Communication from the Commission to the Councilon a request from France made in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC in order to apply a differentiated excise rate on diesel for vehicles used for public road passenger transport services
Date: 2001-01-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carriage of passengers, diesel fuel, excise duty, means of public conveyance, road transport

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 23.01.2001
COM(2001) 33 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

on a request from France made in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC in order to apply a differentiated excise rate on
diesel for vehicles used for public road passenger transport services

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

on a request from France made in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC in order to apply a differentiated excise rate on
diesel for vehicles used for public road passenger transport services

1.

PRESENTATION OF THE REQUEST

On 17 October 2000, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council decision, based on
Article 8(4) of Council Directive 92/81/EEC on the harmonisation of the structures of excise
duties on mineral oils,1 as last amended by Directive 94/74/EC,2 authorising France to apply a
differentiated rate of duty to diesel fuel used in local public passenger transport from
1 January 2001.

In its letter of 13 October 2000, in accordance with Article 8(4) of the above Directive, the
French authorities informed the Commission of their wish to extend the scope of the
differentiated excise rate for diesel for vehicles used in public road passenger transport
services to occasional passenger transport services (passenger transport services not carried
out under scheduled transport services).

The measure would enter into force from the second half of 2000 and would concern only
vehicles with a minimum seating capacity of 10. The differentiation in excise duty would take
the form of a reimbursement, using the same system as for road hauliers, within an annual
quota of 30 000 litres per vehicle.

The purpose of this differential rate on diesel is to promote public passenger transport in order
to reduce the use of private vehicles, particularly in built-up areas, and thus reduce air
pollution.

France is therefore requesting authorisation to apply a differentiated rate of excise duty to
diesel for public road passenger transport services from the second half of 2000.

2.

EVALUATION BY THE COMMISSION

Under Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal
from the Commission, may authorise any Member State to introduce further exemptions or
reductions for specific policy considerations.

On 20 June 2000, France requested the authorisation referred to in Article 8(4) of Directive
92/81/EEC to apply a differentiated rate of excise duties to diesel for vehicles used in local
public passenger transport. The differentiation was to help passenger transport for which the
routes, timetables and fares have been set in advance. It would not lead to a net reduction in
the amount of excise duty on diesel but would partially offset the annual rise then due in the
rate of the domestic tax on petroleum products (TIPP), which is applied to diesel.

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2

OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 12.
OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 46.

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On 17 October, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council decision authorising the
French Government “to apply a differentiated rate of excise duty to diesel fuel used in local
public passenger transport vehicles from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002, provided that
the differentiated rates are in accordance with the obligations laid down in Council
Directive 92/82/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on
mineral oils, and in particular the minimum rates laid down in Article 5”.3 The proposal was
sent to the Council4 but the Council has not yet taken a decision.

By letter of 13 October 2000, in accordance with Article 8(4) of the above Directive, the
French authorities informed the Commission that they wished to supplement the above
request by extending the derogation to occasional passenger transport services (passenger
transport services not carried out under scheduled transport services).

In accordance with Directive 92/81/EEC, the other Member States were informed of this
request by letter dated 24 November 2000.

The French Government is asking for three changes to its request of 20 June 2000.

Firstly, the scope of the measure would be extended to public passenger transport over and
above local and scheduled transport.

Secondly, the system would be altered to allow an effective reduction of the TIPP in 2000 and
2001 then full compensation for future increases from 2002. The differentiated excise rate on
diesel for vehicles used for public road passenger transport services would be FRF 2 201.8
(EUR 335.7) for 1 000 litres in 2000, FRF 2 301.8 (EUR 350.9) in 2001 and FRF 2 411.8
(EUR 367.7) in 2002. These figures are still higher than the Community minimum.5

Thirdly, the proposal for a Council decision adopted by the Commission on 17 October 2000
concerning local public transport and the request of 13 October 2000 cover different periods,
since the first measure would start on 1 January 2001 while the second would be retroactive
from 1 July 2000.

The Commission considers that an examination should still be made in the light of Articles 87
and 88 of the EC Treaty in order to give a ruling on the state aid status of the measure in
question and on whether it is compatible with the common market.

The Commission therefore considers that it needs more time to complete its examination and
to give a ruling on the compatibility of the measure with Community policies, particularly as
regards the effects of the planned derogation on competition and the workings of the single
market.

The Commission stresses that this communication does not prejudge the nature of its future
proposal for a Council decision, but is intended simply to state that more time is needed to
examine the request for a derogation in detail; under Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC a
communication of this kind must be adopted by the Commission in order to provide the
necessary time.

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4

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COM(2000)647 final.
Cover note 12484/00 FISC 159, 19.10.2000.
The minimum Community rate for diesel is EUR 245 for 1000 l, i.e. FRF 1 607.

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The Commission assures the French authorities and the Council that the derogation will be
examined as a priority and that a proposal for a Council decision, or an additional
communication, will be drawn up as soon as possible.

3.

CONCLUSION

In the light of the above, the Commission requests that the Council examine, in accordance
with the third subparagraph of Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC, the response to be given
to the request from the French Government for authorisation to apply a differentiated excise
rate to diesel for vehicles used in public road passenger transport services.

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