ;
HASADOPTED THIS REGULATION

3
Article 1
1.Goods falling within theprovisions ofArticles 9and 10of
theEEC Treaty which are sent between the Community asoriginally
constituted and the new Member States and between the new
Member States themselves assmall consignments addressed to
private individuals shall ,inthe case ofimportations
ofanon-commercial character within themeaning ofpara­
graph 2below ,beadmitted without payment ofcustoms duties
.ifthey are entitled toexemption from internal taxes .
2.Importations shall bedeemed tobeofanon-commercial nature
ifthey fall within Section IIB(2)ofthepreliminary pro­
visions ofthe Common Customs Tariff .
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on1April 1973 *
This Regulation shall bebinding initsentirety anddirectly
applicable inailMember States .
Done at For the Council
The Président