Amended proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on computerising the movement and monitoring of excisable products (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC-Treaty)
Date: 2002-12-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: computer system, customs inspection, excise duty, information technology applications, intra-EU trade, transit

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 20.12.2002
COM(2002) 757 final

2001/0185 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on computerising the movement and monitoring of excisable products

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250(2)
of the EC-Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

A.         Principles

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

On  19  November  2001  the  Commission  presented  a  proposal  for  a  Decision  of  the
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  computerising  the  movement  and
monitoring of excisable products (COM(2001) 466 final).

The Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion on the proposal on 29 May
2002,  with  proposals  similar  to  those  contained  in  the  Parliament's  amendments,
which have therefore been taken into account in the amended proposal.

On 24 September 2002 the European Parliament adopted the proposal for a decision at
first reading, with ten amendments.

Discussions at the  Council revealed the need for  a number  of  other stylistic changes
and clarifications. This amended proposal therefore also includes those changes.

On 4 June 2002, in its ECOFIN conclusions, the Council invited the working party on
tax matters to continue its work on this proposal for a Decision so that a solution could
be  found  before  1  April  2003.  The  Seville  European  Council  endorsed  these
conclusions.  These  conclusions  have  been  taken  account  of  by  the  Commission  and
the co-legislators.

B          The European Parliament's amendments

The European Parliament's amendments have been incorporated as follows:

I.          Amendments accepted without change.

a.  Amendments  1,  2,  3  and  4  add  greater  precision  to  the  recitals  stating  the  grounds  on
which the decision is based, by setting out the following principles:

Amendment  1  states  the  necessity  of  making  the  current  project  consistent  with  the  system
already  in  place  for  customs  transit,  saying  that  “(5)  A  computerised  system  for  intra-
Community  movement of  goods  (EMCS) should  be  compatible  and,  if  technically  possible,
merged  with  the  new  computerised  transit  system  (NCTS),  to  strengthen  action  to  combat
fraud  and  to  facilitate  procedures  for  administration  and  trade.”  It  is  directly  related  to
amendment 7.

The purpose of  amendment 2 is to make things  easier  for  SMEs;  it  introduces  the  principle
that access to the system should be free of charge for economic operators. It runs as follows:
“(8)  Such  a  complex  computerised  system  should  not  be  developed  and  deployed  at  the
expense of the competitiveness of the  economic  operators, in particular the many small and
medium-sized  companies  active  in  this  sector.  Member  States  should  develop  a  standard
application for connection to the system, which should be made available free of charge.”  It
is directly related to amendment 8.

2

Amendment  3 adds detail concerning  areas  of competence,  including  “responsibility  for  the
security  aspects  of  the  system,  its  lawful  application  and  the  ownership  and  handling  of
commercially  confidential  information  held  thereon,”  and  stresses  that  the  Commission
should  also  have  the  important  role  of  coordinating,  organising  and  managing  the
development and introduction of the system.

Amendment  4  states  the  need  to  improve  the  operation  of  the  current  system  pending  total
computerisation, because of the time that this will take to complete. It is worded as follows:
“(11) The computerised system for monitoring excisable goods will not be operational before
2007. Given the levels of fraud and red tape associated with the current paper-based system,
the  Commission  should,  after  having  consulted  the  industries  concerned,  propose  and/or
implement the necessary short-term measures to improve the functioning of the system.”

The  Commission's  reservations  about  the  wording  of  these  amendments  are  set  out  in  the
responses  to  amendments  7  and  8,  since  the  principles  involved  are  acceptable  to  the
Commission but the wording needs to be modified.

b.  Amendments  5,  9  and  11  relate  to  substantive  changes  that  do  not  pose  a  problem  or
where the Council position is already identical.

Amendment  5  concerns  a  terminological  change  in  English:  replacing  the  term  “special
reference” with the term “prime reference”.  It has been taken  into account in the  amended
version.

Amendment 9 concerns data security, which is part of the system's operational specifications.
Definitive  decisions  concerning  the  standards  to  be  defined  can  only  really  be  taken  at  the
finalisation  stage  of  the  project  (in  2007/2008).  This  amendment  echoes  the  Commission's
own concerns. More effective standards should indeed be applied to the system. However, in
view of the rate of  technological  development  it  would  be  best  to  define  these  standards  as
late as possible.

The  text  is  therefore  acceptable  and  has  been  incorporated  as  follows:  “the  development  of
security  features  of  the  highest  standard  possible  in  order  to  prevent  unauthorised  access  to
data and to guarantee the integrity of the system.”

Amendment 11 also echoes the Commission's own concerns. The changes introduced by the
Council  are  identical.  The  text  is  worded  as  follows:  “The  countries  that  have  applied  for
membership  of  the  European  Union  shall  be  kept  informed  by  the  Commission  of  the
development and deployment of the computerised system and shall be invited to take part in
the tests to be carried out.”

The Commission has no reservations about the wording of these amendments.

II.        Amendments accepted subject to reformulation.

Amendment 6 relates to the way in which the computerised system will be set up and amends
the first paragraph of Article 2 by inserting the words “in collaboration with the Commission”
so  that  the  text  reads  “The  Member  States,  in  collaboration  with  the  Commission,  shall
establish ....”

The  Council  made  a  similar  amendment,  which  reads  “The  Member  States  and  the
Commission shall establish....”

3

Both  Parliament's  and  the  Council's  amendments  serve  the  same  purpose.  The  Council's
wording has been used in the amended version.

Amendment  7  is  directly  linked  to  the  recital  5  introduced  by  amendment  1.  It  adds  a  new
paragraph  to  Article  3:  “The  computerised  system  shall,  if  technically  possible,  be  merged
with the NCTS. Together they shall form a single integrated computer system for surveillance
of the movements both of excisable goods and of excisable/dutiable third-country goods.”

The  Council  also  proposed  an  amendment,  but  in  more  qualified  terms,  and  only  in  a
statement  annexed  to  the  minutes.  The  wording  in  the  amended  version  was  based  on  a
compromise drafted by the Commission.

Amendment 8, which is directly related to amendment 2, stipulates that a standard application
should be developed in each Member State and made available to economic operators free of
charge.  This  does  not  conflict  with  the  objectives  of  the  system  as  envisaged  by  the
Commission in its preparatory work. However, the wording must be altered to make clear the
exact  meaning  of  the  words  “make  available  to  economic  operators”,  in  particular  as  they
have an impact on the cost of the deploying the system - i.e. whether they refer to free access
to a standardised application open to the public in every Member State, or the provision of a
standard application to each economic operator.

The  new  version  of  the  proposal  is  amended  to  provide  this  clarification,  so  that  the
development  and  provision  of  the  system  does  not  burden  the  Member  States  and  the
Commission with costs beyond their control. The amended proposal incorporates the “free-of-
charge” principle but confines it to free access to the application.

III.       Rejected amendment

Amendment 10 relates to the excise guarantee rules and would entail amendments to Member
States'  tax  legislation  as  it  applies  to  excise  goods.  The  proposed  measure  falls  within  the
scope of application of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992, and amendments
to this Directive are subject to unanimity (Article 93 EC Treaty).

The proposed amendment is therefore rejected and the amended version of the proposal does
not take it into account.

C.         Other changes

Discussions at the Council have stressed the need to take on board a number of other editorial
changes and clarifications. This amended proposal therefore also includes those changes.

The amendments proposed by the Council relate to the following points:

1. As regards content, the main changes proposed are to the timetable for implementation of
the  computerised  system,  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  the  Decision  and  the  management
procedure for the project.

Specifically, the Council proposes the following changes:

* Timetable

Article 2: “The Member States and the Commission shall establish the computerised system
within six years [instead of five years] of the date on which this Decision enters into force.”

4

“Activities relating to the initiation of the application of the computerised system shall begin
not  later  than  twelve  months  [instead  of  nine  months]  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this
Decision.”

Article  12:  “This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  1  January  2003”  [instead  of  on  the
twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal].

* Management procedure

The Council wishes the operating procedures for the Committee responsible for managing the
project  to  be  simplified.  The  Excise  Committee  established  under  Article  24  of  Directive
92/12/EEC  would  be  given  exclusive  competence.  The  Council's  draft  decision  reads  as
follows:

Article 7: “1. The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Excise  Committee  set  up  by
Article 24 of Directive 92/12/EEC.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall
apply,  having  regard  to  the  provisions  of  Article  8  thereof.  The  period  laid  down  in
Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

* Legal scope of the Decision

In order to eliminate any ambiguity regarding the legal scope and impact of the Decision on
tax  legislation,  a  further  amendment  has  been  introduced  in  Article  4.  It  is  justified  by  the
general  principle  voiced  by  the  Commission  during  the  work  in  Council  and  Parliament,
namely that the proposed Decision was in no way intended to amend tax legislation on excise
duties,  but  simply  to  give  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  the  financial  and  human
resources to develop and set up the computerised system for the monitoring and movement of
excisable products, and to specify the procedures that should be used to do this.

The Council wanted changes in the wording to underline this principle, and these have been
incorporated in the amended proposal. Thus, Article 4 stipulates that the computer system is
intended  to  set  up  the  infrastructure  and  tools  needed  to  ensure  the  system's  overall
interconnection  and  interoperability  and  the  instruments  for  the  exploitation  of  data  to
combat fraud.

To  confirm  this  approach,  the  text  of  Article  1(2)(b)  and  (2)(c)  has,  at  the  Commission's
behest, also been amended in a similar fashion to Article 4(1)(b).

2. As regards form,  the  Council  wanted  to  amend  Articles  7  and  11  and  recital  10  to  take
account of the general principles applicable to the drafting of legislation under the co-decision
procedure.  This  mainly  concerns  the  rules  applicable  to  multiannual  programmes  and  the
corresponding budgetary control.

The stylistic improvements introduced by the Council warrant no specific remarks.

D.         Conclusion

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty the Commission hereby  amends its proposal as
set out below.

5

2001/0185 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on computerising the movement and monitoring of
excisable products

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular
Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,1

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,2

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty,3

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

1

2

3

4

5

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 monitoring of such
products4  provides  that  products  moving  between  Member  States  under  excise-duty
suspension  arrangements  must  be  accompanied  by  a  document  completed  by  the
consignor.

Commission  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2719/92  of  11  September  1992  on 
the
accompanying  administrative  document  for  the  movement  under  duty-suspension
arrangements of products subject to excise duty lays down the form and content of the
accompanying document provided for in the Directive 92/12/EEC.5

In the light of the findings  and  recommendations  in  the  report  delivered  on  24  April
1998  by  the  High  Level  Group  on  fraud  in  the  alcohol  and  tobacco  sectors  it  is
desirable to replace the paper-based system with an electronic system for monitoring
movements  of  excise  goods  which  will  enable  Member  States  to  obtain  real-time
information on movements and carry out checks where necessary, including checks on
movements under Article 15 of Directive 92/12/EEC.

OJ C …, …, p. …
OJ C …, …, p. …
European Parliament opinion of ... (OJ C ...), Council Common Position of ... (OJ C ...) and European
Parliament Decision of ... ( OJ C ...). Council Decision of ... .
OJ L 76, 23.3.1992, p. 1. Directive last amended by Directive 2000/47/EC (OJ L 197, 29.7.2000, p. 73).
OJ  L  276,  19.9.1992,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2225/93  (OJ  L  198,
7.8.1993, p. 5).

6

                                                
(4)

The  move  to  a  computerised  system  should  also  allow  the  excise-duty  suspension
arrangements for products moving within the Community to be simplified.

(5)        A  computerised  system  for  the  intra-Community  movement  and  monitoring  of
excisable  goods  (EMCS)  should  be  compatible  and  -  if  technically  possible  -
merged with the new computerised transit system (NCTS), so as to reinforce anti-
fraud action and facilitate administrative and commercial procedures.

(5) (6) For the purposes of implementing this Decision the Commission needs to coordinate
the  Member  States'  activities  to  ensure  the  smooth  operation  of  the  internal  market.
Accordingly,  provision  should  be  made  whereby  the  Commission  and  the  Member
States make the necessary resources available for the development and deployment of
the system.

(6) (7) Because of the size and complexity of the project, it requires considerable investment
of  human  and  financial  resources  at  both  Community  and  Member  State  level.  It  is
therefore necessary to ensure that the Commission and the Member States will make
the necessary resources available for the development and deployment of the system.

(8)        Such  a  complex  computerised  system  should  not  be  developed  and  deployed  at
the  expense  of  the  competitiveness  of  the  economic  operators,  in  particular  the
small  and  medium-sized  companies  active  in  this  sector.  Member  States  should
develop  a  standard  application  for  connection  to  the  system,  which  should  be
made available free of charge.

(7) (9) The  division  between  the  Community  and  non-Community  national  components  of
the computerised system should also be defined, as should the respective duties of the
Commission  and  the  Member  States  with  regard  to  the  system’s  development  and
deployment. Such  duties  should include  responsibility  for  the  security  aspects  of
lawful  application  and  the  ownership  and  handling  of
the  system, 
the
commercially  confidential 
Commission  should fulfil a major role  in  coordinating, organising  and  managing  the
system.  The  Commission,  assisted  by  the  relevant  Committee,  must  play  the
major role in coordinating, organising and managing the system.

information  held  thereon.  In 

that  context, 

its 

(8)(10) Provision  should  be  made  for  evaluating  the  implementation  of  the  computerised

monitoring system.

(11)      The computerised system for the intra-Community movement and monitoring of
excisable goods will not be operational before 2007. Given the levels of fraud and
red tape associated with the current paper-based system, the Commission should
first consult the sectors concerned and then consider what measures are needed
to improve the system.

(9)(12) The  cost  of  financing  the  system  should  be  shared  between  the  Community  and  the
Member  States,  the  Community’s  share  being  entered  in  the  General  Budget  of  the
European Union.

7

(10)(13) This  Decision  provides  for  a  sum  to  cover  the  entire  period  that  will  be  needed  to
develop and deploy the system, and represents the prime reference within the meaning
of Point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European
Parliament, 
the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline  and
improvement of the budgetary procedure6.

the  Council  and 

(11)      Since the measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision are management
measures  within  the  meaning  of  in  Article  2  of  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of
28 June  1999  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers
conferred  on  the  Commission7,  they  should  be  adopted  by  use  of  the  management
procedure provided for in Article 4 of that Decision,

(14)      The  measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  of  this  Decision  should  be
adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers  conferred  on  the
Commission8,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1.

2.

a)

b)

c)

A  system,  hereafter  referred  to  as  “the  computerised  system”,  shall  be  set  up  to
computerise  the  movement  and  monitoring  of  the  excisable  products  referred  to  in
Article 3(1) of Directive 92/12/CEE.

The purpose of the computerised system is:

to  allow  electronic  transmission  of  the  administrative  accompanying  document
provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2719/92 and improve checks;

to  set  up  instruments  for  combating  fraud  by  enabling  the  Member  States  to
monitor  the  flow  of  excisable  products  in  real  time  and  carry  out  checks  where
necessary;

to set up  instruments for simplifying the intra-Community movement of  products
under excise-duty suspension arrangements, in particular by facilitating and speeding
up the discharge of such movements.

Article 2

The Member States and the Commission shall establish the computerised system within five
six years of the date on which this Decision enters into force.

Work on developing the system must begin within nine twelve months of the date on which
this Decision enters into force.

6
7 
8 

OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

8

                                                
The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  make  available  the  human,  budgetary  and
technical resources needed to establish and run the computerised system.

Article 3

The computerised system shall be made up of Community and non-Community components.

The computerised system shall comprise Community and national components.

The  Commission  shall  ensure  that  in  work  on  the  Community  components  of  the
computerised system every attention is paid to reusing as much of the new computerised
transit  system  (NCTS)  as  possible  and  ensuring  that  the  EMCS  system  is  compatible
with, and - if technically possible - integrated into, the NCTS. Together they shall form a
single  integrated  computer  system  for  the  surveillance  both  of  intra-Community
movements of excisable goods and of movements of excisable goods and goods subject to
other duties and charges coming from or going to third countries.

The Community components of the system shall be the common specifications, the technical
products, the services of the CCN/CSI network (Common Communications Network/Common
Systems  Interface),  and  the  coordination  services  used  by  all  the  Member  States;  to  the
exclusion  of  they  shall  not  include  any  variant  or  special  feature  of  any  such  component
services designed to meet national requirements.

The  non-Community  components  national  components  of  the  system  shall  be  the  national
specifications,  the  national  databases  forming  part  of  the  system,  network  connections
between  Community  and  non-Community  components  national  components,  and  any
software  or  equipment  which  a  Member  State  considers  necessary  to  ensure  full  use  of  the
system  throughout  its  administration,  as  well  as  the  standard  application  which  each
Member  State  must  develop,  access  to  which  must  be  made  available  to  economic
operators in its territory free of charge.

Article 4

1.

a)

a)a

b)

The  Commission,  acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  provided  for  in
Article 7(2),  shall  coordinate  the  setting-up  and  running  of  the  Community  and
non-Community  components  national  components  of  the  computerised  system,
and in particular:

the infrastructure and tools needed to ensure the system’s overall interconnection and
interoperability;

the development of security features of the highest standard possible in order to
prevent  unauthorised  access  to  data  and  to  guarantee  the  integrity  of  the
system;

the  instruments  for  the  exploitation  of  data  to  combat  fraud,  particularly  by
applying risk analysis at the Community level.

9

2.

1.

2.

3.

To  achieve  the  aims  of  paragraph  1,  the  Commission  shall  conclude  the  requisite
necessary  contracts  and  shall,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  meeting
within  the  Committee  referred  to  in  Article  7(1),  draw  up  a  master  plan  and
management plans required for the setting-up and running of the system.

The  management  plans  shall  state  which  initial  tasks  and  which  routine  tasks  the
Commission  and  the  individual  Member  State,  respectively,  are  responsible  for
completing, the completion date for each task and what evidence of completion may
be required.

The master plan and the management plans shall specify the initial and routine
tasks  which  the  Commission  and  each  Member  State  are  to  perform.  The
management plans shall specify the completion dates for the tasks required for
carrying out each project identified in the master plan.

Article 5

The  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  they  complete,  by  the  date  specified  in  the
management plans mentioned in Article 4(2), the initial and routine tasks allocated to
them.

They shall report  to the Commission when  each task has  been completed  and  shall
provide proof of the date of its completion.

They shall report to the Commission the results of each task and the date of its
completion. The Commission shall in turn inform the Committee referred to in
Article 7(1) thereof.

No  Member  State  shall  take  any  action  relating  to  the  setting-up  or  running  of  the
computerised system that might affect its overall interconnection and interoperability
or its functioning as a whole.

Any measure that a Member State might wish to take and that could affect either the
computerised system’s internal links and overall interoperability or its functioning as
a whole shall only be taken with the prior agreement of the Commission.

Any  action  a  Member  State  may  wish  to  take  that  might  affect  the  overall
interconnection and interoperability of the system or its functioning as a whole
shall  only  be  taken  with  the  prior  agreement  of  the  Commission,  acting  in
accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 7(2).

Member States shall inform the Commission regularly of any measure they may have
taken to enable their respective administrations to make full use of the computerised
system.

Member States shall inform the Commission regularly of any measure they may
have  taken  to  enable  their  respective  administrations  to  make  full  use  of  the
computerised  system.  The  Commission  shall  in  turn  inform  the  Committee
referred to in Article 7(1) thereof.

10

Article 6

The Commission shall introduce any measures that are needed for the implementation of this
Decision in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 7. These implementing measures
shall  not  affect  the  Community  provisions  governing  the  raising  and  checking  of  indirect
taxes or administrative cooperation and mutual assistance in matters of indirect taxation.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision relating to the setting-
up and running of the computerised system and to the matters referred to in Article 4(1)
and  in  Article  5(2)  second  subparagraph  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the
management procedure set out in Article 7(2). These implementing measures shall have
no impact on Community provisions governing the collection and monitoring of indirect
taxes, administrative cooperation or mutual assistance in matters of indirect taxation.

Article 7

1.         The  Commission 

the  Standing  Committee  on
assisted  by 
Administrative Cooperation in the field of Indirect Taxation established by Article 10
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 218/929.

shall  be 

2.         Where reference is made to this paragraph, the management procedure provided for in
Article  4  of  Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  apply,  in  compliance  with  Articles  7  and  8
thereof.

3.         The period referred to in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be three months.

1.            The Commission shall be assisted by the Excise Committee set up by Article 24

of Directive 92/12/EEC.

2.            Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Articles  4  and  7  of  Decision

1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The  period  laid  down  in  Article  4(3)  of  Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  be  set  at
three months.

3.            The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 8

1.

The  Commission  shall  take  whatever  other  steps  are  necessary  to  verify  that  the
measures financed from the Community budget are being carried out correctly and in
compliance with the provisions of this Decision.

It  shall  regularly,  in  collaboration  with  the  Member  States,  monitor  the  various
development  and  deployment  stages  of  the  computerised  system  with  a  view  to
determining  whether  the  objectives  pursued  have  been  achieved,  and  to  issuing
guidelines  on  how  to  raise  the  effectiveness  of  the  activities  involved  in
implementing the computerised system.

9 

OJ L 24, 1.2.1992, p. 1.

11

                                                
It  shall  regularly,  in  collaboration  with  the  Member  States,  meeting  in  the
Committee  provided  for  in  Article  7(1),  monitor  the  various  development  and
deployment  stages  of  the  computerised  system  with  a  view  to  determining
whether the objectives pursued have been achieved, and to issuing guidelines on
how  to  raise  the  effectiveness  of  the  activities  involved  in  implementing  the
system.

Thirty  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Decision,  the  Commission  shall
submit an interim monitoring report to the Committee referred to in Article 7(1). The
report shall if necessary set out methods and criteria to be used later in evaluating the
operation of the system.

At the end of the five six-year period referred to in the first subparagraph of Article
2,  the  Commission  shall  present  a  report  to  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the
implementation of the system. This report shall  set  out,  inter  alia,  the  methods  and
criteria to be used in the later evaluation of the system’s operation.

2.

3.

Article 9

The  countries  that  have  applied  for  membership  of  the  European  Union  may  shall  be  kept
informed by the Commission of the development and deployment of the computerised system
and may shall be invited to take part in the tests to be carried out.

Article 10

1.

2.

3.

The  costs  of  setting  up  the  computerised  system  shall  be  split  between  the
Community and the Member States in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.

The  Community  shall  bear  the  costs  of  the  design,  acquisition,  installation  and
maintenance of the Community components of the system and the routine operating
costs of Community components installed in Commission premises or the premises
of a designated subcontractor.

The  Member  States  shall  bear  the  costs  of  setting  up  and  operating  the  national
components of the system and the routine operating costs of Community components
installed in their premises or the premises of a designated subcontractor.

Article 11

1.            The overall reference  amount  for  financing  the  computerised  system  for  the  period
defined in the first paragraph of Article 2 shall be set at EUR 35 000 000 in so far as
the Community budget is concerned.

The  annual  appropriations,  including  appropriations  assigned  to  the  use  and
operation of the system after the above implementation period, shall be approved by
the budgetary authority subject to the financial perspective.

1.            The  overall  figure  for  financing  the  computerised  system  during  the  period
defined  in the first paragraph of Article  2 shall be EUR  35  000  000  insofar  as
the Community budget is concerned.        

12

The  annual  appropriations,  including  appropriations  assigned  to  the  use  and
operation  of  the  system  after  the  above  implementation  period,  shall  be
approved by the budgetary authority subject to the financial perspective.

2.            Member States shall estimate and make available the budgets and human resources

needed to meet their obligations described in Article 5.

2.            The Member States shall estimate and make available the budgets and human
resources  needed  to  meet  the  obligations  described  in  Article  5.  The
Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  provide  the  human,  budgetary  and
technical resources needed to establish and run the computerised system.

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

Article 12

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2003.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 13

Done at Brussels,...

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

13

ANNEX

Technical Aspects

The  data  transmission  system  will  use  an  architecture  in  which  the  Member  States  will  be
responsible for all telephone switchboards and electronic switching stations used by traders in
the  respective  Member  States,  or  by  the  Member  States  themselves,  to  receive  or  transmit
data, and for all data exchanges with other Member States. No external intermediaries will be
used to carry out these tasks.

If  the  system  is  to  be  used  for  commercial  operations,  very  high  standards  of  security  and
confidentiality have to be built into it. In particular it must be guaranteed to be tamper-proof,
the  data  transmitted  must  enjoy  absolute  privacy  and  the  system  must  be  permanently
available,  24 hours  a  day,  365  days  a  year.  Similarly,  recovery  times  after  any  breakdowns
must be very short.

1.            Architecture

Given the conclusions of the feasibility study and the data transmission system selected, the
principles underlying the proposal are:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1

All  listed  operators  (authorised  warehousekeepers  and  their  bonded  warehouses,
registered traders and their tax representatives) must be connected up to the system.

All data transmitted between traders connected up to the system must be transmitted
via at least one Member State.

Certain other traders, particularly non-registered traders (occasional consignees) will
not have direct  access to the system.  In their  case,  certain data  must  be transmitted
directly between traders.

Where data are so transmitted, only one of the traders, generally the consignor, will
be responsible for putting the data into the system.

Listed operators will be responsible for providing all data on the movement of goods,
particularly  the  data  required  for  submitting  and,  where  necessary,  updating  the
movement  information  (the  electronic  AAD)1,  and  for  returning  the  “discharged”
message.

All  administrative  data  other  than  movement  data,  will  be  transmitted  directly
between Member States. The data may never be transmitted via traders.

Information that is in the public domain may be made available for consultation at an
information centre accessible to the public.

Where  use  of  the  computerised  system  is  concerned,  a  trader  may  communicate
directly  only  with  the  Member  State  responsible  for  the  place  from  which,  or  to
which, the products are consigned, as appropriate.

Accompanying administrative document.

14

                                                
It  is  recognised  that  the  CCN/CSI  infrastructure  already  in  use  to  link  the  Member  States
would  give  the  projected  system  a  head  start.  It  is  proposed  that  the  AFIS  infrastructure
should  be  used  temporarily  for  movement  verification,  mutual  assistance  and  any  other
related exchanges.

The resulting architecture is therefore as follows:

ECOP

TAXUD

OLAF

MSA

AFIS

ECOP

COM

ECOP

EMCS

CCN

CCN

CCN/CSI

ECOP

COM

ECOP

MSA

EMCS

CCN

CCN

AC

Each Member State has one applications server (the  computerised system for the movement
and  surveillance  of  excisable  products)  to  process  messages  issued  by  its  officials  or  by
traders. Each server is linked up to the CCN/CSI2 network by a CCN gateway. The officials’
work  stations  (in  the  Member  States)  are  connected  up  to  the  server  for  the  computerised
system by the internal AEM network. The various help centres and helpdesks are connected
up to the system’s server and/or the CCN gateway (not shown in the diagram).

Traders  (ECOP)  are  connected  up  to  their  respective  Member  States  by  a  front-end
communications channel (COM) which is duplicated so that, if one channel is down, the other
ensures  that  the  site  remains  available.  Most  traders  use  only  one  work  station  or  one
stand-alone PC but larger traders will have their own server and network.

The  European  Commission  departments  (the  Directorate-General  for  Taxation  and
Customs Union (TAXUD) and the European  Anti-Fraud Office  (OLAF))  are directly  linked
to a CCN gateway. The AFIS3 server is linked to the same gateway.

The applications centre (AC) is connected up to its own CCN gateway.

Each Member State is responsible for all the functions falling within its local domain.

2

3

Common Communications Network/Common Systems Interface.
Anti-Fraud Information System.

15

                                                
2.            Functions

To permit development and deployment to be staggered over the period, the system would be
broken down into three groups of functions, as follows:

–             Group I:      The  essential  reference  module  for  the  AAD  electronic  routing  system,
chiefly  comprising  the  basic  data  of  the  individual  specifications  in  the
Directive  and  the  details  of  the  mutual  obligations  on  data  exchange.
Access to the VIES4 system may be added to this group.

–             Group II:    The  AAD  electronic  routing  system  itself  and  all  the  data  required  for

drawing up a movement document.

–             Group III:   The  additional  modules  for  which  the  electronic  AAD  (Group  II)  is
the  pre-requisite  but  which  do  not  themselves  have  any  effect  on  the
AAD routing system.

The function modules which make up the different Groups are illustrated below in descending
hierarchical  order.  Dark  arrows  indicate  that  the  return  module  cannot  function  if  the
reference  module  is  not  operational.  Dotted  arrows  show  that  the  reference  modules  can  be
left out temporarily although it would be advisable to develop them. Modules shaded in grey
are those which the Member States and traders regard as priorities.

For easier reading, not all transmission links have been shown.

GROUP I

1 Management of
lists of reference

16 Registration of
duty rates

18 Reports

2 Registration of
MSA offices

3 Registration of
operators

4 Registration of
guarantees

5 Registration of
certificate

6 Submission of

AAD

10 Management of

criteria

9 Change of AAD

7 Receipt of AAD

13 Road controls

11 Risk assessment

GROUP II

8 Management of
duty claims

GROUP III

12 Management of

alerts

17 Statistics

14 Movement
Verification

15 Mutual

Assistance

4

VAT Information Exchange System.

16

                                                
The following paragraphs summarise the subsystems in each Group.

Group I:      Pre-requisite  functions  (development  period  –  two  and  half  years  from  start-up

of activities)

This group includes all the functions needed to activate the system as a whole, i.e:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

drawing up reference lists (lists of codes, lists of excise offices handling the system,
structure of the excisable products, thesaurus of terms;

management and consultation of listed traders;

management of and consultation on guarantees;

management of and consultation on excise rates;

consultation of VAT data;

related reports.

It  should  be  pointed  out  that,  where  possible,  some  of  the  reference  lists  such  as  the  list  of
codes and list of Member States’ offices will be shared with the New Computerised Transit
System (NCTS).

Group II:    Electronic  AAD  routing  system  (development  period  –  four  years  commencing

one year after start-up of activities)

This group comprises the functions needed for managing the electronic AAD, i.e:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

management of guarantee certificates;

submitting and registering the AAD;

updating and splitting the AAD whilst a movement is under way;

acceptance or rejection of the AAD;

link to the customs arrangements for exporting goods;

claims for losses;

consultation and recovery of movement data;

automatic reminders;

related reports.

17

Group III:   Downstream functions (development period – two years commencing three years

after start-up of activities)

This group includes:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

registration of reports on wayside checks;

risk evaluation;

management of warnings;

automatic reminders;

statistics;

movement verification and mutual assistance;

free text messages.

Applications

Apart from the application functions listed above, other aspects also have to be developed in
order to be able to:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

allocate user names;

change passwords;

check links;

consolidate statistics;

allow support personnel to consult data;

allow support personnel to make corrections and connect up equipment.

3.            Tasks

Work  will  be  shared  out  between  the  European  Commission  and  the  Member  States
as follows:

– 

– 

The  Commission  will  coordinate  all  work  done  by  the  partners,  as  also  the  joint
programme.  It  will  check  the  overall  systems  specification  and  supervise  the
development of the common applications.  It  will provide an applications  centre  for
the partners so that they can check operations and evaluate the various components.

Each Member State will set up a network of terminals, develop its own application
and open it up  to  traders.  Each  party  involved  will  do  that  part  of  the  work  on  the
common programme that relates to itself.

18

3.1          The European Commission

In view of European Union policy, the system for the movement and surveillance of excisable
products  should  be  computerised  in  three  stages,  as  in  the  classic  V-shaped  development
the  European  Commission’s
approach.  The  main  components 
responsibility are:

identified  as  being 

A  central  project  office,  which  will  also  coordinate  the  support  programme  and  supervise
deployment, will be responsible for:

– 

– 

– 

– 

the common specifications;

technical products;

the services of the CCN/CSI network;

the coordination services for all the Member States.

These Community components do not include any variant or special feature designed to meet
purely national needs.

It  should  be  noted  that  the  experience  of  the  Member  States  is  required  as  input  into  the
systems  specification.  The  Commission  will  therefore  request  the  participation  and
contributions of the Member States in establishing this specification.

The  Commission,  with  the  collaboration  of  the  Member  States,  will  also  regularly  evaluate
the various development stages of the system.

3.2          The Member States

Each  Member  State  must  develop  and  implement  its  own  application  of  the  system  whilst
complying with the operating and technical specifications supplied by the Commission.

Member States are free to select tools, the technical environment, equipment and the like to
suit  their  internal  requirements.  Each  Member  State  may  develop  its  application  on  an
existing  platform.  However,  the  resulting  system  must  comply  fully  with  the  specifications
jointly  agreed  by  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States.  In  particular,  the  intra-EU
interfaces must be strictly compatible in form and semantics with the systems developed by
other Member States.

To  help  Member  States  check  the  compatibility  of  their  applications  and  prepare  for
validation  (type-approval)  of  their  systems,  the  European  Commission  will  provide  the
Member States with validation tools.

The following components are the responsibility of the Member States:

– 

– 

– 

– 

drawing up of national specifications;

participation  in  the  drawing  up  of  the  common  operating  specifications  and
interfaces;

establishing a national project office;

quality management;

19

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

security and management policy;

developing Group I applications;

acceptance of Group I applications;

developing Group II applications;

acceptance of Group II applications;

developing Group III applications;

acceptance of Group III applications;

the information programme;

the training programme;

the support programme;

deployment.

The Commission will encourage any joint initiatives to develop products that are of interest to
some or all the Member States where one national administration acts as team leader.

20

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.

TITLE OF OPERATION

Computerisation  of  excise  operations.  Setting  up  of  a  European  system  to
computerise  the  movement  and  surveillance  of  excisable  products  (system  for
computerising the movement and surveillance of excisable products).

2.

BUDGET HEADING1

B5-306

3.

LEGAL BASIS

Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community

4.

4.1

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION

General objective

To  combat  fraud  by  implementing  the  main  recommendation  of  the  report  of  the
High  Level  Group  on  fraud  in  tobacco  and  alcohol  products  approved  by  the
Directors-General  for  Customs  and  Indirect  Taxation  on  24  April  1998  and  the
ECOFIN Council on 19 May 1998.

To  ensure  the  smooth  operation  of  the  internal  market  by  simplifying  the
intra-Community  movement  of  excisable  products  under  excise-duty  suspension
arrangements  and  making  such  movements  more  secure,  as  provided  for  in
Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products
subject  to  excise  duty  and  on  the  holding,  movement  and  monitoring  of
such products.

To  do  so,  the  accompanying  administrative  document,  the  paper  which  currently
accompanies  all  excisable  products  moving  between  the  Member  States  under  a
suspension arrangement, must  be replaced  by  an electronic  message  linking  traders
to each other via their respective national administrations.

Such a system would provide Member States with real-time  information  on current
movements  and  allow  them  to  carry  out  whatever  pre-movement,  wayside  and/or
post-clearance checks they deem necessary.

Traders  who  were  consulted  have  shown  great  interest  in  the  system  since,  on  the
whole,  they  recognise  that  doing  away  with  paper  –  as  this  system  would  –  would
simplify  formalities,  make  trade  more  secure  and  release  guarantees  more  quickly.
This  is  because  a  consignor  would  immediately  receive  notice  of  the  arrival  of  his

1

This  indication  concerns  only  the  implementation  of  the  system.  It  is  not  possible,  at  this  stage,  to
define the budget heading that will allow to finance the running of the system.

21

                                                
goods at their destination, a notice which would have the same effect as the current
copy  3  of  the  accompanying  administrative  document  whose  return  means  that  the
consignor’s  guarantee  is  released  and  he  is  also  discharged  of  all  further
responsibility.

Alcatel  TITN  Answare  carried  out  a  feasibility  study  in  1999  and  concluded  that
such a  system  was  technically  possible.  The  study  provided  all  the  details  required
for developing and deploying such a system. This study  was officially  approved by
the Commission departments on 17 March 2000.

4.2

Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension

Multiannual project, 2003-2008 2002-2006, i.e. six five full years from start-up.

5.

5.1

CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE OR REVENUE

Compulsory/non-compulsory expenditure

Non-compulsory expenditure

5.2

Differentiated/non-differentiated appropriations

Differentiated appropriations

5.3

Type of revenue involved

None

6.

TYPE OF EXPENDITURE

–

Subsidy  to  be  combined  with  funding  from  other  public  or  private
sector sources

The  Community  will  finance  that  part  of  the  system  which  links  the  national
administrations with each other. The Member States will finance the part which links
their respective administrations with their traders.

The operating expenditure to be borne by the Community will include mainly:

–

–

–

–

legal and procedural measures;

management  tasks  (organisation,  planning,  issuing  calls  for  tender,  selecting
consultants, monitoring contracts, budget and administrative matters);

quality control of the products developed and installed;

(particularly  with 

coordination 
the  Member  States  and  professional
associations  and between the various  development and deployment  contracts;
the  costs  for  this  item  will  include  meetings  and  missions  relating  to
coordination);

22

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

the equipment covered by the definition of the Community components of the
system set out in Article 3(1) of the draft decision;

the operating and technical  specifications for  the  system  (definition  of  all  the
features of the system in terms of operating and technical modules);

the precise definition and configuration of the interfaces;

the development of the common central system;

the  deployment  and  monitoring  of,  and  support  services  for,  the  common
system;

the definition of a common information policy;

the setting up of a common training programme;

operations to test the common system;

the contingency plan (backup for the system);

Should the operation prove an economic success, is there provision for all or part of
the Community contribution to be reimbursed?  No.

Will the proposed operation cause any change in the level of revenue? If so what sort
of change and what type of revenue is involved?  No.

7.

7.1

FINANCIAL INCIDENCE

Method of calculating total costs of operation (definition of unit costs)

The costs of meetings and missions relating to coordination tasks will be calculated
on the basis of the cost of travel and accommodation.

All other costs relating to activities described in the Table below will be calculated
on the basis of experience gained from similar projects.

The  tables  mentioned  below  at  points  7.2  and  7.3  concern  the  development  and
deployment  phases  of  the  system,  as  set  out  in  article  2,  1st  sub-paragraph  of  the
proposal for decision.

However, the proposal for decision also covers operating costs and use of the system,
after its implementation, which are provisionally estimated to be  4M €.

23

7.2

Breakdown by elements of the action in the development and deployment phase
( 6 5 years)

Breakdown
 Management1
Quality2
Coordination3
Équipment4
System specification 5
Interfaces6
Dévelopment7

Deployment, monitoring
and support 8
Information9
Training 10
Running the system 11

 Contingencies

 Total

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Total

0,45

0,4

0,3

1

0,5

0,2

0,15

0,75

0,75

0,6

1

1

0,5

0,5

0.85

0,5

1

1,05

0,9

1,05

0,9

0,75

0,7

0.3

0.5

0.5

0.5

0,7

1

0,5

0,7

0,4

0.4

0.5

1

0,8

1

1

0,7

0.3

0.1

1

0,8

1

1

0,5

1.75

10

0,5

1.75

8,8

3

6,45

6,75

4

4

3

1

3

2.5

3

3

4

3

1

3.5

35

1             Assistance  to  the  programme  management  by  the  Commission  mainly  in  the  areas  of  producing  and

maintaining of the management plan;

2             Activities  of  quality  assurance  of  the  programme,  of  quality  control  of  the  deliverables  and  services

commissioned by the Commission, and of quality audit of the contractors;

3             External assistance for the co-ordination activities performed by the Commission in the framework of
the  programme,  mainly  in  the  areas  of  the  follow  up  of  the  management  plan  implementation  by  the
Member States and of the related support, of the communication between all parties involved (Member
States and contractors) in the programme, including the support to the meetings, of the liaison with the
trader associations;

4             Information  Technology  infrastructure  required  by  the  programme  at  community  level  (hardware,
software  and  telecommunication  service)  during  its  first  5  first  years  (specification  –  development  –
deployment and running in phases).

5             Activities  of  drafting,  maintaining  and  supporting  the  functional  &  technical  specifications  of  the

system.

6             Activities of drafting, maintaining and supporting the detailed technical specifications of the interfaces

between the national and community systems;

7             Activity  of  producing  and  maintaining  the  IT  applications  required  at  community  level  for  the  good
functioning  of  the  system:  common  databases,  reference  databases,  test  applications,  monitoring
applications, common utilities.

8             Service  activity  required  for  the  deployment  of  the  system,  including  amongst  others  the  technical
conformance tests of the national systems, the monitoring of the system running in, the assistance to the
Member States during the deployment period.

9             Activity of information of the Member States and of the traders.
10           Activity  of  training  of  the  Member  States’  teams,  about  the  specifications,  products  and  services

delivered by the Commission.

11           Activity to deliver the community operational services, including the  follow  up  of  the  operations,  the
processing of statistics, the availability of the common reference database, the assistance to the Member
States in operation.

24

                                                
Breakdown
 Management1
Quality2
Coordination3
Équipment4
System specification 5
Interfaces6
Dévelopment7

Deployment,
monitoring and
support 8
Information9
Training 10
Running the system 11

 Contingencies

 Total

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Total

million EUR (current prices)

0,4

0,4

0,3

1

0,5

0,2

0,2

0,6

0,6

0,4

0,2

0,91

1

0,5

0,3

0.6

0,4

0,61

0,6

0,6

0,1

0,5

0.5

0.9

0,4

0,7

0,5

3

5,5

5,4

1

1

0,6

0,3

0,4

0.4

0,8

0,5

1

0,8

1.5

8,3

0,8

0,8

0,6

0,3

0,1

0,1

0,5

0,8

1

0,8

1.

7,3

0,6

0,6

0,5

0,1

0,1

0,3

0,8

0,5

0,5

0,5

1

5,5

4

4

3

1

3

2.5

3

3

4

3

1

3.5

35

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 
10 

11 

Assistance  to  the  programme  management  by  the  Commission  mainly  in  the  areas  of  producing  and
maintaining of the management plan;
Activities  of  quality  assurance  of  the  programme,  of  quality  control  of  the  deliverables  and  services
commissioned by the Commission, and of quality audit of the contractors;
External assistance for the co-ordination activities performed by the Commission in the framework of
the  programme,  mainly  in  the  areas  of  the  follow  up  of  the  management  plan  implementation  by  the
Member States and of the related support, of the communication between all parties involved (Member
States and contractors) in the programme, including the support to the meetings, of the liaison with the
trader associations;
Information  Technology  infrastructure  required  by  the  programme  at  community  level  (hardware,
software  and  telecommunication  service)  during  its  first  6  first  years  (specification  –  development  –
deployment and running in phases).
Activities  of  drafting,  maintaining  and  supporting  the  functional  &  technical  specifications  of  the
system.
Activities of drafting, maintaining and supporting the detailed technical specifications of the interfaces
between the national and community systems;
Activity  of  producing  and  maintaining  the  IT  applications  required  at  community  level  for  the  good
functioning  of  the  system:  common  databases,  reference  databases,  test  applications,  monitoring
applications, common utilities.
Service  activity  required  for  the  deployment  of  the  system,  including  amongst  others  the  technical
conformance tests of the national systems, the monitoring of the system running in, the assistance to the
Member States during the deployment period.
Activity of information of the Member States and of the traders.
Activity  of  training  of  the  Member  States’  teams,  about  the  specifications,  products  and  services
delivered by the Commission.
Activity to deliver the community operational services, including the  follow  up  of  the  operations,  the
processing of statistics, the availability of the common reference database, the assistance to the Member
States in operation.

25

                                                
7.3

Indicative table of the commitments and payments during the development and
deployment phase.

EC in Millions of EUR (current prices)

Commitments

Payments

3

1

6,45

6,75

4

7

10

8

8,8

9

6

35

35

Breakdown

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Totale

Commitments

Payments

3

1

5,5

3,8

5,4

5,5

8,3

6,4

7,3

8

5,5

6,7

3,6

35

35

8.

FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES

The  Commission  will  pay  travel  expenses  and  costs  relating  to  the  holding  of
Community-level  information  and  consultation  seminars  directly  to  Member  State
officials, officials of other countries (particularly those from applicant countries) and
representatives  of  external  bodies.  Anti-fraud  clauses  will  be  added  to  all  contracts
concerned.

The Commission will check all subsidies paid, all services  provided  and  all studies
delivered  before  making  any  payments  and  will  do  so  in  the  light  of  contractual
requirements  and  the  principles  of  thrift  and  good  financial  and/or  general
management.  Fraud  prevention  provisions  (e.g.  checks,  requirements  to  deliver
reports)  will  be  included  in  all  agreements  and  contracts  between  the  Commission
and those receiving payments.

9.

9.1

ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS

Specific and quantified objectives, target population

–  Specific objectives

intra-Community 

With a view to achieving the general objective of preventing  fraud  and simplifying
the 
for  moving  goods  under  excise-suspension
arrangements, the computerising of the movement and surveillance of such products
has its own specific objectives:

system 

26

First,  the  purpose  of  the  system  is  so  to  link  traders  with  each  other  and  via  their
respective Member State administrations as to permit automatic checking of the data
on an authorised warehouse keeper and his consignee before any excisable goods are
consigned  under  the  excise-suspension  arrangements.  The  system  will  discharge
movements  by  the  same  route  and  automatically  track  losses  from  or  shortfalls  in
consignments.  Each  Member  State’s  SEED12  database  (containing  the  registration
details  for  authorised  warehousekeepers,  registered  operators  and  warehouses)  will
be  stored  in  the  computerised  system  so  that  it  will  no  longer  be  necessary  to
exchange data between Member States by diskette as at present.

Secondly, computerisation would make it possible to establish a surveillance system
that enables Member States’ administrations to exchange information on movements.
This could be used:

–

–

–

–

–

to  store  all  data  on  a  given  movement  that  are  required  for  surveillance
purposes;

as an early warning system;

to allow checks, including wayside checks, to be carried out or planned in real
time;

to  carry  out  automatic  risk  analyses  based  on  risk  indicators  agreed  at
Community and national level;

for exchanging data between Member States.

– 

Target population:

Officials  of  the  competent  administrations  of  the  Member  States  and  applicant
countries, members of professional circles involved in excise products, consumers.

9.2

Grounds for the operation

– 

Need  for  a  Community  budget  allocation,  particularly  in  the  light  of  the
principle of subsidiarity

A contribution from the Community budget will be needed since the Member States
will not be able,  on  their own,  to  establish the kind of data system  involved  which
must  be  capable  of  fully  harmonised,  consistent  and  simultaneous  operation  in  all
Member  States.  To  guarantee  full  compliance  with  this  essential  condition,  the
Community must therefore finance all that part of the project which involves setting
up the data link between the Member States themselves.

The  system  could  also  use  the  Common  Communications  Network/Common
Systems Interface (CCN/CSI) whose purpose is to provide a common platform which
allows  voluminous  amounts  of  data  to  be  transferred  quickly  and  economically
between the Member States’ customs and tax administrations and between Member
States  and  the  Commission  whilst  guaranteeing  maximum  security.  Using  this
system would reduce costs and prevent delays in putting into operation new systems

12 

System for the Exchange of Excise Data.

27

                                                
such  as  the  one  for  computerising  the  movement  and  surveillance  of  excisable
products. It should be noted that the CCN/CSI platform is itself financed under the
Customs 2002 and Fiscalis programmes.

–  Ways and means to be used

analysis  of  any  similar  projects  carried  out  at  Community  or  national

*
level

A similar project is currently under way to computerise external Community transit
(NCTS/NSTI).13 This project aims to computerise the transmission of customs transit
documents between Community customs offices. The Community is funding the data
link  established  between  the  Member  States  whilst  the  latter  are  funding  their
national  applications.  It  should  also  be  pointed  out  that  some  basic  tools  would  be
shared  by  the  NCTS/NSTI  and  the  computerised  system  for  the  movement  and
surveillance  of  excisable  products.  With  a  little  adaptation,  it  would  be  possible  to
use  the  list  of  customs  offices,  the  thesaurus  of  terms  and  the  list  of  codes,  which
would mean a substantial saving.

*

spin-off and multiplier effects expected

The  computerised  excise  system  would  help  stem  a  large  proportion  of  the  fraud
committed under the present system based on the paper version of the accompanying
administrative document. It would do so by eliminating the kinds of fraud in which
forged  seals  are  used  or  consignments  are  re-routed  to  a  trader  other  than  the  one
entered  on  the  document -  and  often  established  in  the  same  Member  State  as  the
consigning trader.

It  would  also  considerably  simplify  the  formalities  to  be  completed  by  traders  by
ensuring  the  rapid  and  risk-free  release  of  their  guarantees  because  the  message
giving  notice  of  the  arrival  of  their  goods  at  destination  would  be  transmitted
electronically.

–  Main uncertainties which could affect the specific outcomes of the project

The main uncertainty factor is the human and financial resources the Member States
must  marshal  to  carry  out  that  share  of  the  development  and  deployment  of  the
project  which  falls  to  them.  However,  the  specific  purpose  of  the  proposal  for  a
Council Decision to which this financial statement is to be attached is to require the
Member States to give a formal undertaking in this regard.

The second factor is the purely technical aspect. To provide the expected advantages,
the system must be fully available round the  clock  and 365 days  a  year  and, in the
event of breakdown, recovery time must be very short if trade is not to be hindered.
The  Member  States  therefore  have  to  make  every  effort  to  comply  with  this
requirement in respect of the part of the project for which they are responsible. The
feasibility  study  carried  out  in  1999  gives  the  specifications  with  which  Member
States must comply.

13 

New Computerised Transit System/Nouveau Système de Transit Informatisé.

28

                                                
9.3

Monitoring and evaluation of the operation

–  Monitoring indicators

*

for measuring completed activities:

(a) number of contracts concluded with computer companies with a
view to developing and deploying the system;

(b) number of meetings held with the Member States and applicant
countries;

(c) number  of 
particularly with European traders’ federations;

information  and  consultation  seminars  held,

(d) number  of  leaflets,  manuals  and  other  tools  created  to  help
implement the information and training policy;

(e)

number of documents translated.

*

development and deployment objectives to be achieved:

(a)

Group I activities: pre-requisites:

–

–

–

–

reference lists drawn up;

list of listed traders updated and incorporated;

methods  for  the  management  and  consultation  of  guarantees
established;

methods  for  the  management  and  consultation  of  excise  duty
rates established.

(b) Group II activities: AAD electronic routing system:

–

–

–

–

–

operating system  specification: description of  how  the  system
is to operate in terms of function and interface modules;

technical  system  specification:  description  of  how  the  system
is to operate in terms of technical modules and their interfaces;

development of technical  acceptance  scenarios:  description  of
the configuration of the data bases, related day-to-day handling
and the expected results;

development  of  validation  tools:  software  which  will  allow
validation of all interfaces created on the basis of the technical
systems specification;

technical  acceptance  of  the  system:  using  validation  tools  to
validate  the  operational  acceptance  of  the  application  in  the
Member States;

29

–

–

operational  acceptance  of  the  system:  using  the  application
modules  validated  earlier  and  the  acceptance  scenarios  to
validate the results of the technical acceptance of the system;

adoption  of  a  new  legal  text  applying  the  details  of  the  data
circuit and the content of the messages to be exchanged.

(c)

Group III activities: downstream functions:

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

design “wayside checks” function;

design application for automatic risk evaluation;

design “warnings management” function;

design “automatic reminder” function;

design “statistics” function;

design  “movement  verification  and  mutual  assistance”
function;

design “free-text messages” function.

–  Details and frequency of planned evaluations

The computerisation project will be monitored constantly – by the Excise Committee
as  regards  the  legal  aspects,  by  the  Computerisation  Subcommittee  as  regards  the
technical aspects and by the SCAC as regards the budget side.

Upon completion of the Group I activities described in the Annex to the proposal for
a  Decision  to  which  this  Financial  Statement  is  attached  and  in  the  previous
paragraph,  i.e.  two  and  a  half  years  after  start-up  of  development  work,  there  will
also  be  an  interim  report  on  the  monitoring  of  the  development  and  deployment
activities. If possible, this report should already include the kind of information that
would be helpful in determining the methods and criteria to be used in evaluating the
functioning of the system itself.

As  required  by  Article  8(2)  of  the  proposal  for  a  Decision  to  which  this
Financial Statement  is  attached,  the  final  evaluation  report  will  be  presented  to
Parliament and the Council once work on developing and deploying the system has
been  completed. This report must include the method  to be  used  for  evaluating  the
functioning of the system.

10.

ADMINISTRATIVE  EXPENDITURE  (SECTION  III  PART  A  OF  THE
GENERAL BUDGET)

10.1

Human resources

The necessary administrative resources will actually be mobilised in the light of the
Commission’s annual decision on allocating resources and, in particular, in the light
of any additional staff and funds granted by the budget authority.

30

10.2

Incidence on the number of posts

(a) during the start-up stage:  2003 2002

Types of posts

Staff to be allocated to managing
the project with staff already in
the DG or additional staff

Permanent
posts

Temporary
posts

Officials or
temporary agents

A

B

C

Other staff (seconded
experts)

Total

6

6

(b) during the operational stage:  2004-2008 2003 - 2006

Types of posts

Staff to be allocated to managing
the project with staff already in
the DG or additional staff

Permanent
posts

Temporary
posts

Officials or
temporary agents

A

B

C

Other staff (seconded
experts)

Total

3

3

6

6

31

Description of posts required for the operational stage

Title

Job description

Head of project

Grade A. Will have responsibility for managing the work of
the team and in particular for coordinating organisation,
planning, contractual and budget matters, the technical
verification of applications and all support activities. Must
be familiar with internal Commission procedures,
particularly those for tenders and the budget. Must be a
computer scientist.

Deputy Head of project

Grade A. Must be able to deputise for the Head of Project.
As above.

Excise expert

Technical expert

Technical expert

Technical expert

Technical expert

Technical expert

Secretary

Grade A. Will have responsibility for coordinating all
matters relating to excise duties that arise in connection with
the setting up and development of the computerised system,
and particularly for all legal matters relating to its
development and deployment. Must be an Excise specialist.

Grade B. Will be involved in the functional analysis tasks
and will assist the national administrations with their
practical application of the system.

Grade B. Will be involved in defining interfaces and will
assist the administrations with their national applications
thereof.

Grade B. Will assist in the development of the common
technical products.

Grade B. Will have responsibility for coordination with
national administrations.

Grade B. Will have responsibility for coordination with
national administrations.

Grade C. Will organise meetings with national
administrations and prepare the requisite documents.

32

10.3

Overall financial incidence of the additional staff

(a) during the start-up stage: 2003 2002

Amount

Method of calculation

(EUR)

A

B

C

Other staff (seconded
national experts; give
budget heading)

251 568

 3.494  (h/month)  x  12  months  =  41.928  x  6  seconded  national
experts = 251.568

Total

251 568

These amounts reflect the total costs of the extra posts for 2003 2002.

(b) during the operational stage:  2004 – 2008 2003 – 2006

Amount

Method of calculation

(EUR)

1 296 000

3 x 108 000 x 4 yrs

Officials

A

B

C

Other staff (seconded
national experts; give
budget heading)

1 006 272

 251 568 x 4 yrs

Total

2 302 272

These amounts reflect the total costs of the extra posts for the period 2004 – 2008 2003-2006.

33

10.4

Increase  in  any  other  operating  expenditure  arising  out  of  the  project,  in
particular costs of committee and expert group meetings

Amount

Method of calculation

(EUR)

312 750

6 meetings x 5 days x 15 persons x 695 euro

278 000

10 meetings x 1 day x 40 persons x 695 euro

Budget heading
(No and wording)

Meetings in general

A - 7030

(cid:1)  Specifications  working

party

(cid:1)  Contact Group

Committee meetings

A - 7031

(cid:1)  Excise Committee

450 360

12 meetings x 2 days x 27 persons x 695 euro

(cid:1)  SCAC

(cid:1)  SCIT

187 650

10 meetings x 1 day x 27 persons x 695 euro

1 013 310

54 meetings x 1 day x 27 people x 695 euro

Total

2 242 070

These amounts represent the total expenditure on the project for the period 2003 – 2008 2002-
2006.

34