WRITTEN QUESTION E-0900/03 by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission. Internal market restrictions.
Date: 2003-03-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, market access, market approval, single market, technical barriers to trade

C 88 E/336

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

that sellers based abroad owe German turnover tax because they deliver to German customers. This is also
the case when the goods are not transported directly to the German buyer, but placed in a warehouse by
the haulage company contracted by the seller for the purpose of checking that the order is complete and
in perfect condition. Only once the buyer has paid for the goods and they have been checked does the
non-German seller release them from storage, i.e. the buyer collects them or has them collected. The
German tax authorities work from the principle that, in spite of there already being a definite buyer, these
goods are first transported to Germany for the seller’s own purposes. This greatly obstructs intra-
Community trade with Germany.

1.

How does the Commission view the German tax authorities’ interpretation of the law?

2. What measures will the Commission take if
authorities violates Community legislation on turnover taxes?

it

judges that

the behaviour of the German tax

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(7 May 2003)

The Honourable Member’s question concerns the place where goods are deemed to be supplied when
sellers established outside Germany sell to customers resident in Germany if the goods are first placed in
the haulage company’s warehouse where the buyer comes to collect them.

The answer depends on the circumstances specific to each transaction and the actual terms of the contracts
between the sellers subject to VAT and their customers. In particular, the issue is whether the goods were
transported as part of the supply or with a view to a possible supply.

The Commission is already aware of the matter raised by the Honourable Member and intends to contact
the German authorities to clarify details of the practice.

(2004/C 88 E/0343)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0900/03

by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission

(21 March 2003)

Subject: Internal market restrictions

1.
Is the Commission aware that Italy appears to be using technical administrative procedures as a
protectionist device to squeeze out trade from companies from other Member States? In particular,
SKOPOS Design Ltd of Dewsbury in Yorkshire obtained, over a year ago, the ‘certificato di classificazione
di reazonaone al fuoco’ necessary to sell its products in Italy, but is still waiting for the ‘homologation’
from the Ministero dell’Interno. I personally wrote to this Ministry on 20 November 2002 and as yet have
had no response.
the Italian Permanent
Representation to the European Union in Brussels about this matter and have had no satisfactory response
either.

I have subsequently written twice to the Ambassador of

8.4.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Does the Commission agree that Italy has failed to respect the rules of the internal market and the

2.
obligation of loyal cooperation laid down in Art.10 of the Treaty?

3. What action will the Commission take to rectify this situation?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 April 2003)

The Commission is aware that authorisation procedures existing for a certain number of products in all the
Member States risk to create problems to free movement of goods, often due to the time required by
national administrations to carry the procedure out even when these procedures are lightened as much as
possible.

The excessive delay for obtaining an answer to the request of authorisation in the case referred by the
Honourable Member is certainly regrettable, as it is regrettable the silence of the Italian authorities to
whom the Honourable Member requested clarifications twice. Therefore, the case will be registered as a
complaint.

In order to reinforce the administrative co-operation and directly involve Member States in handling
difficulties that their citizens and enterprises face for entering other domestic markets, a co-operation
network has been created to deal with administrative problems having a cross-border impact. This network
is called Solvit.

A short presentation of the mission of Solvit and some tips to contact the network are available at the
following address: (http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/solvit/index_en.htm).

The Commission considers that Solvit can efficiently deal with the problem the Honourable Member brings
to the attention of the Commission. Accordingly, the file will be transmitted to the Solvit network, that
will try to solve the problem within ten weeks.

The Commission will closely follow the development of the case.

(2004/C 88 E/0344)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0921/03

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: East Timor (cid:1) 1999 massacres; trial of those responsible; Indonesia; human rights

On 12 March an Indonesian brigadier-general was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a special court
in Jakarta on charges of crimes against humanity, because he did prevent the massacres committed in East
Timor in 1999. At the time General Noer Muis held the rank of colonel and was the military commander
of East Timor.

The judicial process of
finding out who was responsible for the acts of oppression and genocide
perpetrated, encouraged or tolerated by the Indonesian forces is being called a ‘sham’ by international
human rights groups, because the accused do not include senior military commanders such as General
Wiranto, who was Commander of the Armed forces and Minister of Defence.

On 19 December 2002 the written question (E-3865/02 (1)) to the Council tabled by Jules Maaten and
Lousewies van der Laan asked ‘does the Council recognise that the trials on East Timor show, as the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights states, that Indonesia has not taken responsibility for
crimes against humanity in East Timor?’ The answer to the question is not yet known.