ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(75)527
Vol.1975/0199

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COMMISSION OFTHEBUROPSÀNCOMMUNTTIES
COM(75)527final
Brussels.24October1975
Proposaifora
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
ontaxexemptionswithintheCommunityforcertainmeans
oftransporttemporarily imported
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission)
COM(75)527final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
General considérations
Theinternational convention relating tothe temporary importation
ofprivate road vehicles ,signed inNewYork onkJune andthe .,
international convention onthetaxation ofroad vehicles forprivate
useininternational circulation ,signed inGeneva oniSMay1956 *no
.longer meet in .full theneeds oftheCommon Market ,and asolution has
..therefore hadtobefound ,atCommunity level andinline with Community
requirements ,for theproblems arising when various means oftransportation
oross internal Community frontiers c
The concept ofaninternal market necessitates relaxation ofthe
conditions previously agreed ,for the duty-free movement within aMember
"State .ofmeans oftransportation belonging totheresidents of >another
Meqber State ,'and theintra-Community use ofprivate .cars ,forbusiness
purposes .Infact ,ithas become clear that improvements were needed in
both these fields ,oneaimbeing toavoid double taxation and toreduce
■frontier formalities#
Thepresent proposal foradirective isdesigned toestablish
asystem oftaxexemptions applicable intheCommunity tothevarious means
oftransportation ,used forprivate purposes byindividuals and toprivate
cars used forbusiness purposes bynatural persons .Theexemptions will
■r *vbeavailable under intra-Community arrangements only toMember States'
ireaidents . "■ ';
f.. ■Theproposed -system -will make .itpossible to,dispense with the
levying oftaxes jin -thecountry oftemporary importation ,oncertain
means -of-transportation for .private useand onprivate cars used for
business purposes intheCommunity .Excepted from these provisions are
those taxes deriving from animmediate use ofthese vehicles inthecountry
oftemporary importation ,such astaxes onfuel ,repairs ,parking charges
andhighway tolls ,etc.

II«Commentary onthe articles
Articles 1and 2
Thepurpose ofArticle 1istogrant exemption atimportation ^
forthemeans oftransportation quoted ,from all thetaxes charged ina
'Member State ,whether :.these taxes arise from theacquisition ,theentry
into use .ortheuseitself ofthese means oftransportations .
• •!i. . V.
Article 2contains anumber ofdefinitions ,Attention isdrawn
tothe qlefinition <?fbusiness use ofameans oftransportation .Thus a
private carused totravel towork isnotused for "business purposes ",
butacar whic^h isindispensable fortheexecution ofthework itself
does come under this definition .
Article 3T ;. ,; > .
' Article 3enables àCommunit'y résident toimport tempbrarily
duty free into aMember State ,other than that ofhisresidence ,-certain
means oftransportation from another Member 1State of .theCommunity -pro­
vided thevehiclie isforprivate useonly andthat hedoes notdispose
oforlend themeans oftransportation intheMember State oftemporary
importation .Inorder totake account ofaspecific 1problem which arises
forcarhire .,aspecial arrangement hasbeen included which detracts
partly from these principles#
Article 4
•Article .allows ,under certain conditions ,thebusiness ,use of
private cars intheMember State oftemporary importation ^Inaddition
totheprovisions laid down forother means oftransport ,theprivate
carmust have been acquired under thegeneral conditions oftaxation of
thedomestic market oftheMember State ofregistration andmust not
have enjoyed ,because ofexportation ,a.ny -consumption taxrefund or
exemption ^ *'• • * " -
Article 5 ■ • .• • • - .
Article 5provides foraduty-free amount of125 u»a»' forportable
tools ,commercial literature andnon-marketable samples which are
transported bytemporarily imported vehicles® Thearticle does ,however ,
provide forexceptions *Thenormal formalities apply foritems exceeding
125u«a»invalue . /

~3-
Article 6
Because riding horses can easily become the object ofvarious
trading deals ,no .blanket authorization appears possible fortheir
temporary importation
However ,inorder toeliminate obstacles to -riding excursions s
exemption canbegranted ,onapplication ,toriders inaccordance with
the terms provided for inthis Article®
Articles 7and 8 .. .
Articles 7and 8establish general andsupplementary rules for
proving residential status eBoth definitions refer ,ofcourse ,tothe
same concept ofresidence -that ofprincipal >-residenc6 «However ,the
supplementary rules provide aset ofcriteria andpresumptions with more
substantial evidential value ,which gives theState oftemporary
importation abetter guarantee astotheresidential status ofthe
natural persons concerned®
Hence ,iftheplace ofprincipal residence does nofe appear to
have been proved asfully asisdesirable onthebasis ofthegeneral
rules ,theauthorities oftheMember State oftemporary admission will
have power ,where aprivate car isbeing used forbusiness purposes ,to
request all appropriate additional information#
Inexceptional cases ,theauthorities oftheState oftemporary
importation canrequest security .This security must berefunded within
twomonths where thenatural person provides acertificate ofliability
for allearned income with regard totheincome tax ofanother Member
State *TheMember State oftemporary importation must consequently show
that ,for thecurrent year ,theindividual whose principal residence is
disputed has infact established this residence inthat Member State .
Thelimitation ofMember States' scope indemanding security is
justified bytheanxiety toharmonize frontier formalities and toavoid
extensive resort totheusage ofsecurities which constitutes abyno
means negligible obstacle tofree movement .Moreover ,nopossibility
offraud istobefeared since either theimporter isnot aresident ofthe

Member State oftemporary importation and ,therefore ,thesecurity 1will
beunnecessary ,orthe centre ofbusiness activity oftheimporter for
theCurrent year isinfact intheState oftemporary ,importation ,and
this State will therefore beinaposition toprosecute effectively :-
theperson Concerned# . .•
Articia9 ,, ;
This proposal contains anumber ofmeasures which are tobe
regarded asaminimum tobeaccepted byall theMember Stat.es . .Thepe is
noreason why theMember States should not take other measures
implementing further theprinciple offreedom movement ofpersons within
theQommunity *However ,thecriteria for theestablishment of .residence
may ,innocircumstances bechanged lest assurances guaranteed topersons
bythesystem are jeopardized®

Proposal foraCouncil Directive of•««.»•••••
ontaxexemptions wiifiiiiu CoGumlty far'fcrfcin
t&onBiot .'trimcjjort itfoorted "* 'T':"-s
THE COUNCIL 0?THEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Saving regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic
Community ,and inparticular Article 99thereof $
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ^
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament ^
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEconomic andSocial Committee ?,
Whereas thefreedom ofmovement ofCommunity residents within the
Community ishampered bythetaxation &mmfc@e£iefita "^piisd So-tltoizr?i*xct,Ty
importation ofcertain means oftransportation forprivate orbusiness
use ,
whereas theelimination oftheobstacles resulting from these taxation
nos*ri® -Jiohi^véd ;ifhmc©ûo?fciîia M&kêt featofrôs eiiiî^>.r r
tothose ofadomestic market istobeestablished ,
Tji.iereas itmust bepossible ,incertain cases ,toestablish definitely
whether ornot aperson Jsjdjfcsf&dfc ven
State *
HASADCPTED THIS DIRECTIVE ;

Article1
Fieldofapplication
■fcrxsw.nl iiwI<twi«Mi.gj.7««.i-Or>–
EveryMemberStateshall,inaccordancewiththeprovisionshereinafter
setout,exemptcertainsmeansoftransporttemporarilyimportedfromanother
MemberStatefrom-turnovertax,exciseduty,otherconsumptiontaxes,taxes
ontheuseand/orforentryintouseofvehiclesandtaxesdlevied -onthe
possessionoruseofmotcr»driven roadvehicles,includIrrailerebut
excludingcommercialvehicles3o5caravansjofpleasure'to^t3?ofprivate
aircraft»ofbicyclesandofridinghos-ass.lbsexemptionehaUnot
oovertemporaryresidencetaxesleviedontouristsorchargesmadefor
servicesrendered#
;AHbaole2
JefInitions
Inthi3Directives
va)"privatepar"meansanymotor-drivenvehicleusedforthetransport
ofpersonawhifihcontainsnotmorethaneightseatsinadditiontothe
driver'sseat;
(b)"oornmo.ro?alvehicle"meansanyvehiclewhich,indesignandetjuipment
issuite.bleforandintendedforthetransportof:
(aa)morethanninepersons,includingthedriver;
(bb)goods;
(c)"businessuse*?ofameassoftransportmeanstheuseofthatmeansof
transportinthedirectexerciseofanactivitycarriedonforconsideration
orwithaviewofprofit; '
fd)^privateuse",anyuseotherthanbusinessuse.

'.Article3
Hhereanindividualimportstemporarily ,amotor–driyenroadvehicle
1 c... * • ... t
(includingtrailers "butexcludingcommercialvehicles),caravan,pleasure
"boat,privateaircraftor"bicycle,theitemimportedshall"beexempt,
foraperiodofsixmonthsinanytwelvemonths,fromthetaxesspecified
inArticle1,providedthat3 ,
(a)theindividualimportingsuchgoods*
(aa)hashisprincipalresidenceinaMemberStateoftheCommunityother
thaaih*nintowhichtiiepropertyistemporarilyimported;
("b"b)employthenean3oftransportinquestionforhisprivateusej
(ID)thesaidmeansoftranpoxtisnotdisposedoforhiredoutinthe
KesibsrStateoftemporaryiajportationorlenttoa*residentof.'-that
Staie»Ilomv&r9privateoarsbelongsagtoacar-4iirefirmhavingits
vvihead'6fflce-'iia .-the.CasmaAtymapber-e®4iiredtoanon#resident 6£'vj.
•?..the.-State--of-tieoporaryitspsrfcationfor'thereexportation ofthe
vol.i^xicrie,orreturned "byanenplcyoeoftheoar^irefirm,-.to-.-the>•
liv.'1'vtStåtei*ues av&litmuhémpioyeeis'
ra-residentin.,theMeribs'r .State'of',tempor-a-ry.importationirs
•„•.Artiole4., .... ^ <
xstsar-* *
TemporaryiranOrta*ion -:of-privateW9fotvTro^in^.ss :use
AprivateorvrimportedtemporarilyforTy^^Jiess .useshallheexemptfor
six^orrthcinanytwelvemors:is..from.the.treats.specifiedinArwixsle1
profiledth.-.t%
(a)thenp.turlpersonimportingtheprivatecar;
(aa.-)kashisprincipalresidenceinaKemberStateoftheCommunity
otherthanthatoft©aj3orr>jpyteporfcation ?
(ht)doesnotusehiscarinvl,eKaoiberStateoftemporaryimportation
inordertocarrypaae-sssgesrsforhirecrnaterlalrt^nrdofaay
kind,orforthetransportofgoods,whetherforrewardornot?

("b)the .private carisnotdisposed of,hired outorlent inthe
Member State oftemporary importation }.
(c)theprivate oarhasbeen ,acquired inaccordance with thegeneral conditions
oftaxation inforce onthe domestic market oftheMember State of
registration andhasnotbeen subject byreason ofitsexportation to
anyexemption orrefund ofturnover tax,excise du±y oranyother consumption
taac#ro
This condition shall bepresumed tobesatisfied iftheprivate oar
bears aregistration plate from thenormal series oftheMember State
ofregistration ,alltypes oftemporary plates being excluded *
However ,*in'thecase ofprivate cars registered inaMember State where
theissue ofnumber plates from thenormal series isnotconditional
upon oompliance with the .general conditions oftaxation inforce onthe
domestic market ,users shall berequired toprove ,bythe^yoduction
ofanyappropriate evidence ,payment ofconsumption taxes .
Article 5
Importation oftools ,commercial literature andtrade floppies invehicles
imported dutyfree '•
1■Portable tools temporarily imported intemporarily imported vehicles ,
andcommercial literature andnon-marketable sampler imported in
such vehioles ,shall beexempt ,without special authorization ,from the
taxes specified inArticle 1.
tf .v 1«: ':t,;• ' '•
(1)Itissuggested that thefollowing declaration beincluded inthe
minutes oftheappropriate Council meetings
'^Member States which issue registration plates from thenoitaal series
tomotor-driven road vehicles which have notbeen aquired under the
general conditions oftaxation ofthedomestio market under-take to
remedy this situation andtoresume thenormal series ofregistration
plates forvehioles aquired under theconditions ofthedomestic market#
'However ,these States mayissue normal series registration plates for
vehioles which have notbeen acquired under thegeneral taxation conditions
ofthedomestic market ,where such plates bear anindelible andirremovable
nark easily recognizable bytheauthorities resposible forthegranting of
theexemptions referred tointhis Directive

2*Bieexemptionrefenedtoin'paragraph 1shallbesubjecttothecondition
thattheoverallvalueofthegooclsconcerneddoesnotexoeed125unitsof
account.However,thoseitemssubjecttoexcisedurywhicharespeoified
'ininArticle40)ofCouncilDirective69/16$/EEC"of28May"1969®as'
amendedbysubsequentDirectives,'shallnotqualifyforthisexemption# ,
3«Ifthevalueofthegoodsexoeeds125unitsofaccountoriftheyare
iterssubjecttoexcisedutytheiroinpirtation shallnotaffecttheentitlement
totaxexemptioninrespectofthevehicleooncerned.
Artide6
Exemptionforthetemporaryimportationofhorsesonhorse–ridingexcursions
RidinghorsesimportedtemporarilyintoaMemberStateshallbeexemptfor
threemonthsfromthetaxesspeoifiedinArticle1providedthat?
(a)theBaidhorsesentertheterritoryofthe.MemberStateoftemporary
importationforthepurposeofand/orintheoourseofhorse–riding
excursionsbytheir riders ;
(b)exemptionisrequestedatthetimeofentryintotheterritoryofthe
MemberStateoftemporaryimportation ?...... .. .i. •«>. -*vw.... ••(c)thesaidhorsesareneitherhiredoutnorlenttoanypersonotherthan
,«»#•.»«•*»«««• 'v'"••«'•»*
therider,nordisposedoftoathirdpartyresidingintheMember
Stateoftemporaryimportation,aor.used,forpurpose?otherthanthat
oftheexcursion.-
Artide7
Generalrulesforprovingresidentialstatus
ForthepurposesofthisDirective,naturalpersonssha.llprovide ■
evidenoeoftheplaceoftheirprincipalresidencebyproducingtheirpassport,
theiridentycard,or,intheabsencethereof,anyotheridenty.document
recognizedasvalidbytheMemberStateofimportation.

Supplement aryrules ^concerning proof 'ofresidence in"thecaseofbusiness
use ofaprivate oarw»– •*!nKmCSj»mtn <
1#Where thecompetent authorities oftheMember State oftemporary importation
have seriaas doubts aatothetruth ofastatement astoprincipal residence
made on,.thebasis ofthedocuments referred toin .Article 7»those authorities
may recjacst anyappropriate additional information orevidence#
2.Ih ,exceptional -oases jwhere ,even after being provided with theadditional
information referred toinparagraph 1,thecompetent authorities ofthe
Member State ofimportation still have doubts ,those authorities shall
authorize temporary importation onthecondition that theimporter produces
inrespact ofaperiod not -exceeding six ..months appropriate security *
However ,where theuser oftheoarproduce 'sacertificate that hoisliable
inrespect ofthetotality ofhisearned income totheincome taxof
another I'amben State ,.-theauthorities oftheMember State oftemporary
importation ;
(a)notrequire thesecurity ifthecertificate isproduced atthetime
ofimportation ;
(b)refill orrelease thesecurity within twomonths from thedate of
subsequent production ofthecertificate *
3.Kiecompetent authorities oftheState oftemporary' importation shall
have power .:torequest additional information from thecompetent
authorities oftheMember State which has issued the certificate referred
toinparagraph 2tparticularly ifthere isreason tobelieve that the
centre ofcommercial orprofessional activity oftheimporter isin
respect ofthecurrent year nolonger inthat Member State *
4,xheoompetent authorities shall onrequest issue toanynatural person
acertificate asreferred toinparagraph 2,forproduction bythat person
tothecompetent authorities oftheMember State oftemporary importation#

..6 ,
. : i;... • 'Artìcle *9 ..v
Spécial arrangements
,1.TheMember States nayiirtro&ioe mo?® liberal'
arrangements than those provided for inthis Directive *
2»TheMember States shall inform the Commission ofthese arrangements
■titthebouo tino astlioy supply "the -information required xm&or Article 10»
Article 10
Miscellaneous orovisions
1,Member States shall bring into force themeasures necessary to
comply with this Directive within three months ofitsadoption
and shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof .
2«Member States shall communicate tothe Commission the text ofthe
main provisions ofinternal lawwhich they subsequently adopt in
the field covered bythis Directive .,
■ 'V
3.Every twoyears ,theCommission shall ,after consulting theMember
States ,send theCouncil areport -onthe operation --* theprovisions
ofthis Directive -intholIoEbor -
Article 11
This Directive isaddressed tothe Member States#
Done atBrussels ,