Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directives 69/169/EEC and 92/12/EEC as regards temporary quantitative restrictions on beer imports into Finland
Date: 2000-02-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, beer, excise duty, import, quantitative restriction

27.6.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 177 E/93

Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directives 69/169/EEC and 92/12/EEC as regards
temporary quantitative restrictions on beer imports into Finland

(2000/C 177 E/15)

COM(2000) 76 final (cid:151) 2000/0038(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 23 February 2000)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 93 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Whereas:

(1) Article 26 of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February
1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to
excise duty and on the holding, movement and moni-
toring of such products (1), grants Finland the right to
maintain a quantitative limit for beer acquisitions from
other Member States of 15 litres, as laid down in the
Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, which
are exempted from Finnish taxes.

(2) Finland should take measures to ensure that imports of
beer from third countries are not allowed under more
favourable conditions
from other
Member States.

than such imports

(3) Article 26 of Directive 92/12/EEC authorises Finland until
31 December 2003 to continue to apply the same
restrictions on the quantity of goods which may be
further excise-duty
brought
payment as it applied on 31 December 1996,
those
restrictions being progressively removed.

into its territory without

(4) Articles 4 and 5 of Council Directive 69/169/EEC of 28
May 1969 on the harmonisation of provisions laid down
by law, regulation or administrative action relating to
exemption from turnover
taxes and excise duty on
imports in international travel (2), provides for allowances
in respect of excisable goods contained in the personal
luggage of travellers coming from countries other than
Member States on condition that such imports have no
commercial character.

(1) OJ L 76, 23.3.1992, p. 1; Directive as last amended by Directive

96/99/EC (OJ L 8, 11.1.1997, p. 12).

(2) OJ L 133, 4.6.1969, p. 6; Directive as last amended by Directive

94/4/EC (OJ L 60, 3.3.1994, p. 14).

(5) The provisions of Article 26 of Directive 92/12/EEC
represent a derogation from a fundamental principle of
the internal market, namely the right of its citizens to
transport goods purchased for their own use throughout
the Community without incurring liability to new duty
charges, so that it is necessary to limit its effects as far
as possible.

limit

for beer

acquisitions

(6) It is appropriate, at this juncture, to raise the current
from other
quantitative
Member States in several steps in order to align Finland
gradually on the Community rules laid down in Articles 8
and 9 of Directive 92/12/EEC and to ensure a complete
removal of intra-Community allowances for beer by 31
December 2003, as provided for in Article 26(1) of that
Directive.

(7) Finland has experienced problems in respect of alcohol
policy and social and health policy, as well as public
order, as a result of increased private imports inter alia
of beer.

(8) Finland has requested a derogation to apply a limitation
than Member
imports from countries other

for beer
States, of not less than 6 litres.

(9) Account is taken of the geographical situation of Finland,
the economic difficulties of Finnish retail traders located
in the border
regions and the considerable loss of
revenues caused by the increased imports of beer from
countries other than Member States.

(10) It is therefore necessary to authorise Finland to apply a
restriction of not less than 6 litres on beer imports from
countries other than Member States.

(11) It is appropriate to maintain this derogation two years
longer than the restriction on beer brought to Finland
from other Member States, in order to allow the Finnish
retail trade to adapt to the new situation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

In Article 5 of Directive 69/169/EEC, the following paragraph
is added:

(cid:145)9.
By way of derogation from Article 4(1), Finland
shall be authorised to apply a quantitative limit of not
less than 6 litres for
from
countries other than Member States, until 31 December
2005.(cid:146)

the importation of beer

C 177 E/94

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.6.2000

Article 2

In the second subparagraph of Article 26(1) of Directive
92/12/EEC, the following sentence is added:

their official publication.
reference on the occasion of
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

(cid:145)Finland shall increase the quantitative restrictions for beer
to at least 24 litres from the entry into force of
the
Finnish legislation implementing Article 5(9) of Directive
69/169/EEC, to at least 32 litres from 1 January 2001 and
to at least 64 litres from 1 January 2003.(cid:146)

Article 3

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 1 April 2000 at the latest. They shall forthwith
inform the Commission thereof.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of the provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the
field covered by this Directive.

Article 4

This Directive shall enter into force on the third day following
that of its publication in the Official Journal of
the European
Communities.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a

Article 5

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.