Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95
Date: 2007-10-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, customs regulations, exchange of information, foreign trade, trade statistics, trading operation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.10.2007 
COM(2007) 653 final 

2007/0233 (COD) 

Proposal for a  

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries and 
repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

1.1. 

Grounds for and objectives of the proposal 

The  purpose  of  this  proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council is to revise the current statistical system of trade in goods with non-member 
countries (Extrastat) in order to: 

– 

– 

– 

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make the legislation clearer, simpler and more transparent; 

adjust  the  system  of  extra-Community  trade  statistics  to  the  changes  to  be 
introduced  in  the  procedures  regarding  the  customs  declaration  through  the 
introduction  of  Single  Authorisations  for  use  of  the  simplified  declaration  or 
the local clearance procedure1as well as through centralised clearance under the 
modernised Community Customs Code (to replace Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992); 

reduce the 'Rotterdam effect' resulting (a) in an over-representation in external 
trade  statistics  of  Member  States  having  a  high  level  of  customs  clearance  or 
export  but  playing  only  the  role  of  transit  countries  to  the  detriment  of  the 
Member  States  of  actual  destination  or  dispatch  of  the  goods  and  (b)  in  a 
double reporting of the same goods in Extrastat as non Community goods and 
then  in  Intrastat  as  Community  goods  coming  from  another  MS,  with  a 
comparable situation at export; 

increase the relevance, accuracy, timeliness and comparability of external trade 
statistics, and establish a system for quality assessment; 

support the linking of trade statistics with business statistics; 

respond to user needs by compiling additional trade statistics using information 
available in customs declarations; 

control,  in  line  with  the  European  Statistics  Code  of  Practice,  the  privileged 
access to sensitive external trade data. 

1.2. 

General context 

External  trade  statistics  (Extrastat)  record  Member  States'  imports  and  exports  of 
goods  with  non-member  countries.  This  information  is  of  essential  importance  for 
European  economic  and  trade  policies  and  for  analysing  market  developments  for 
individual  commodities.  The  statistics  contain  monthly  records  on  imports  and 
exports  expressed  in  value  and  quantity,  broken  down  by  reporting  Member  State 

1 

Article 1(13) of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code), as to 
be amended with effect on 1 January 2008 (Working Document TAXUD/1409/2006 Rev. 7) 

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and by partner country, by commodity according to the Combined Nomenclature, by 
mode of transport and by tariff treatment (in the case of imports). 

Apart  from  certain  specific  movements,  Extrastat  is  based  on  data  collected  from 
customs  declarations.  Using  the  customs  declaration  as  a  source  of  statistical 
information  means  that  no  direct  statistical  reporting  burden  is  imposed  on  traders. 
As the information is of good quality, the continued use of customs declarations for 
the production of statistics on external trade is highly desirable. 

While  such  statistics  aim  at  giving  a  picture  of  the  external  trade  flows  of  the 
Community taken as a whole, they should also allow a breakdown of these flows by 
Member State. 

(1) 

However,  the  development  of  new  methods  for  the  customs  clearance  of 
goods  throughout  the  Community  (Single  Authorisations  for  use  of 
Simplified Procedures, Centralised Customs Clearance) makes it necessary to 
adjust the compilation of external trade statistics and, in this context, also to 
adjust the list of statistical data to be extracted from the customs declaration. 

Single  Authorisation  for  use  of  the  simplified  declaration  or  the  local 
clearance  procedure  in  the  context  of  release  for  free  circulation,  to  be 
introduced in 2008, as well as 'Centralised Customs Clearance', which will be 
introduced by the modernized Customs Code, will allow a person to lodge a 
customs declaration at the place where he is established for goods which are 
presented  at  another  place.  Under  these  procedures,  the  lodging  of  the 
customs declaration may therefore be dissociated both from the place of entry 
or exit and examination of the goods and from the place of final destination of 
imported goods or the place of actual dispatch of goods to be exported. As a 
result, customs data required for statistics may not be available in the Member 
State of final destination for imports or the Member State of actual dispatch 
for  exports,  but  only  in  the  Member  State  where  the  declaration  is  lodged. 
This  is  the  reason  why  it  is  necessary  to  reconsider  the  concept  of  the 
'importing'  or  'exporting'  Member  State  from  a  statistical  point  of  view,  to 
define  more  precisely  the  customs  data  source  for  compiling  Community 
statistics  and  the  data  to  be  reported,  and  to  ensure  information  exchange 
between  national  administrations  of  the  different  Member  States  involved. 

Adjusting  the  definition  of  the  importing  and  exporting  Member  State  will 
also  reduce  the  'Rotterdam  effect',  which  appears  when  goods,  either  before 
leaving the EU or after entry into the EU, move between Member States, but 
customs  formalities  are  carried  out  in  the  Member  State  of  entry  in  or  exit 
from  the  EU.  As  a  result,  for  imports,  the  trade  flows  are  reported  once  as 
non-Community  goods  in  the  Extrastat  system  and  a  second  time  as 
Community  goods  within  the  Intrastat  system  (i.e.  statistics  relating  to  the 
trading  of  goods  between  Members  States).  For  exports,  the  statistics  imply 
that export is from the Member State of exit, rather than that where the actual 
exporter is established. This makes the interpretation of Community Statistics 
complicated. 

(2) 

Improvements in accuracy and timeliness are feasible; they will make the use 
of external trade statistics more efficient, as electronic data exchange between 

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Customs  administrations  (national  and  EU-wide),  and  between 
trade 
operators and Customs administrations will become more and more standard 
(under  the  e-customs  initiative).  The  proposal  calls  for  import  and  export 
figures to be continuously updated, taking into account the most recent data 
available,  including  changes  made  at  Customs  after  the  declaration  was 
accepted.  The  prescribed  time  for  transmitting  data  to  Eurostat  will  be 
shortened  to  40  days  after  the  reference  month,  with  the  possibility  in  the 
implementing provisions of shortening it even further in the future. 

(3) 

The  Commission  (Eurostat)  received  additional  user  requests  which  have 
been taken into account in the draft legal framework. 

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The  ECB  and  DG  ECFIN  need  information  for  monitoring  the 
share of the Euro in international merchandise trade. Therefore, the 
invoicing  currency  for  exports  and  imports  will  be  reported  at  an 
aggregated level. 

DG  TRADE  and  DG  AGRI  need  more  reliable  data  on  the  tariff 
treatment of goods imported into the EU, including information on 
quotas. 

External  trade  statistics  provide  data  for  the  Balance  of  Payments 
and  National  Accounts.  The  characteristics  which  enable  external 
trade statistics to be adapted for Balance of Payments purposes will 
be included in the mandatory and standard data set. 

In  order  to  allocate  EU  exports  and  imports  to  Member  States 
under  'Centralised  Customs  Clearance',  user  need  data  on  the 
'Member  State  of  final  destination',  for  imports,  and  the  'Member 
State of actual export', for exports. 

–  Within  the  new  Extrastat  framework,  Member  States'  trade  data 
will  be  broken  down  by  business  characteristics  such  that  it  is 
possible  to  see,  for  instance,  how  European  companies  are 
operating in the context of globalisation. The link between business 
and trade statistics can be established by using information on the 
importer and exporter available in the customs declaration. 

1.3. 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 of 22 May 1995, on the statistics relating to the 
trading  of  goods  by  the  Community  and  its  Member  States  with  non-member 
countries,  and  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1917/2000  of  7  September  2000 
laying  down  certain  provisions  for  the  implementation  of  Council  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1172/95 as regards statistics on external trade. The proposal and its implementing 
provisions will replace these Regulations. 

1.4. 

Consistency with other EU policies and objectives  

Consistent with common trade, customs and macroeconomic policy. 

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2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

2.1. 

Consultation of interested parties 

Since autumn 2004, regular discussions on the draft Extrastat Regulation have taken 
place  in  a  project  group  comprising  experts  from  Member  States,  and  within  the 
Extrastat Committee. 

An  Inter-Service  Coordination  Group  was  established  (participating  DGs:  ESTAT, 
AGRI, ENTR, FISH, TAXUD, TRADE, TREN) to comment on the proposal at the 
various drafting stages. 

Several discussions have taken place with the ECB on the invoicing currency. 

2.2. 

Collection and use of expertise 

There has been no need for external expertise. 

2.3. 

Analysis of effects and consequences 

A number of options for external trade statistics have been identified. 

Option A: Maintain the status quo and do not change the existing legislation. 

Option  B:  Wait  with  any  new  Extrastat  legislation  until  the  modernised  Customs 
Code is implemented, until the filling in of additional data on the customs declaration 
is  made  mandatory,  and  until  electronic  data  exchange  between  Member  States' 
national administrations is in place. 

Option  C:  Implement  in  2009  a  new  Extrastat  system  incorporating  interim 
provisions valid until the customs provisions are adapted. 

Option C, for a new EP/Council regulation on Community external trade statistics in 
2009, is the preferred option for the following reasons: 

– 

'Single  Authorisation'  for  use  of  the  simplified  declaration  or  the  local 
clearance  procedure  still  has  a  pilot  character  and  is  based  on  bilateral 
agreements  between  Member  States.  However,  the  Commission  (TAXUD) 
encourages  the  use  of  these  simplified  procedures  and  is  developing  standard 
procedures  and  proposing  changes  in  the  customs  implementing  provisions 
foreseen  for  January  2008.  The  use,  under  Single  Authorisation,  of  the 
simplified  declaration  or  the  local  clearance  procedure  for  release  for  free 
circulation  will,  together  with  'centralised  clearance'  under  the  Modernised 
Customs  Code,  dissociate  the  place  where  the  customs  declaration  is  lodged 
from  the  physical  location  of  the  goods.  The  use  of  these  procedures  is 
intended to apply across the Community, which may lead to structural changes 
in  the  clearance  procedures  with  significant  simplification  effects  for 
Community exporters and importers. 

– 

As  regards  the  compilation  of  external  trade  statistics,  the  current  provisions 
are  ambiguous,  and  some  Member  States  have  started  to  collect  data  directly 
from trade operators in cases where the goods are located on their territory for 

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– 

import or export, but the customs declaration is made in another Member State. 
This  increases  the  statistical  reporting  burden  and  reduces  the  quality  of 
Community  statistics. 
'Centralised  Customs  Clearance'  procedures  are 
intended, in the coming years, to increase the volume in trade declared at the 
place  where  the  importer/exporter  is  established,  rather  than  at  the  place  of 
physical  import  or  export  of  the  goods.  There  is  obvious  benefit  for  the 
compilation  of  external  trade  statistics  in  this  centralization,  as  the  actual 
importer/exporter and actual Member State of import and export of the goods 
can  more  easily  be  identified.  This  could  be  offset,  however,  if  the  current 
provisions  and  practices  for  compilation  continue;  compilation  could,  in  fact, 
become  more  and  more  incoherent,  burdensome  and  inaccurate.  New 
arrangements  are  essential  and 
the  proposal  specifies  which  customs 
declaration in which Member State shall be used, and does not foresee a direct 
data  collection  from  exporters  or  importers.  The  trend  that  Member  States 
apply  different  practices,  use  different  data  sources  and  include/exclude  trade 
transactions  according  to  their  individual  judgement  or  capacity,  should  be 
reversed in time. 

In  order  to  meet  the  objectives  of  this  new  Regulation,  a  change  to  the 
implementing  provisions  of  the  Community  Customs  Code  will  be  prepared 
and submitted to the Customs Code Committee in such a way that data on the 
Member  State  of  final  destination  and  the  Member  State  of  actual  export  are 
made  mandatory  to  be  collected  at  the  Customs.  Currently  the  information  is 
only partially available, and it is up to each Member State to request the data. 
In  addition,  data  exchange  between  Member  States  should  be  taken  into 
account when Customs are designing the automated import and export system 
(AIS  &  AES).  This  will  allow  Member  States  to  exchange  their  import  and 
export figures according to the concept of Member State of final destination / 
actual  export.  The  proposal  introduces  specific  provisions  for  the  trade 
statistics  to  be  adapted  gradually  until  the  required  data  are  available  in  all 
Member  States.  This  approach  reduces  dependence  on  the  timetable  for 
changing customs provisions, but at the same time encourages Member States 
to adapt to the new requirements faster. In particular, the progressive collection 
of data pertaining to the Member State of final destination and of actual export 
will make it easier to investigate the widening gap between the Member States 
where  the  customs  declaration  is  made  and  the  intended  importing  and 
exporting  Member  States.  Trade  figures  will  be  disseminated  by  Eurostat 
according  to  the  Member  State  where  the  customs  declaration  is  lodged,  but 
users  can  already  be  given  partial  information  on  the  Member  State  of 
destination or actual export. 

– 

A  delay  in  implementing  the  legislation  would  have  negative  effects  on  all 
other aspects of the proposal, such as timeliness and new user requirements. 

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3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

3.1. 

Summary of the proposed action 

This  proposal  provides  the  legal  framework  for  improving  the  quality  and 
transparency of Extrastat; it reacts to the changing administrative environment, and 
will satisfy new user requirements. 

3.2. 

Legal basis 

Article  285  of  the  Treaty  provides  the  legal  basis  for  Community  statistics.  The 
Council, acting under the co-decision procedure, adopts measures for the production 
of  statistics  needed  for  the  performance  of  the  Community's  activities.  This  article 
sets  out  requirements  relating  to  the  production  of  Community  statistics  and  to  the 
requisite  standards  of  impartiality,  reliability,  objectivity,  scientific  independence, 
cost-effectiveness and statistical confidentiality. 

3.3. 

Subsidiarity principle 

The  subsidiarity  principle  applies  insofar  as  the  proposal  does  not  fall  within  the 
exclusive competence of the Community. 

The objective of the proposed action, namely the production of Community statistics 
on  external  trade,  cannot  be  sufficiently  achieved  by  the  Member  States  and  can 
therefore be better achieved at Community level on the basis of a Community legal 
act,  because  only  the  Commission  can  coordinate  the  necessary  harmonisation  of 
statistical  information  at  Community  level,  while  the  collection  of  data  and 
compilation of comparable external trade statistics can be organised by the Member 
States.  Consequently,  the  Community  may  adopt  measures  in  accordance  with  the 
principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. 

3.4. 

Proportionality principle 

The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons. 

This Regulation confines itself to the minimum required to achieve this objective and 
does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  for  that  purpose.  The  proposal  specifies  the 
Community's  data  requirements  on  trade  in  goods  with  non-member  countries, 
thereby referring as far as possible to information which is declared by importers and 
exporters  for  customs  purposes  (i.e.  external  trade  statistics  are  based  on 
administrative  sources).  However,  for  well  justified  reasons,  a  few  additional  data 
elements  requested  on  the  customs  declaration  have  to  be  collected  for  statistical 
purposes. 

To accommodate new user requirements and to keep accurate statistics, the proposal 
adds  new  data  elements  for  compiling  external  trade  statistics.  Some  of  the  data 
(identification  of  the  importer  and  exporter,  country  of  consignment)  are  requested 
on the customs declaration and should in the future be used for statistics. This will 
not involve any additional reporting burden for companies; national administrations 
will just have to adapt slightly their data transmission and processing systems. 

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The proposal also asks for the quota ID number for import transactions. Although the 
information is held by the national Customs administration, compilation for statistics 
purposes is more complex, because the information is often not directly taken from 
the customs declaration and may be available only belatedly, after the Commission 
services have granted the quota. 

However, the Member State of final destination/actual export is not yet requested in 
all Member States on the customs declaration, and this element will lead in the short 
term  to  an  additional  reporting  burden  for  trade  operators.  Nevertheless,  the 
information  is  deemed  essential  in  order  to  cope  with  'Centralised  Customs 
Clearance'. The overall statistical reporting obligation will be reduced in the medium 
term,  because  the  intention  is  to  cease  requesting  Intrastat  declarations  on  intra-
Community  movements  before  or  after  customs  release  if  the  information  is  in  the 
customs  data.  By  providing  a  two-digit  alphanumeric  country  code  on  the  customs 
declaration, two complete Intrastat declarations (one on dispatch and one on arrival) 
can be avoided. 

Furthermore, data on 'invoicing currency' (for exports) and 'nature of transaction' are 
not fully available in the customs declarations in all Member States. Collecting them 
will involve some (limited) additional burden in those few Member States which do 
not collect them at present. 

As a result of consulting the users of external trade statistics, the proposal no longer 
requests the 'nationality of active means of transport crossing the border'. Abolishing 
this requirement can partly compensate for the above additional information request. 

In 2008 it is planned to launch the MEETS (Modernisation of European Enterprise 
and Trade Statistics) programme. Part of the budget of this programme is earmarked 
for running the new Extrastat system. 

3.5. 

Choice of instruments 

Proposed instrument: an EP/Council Regulation. 

Other means would not be appropriate for the following reasons: 

– 

– 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  an  EP/Council  regulation  is  appropriate  for 
the  majority  of  statistical  activities  that  require  detailed  and  uniform 
application throughout the Community. 

A  regulation  is  preferable  to  a  directive  as  a  basic  act  because,  unlike  a 
directive,  a  regulation  lays  down  the  same  law  throughout  the  Community, 
leaving  the  Member  States  with  no  powers  to  apply  it  partially  or  selectively 
and no choice in the form and methods to be used to attain its objectives. 

–  Moreover, a regulation is directly applicable, which means that it does not need 
to  be  transposed  into  national  law,  thus  avoiding  the  delays  associated  with 
such transpositions. It also leads to better and faster legislation. 

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4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The  budget  of 
the 
the  MEETS  programme  can  be  considered 
implementation costs of the new Extrastat system (2010: 335; 2011: 600; 2012: 600; 
2013: 600 in '000 EUR are set aside for adjusting external trade statistics). 

to  cover 

5. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

5.1. 

Simplification 

The  proposal has a potential simplification effect which might reduce the reporting 
burden on companies. The exact size of this effect is at present difficult to forecast. 
The  simplification  benefits  will  be  fully  realised  in  the  longer  term  after  the  new 
customs rules are put in place, the Member State of final destination / actual export is 
collected by all Member States, and electronic data exchange of customs information 
is  up  and  running.  From  then  on,  the  Community  and  national  figures  will  be 
compiled according to the same procedures, and both will be based on administrative 
data  (the  customs  declaration).  In  addition,  the  reporting  burden  of  the  Intrastat 
system  will  be  lightened  when  trade  statistics  are  disseminated  according  to  the 
Member State of final destination and actual export, and there is no further need for 
reporting the related intra-Community movements. 

On the other hand, the additional data requested will mean, by their nature, additional 
burden  for  national  administrations  and  respondents  (see  chapter  3.4  on 
Proportionality). However, keeping the existing system might increase the reporting 
burden even more drastically and simultaneously reduce the quality of the statistics. 
It  is  assumed  that,  if  no  legal  changes  are  made  national  statistical  authorities  will 
continue  to  collect  more  and  more  data  for  external  trade  statistics  directly  from 
companies,  because  their  national  Customs  authorities  cannot  provide  the  required 
information under 'Centralised Customs Clearance'. What makes the situation worse 
is  that  these  reporting  companies  are  not  even  established  in  the  relevant  Member 
State,  which  means  less  opportunity  to  check  the  completeness  and  quality  of  the 
data (not to mention the language problems). 

Unlike the existing legislation, the proposal no longer refers to Community statistics 
relating  to  transit,  to  customs  warehouses  and  free  zones  and  free  warehouses, 
because no need was expressed by Community institutions for those statistics. 

5.2. 

Repeal of existing legislation 

The adoption of the proposal will lead to the repeal of existing legislation. 

5.3. 

European Economic Area 

The  proposed  act  is  an  EEA  matter  and  should  therefore  extend  to  the  whole 
European Economic Area. 

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2007/0233 (COD) 

Proposal for a  

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries and 
repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
285 (1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

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

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank, 

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

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

2 

3 

The statistical information on Member States' trade flows with non-member countries 
is  of  essential  importance  for  the  Community's  economic  and  trade  policies  and  for 
analysing  market  developments  for  individual  commodities.  The  transparency  of  the 
statistical system should be improved in order for it to be able to react to the changing 
administrative environment, and to satisfy new user requirements. Council Regulation 
(EC) No 1172/95 of 22 May 1995 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods by 
the Community and its Member States with non-member countries2 should therefore 
be replaced by a new Regulation in conformity with the requirements set out in Article 
285(2) of the Treaty. 

External trade statistics are based on information obtained from customs declarations 
as  provided  for  in  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2913/92  of  12  October  1992 
establishing  the  Community  Customs  Code3,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  'Customs 
Code'.  Progress  in  European  integration  and  the  resulting  changes  in  customs 
clearance,  including  single  authorisations  for  the  use  of  the  simplified  declaration  or 
the  local  clearance  procedure,  as  well  as  centralised  clearance,  which  will  emanate 

OJ  L  118,  25.5.1995,  p.  10.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1882/2003  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). 
OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 
20.12.2006, p. 1). 

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from the current process of modernisation of the Customs Code, make it necessary to 
adjust the way external trade statistics are compiled, to reconsider the concept of the 
importing or exporting Member State, and to define more precisely the data source for 
compiling Community statistics.  

In order to record the physical trade flow of goods between Member States and non-
member countries and to ensure that information on imports and exports is available in 
the  Member  State  concerned,  arrangements  between  Customs  and  statistical 
authorities are necessary and have to be specified. This includes rules on the exchange 
of data between Member States' administrations. 

In order to allocate EU exports and imports to a given Member State, it is necessary to 
compile  information  on  the  ‘Member  State  of  final  destination',  for  imports,  and  the 
'Member State of actual export', for exports. In the medium term, those Member States 
should  become  the  importing  and  the  exporting  Member  State  for  external  trade 
statistics purposes. 

For the purpose of this Regulation commodities for external trade purposes should be 
classified  in  accordance  with  the  'Combined  Nomenclature'  established  by  Council 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  2658/87  of  23  July  1987  on  the  tariff  and  statistical 
nomenclature  and  on  the  Common  Customs  Tariff4,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the 
'Combined Nomenclature'. 

To meet the European Central Bank's and the Commission's need for information on 
the  share  of  the  euro  in  international  merchandise  trade,  the  invoicing  currency  of 
exports and imports should be reported at an aggregated level. 

For  the  purposes  of  trade  negotiations  and  internal  market  management,  the 
Commission  should  be  provided  with  detailed  data  on  the  tariff  treatment  of  goods 
imported into the European Union, including information on quotas. 

External trade statistics provide data for the compilation of balance of payments and 
national accounts. The characteristics which make it possible to adapt them to Balance 
of Payments purposes should become part of the mandatory and standard data set. 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9)  Member States should provide Eurostat with annual aggregated data on trade broken 
down by business characteristics, one of the uses of which is to facilitate analysis of 
how  European  companies  operate  in  the  context  of  globalisation.  The  link  between 
business and trade statistics is established by merging information on the importer and 
the  exporter  available  on  the  customs  declaration  with  information  requested  by 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 on Community coordination in 
drawing  up  business  registers  for  statistical  purposes5,  hereinafter  referred  to  as 
'Business Register legislation'. 

4 

5 

OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1 Regulation as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 733/2007 (OJ L 
169, 29.6.2007, p. 1). 
OJ L 196, 5.8.1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). 

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(10)  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  19976  on  Community  Statistics 
provides  a  reference  framework  for  the  provisions  laid  down  in  this  Regulation. 
However,  the  very  detailed  level  of  information  on  trade  in  goods  requires  specific 
confidentiality rules if these statistics are to be relevant. 

(11) 

In the production and dissemination of Community statistics under this Regulation, the 
national and Community statistical authorities should take account of the principles set 
out in the European Statistics Code of Practice, which was adopted by the Statistical 
Programme  Committee  on  24  February  2005  and  appended  to  the  Commission 
Recommendation of 25 May 2005 on the independence, integrity and accountability of 
the national and Community statistical authorities. 

(12)  Specific  provisions  need  to  be  formulated  until  such  time  as  customs  legislation 
changes  yield  additional  information  on  the  customs  declaration  and  until  the 
electronic exchange of customs information is required by Community legislation. 

(13)  Since the objective of this Regulation cannot be achieved by the Member States and 
can  be  better  achieved  at  Community  level,  the  Community  may  adopt  measures,  in 
accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of  the Treaty. In 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  proportionality,  as  set  out  in  that  Article,  this 
Regulation does not go beyond what is required to achieve this objective. 

(14)  The  measures  necessary  for  implementing  this  Regulation  should  be  adopted  in 
accordance  with  Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  19997  laying  down  the 
procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission. 

(15) 

In  particular  power  should  be  conferred  on  the  Commission  to  specify  the  customs 
procedures which determine an export or import for external trade statistics, to adopt 
different or specific rules for goods or movements which, for methodological reasons, 
call  for  specific  provisions,  to  specify  the  statistical  data,  to  detail  trade  by  business 
characteristics  and  trade  broken  down  by  invoicing  currency  as  well  as  to  set  out 
particular  rules  on  dissemination.  Since  those  measures  are  of  general  scope  and  are 
designed  to  amend  non-essential  elements  of  this  Regulation,  inter  alia  by 
supplementing  it  by  the  addition  of  new  non-essential  elements,  they  should  be 
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  provided  for  in 
Article 5a of Decision 1999/468/EC. 

6 

7 

OJ  L  52,  22.2.1997,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  1882/2003  (OJ  L  284, 
31.10.2003, p. 1.). 
OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 
11).  

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Subject matter 

This  Regulation  establishes  a  common  framework  for  the  systematic  production  of 
Community  statistics  relating  to  trade  in  goods  with  non-member  countries  (external  trade 
statistics). 

Article 2 

Definitions 

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

'goods' means all movable property, including electricity; 

'statistical territory of the Community' means the customs territory of the Community 
as defined in the Customs Code with the addition of the island of Heligoland in the 
territory of the Federal Republic of Germany; 

‘national  statistical  authorities’  means  the  national  statistical  institutes  and  other 
bodies  responsible  in  each  Member  State  for  producing  Community  external  trade 
statistics; 

‘Customs  authorities’  means  the  'customs  authorities'  as  defined  in  the  Customs 
Code; 

'customs  declaration'  means  the  'customs  declaration'  as  defined  in  the  Customs 
Code; 

'decision  by  Customs'  means  any  official  act  by  Customs  authorities  relating  to 
accepted customs declarations and having legal effect on one or more persons. 

Article 3 

Scope 

1. 

External trade statistics shall record imports and exports of goods. 

An  export  shall  be  recorded  by  Member  States  when  goods  leave  the  statistical 
territory of the Community according to one of the following customs procedures or 
customs-approved treatment or use, laid down in the Customs Code: 

(a) 

exportation; 

(b) 

outward processing; 

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(c) 

re-exportation following either inward processing or processing under 
customs control. 

An  import  shall  be  recorded  by  Member  States  when  goods  enter  the  statistical 
territory  of  the  Community  according  to  one  of  the  following  customs  procedures 
laid down in the Customs Code: 

(d) 

release for free circulation; 

(e) 

inward processing; 

(f) 

processing under customs control. 

The lists of customs procedures or customs-approved treatment or use referred to in 
paragraph (1) may be adapted by the Commission in particular in order to take into 
account  changes  in  the  Customs  Code  or  provisions  deriving  from  international 
conventions.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-essential  elements  of  this 
regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

For  goods  or  movements  which,  for  methodological  reasons,  call  for  specific 
provisions  (’specific  goods  or  movements’),  different  or  specific  rules  may  be 
adopted  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-essential 
elements  of  this  regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

Certain  goods  or  movements  shall  be  excluded  from  external  trade  statistics  for 
methodological reasons. A list of them shall be drawn up by the Commission. Any 
measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

Article 4 

Data source 

The data source for records on the imports and exports of goods referred to in Article 
3(1) shall be the customs declaration, including possible amendments or changes to 
statistical data resulting from decisions by Customs authorities pertaining to it. 

Where  a  simplified  procedure  as  defined  in  the  Customs  Code  is  used  and  a 
supplementary  declaration  is  furnished,  the  data  source  for  records  shall  be  this 
supplementary declaration. 

A  statistical  threshold  expressed  in  value  or  quantity  below  which  the  customs 
declaration  does  not  have  to  serve  as  data  source  for  records  on  import  and  export 
shall be defined by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in 
Article  11(2).  The  statistical  threshold  may  be  applied  by  Member  States  if 
estimations are provided for import and export records below the thresholds. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

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3. 

For  records  on  imports  and  exports  of  specific  goods  or  movements,  data  sources 
other  than  the  customs  declaration  may  be  specified  by  the  Commission.  Any 
measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by 
supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

Article 5 

Statistical data 

1. 

Member States shall obtain the following data from records on imports and exports 
referred to in Article 3(1). 

(a) 

the trade flow (import, export);  

(b) 

the monthly reference period; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the  statistical  value  of  the  goods  at  the  national  border  of  the 
importing or exporting Member States; 

the quantity expressed in net mass and in a supplementary unit when 
indicated on the customs declaration; 

trader,  being 

the 
exporter/consignor on export; 

the 

importer/consignee  on 

import  and 

the 

the  importing  or  exporting  Member  States,  being  the  Member  State 
where  the  customs  declaration  is  lodged  and  when  indicated  on  the 
customs declaration: 

(i) 

on import, the Member States of final destination; 

(ii)  on export, the Member States of actual export; 

(g) 

the partner countries, that is on imports, the country of origin and the 
country  of  consignment/dispatch,  and  on  export,  the  country  of 
destination; 

(h) 

the commodity according to the Combined Nomenclature being: 

(i) 

on import, the goods code of the Taric subheading; 

(ii)  on  export,  the  goods  code  of  the  Combined  Nomenclature 

subheading; 

(i) 

the  customs  procedure  codes  to  be  used  for  deriving  the  statistical 
procedure ; 

(j) 

the nature of transaction when indicated on the customs declaration; 

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(k) 

if granted, the tariff treatment on import held by Customs authorities, 
that is the preferential code and the order number of the quota; 

(l) 

the invoicing currency if indicated on the customs declaration; 

(m) 

the mode of transport, detailing:  

(i) 

the mode of transport at the frontier; 

(ii) 

the internal mode of transport; 

(iii) 

the container. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Further specification of the data referred to in paragraph 1, including the codes to be 
used, may be determined by the Commission. Any measures designed to amend non-
essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by supplementing it, shall be adopted 
in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  referred  to  in  Article 
11(3). 

When  not  otherwise  stated  and  without  prejudice  to  customs  legislation,  the  data 
shall be contained in the customs declaration. 

Data other than those referred to in paragraph 1 for ’specific goods or movements’ 
may  be  requested  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-
essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by supplementing it, shall be adopted 
in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  referred  to  in  Article 
11(3). 

Article 6 

Compilation of external trade statistics 

1. 

Member States shall compile for each monthly reference period statistics on imports 
and exports of goods expressed in value and quantity by: 

(a) 

commodity; 

(b) 

importing/exporting Member States; 

(c) 

partner countries; 

(d) 

statistical procedure; 

(e) 

nature of transaction; 

(f) 

tariff treatment, on import; 

(g)  mode of transport. 

Implementing  provisions  for  compiling  the  statistics  may  be  determined  by  the 
Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 

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2. 

Member States shall compile annual statistics on trade by business characteristics. 

The statistics shall be compiled by linking data on business characteristics recorded 
according  to  the  Business  Register  legislation  with  the  data  recorded  according  to 
Article 5 (1) on import and export. 

Implementing  provisions  for  compiling  the  statistics  may  be  determined  by  the 
Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-essential  elements  of  this 
regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

3. 

Every  two  years  Member  States  shall  compile  statistics  on  trade  broken  down  by 
invoicing currency. 

Member  States  shall  compile  the  statistics  using  a  representative  sample  of  records 
on  imports  and  exports  from  customs  declarations  which  contain  the  data  on  the 
invoicing  currency.  If  the  invoicing  currency  for  exports  is  not  available  on  the 
customs declaration, a survey shall be carried out to collect the required data. 

The characteristics of the sample, the reporting period, the quality requirements, and 
the  level  of  aggregation  for  partner  countries,  commodities  and  currencies  shall  be 
determined  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-essential 
elements  of  this  regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

The  compilation  by  Member  States  of  additional  statistics  for  Community  or  for 
national  purposes  may  be  determined  when  the  data  are  available  on  the  customs 
declaration. 

Implementing provisions for compiling additional statistics for Community purposes 
shall  be  determined  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-
essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by supplementing it, shall be adopted 
in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  referred  to  in  Article 
11(3). 

Member  States  shall  not  be  obliged  to  compile  and  transmit  to  the  Commission 
(Eurostat) external trade statistics on statistical data which, by virtue of the Customs 
Code or national instructions, are not yet available on the customs declaration lodged 
at their Customs authorities. The following data are concerned. 

4. 

5. 

(a) 

the Member State of final destination, on import; 

(b) 

the Member State of actual export, on export; 

(c) 

the Nature of Transaction. 

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Article 7 

Data exchange 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Without  delay  and  at  the  latest  during  the  month  following  the  month  the  customs 
declarations were accepted or were subject to customs decisions pertaining to them, 
national statistical authorities shall obtain from their national Customs authority the 
records  on  import  and  export  based  on  the  declarations  which  are  lodged  with  or 
furnished to that authority. 

The records shall contain at least those statistical data listed in Article 5 which are, 
according  to  the  Customs  Code  or  national  instructions,  available  on  the  customs 
declaration. 

Member States shall ensure that records on imports and exports which are based on a 
customs declaration lodged at their national Customs authority are transmitted to the 
national statistical authorities of the Member State which is indicated on the record 
as: 

(a) 

the Member State of final destination, on import 

(b) 

the Member State of actual export, on export 

A Member State shall not be required by Article 7(2) to transmit records on imports 
and exports to another Member State until the Customs authorities in those Member 
States  have  established  a  mechanism  for  mutual  exchange  of  the  relevant  data  by 
electronic means. 

Implementing  provisions  for  determining  such  transmission  may  be  determined  in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 

Article 8 

Transmission of external trade statistics to the Commission (Eurostat) 

1. 

Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) the statistics referred to 
in Article 6(1) no later than 40 days after the end of each monthly reference period. 

Member States shall ensure that the statistics contain information on all imports and 
exports  in  the  reference  period  in  question,  making  adjustments  where  records  are 
not available. 

Member  States  shall  transmit  updated  statistics  when  statistics  already  transmitted 
are subject to revisions. 

Member States shall include in the results transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) 
any statistical information which is confidential. 

Provisions on the deadline, coverage, revisions and content of the statistics may be 
specified  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to  amend  non-essential 

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2. 

3. 

elements  of  this  regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 11(3). 

The  deadline  for  transmitting  to  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  statistics  on  trade  by 
business characteristics referred to in Article 6(2), statistics on trade broken down by 
invoicing currency referred to in Article 6(3) and Community statistics referred to in 
Article  6(4)  may  be  determined  by  the  Commission.  Any  measures  designed  to 
amend non-essential elements of this regulation, inter alia by supplementing it, shall 
be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in 
Article 11(3). 

Member States shall transmit the statistics in electronic form, in accordance with an 
interchange standard. The practical arrangements for the transmission of the results 
may be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 

Article 9 

Quality assessment 

1. 

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following quality assessment dimensions shall 
apply to the statistics to be transmitted. 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

'relevance'  refers  to  the  degree  to  which  statistics  meet  current  and 
potential needs of the users; 

'accuracy'  refers  to  the  closeness  of  estimates  to  the  unknown  true 
values; 

'timeliness'  refers  to  the  time  lag  between  the  availability  of  the 
information and the event or phenomenon it describes; 

'punctuality'  refers  to  the  time  lag  between  the  date  of  release  of  the 
data and the target date when it should have been delivered; 

'accessibility'  and  'clarity'  refer  to  the  conditions  and  modalities  by 
which users can obtain, use and interpret data; 

'comparability' refers to the impact of differences in applied statistical 
concepts  and  measurement  tools  and  procedures  when  statistics  are 
compared between geographical areas, sectoral domains or over time; 

'coherence'  refers  to  the  suitability  of  the  data  for  being  reliably 
combined in different ways and for various uses. 

2. 

3. 

Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with a report on the quality 
of the statistics transmitted every year. 

In applying the quality dimensions laid down in paragraph 1 to the statistics covered 
by  this  Regulation,  the  modalities,  structure  and  periodicity  of  the  quality  reports 
shall be defined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 11(2).  

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The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the statistics transmitted. 

Article 10 

Dissemination of external trade statistics 

External trade statistics compiled in accordance with Article 6(1) and transmitted by 
the  Member  States  shall  be  disseminated  by  the  Commission  by  Combined 
Nomenclature subheading at least.  

Only  where  an  importer  or  exporter  so  requests  shall  the  national  authorities  of  a 
given Member State decide whether such statistics of that State which may make it 
possible to identify the said importer or exporter are to be disseminated or are to be 
amended  in  such  a  way  that  their  dissemination  does  not  prejudice  statistical 
confidentiality. 

In  order  to  protect  essential  interests  of  the  European  Union  the  dissemination  of 
sensitive data may be restricted. 

The  implementing  measures  necessary  for  the  dissemination  of  external  trade 
statistics shall be determined by the Commission. Any measures designed to amend 
non-essential  elements  of  this  regulation,  inter  alia  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be 
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  referred  to  in 
Article 11(3). 

Article 11 

Committee procedure 

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee for external trade statistics. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Articles  5  and  7  of  Decision 
1999/468/EC  shall  apply,  having  regard  to  the  provisions  of  Article  8  thereof.  The 
period  laid  down  in  Article  5(6)  of  Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  be  set  at  three 
months. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5a  (1)  to  (4),  and  Article  7  of 
Decision  1999/468/EC  shall  apply,  having  regard  to  the  provisions  of  Article  8 
thereof. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 12 

Repeal 

Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2009. 

It shall continue to apply to data pertaining to reference periods before 1 January 2009. 

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Article 13 

Entry into force 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  twentieth  day  following  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

It shall apply as from 1 January 2009. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, […] 

For the European Parliament 
[…] 
The President 

For the Council 
[…] 
The President 

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