NoC 177/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 7.90 
COMMISSION 
Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States 
COM(90) 177 final — SYN 181 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 17 May 1990) 
(90/C 177/07) 
INITIAL PROPOSAL 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100A 
thereof, AMENDED PROPOSAL 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas abolishing physical barriers between Member 
States is necessary to complete the internal market; 
whereas a satisfactory level of information on the trading 
of goods between Member States should thus be ensured 
by means other than those involving checks, even 
indirect ones, at internal frontiers; Visas and first 13 recitals unchanged 
Whereas an analysis of the situation of the Community 
and the Member States after 1992 reveals that a number 
of specific requirements will persist as regards infor­
mation on trading of goods between Member States; 
Whereas these requirements are not of a macroeconomic 
nature, unlike those relating, for example, to national 
accounts or the balance of payments, and many of them 
can not be met by means of highly aggregated data 
alone; whereas matters such as trade policy, sectoral 
analyses, competition rules, the management and 
guidance of agriculture and fisheries, regional devel­
opment, energy projections and the organization of 
transport must on the other hand be based on statistical 
documentation providing the most up-to-date, accurate 
and detailed view of the internal market; 
18.7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/15 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Whereas it is precisely information on the trading of 
goods between Member States which will contribute to 
measuring the progress of the internal market, thereby 
speeding up its completion and consolidating it on a 
sound basis; 
Whereas until the end of 1992 statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States will benefit 
from the formalities, documentation and controls which 
the customs authorities, for their own requirements or 
for those of other departments, prescribe for consignors 
and consignees of goods in circulation between Member 
States, but which will disappear through the elimination 
of physical frontiers and tax barriers; 
Whereas it will consequently be necessary to collect 
directly from the consignors and consignees the data 
necessary to compile statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States, using methods and tech­
niques which will ensure that they are exhaustive, 
reliable and up-to-date, without giving rise for the 
parties concerned, in particular for small and 
medium-sized businesses, to a burden out of proportion 
to the results which users of the said statistics can 
reasonably expect; 
Whereas related legislation must henceforth apply to all 
statistics relating to the trading of goods between 
Member States, including those statistics which are not 
to be harmonized or made compulsory by the 
Community before 1993, in order to prevent Member 
States from replacing traditional procedures by new 
procedures which, while effective, would however run 
the risk of disparity; whereas, in order to meet all the 
information needs likely to arise through the implemen­
tation of the internal market, such legislation must be 
able to encompass all goods circulating within the 
Community, whatever their customs and tax status or the 
cause of their being moved; 
Whereas the statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States are a function of the movements 
of goods involved; whereas they may include data on 
transport, which can be collected simultaneously with the 
data specific to each of these categories of statistics, thus 
lightening the overall statistical burden; 
No C 177/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Whereas private individuals will derive obvious 
advantages from the approximation of indirect tax rates; 
whereas it is necessary to ensure that these advantages 
are not diminished in their eyes by requirements to 
provide information on purchases made by such indi­
viduals in a Member State other than the Member State 
of residence; whereas the provision of such information 
would undoubtedly impose an obligation which private 
individuals would consider at the least inconvenient and 
which it would be impossible to enforce without 
employing excessive measures; whereas it is therefore 
reasonable not to regard private individuals as 
responsible for providing such information, apart from 
suitable periodic surveys; 
Whereas the new collection system to be introduced is to 
apply to all statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States; whereas it must therefore be 
defined first in a general context involving new concepts, 
particularly as regards the scope, the party responsible 
for providing the information and the transmission of 
data; 
Whereas the real economy of the system resides in the 
use of related administrative networks, and in particular 
that of the VAT authorities, to provide the statistical 
services with a minimum degree of indirect checks 
without thereby increasing the burden on taxpayers; 
whereas nonetheless it is necessary to avoid confusion 
arising in the minds of the parties responsible for 
providing information between their statistical and their 
tax obligations; 
Whereas it is vital to use existing sources to compile 
basic documentation in each Member State regarding 
consignors and consignees of goods which are covered 
by statistics of trade between Member States, so as to 
identify, in preparation for 1992, the main parties 
concerned and to develop modern data transmission 
techniques with their assistance; 
Whereas implementation alone will reveal the loopholes 
or weaknesses in the new collection system; whereas 
improvements and simplifications should be introduced 
within a reasonable period of time in order to prevent its 
defects from having negative repercussions on the 
trading of goods between Member States; 
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 until the transition to uniform tax arrangements in 
the country of origin; whereas its adaptation should be 
defined to take account of the new relations to be estab­
lished between tax and statistical authorities, in particular 
as regards the obligations of parties responsible for 
providing the information; 
18.7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/17 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Whereas, among the statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States, statistics of trade 
between Member States must receive priority, for 
obvious reasons of importance and continuity; whereas, 
however, substantial adjustments must be made to these 
statistics in order to take account of the new conditions 
on the internal market after 1992; whereas it will be 
necessary to review inter alia the definition of their 
content, the goods classification applicable to them and 
the list of data to be collected to compile them; 
Whereas, during the abovementioned limited period, 
trade flows to be recorded relate to goods whose status 
is fixed in line with special criteria applying to this 
period; whereas the scope of statistics of trade between 
Member States should be redefined to take account of 
these flows; whereas, similarly, the list of data to be 
reported should be revised; whereas it is desirable to 
adopt forthwith the principle on which the statistical 
thresholds shall operate; 
Whereas the Commission should be assisted by a 
committee to ensure the regular cooperation of the 
Member States, in particular to resolve the problems 
which are bound to arise in connection with information 
on the trading of goods between Member States 
following the numerous innovations introduced by the 
new collection system; Four following recitals unchanged 
Whereas relevant Community legislation should be 
implemented systematically by provisions adopted either 
by the Commission or by the Council; 
Whereas some of the provisions of this Regulation must 
enter into force without delay so that the Community 
and its Member States can prepare for the practical 
consequences which it will bring as from 1 January 1993; 
Whereas one of these consequences is firstly that Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 2954/85 of 22 October 1985 
laying down certain measures for the standardization 
and simplification of the statistics of trade between 
Member States (*) must be repealed, and secondly that 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1736/75 of 24 June 1975 
on the external trade statistics of the Community and 
statistics of trade between Member States (2), as last 
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1629/88 (3), will no 
longer be applicable to statistics relating to the trading of 
goods between Member States, 
O OJ No L 285, 25. 10. 1985, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 183, 14. 7. 1975, p. 3. 
C) OJ No L 147, 14. 6. 1988, p. 1. 
No C 177/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
TITLE I Articles 1 to 9 unchanged 
General provisions 
Article 1 
The Community and its Member States shall draw up 
statistics relating to the trading of goods between 
Member States in accordance with the rules laid down 
by this Regulation. 
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Regulation and without 
prejudice to any individual provisions: 
(a) 'trading of goods between Member States' means 
any movement of goods from one Member State to 
another; 
(b) 'goods' means all movable property; 
(c) 'Community goods' means goods: 
— entirely obtained in the customs territory of the 
Community, without the addition of goods from 
non-member countries or territories which are 
not part of the customs territory of the 
Community, 
— from countries or territories not forming part of 
the customs territory of the Community which 
have been released for free circulation in a 
Member State, 
— obtained in the customs territory of the 
Community either from the goods referred to 
exclusively in the second indent or from the 
goods referred to in the first and second indents; 
(d) 'non-Community goods' means goods other than 
those referred to in (c). Without prejudice to the 
agreements concluded with non-member countries 
for the implementation of the Community transit 
arrangements, goods which, while fulfilling the 
conditions laid down in (c), are reintroduced into the 
customs territory of the Community after export 
therefrom are also considered as non-Community 
goods; 
(e) 'Member State', when the term is used in the 
geographical sense, means its statistical territory; 
18. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/19 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
(f) 'statistical territory of a Member State' means the 
territory occupied by this Member State within the 
statistical territory of the Community, as this latter is 
defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 
1736/75; 
(g) 'goods in free movement on the internal market of 
the Community' means goods complying with the 
conditions or the market of any Member State; 
(h) 'goods produced in a specific Member State' means, 
in addition to goods produced there, compensating 
Community goods which have undergone processing 
there; 
(i) 'intermediary' means any natural or legal person 
situated in the chain of trade in goods upstream or 
downstream, as the case may be, of the party 
responsible for providing statistical information; 
(j) 'private individual' means any natural person not 
liable to account for VAT in connection with a given 
movement of goods. 
Article 3 
1. All goods which move from one Member State to 
another shall be the subject of statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States. 
In addition to the goods which move within the stat­
istical territory of the Community, goods shall be 
considered as moving from one Member State to another 
if, in so doing they cross the external frontier of the 
Community, whether or not they subsequently enter the 
territory of a non-member State. 
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply both to non-Community 
and Community goods whether or not they are the 
subject of a commercial transaction. 
Article 4 
1. Of the goods referred to in Article 3: 
(a) shall be the subject of transit statistics: those which 
are transported, with or without transhipment, across 
a Member State without being stored there for 
reasons not inherent in their transport; 
(b) shall be the subject of storage statistics: those 
referred to in Article 2, second paragraph, of Regu­
lation (EEC) No 1736/75, as well as those which 
enter or leave storage facilities determined by the 
Commission in accordance with Article 29; 
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INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
(c) shall be the subject of statistics of trade between 
Member States: those which do not meet the 
conditions of (a) and (b) or which, while meeting 
either of those conditions, are expressly singled out 
by this Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to 
Article 29; 
(d) the Council, on a proposal from the Commission, 
shall determine the goods that are to be the subject 
of other statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States. 
2. Without prejudice to Community provisions on 
statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods, the 
data on the movement of goods subject to the statistics 
referred to in paragraph 1 shall be included, as required, 
in the list of data relating to each of these categories of 
statistics on the conditions and terms laid down by this 
Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to Article 29. 
Article 5 
Without prejudice to Article 15, private individuals shall 
be exempt from the obligations implied by the prepa­
ration of the statistics referred to in Article 4. 
TITLE II 
Statistical collection system 
(Intrastat) 
Article 6 
With a view to compiling the statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States, a statistical 
collection system shall be set up, hereinafter referred to 
as the Intrastat system. 
Article 7 
1. The Intrastat system shall be applied in the Member 
States whenever they are deemed to be partner countries 
in the trading of goods between Member States by virtue 
of the provisions of paragraph 4. 
2. The Intrastat system shall be applied to the goods 
referred to in Article 3: 
(a) which are in free movement on the internal market 
of the Community; 
(b) which, since they may move on the internal market 
of the Community only after completion of the 
formalities prescribed by Community legislation on 
the circulation of goods, are expressly designated 
either by this Regulation or by the Commission 
pursuant to Article 29. 
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INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
3. The collection of data on the goods referred to in 
Article 3 to which the Intrastat system does not apply 
shall be regulated by the Commission pursuant to Article 
29 within the framework of the formalities referred to in 
paragraph 2 (b). 
4. The Intrastat system shall apply: 
(a) to the statistics of trade between Member States, 
pursuant to Articles 17 to 27; 
(b) to transit and storage statistics, in accordance with 
the provisions laid down by the Council on a 
proposal from the Commission pursuant to Article 
30. 
5. Barring a decision to the contrary by the Council 
on a proposal from the Commission taken no later than 
31 December 1991, in particular pursuant to Article 30, 
the national provisions on the statistics referred to in 
paragraph 4, in so far as they relate to data collection, 
shall cease to apply after 31 December 1992. 
Article 8 
Without prejudice to Article 5, the obligation to supply 
the information required by the Intrastat system shall be 
incumbent on any natural or legal person who is 
involved in the trading of goods between Member States. 
Among those incurring this obligation, the party 
responsible for providing information for each form of 
statistics covered by the Intrastat system shall be 
designated by the relevant specific provisions. 
Article 9 
1. The party responsible for providing the information 
required by the Intrastat system may transfer the task of 
providing the information to a third party residing in a 
Member State, but such transfer will in no way reduce 
the responsibility of the said party. 
No C 177/22 Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 7. 90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
3. If an intermediary is immediately downstream or 
upstream of a party responsible for providing infor­
mation who is not liable to account for VAT, then the 
intermediary shall pass to him a copy of the instructions 
to parties responsible for providing information which 
are supplied to intermediaries for this purpose by the 
competent national departments. 
4. The implementing rules for paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 
shall be laid down by the Commission pursuant to 
Article 29. 
Article 10 
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to 
compile a register in which they shall list up to 31 
December 1992 upon dispatch the consignors, upon 
arrival the consignees and where necessary the 
declarants, within the meaning of Commission Regu­
lation (EEC) No 2792/86 (1), who are involved from 1 
January 1991 to 31 December 1992 in trade between 
Member States, referred to hereinafter as intra-
Community operators. Article 10 
1. Unchanged 
2. The list of minimum data to be recorded in the 
register of intra-Community operators in addition to the 
identification number referred to in paragraph 3 shall be 
laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 by 
30 June 1990. 2. The list of minimum data to be recorded in the 
register of intra-Community operators in addition to the 
identification number referred to in Article 16E (3) shall 
be laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article 29. 
3. The departments in the Member States responsible 
for compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States shall allocate to intra-
Community operators an identifying code number and 
shall inform the operators of their code number in time 
for them to comply with the provisions of Article 13 (1) 
using this number. 3. and 4. Unchanged 
However, where intra-Community operators are liable to 
account for VAT, the said departments shall use for the 
purposes specified above, apart from exceptional cases 
which they shall justify to the operators concerned, the 
identification numbers allocated to these operators by the 
national VAT authorities. The latter shall also furnish to 
the abovementioned departments, on the basis of this 
number, any information relating to the identification of 
the said operators which may be necessary for the 
compilation of the register of intra-Community 
operators. 
4. Where required, the Commission shall draw up, in 
accordance with Article 29, the rules relating to the 
management and updating of the register of intra-
Community operators to be applied by the Member 
States. 
(») OJ No L 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 59. 
18. 7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/23 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 11 Articles 11 to 16 unchanged 
1. The Member State's departments responsible for 
VAT collection shall, at least once every three months, 
furnish the departments in that Member State responsible 
for compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States with: 
(a) the list of those liable to account for VAT who, in 
the period under review, have declared that they 
have been charged VAT arising out of purchases in 
other Member States; 
(b) the list of those liable to account for VAT who, in 
the period under review, have declared that they 
have charged VAT following sales in other Member 
States. 
2. Under restricted conditions, which the Commission 
shall determine pursuant to Article 29, the Member 
States' departments responsible for VAT collection shall 
in addition furnish the departments in their own Member 
State responsible for compiling statistics relating to the 
trading of goods between Member States, on their own 
initiative or at the request of the latter, with any infor­
mation capable of improving the quality of statistics 
which those liable to account for VAT normally submit 
to the first-mentioned departments to comply with tax 
requirements. 
3. Whatever the administrative organization of the 
Member State, the party responsible for providing stat­
istical information can be compelled to justify the infor­
mation he supplies in comparison with the data he 
communicates to the departments responsible for VAT 
collection only within the limits laid down pursuant to 
paragraph 2. 
4. In the instructions to persons liable to account for 
VAT regarding the periodic declaration which such 
persons must address to them, the departments in a 
Member State responsible for VAT collection shall draw 
attention, according to the rules adopted by the 
Commission pursuant to Article 29, to the obligations 
they may incur as parties responsible for providing the 
information required by the Intrastat system. 
5. Administrative assistance between national 
departments of different Member States responsible for 
compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States shall, as necessary, be regulated 
by the Commission pursuant to Article 29. 
Article 12 
The statistical information media required by the 
Intrastat system shall be set up by the Commission 
pursuant to Article 29, in respect of each category of 
statistics relating to the trading of goods between 
Member States. 
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INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 13 
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 
the statistical information required by the Intrastat 
system shall be supplied by the party responsible to the 
competent national departments, within the time limits 
set up by the Commission pursuant to Article 29. 
2. The party responsible is, on his request, authorized 
by these departments to transmit this information by 
means of 'global' declarations which combine the 
movements of goods incurring obligations on his part 
under the Intrastat system during a specific period. 
3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the 
conditions laid down by them under which the authori­
zation requested in paragraph 2 will be granted. 
Pursuant to Article 29 the Commission shall adopt such 
provisions as it deems necessary in this connection. 
4. The Commission shall determine, pursuant to 
Article 29: 
— where not laid down by this Regulation, the 
reference period applicable to each category of stat­
istics relating to the trading of goods between 
Member States, 
— the procedures for the transmission of the infor­
mation, especially with a view to making available to 
the parties responsible for providing information 
networks of regional data collection offices. 
Article 14 
Any party responsible for providing statistical infor­
mation who does not fulfil his obligations under this 
Regulation shall be liable to the penalties which the 
Member States shall lay down in accordance with their 
relevant national provisions. 
Article 15 
The Commission may organize, under conditions which 
it shall determine pursuant to Article 29, periodic surveys 
on the trading of goods between Member States by 
private individuals and on movements of goods or on 
intra-Community operators excluded from the returns 
under specific provisions relating to the various statistics 
on the trading of goods. 
18. 7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/25 
INITIAL PROPOSAL 
Article 16 
The Commission shall report to the Council on the func­
tioning of the Intrastat system for each category of stat­
istics relating to the trading of goods between Member 
States covered by the Intrastat system within six months 
of the annual results for the second year of operation of 
the said system being made available to the Commission 
by the Member States. AMENDED PROPOSAL 
TITLE Ha 
On the Intrastat system transition phase 
Article 16A 
1. The Intrastat system transition phase shall be taken 
to mean the form in which the system shall apply from 1 
January 1993 until the transition to uniform tax 
arrangements in the Member State of origin. 
2. The Intrastat system transition phase shall be based 
on: 
— the provisions of this title, 
— except where provisions to the contrary or restrictive 
or extensive provisions are adopted in the present 
Title or by the Commission pursuant to Article 29, 
the provisions of the other Titles in this Regulation. 
Article 16B 
For the application of Article 7 (2) (a), goods in free 
movement on the internal market of the Community 
means, for the purposes of this Title, goods authorized, 
pursuant to the provisions of Council Directive 
77/388/EEC (*), to move from one Member State to 
another without prior formalities or formalities linked to 
the crossing of internal frontiers. 
(') OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1. 
No C 177/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 16C 
1. The exemption provided for in Article 5 shall also 
apply to the party responsible for providing the infor­
mation who, being liable to account for VAT, qualifies, 
in the Member State in which he is responsible for 
providing the information, for one of the special systems 
provided for by Articles 24 and 25 of Directive 
77/388/EEC. 
This provision shall be extended mutatis mutandis to 
institutional parties not liable to account for VAT and to 
parties exempt from VAT, pursuant to Article 28 (b) and 
(c) of the abovementioned Directive. 
2. Article 8 shall apply without prejudice to paragraph 
1. 
Article 16D 
Article 9 (1) shall apply provided that the periodic 
declaration referred to in Article 16G is separate from 
the periodic declaration required for tax purposes. 
Article 16E 
1. Article 10 (1), (2) and (4) shall not apply to those 
Member States which take measures to make available 
for their use by 1 January 1993 at the latest: 
(a) a register of parties liable to account for VAT who 
have, during the 12 months prior to this date, taken 
part in the trading of goods between Member States, 
either as dispatchers or as consignees; and 
(b) a register of institutional parties not liable to account 
for VAT and of parties exempt from VAT who, 
from this date, are obliged to carry out their 
acquisitions, within the meaning of Directive 
77/388/EEC, in compliance with the provisions of 
Article 28 (b) and (c) of this Directive. 
2. In those Member States which take the measures 
referred to in paragraph 1, the departments responsible 
for VAT collection shall make the registers referred to in 
paragraph 1 accessible to the departments responsible for 
compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States under the conditions required 
for application of the present Regulation which the 
Commission shall determine, where necessary, pursuant 
to Article 29. 
3. Apart from exceptions which they shall justify to 
the parties responsible for providing statistical infor­
mation, the departments responsible for compiling stat­
istics on the trading of goods between Member States 
shall use in their relations with those parties, and in 
particular with a view to application of Article 16G, the 
identification number which the departments responsible 
for collecting VAT shall allocate to those parties. 
18. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/27 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 16F 
1. The lists referred to in Article 11 (1) shall also 
include: 
(a) parties liable to account for VAT who have declared 
that, during the period in question, they have 
conducted trading of goods between Member States 
which, although not resulting from sales or 
purchases, is the object of their periodic tax 
declaration; 
(b) institutional parties not liable to account for VAT 
and parties exempt from VAT who have declared 
that, during the same period, they have conducted 
trading of goods between Member States for which 
they have authorization. 
2. For each operator listed, shall be provided the value 
of trading of goods which the operator has mentioned in 
his periodic tax declaration in accordance with Article 22 
(4) of Directive 77/388/EEC. 
3. The party responsible for providing the statistical 
information may be required to justify to the 
departments responsible for compiling statistics relating 
to the trading of goods the information he provides in 
relation to the data referred to in paragraph 2. 
4. For the application of Article 11 (2) and (4) to the 
Intrastat system transition phase, 'parties liable to 
account for VAT' shall also mean institutional parties 
not liable to account for VAT and parties exempt from 
VAT, within the meaning of Article 28 (b) and (c) of 
Directive 77/388/EEC. 
Article 16G 
The statistical information required by the Intrastat 
system shall be covered in periodic declarations to be 
sent by the party responsible for providing the infor­
mation to the competent national departments, by 
deadlines and under conditions which the Commission 
shall lay down pursuant to Article 29. 
Article 16H 
1. The following provisions of Title II shall not apply 
to the Intrastat system transition phase: 
(a) Article 9 (2) and (3); 
No C 177/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
(b) Article 10 (3); 
(c) Article 13 (1), (2) and (3); 
(d) Article 16. 
2. The following provisions of Title II shall apply to 
the Intrastat system transition phase only within the 
limits of this title: 
(a) Article 9 (1); 
(b) Article 10 (1), (2) and (4). 
3. The following provisions of Title II shall apply to 
the Intrastat system transition phase, taking account of 
the extension they imply to the provisions of this Title: 
(a) Article 7 (2); 
(b) Article 8; 
(c) Article 11 (1), (2), (3) and (4). 
TITLE III Articles 17 to 19 unchanged 
Statistics on trade between Member States 
Article 17 
1. Statistics on trade between Member States shall 
cover, on the one hand, movements of goods leaving the 
Member State of dispatch and, on the other, movements 
of goods entering the Member State of arrival. 
2. For the purposes of statistics on trade between 
Member States, electric current shall be considered as 
goods. 
Article 18 
1. The Member State of dispatch shall be the Member 
State in which the goods leaving it are the subject of a 
dispatch. 
Dispatch for the purposes of this Title shall be taken to 
mean the shipment of goods referred to in paragraph 2 
to a destination in another Member State. 
2. In a given Member State the following may be the 
subject of a dispatch: 
(a) Community goods: 
(1) which comply with the conditions of the market 
of that Member State; 
18.7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/29 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
(2) which do not comply with the conditions of the 
market of that Member State but: 
-— have been produced there, 
— have been placed in premises under the 
control of the tax authorities, in so far as 
their case is provided for in the specific 
provisions adopted by the Commission 
pursuant to Article 29; 
(b) non-Community goods placed, maintained or 
obtained in that Member State under inward 
processing customs arrangements or under 
arrangements for processing under customs control. 
Article 19 
The Member State of arrival shall be the Member State 
in which the goods which enter it are: 
(a) as Community goods: 
1. introduced without formalities onto its market; 
2. released for consumption; 
3. placed under inward processing arrangements of a 
tax nature with a view to subsequent export; 
4. placed in premises under the control of the tax 
authorities, under the conditions laid down in the 
second indent of Article 18 (2) (a) (2); 
(b) as non-Community goods, referred to in Article 18 
(2)(b): 
1. placed in free circulation there; 
2. maintained under inward processing customs 
arrangements or under arrangements for 
processing under customs control or again made 
subject to such arrangements. 
Article 20 
With a view to collecting the data required for the stat­
istics of trade between Member States, the provisions of 
Title II (Intrastat) shall be supplemented as follows: 
1. without prejudice to Article 33, the Intrastat system 
shall apply to the goods referred to in Articles 18 (2) 
(a) (1) and 19 (a) (1); Article 20 
Unchanged 
No C 177/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
2. the partner countries in trading of goods between 
Member States within the meaning of Article 7 (1) 
shall be the Member State of dispatch and the 
Member State of arrival; 
3. within the Intrastat system Member State of dispatch 
shall be defined as that in which the goods which are 
dispatched from there to another Member State come 
under the terms of Article 18 (2) (a) (1), in so far as 
they have been produced there, introduced without 
formalities onto its market or released for 
consumption; 
4. within the Intrastat system Member State of arrival 
shall be defined as that in which Community goods 
from another Member State are introduced without 
formalities onto its market; 
5. the party responsible for providing the information 
referred to in Article 8 shall be the natural or legal 
person who 
(a) residing in the Member State of dispatch: 
— has concluded the contract, with the exception 
of transport contracts, giving rise to the 
dispatch of goods or, failing this, 
— dispatches or provides for the dispatch of the 
goods or, failing this, 
— is in possession of the goods which are the 
subject of the dispatch; 
(b) residing in the Member State of arrival: 
— has concluded the contract, with the exception 
of transport contracts, giving rise to the 
delivery of goods or, failing this, 
— takes possession or provides for possession to 
be taken of the goods or, failing this 
— is in possession of the goods which are the 
subject of the delivery; 
6. the Commission shall adopt the provisions provided 6. Deleted 
for in Article 7 (3) by 1 January 1991; 
7. the reference period referred to in the first indent of 7. Unchanged 
Article 13 (4) shall be the calendar month during 
which the movements of goods to be recorded 
pursuant to this Article, as appropriate, commence or 
are completed. 
Article 21 Article 21 
1. On the statistical data medium: 1. Unchanged 
— goods shall be designated in such a way as to permit 
easy and precise classification in the finest relevant 
subdivision of the classification of goods applicable to 
the statistics of trade between Member States, 
18. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/31 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
— the code of the corresponding subdivision in the 
classification shall also be given for each type of 
goods. 
2. The Commission shall, no later than 31 December 
1990, adopt a Regulation pursuant to Article 29 estab­
lishing the classification referred to in paragraph 1 and 
laying down the rules under which the classification shall 
be managed by the Commission and published annually. 
The Commission shall annex to this Regulation the 
version of the said classification applicable on 1 January 
1993, subject however to any amendments resulting from 
the management of goods nomenclatures which are 
adopted not later than 31 October 1992. 2. The Commission shall adopt a Regulation pursuant 
to Article 29 establishing the classification referred to in 
paragraph 1 and laying down the rules under which the 
classification shall be managed by the Commission and 
published annually. 
3. The classification referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 
shall be compatible with the nomenclature of the 
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding 
System. 
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the party responsible 
for providing information may use, for the purpose of 
describing and coding goods, the goods classification 
applicable to Community external trade statistics. Remainder unchanged 
Article 22 
1. On the statistical data medium, the Member States 
shall be described by the alphabetical or numerical codes 
which the Commission shall determine pursuant to 
Article 29. 
2. Without prejudice to the provisions adopted by the 
Commission pursuant to Article 29, the parties 
responsible for providing information shall comply, for 
the purposes of paragraph 1, with the instructions issued 
by the competent national departments regarding the 
compiling of statistics on trade between Member States. Articles 22 to 27 unchanged 
Article 23 
1. The following data must be given on the statistical 
data medium for each type of goods: 
(a) in the Member State of arrival: the Member State of 
consignment of the goods, within the meaning of 
Article 24 (1); 
(b) in the Member State of dispatch: the Member State 
of destination within the meaning of Article 24 (2); 
(c) the quantity of the goods, in net mass and 
supplementary units; 
(d) the value of the goods; 
(e) where appropriate, the statistical system. 
No C 177/32 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
The list of these data shall be amended by the 
Commission purusant to Article 29, and this by 1 
January 1991 if it needs to be supplemented, especially in 
accordance with Article 4 (2), so that it can become 
applicable from 1 January 1993. 
2. Member States may not prescribe that data other 
than those referred to in paragraph 1 must be given on 
the statistical data medium. However, without prejudice 
to Article 25 (2), until 31 December 1998 at the latest, 
this measure will not apply to such data as the 
Commission shall list in accordance with Article 29. 
On a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall 
gradually reduce the number of these items of data. 
3. In so far as not laid down in this Regulation, the 
data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and the rules 
governing their inclusion on the statistical data medium, 
shall be defined by the Commission pursuant to Article 
29. 
Article 24 
1. When, before reaching the Member State of arrival, 
goods have entered one or more countries in transit and 
have been subject in those countries to halts or legal 
operations not inherent in their transport, the Member 
State of consignment shall be taken to be the last 
Member State where such halts or legal operations 
occurred. In other cases, the Member State of 
consignment shall be the same as the Member State of 
dispatch. 
2. Member State of destination shall be taken to mean 
the last country to which it is known, at the time of 
dispatch, that the goods are to be dispatched. 
3. Notwithstanding Article 23 (1) (a), the party 
responsible for providing information in the Member 
State of arrival may, in the following order: 
— if he does not know the Member State of 
consignment, state the Member State of dispatch, 
— if he does not know the Member State of dispatch, 
state the Member State of purchase, within the 
meaning of paragraph 4, 
— if there is no country of purchase, state 'Member 
State unknown'. 
4. The Member State of purchase shall be taken to 
mean the Member State of residence of the contracting 
partner of the natural or legal person who has concluded 
the contract, with the exception of transport contracts, 
giving rise to the delivery of goods in the Member State 
of arrival. 
18.7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/33 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 25 
1. The Community and the Member States shall 
compile statistics on trade between Member States from 
the data referred to in Article 23 (1). 
2. Member States which do not compile statistics on 
trade between Member States from the data referred to 
in Article 23 (2) shall refrain from ordering the 
collection of such data. 
3. The Community and the Member States shall 
compile the statistics on trade between Member States, 
having regard to such provisions as the Commission may 
adopt pursuant to Article 29 on general and specific 
exemptions and the statistical threshold. 
4. Any provision which has the effect of excluding 
goods referred to in Articles 18 and 19 from the 
compilation of the statistics of trade between Member 
States shall suspend the obligation to supply statistical 
information on the goods thus excluded. 
Article 26 
1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission 
without delay, and at the latest six weeks after the end of 
the reference month, the monthly statistics on trade 
between Member States. These statistics shall cover the 
data referred to in Article 23 (1). 
2. Where necessary the procedure for such trans­
mission shall be laid down by the Commission pursuant 
to Article 29. 
3. Data declared confidential by the Member States 
under the conditions referred to in Article 31 shall be 
transmitted by them in accordance with Council Regu­
lation (EEC) No ... of ... on the transmission to the 
Statistical Office of the European Communities of infor­
mation covered by statistical confidentiality. 
Article 27 
Provisions regard the simplification of statistical infor­
mation shall be adopted: Article 27 
Provisions regard the simplification of statistical infor­
mation shall be adopted: 
(a) by the Council on a proposal from the Commission; (a) by the Council on a proposal from the Commission; 
(b) by the Commission pursuant to Article 29; in this 
case, they cannot apply before 1 January 1999. (b) by the Commission pursuant to Article 29; in this 
case, they cannot apply to the transition phase for 
statistics of trade between Member States. 
No C 177/34 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
TITLE Ilia 
On the transition phase for statistics of trade between 
Member States 
Article 27A 
1. The transition phase for statistics of trade between 
Member States shall be taken to mean the form they take 
by virtue of paragraph 2. It coincides as regards 
duration, with the transition phase of the Intrastat 
system. 
2. The provisions applying to statistics of trade 
between Member States in their transition phase shall be: 
— those of this Title, 
— those of Title III, save as otherwise provided in the 
present Title or by the Commission pursuant to 
Article 29. 
Article 27B 
In a given Member State, the following may be the 
subject of a dispatch within the meaning of Article 18 
(1), second subparagraph: 
(a) Community goods, which are not in direct or inter­
rupted transit in that Member State, unless they have 
been placed in free circulation there; 
(b) non-Community goods placed, maintained or 
obtained in that Member State under inward 
processing customs arrangements or under 
arrangements for processing under customs control. 
Article 27C 
The Member State of arrival shall be the Member State 
in which the goods which enter it are: 
(a) as Community goods, not there in direct or inter­
rupted transit; 
(b) as non-Community goods, referred to in Article 27B 
(b): 
1. placed in free circulation there; 
2. maintained under inward processing customs 
arrangements or under arrangements for 
processing under customs control or again made 
subject to such arrangements. 
18.7.90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/35 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 27D 
With a view to collecting the data required for the stat­
istics of trade between Member States, the provisions of 
Titles II and Ha shall be supplemented by those of 
Article 20 (2), (5) and (7) and by the following: 
1. without prejudice to Article 33, the Intrastat system 
shall apply to the goods referred to in Articles 27B (a) 
and 27C (a); 
2. in the Intrastat system, the Member State of dispatch 
shall be defined as that in which the goods which are 
dispatched from there to another Member State come 
under the terms of Article 27B (a); 
3. in the Intrastat system, the Member State of arrival 
shall be defined as that in which the goods which 
enter from another Member State come under the 
terms of Article 27C (a); 
4. the Commission shall adopt the provisions provided 
for in Article 7 (3) by 1 July 1991. 
Article 27E 
On the statistical data medium to be transmitted to the 
competent departments: 
— goods shall be designated in such a way as to permit 
easy and precise classification in the finest relevant 
subdivision of the version of the combined nomen­
clature in force at the time, 
— the eight-digit code number of the corresponding 
subdivision of the combined nomenclature shall also 
be given for each type of goods. 
Article 27F 
1. For each kind of goods, the statistical data medium 
to be transmitted to the competent departments must 
provide the following data: 
(a) in the Member State of arrival, the Member State of 
consignment of the goods, within the meaning of 
Article 24 (1); 
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the Member State 
of destination of the goods, within the meaning of 
Article 24 (2); 
(c) the quantity of goods, in net mass and 
supplementary units; 
(d) the value of the goods; 
(e) the nature of the transaction; 
(f) the delivery terms; 
(g) the presumed mode of transport. 
No C 177/36 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
2. Member States may not prescribe that data other 
than those listed in paragraph 1 be provided on the stat­
istical data medium, except for the following: 
(a) in the Member State of arrival, the third country of 
origin; however, this item may be required only as 
allowed by Community law; 
(b) in the Member State of dispatch, the region of 
production; in the Member State of arrival, the 
region of destination; 
(c) in the Member State of dispatch, the port of loading; 
in the Member State of arrival, the port of 
unloading. 
3. Article 23 (3) shall apply to the data referred to in 
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. 
Article 27 G 
1. Parties liable to account for VAT, institutional 
parties not liable to account for VAT and parties exempt 
from VAT who, falling below thresholds laid down 
pursuant to Articles 24, 25 and 28 (b) of Directive 
77/388/EEC, qualify for the exemption referred to in 
Article 16C shall be exempted from the obligations 
which would devolve upon them, as parties responsible 
for providing the statistical information, from the compi­
lation of statistics of trade between Member States. 
2. Pursuant to Article 29, the Commission shall lay 
down value thresholds below which: 
(a) the tax return shall be considered to be the statistical 
return; 
(b) the provisions of the present Regulation concerning 
the return shall be simplified in accordance with 
procedures which the Commission shall determine. 
These thresholds may vary from one Member State to 
another, by product group and by period. 
3. The thresholds referred to in paragraph 1 above 
shall be known as exclusion thresholds, and those 
mentioned in paragraph 2 above as simplification thre­
sholds. 
Article 27H 
1. Article 24 (3) shall apply, notwithstanding Article 
27F (1) (a). 
2. Article 25 (1) and (2) shall apply to the data 
referred to in Article 27F (1) and (2) respectively. 
3. Article 25 (4) shall apply to the goods referred to in 
Articles 27B and 27C. 
4. Article 26 (1) shall apply to the data referred to in 
Article 27F (1). 
18. 7. 90 Official Journal of the 
INITIAL PROPOSAL 
TITLE IV 
Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods 
between Member States 
Article 28 
1. A Committe on the Statistics relating to the trading 
of goods between Member States, hereinafter called 'the 
Committee', is hereby established. It shall be composed 
of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a 
Commission representative. 
2. The Committee shall draw up its rules of 
procedure. 
3. The Committee may examine any question relating 
to the implementation of this Regulation raised by its 
chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of 
the representative of a Member State. 
Article 29 
1. The provisions required for the implementation of 
this Regulation shall be adopted according to the 
procedure laid down in paragraph 2. 
2. The Commission representative shall submit to the 
Committee a proposal on the measures to be taken. The 
Committee shall deliver an opinion on the proposal 
within a period set by the chairman in accordance with 
the urgency of the matter in question, if necessary by 
means of a vote. 
The opinion shall be entered in the minutes; in addition, 
each Member State shall have the right to request that its 
position appear in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the fullest account of the 
opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the 
Committee of the way in which is has taken the opinion 
into account. European Communities No C 177/37 
AMENDED PROPOSAL 
Article 271 
The following provisions of Title III shall not apply to 
statistics of trade between Member States in their tran­
sition phase: 
(a) Article 18 (2); 
(b) Article 19; 
(c) Article 20 (1), (3) and (4); 
(d) Article 21; 
(e) Article 23 (1) and (2). 
Articles 28 to 33 unchanged 
No C 177/38 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.7.90 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
TITLE V 
Final provisions 
Article 30 
On a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall 
adopt the provision necessary to enable the Community 
or its Member States to compile the statistics other than 
statistics of trade between Member States referred to in 
Article 4. 
Article 31 
1. On a proposal from the Commission, the Council 
shall decide on the conditions under which the Member 
States may declare data compiled in accordance with this 
Regulation, or the Regulations provided for herein, to be 
confidential. 
2. Until these conditions have been laid down, 
Member States' provisions on this matter shall apply. 
Article 32 
The Commission may, pursuant to Article 29, adopt 
measures which adapt those provided for in this Regu­
lation to specific movements of goods within the 
meaning of the statistical regulations of the Community. 
Article 33 
In respect both of goods subject to the Intrastat system 
and of others goods, the Commission may, for the 
purpose of facilitating the task of the parties responsible 
for providing information, establish in accordance with 
Article 29 simplified data collection procedures and in 
particular create the conditions for increased use of 
automatic data processing and electronic data processing 
and electronic data transmission. 
Article 34 
1. Regulation (EEC) No 2954/85 is hereby repealed 
with effect from 1 January 1993 and Regulation (EEC) 
No 1736/75 shall cease to apply to the statistics of trade 
in goods between Member States to which it was 
applicable, with effect from the same date. Article 34 
Unchanged 
18. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 177/39 
INITIAL PROPOSAL AMENDED PROPOSAL 
2. This Regulation shall enter into force on the third 
day following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 2. This Regulation shall enter into force on the third 
day following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
Except in so far as they imply that the Council or the 
Commission shall adopt provisions implementing this 
Regulation before that date, Articles 1 to 9, 11, 13 (1), 
14 to 20, 21 (1) and (4) and 22 to 27 shall not be 
applicable until 1 January 1993. Except in so far as they imply that the Council or the 
Commission shall adopt provisons implementing this 
Regulation before that date, Articles 1 to 9, 11, 13 (1), 
14 to 16, 16A to 16D, 16F to 16H, 17 to 20, 21 (1) and 
(4), 22 to 27 and 27A to 271 shall not be applicable until 
1 January 1993. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. Unchanged