Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
Date: 2008-02-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, impact study, information system, intra-EU trade, trading operation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 7.2.2008 
COM(2008) 58 final 

2008/0026 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading 
of goods between Member States 

(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  to  amend  Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  Community  statistics  relating  to  the 
trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 3330/911 is: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

to reduce the number of enterprises obliged by Community legislation to report 
to the system of intra-Community trade statistics (Intrastat), thus reducing the 
statistical reporting burden; 

to  tighten  the  quality  requirements  for  the  compilation  of  intra-Community 
trade  statistics  in  order  to  compensate  for  the  loss  in  data  accuracy  for  trade 
that is not declared by enterprises but estimated by national authorities; 

to respond to user needs by compiling intra-Community trade statistics broken 
down by business characteristics;  

to adjust — in accordance with the joint statement of the European Parliament, 
the  Council  and  the  Commission2  on  Decision  2006/512/EC  —  Regulation 
(EC) No 638/2004 to Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the 
procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers  conferred  on  the 
Commission3  as  amended  by  Decision  2006/512/EC,  which  introduced  a 
regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  for  measures of general scope designed to 
amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with 
the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  251  of  the  Treaty,  including  by  deleting 
some of those elements or by supplementing the instrument by the addition of 
new non-essential elements. 

1.2. 

General context 

The  Commission  has  made  a  commitment  to  cut  unnecessary  red  tape  and  over-
regulation. As outlined in the Commission Communication on ‘Better Regulation for 
Growth and Jobs in the European Union’4, simplification of existing EU legislation 
(hence  reducing  the  burden  on  business)  is  one  of  the  core  issues  of  this  policy 
initiative.  At  the  beginning  of  2005,  the  Commission  launched  an  extensive 
consultation  of  the  Member  States  and  the  business  community  together  with  a 
public  internet  consultation.  Following  this  consultation,  on  25  October  2005  the 

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OJ L 102, 7.4.2004, p. 1. 
OJ C 255, 21.10.2006, 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). 
COM (2005) 97 final of 16 March 2005. 

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Commission adopted a Communication5 setting out a new simplification strategy at 
EU  level.  The  Communication  identified  an  initial  batch  of  legislation  to  be 
simplified  on  the  basis  of  a  broad  consultation,  and  launched  an  ongoing  process 
fuelled  by  input  from  new,  more  systematic  review  procedures  to  identify  future 
simplification priorities based on a broad analysis of the impact of legislation.  

Annex  2  to  the  Communication  sets  out  a  rolling  programme  for  the  new 
simplification  strategy.  The  programme  specifies  those  pieces  of  legislation  to  be 
reviewed and assessed with a view to simplifying them over the next three years. It 
addresses  many  of  the  specific  concerns  that  emerged  from  the  wide-ranging 
consultation  in  key  areas  for  business  competitiveness  such  as  company  law, 
financial services, transport, consumer protection, waste, and foreign trade statistics. 

Simplification  in  the  field  of  statistics  was  addressed  in  the  Commission 
Communication  on  the  ‘Reduction  of  the  response  burden,  simplification  and 
priority-setting  in  the  field  of  Community  statistics’6.  This  identified  statistics 
relating  to  trade  in  goods  between  Member  States  (Intrastat)  as  an  area  where 
simplification is possible and desirable. 

Intra-Community  trade  statistics  record  physical  flows  of  movable  goods  between 
Member  States.  Data  are  collected  monthly  from  companies  by  the  national 
statistical  authorities.  The  statistics  compiled  on  the  basis  of  these  data  contain 
monthly  records  on  incoming  flows  (arrivals)  and  outgoing  flows  (dispatches), 
expressed in value and quantity broken down by reporting and partner Member State 
as well as by commodity according to the Combined Nomenclature. 

The ECOFIN Council of 28 November 2006 welcomed the Commission’s initiative 
to reduce the statistical burden and invited the Commission “to analyse the feasibility 
of  a  single-flow  method  (in  Intrastat)  and  alternative  methods  which  would  deliver 
broadly  the  same  results,  as  well  as  transition  issues  and,  taking  this  analysis  into 
account, to present a precise roadmap for further progress to the Council in October 
2007”.  The  Council  also  stressed  that  the  transition  to  a  single-flow  system,  or  the 
implementation  of  any  other  method  to  bring  about  a  significant  reduction  in  the 
statistical response burden, must not affect the availability, timeliness and quality of 
those national statistics that are crucial for European economic policy purposes, such 
as national accounts statistics and data on aggregate flows between the euro area and 
other EU Member States.  

With  the  aim  of  further  investigating  ways  of  modernising  the  system  of  intra-
Community  trade  statistics  and  reducing  the  reporting  burden,  Eurostat  set  up  a 
Working  Group  specifically  dedicated  to  the  simplification  of  Intrastat.  It  is 
composed  of  Member  State  and  Commission  specialists  and  serves  as  a  clearing 
house for study work and analyses carried out by its different subgroups. 

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6 

Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  implementing  the  Community  Lisbon 
programme: A strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment, COM(2005) 535 final of 
25.10.2005. 
COM (2006) 693 final of 14 November 2006. 

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The analyses carried out by the Working Group and its subgroups have focused on 
two  main  simplification  options:  switching  to  a  single-flow  reporting  system  and 
raising the exemption thresholds for Intrastat reporting, which would decrease trade 
coverage. All other options were found to have no significant impact on the reporting 
burden of enterprises. 

The  two  main  options  have  been  assessed  according  to  three  evaluation  criteria: 
burden on enterprises, timeliness of data and data accuracy. The results show that the 
threshold  option  is  the  most  feasible  solution  in  the  short  run.  It  was  also  the 
preferred option of the Member State experts in the Working Group. The single flow 
option, on the other hand, has major drawbacks that cannot be overcome in the short 
run. 

Currently, Member States set their thresholds at a level guaranteeing coverage of at 
least 97 per cent of their trade in terms of value. At the end of 2006, this meant that 
about  78  per  cent  of  businesses  trading  with  other  Member  States  were  exempted 
from  the  reporting  obligation.  Reducing  the  minimum  coverage  rate  will  further 
increase the number of companies exempted from reporting to Intrastat. 

Lowering the minimum Intrastat coverage rate could be implemented in a relatively 
short time. This is mainly because an increase in the threshold does not change the 
logic of the system. The principles and procedures of the current system remain the 
same.  The  change  in  trade  coverage  can  thus  be  implemented  quite  easily:  the 
legislative changes and accompanying measures to guarantee the quality of statistical 
data are less extensive and less complicated compared to those needed to implement 
the single-flow option.  

However, a decrease in Intrastat coverage will at the same time reduce the accuracy 
of the data. More estimates of non-collected data will have to be made. It will also 
increase the asymmetries in mirror trade flows, especially at the most detailed level 
of the  commodity  classification. Due to differences in the estimation methods used 
by the different Member States, asymmetries might also increase at aggregate level. 
The  decrease  in  coverage  therefore  requires  accompanying  measures  to  ensure  the 
satisfactory quality of the statistical data. 

Beyond  the  short-term  solution,  it  is  useful  to  further  analyse  the  feasibility  of 
switching  to  single-flow  reporting  in  the  long  run,  in  order  to  make  this  possible 
change in the statistical system acceptable to users. Among the priority issues to be 
analysed in this respect are a significant reduction of the asymmetries in mirror trade 
flows,  a  solution  for  the  timeliness  problem  by  developing  reliable  estimation 
methods  for  missing  or  delayed  data,  and  the  development  of  quality  checking 
procedures  that  would  satisfy  national  needs.  In  addition,  a  number  of  other 
simplification  options  such  as  the  integration  of  Intrastat  and  VIES  (VAT 
information  exchange  system)  declarations and  the  further  development  of  IT  tools 
for automated reporting7 should be followed up. 

7 

Merging the Intrastat and VIES systems may have further simplification effects going beyond the scope 
of statistics. Contacts between Eurostat and DG TAXUD have shown that closer cooperation between 
statistical  and  tax  (VAT)  authorities  may  have  benefits  for  both.  Statistical  authorities  could  improve 

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In the following years, these activities will be addressed by the MEETS programme 
(Modernisation  of  European  Enterprise  and  Trade  Statistics)8.  MEETS  should 
become operational as of 2008 for a period of 5 years (until 2013). One of its four 
objectives  is  to  perform  study  work  on  the  simplification  of  Intrastat.  A  budget  of 
EUR 8.965 million will be devoted to this end. 

1.3. 

The proposed solution 

The  short-term  solution  has  to  be  consistent  with  any  long-term  simplification 
option,  e.g.  single-flow  reporting.  It  should  at  the  same  time  lead  to  a  significant 
reduction  in  the  statistical  reporting  burden  on  enterprises  while  ensuring  the 
satisfactory quality of statistical data. 

Accordingly, it is proposed to reduce the trade coverage for arrivals to 95% and to 
keep  the  current  97%  trade  coverage  for  dispatches.  Such  a  solution  is  consistent 
with a possible single-flow option in future based on the collection of dispatch data. 
The  potential  for  reducing  the  reporting  burden  on  small  and  medium-sized 
enterprises  (SMEs)  in  particular  is  significant  because  of  the  structure  of  reporting 
companies on the arrival side: it is dominated by SMEs. The analysis has also shown 
that lowering the trade coverage to 95% has only a minor impact on the quality of 
statistical  data  and  would  thus  be  acceptable  for  users.  Nevertheless,  measures  to 
improve  the  quality  and  comparability  of  statistics  compiled  by  Member  States  are 
desirable and will be proposed in the legislation. 

Besides  the  initiative  to  reduce  the  statistical  burden  on  enterprises,  the  proposal 
accommodates  additional  user  requests  as  regards  trade  by  business  characteristics. 
Member  States  should  provide  annual  trade  data  broken  down  by  business 
characteristics to show, for instance, how European companies operate in the context 
of globalisation. The link between business and trade statistics can be established by 
matching 
trade  register  with 
information  from  the  Member  States’  business  registers.  At  present,  most  of  the 
Member  States  compile  these  statistics  voluntarily.  The  proposal  aims  to  provide  a 
legal  basis  for  mandatory  compilation.  In  parallel,  the  same  information  for  trade 
with non-member countries is requested in the proposal for revision of the Extrastat 
legislation9. 

information  available 

the  intra-Community 

in 

Finally, Council Decision 2006/512/EC amended Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 
28 June 1999 on comitology. It introduced the “regulatory procedure with scrutiny” 
for  measures  of  general  scope  designed  to  amend  non-essential  elements  of  basic 
acts. The existing Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 has to be adjusted accordingly. 

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data quality, whereas tax authorities would benefit from earlier availability and greater detail in the data 
they use to identify and combat VAT fraud. 
COM (2007) 433 of 19.07.2007. 
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, COM(2007) 653 of 30.10.2007. 

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1.4. 

Existing provisions in the area of the proposal 

Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 
March  2004  on  Community  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between 
Member  States  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3330/9110.  The 
Regulation is to be amended by the present proposal. 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1982/2004  of  18  November  2004  implementing 
Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on 
Community  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  and 
repealing  Commission  Regulations  (EC)  No  1901/2000  and  (EEC)  No  3590/9211. 
The proposal aims to amend the implementing provisions. 

1.5. 

Consistency with other EU policies and objectives 

The  proposal  is  consistent  with  the  ‘Better  Regulation  Initiative’  of  the  European 
Union. 

2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

2.1. 

Consultation of interested parties 

At  the  end  of  2006,  Eurostat  set  up  a  Working  Group  specifically  dedicated  to  the 
simplification  of  Intrastat,  with  the  intention  of  further  investigating  ways  of 
modernising  the  system  of  intra-Community  trade  statistics  and  reducing  the 
reporting burden. 

The ECOFIN Council of 13 November 2007 again discussed measures to reduce the 
statistical burden and agreed to a proposal to reduce the coverage ratio in the short 
run while preparing an alternative method in the long term, such as the single-flow 
method, which requires further study. 

2.2. 

Collection and use of expertise 

There has been no need for external expertise. 

2.3. 

Analysis of effects and consequences 

Three options have been identified: 

Option A:  Maintain  the  status  quo  and  leave  the  existing  legislation  unchanged. 

legislation.  Consequently, 

The  collection  of  data  on  intra-Community  trade  is  regulated  by 
Community 
the 
Commission to further reducing the statistical burden on business in the 
area  of  Intrastat  can  only  be  achieved  by  modifying  the  existing  legal 
framework. 

the  commitment  of 

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OJ L 102, 7.4, 2004, p. 1. 
OJ L 343, 19.11, 2004, p. 3. 

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Option B  Determine  the  reduced  minimum  Intrastat  coverage  rate  and  the  quality 
the  European  Parliament  and  Council 

in 

requirements  directly 
Regulation. 

At  present,  the  Intrastat  coverage  rate  is  defined  in  Article  10(3)  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council. Option B would require the amendment of this article as well as 
the introduction of requirements for the quality of statistical data. 

However,  trade  coverage  is  a  rather  technical  parameter  and  as  such  is 
more  appropriately  specified  in  the  implementing  provisions.  Defining 
the  trade  coverage  rate  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council 
Regulation rather than in the implementing provisions would also reduce 
the  flexibility  needed  to  allow  for  possible  future  changes  to  this 
parameter  in  the  course  of  further  simplification  of  the  system  of  intra-
Community trade statistics. It would also be difficult to define in advance 
all  the  quality  requirements  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council 
Regulation,  and  this  approach  would  again  not  leave  enough  flexibility 
for possible amendments. 

Option C:  Remove  the  trade  coverage  rate  expressed  in  %  from  Regulation  (EC) 
638/2004  and  confer  upon  the  Commission  the  power  to  determine  the 
the  quality  requirements. 
minimum  Intrastat  coverage  rate  and 

This  approach  will  ensure  flexibility  for  future  possible  changes  to  the 
Intrastat  coverage  rate.  These  changes  would  be  based  on  a  regular 
assessment  of  the  thresholds  carried  out  in  accordance  with  the 
comitology procedure in close collaboration with the national authorities 
(the  Intrastat  Committee  meets  three  times  a  year)  so  as  to  find  an 
optimal  trade-off  between  the  statistical  burden  and  the  accuracy  of  the 
data. 

The  implementing  provisions  should  then  as  a  first  step  allow  Member 
States  by  the  beginning  of  2009  to  lower  the  coverage  rate  for  arrival 
flows  so  as  to  collect  at  least  95  per  cent  of  the  arrival  value,  while 
cent. 
keeping 

dispatches 

threshold 

per 

the 

for 

97 

at 

The  clauses  on  quality  requirements  will  be  amended  similarly.  Article 
13(3) of Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 should confer on the Commission 
the  power  to  implement  any  measures  necessary  for  improving  data 
quality. It would be useful to be more specific regarding the estimation of 
missing  information.  Under  the  existing  legislation,  the  estimation  of 
missing data is  the responsibility of each  Member  State  (Article 12(2)). 
The  legislation  should  thus  be  amended  in  order  to  allow  standardised 
the  comitology  procedure. 
procedures 

to  be  adopted  under 

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C  is  the  alternative  preferred  by  the  Commission,  because  it  allows 
targeted  simplification  for  the  threshold  option.  It  offers  maximum 
flexibility for adjusting the Intrastat system, since the provisions will be 
managed by Eurostat and the Intrastat Committee. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

3.1. 

Summary of the proposed action 

The  present  proposal  provides  the  legal  framework  for  exempting  more  companies 
from providing Intrastat information while at the same time preserving the accuracy 
of  data  and  satisfying  user  requirements  for  statistics  on  trade  by  business 
characteristics. 

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 Community activities. The Article sets out 
requirements  for  the  production  of  Community  statistics,  which  has  to  meet 
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 definition of coverage rates, quality 
requirements  and  the  compilation  of  statistics  on  trade  by  business  characteristics, 
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. 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: 

– 

– 

The  Regulation  confines  itself  to  the  minimum  required  for  achieving  this 
objective and does not go beyond what is necessary for that purpose. 

A significant decrease in the burden for companies exempted from reporting to 
Intrastat  through  this  Regulation  is  expected.  Nevertheless,  there  may  be  an 
increase in the workload for national statistical administrations, because quality 
requirements will entail a greater validation and control effort. 

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– 

In 2008, it is planned to launch the MEETS programme12. Part of the budget of 
this programme is earmarked for Intrastat quality improvements. 

3.5. 

Choice of instruments 

Proposed instrument: a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

Other means would not be appropriate for the following reasons: 

– 

– 

It is generally acknowledged that a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council 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. 

The proposal aims to amend existing provisions already laid down in a Regulation of 
the European Parliament and of the Council. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Lowering the coverage rate for companies reporting for Intrastat will have no budget 
implications. 

Applying  tighter  quality  requirements  may  need  investment  in  research  and  in 
validation  and  adjustment  tools  in  national  administrations.  The  budget  of  the 
MEETS  programme  can  cover  these  implementation  costs  (2008:1 400 000;  2009: 
1 355 000; 2010: 2 000 000; 2011: 1 500 000; 2012: 1 500 000; 2013: 1 210 000 in 
EUR are set aside for Intrastat). 

Merging  two  different  existing  data  sets  in  order  to  show  trade  by  business 
characteristics may involve negligible costs for some national administrations. 

5. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

5.1. 

Simplification 

This initiative forms part of the Commission Simplification Rolling Programme. The 
main objective is to reduce the statistical response burden for companies reporting to 
the  Intrastat  system.  Reducing  the  coverage  rate  for  arrivals  to  95  per  cent  would 
mean  that  an  additional  190 000  companies  would  be  exempted  from  reporting 
arrival flows to the national authorities. 

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COM(2007) 433 of 19.07.2007. 

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5.2. 

Repeal of existing legislation 

The adoption of the proposal will complement the existing legislation. 

5.3. 

European Economic Area 

Not relevant for the EEA. 

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2008/aaaa (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading 
of goods between Member States 

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, 

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

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  31 
March 2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member 
States  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3330/9113  lays  down  the  basic 
provisions for Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member 
States. 

In the framework of the Commission Communication on the reduction of the response 
burden,  on  simplification  and  priority  setting  in  the  field  of  Community  statistics14, 
Intrastat,  the  system  for  collecting  Community  statistics  relating  to  the  trading  of 
goods  between  Member  States,  was  identified  as  an  area  where  simplification  is 
possible and desirable. 

Immediate  action  to  reduce  the  statistical  burden  can  be  taken  by  lowering  the 
coverage  rate  of  data  collected  through  Intrastat.  This  can  be  done  by  raising  the 
thresholds below which parties are exempted from providing Intrastat information. As 
a  consequence,  the  share  of  statistics  based  on  estimations  made  by  the  national 
authorities will increase. 

(4)  Member States should provide Eurostat with annual aggregated data on trade broken 
down  by  business  characteristics.  Users  will  thus  be  provided  with  new  statistical 
information  on  relevant  economic  issues,  and  a  new  type  of  analysis  will  become 
possible, for example the analysis of how European companies operate in the context 

13 
14 ` 

OJ L 102, 7.4.2004, p.1. 
COM (2006) 693 of 14.11.2006. 

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of  globalisation,  without  this  imposing  new  statistical  requirements  on  reporting 
companies.  The  link  between  business  and  trade  statistics  should  be  established  by 
merging  the  information  from  the  register  of  intra-Community  operators  with 
information  requested by  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93 of  22  July  1993 on 
Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical purposes15. 

The  implementing  powers  for  lowering  the  minimum  trade  coverage  should  be 
conferred on the Commission. This will ensure flexibility for possible future changes 
based on regular assessment of the thresholds in close collaboration with the national 
authorities  so  as  to  find  an  optimal  trade-off  between  the  statistical  burden  and  the 
accuracy of data. 

Lowering the minimum trade coverage calls for measures to compensate for the less 
complete  collection  of  data  and  hence  the  negative  impact  on  quality,  especially  the 
accuracy of data. Power should be conferred on the Commission to tighten the quality 
arrangements  of  the  Member  States  and  in  particular  to  define  the  criteria  for 
estimating the trade not collected through Intrastat. 

Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  provides  that  certain  measures  are  to  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 Commission16.  

Decision 1999/468/EC has been amended by Decision 2006/512/EC, which introduced 
a regulatory procedure with scrutiny for measures of general scope designed to amend 
non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted in accordance with the procedure 
referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty, including by deleting some of those elements 
or by supplementing the instrument by the addition of new non-essential elements. 

In accordance with the joint statement of the European Parliament, the Council and the 
Commission17  on  Decision  2006/512/EC,  for  this  new  procedure  to  be  applicable  to 
instruments  that  have  been  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in 
Article 251 of the Treaty and are already in force, those instruments must be adjusted 
in accordance with the applicable procedures. 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10)  As  regards  Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004,  power  should  be  conferred  on  the 
Commission in particular to define the conditions under which the Commission may 
adopt  different  or  specific  rules  applying  to  specific  goods  or  movements,  adapt  the 
reference  period  to  take  into  account  the  linkage  with  value  added  tax  and  customs 
obligations,  determine  the  arrangements  for  the  collection  of  this  information, 
particularly the codes to be employed, define the minimum Intrastat coverage, define 
the conditions and quality requirements under which Member States may simplify the 
information  to  be  provided  for  small  individual  transactions,  define  the  aggregated 
data  to  be  transmitted  and  the  criteria  the  estimates  are  to  comply  with,  adopt 
implementing  provisions  for  compiling  the  statistics  by  linking  data  on  business 
characteristics  recorded  under  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2186/93  with  the  statistics  on 

15 

16 

17 

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). 
OJ  L  184,  17.7.1999,  p.  23.  Decision  as  amended  by  Decision  2006/512/EC  (OJ  L  200,  22.7.2006, 
p. 11). 
OJ C 255, 21.10.2006, p. 1. 

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12 

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dispatches and arrivals of goods, determine the indicators and standards enabling the 
quality of the data to be assessed, determine the structure of the quality reports to be 
presented  by the  Member States,  and take any other steps necessary for assessing or 
improving the quality of the data. Since these measures are of general scope and are 
designed  to  amend  non-essential  elements  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  or  to 
supplement 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. 

(11)  Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly. 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 3, paragraph 4 is replaced by the following: 

‘4.  The  Commission  may  adopt  different  or  specific  rules  applying  to  specific 
goods  or  movements.  Those  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 
14(3).’ 

(2) 

In Article 6, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  The reference period may be adapted by the Commission to take into account 
the  linkage  with  value  added  tax  (VAT)  and  customs  obligations.  Those 
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 14(3).’ 

(3) 

In Article 9 (1), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘Definitions  of  the  statistical  data  referred  to  in  points  (e)  to  (h)  are  given  in  the 
Annex.  Where  necessary,  the  Commission  shall  determine  the  arrangements 
for  the  collection  of  this  information,  particularly  the  codes  to  be  employed. 
Those 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 14(3).’ 

(4) 

Article 10 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3.  The definition of the thresholds below which parties are exempted from 
providing  any 
the 
Commission. Those measures designed to amend non-essential elements 
of  this  Regulation,  inter  alia,  by  supplementing  it,  shall  be  adopted  in 

information  shall  be  specified  by 

Intrastat 

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13 

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accordance  with  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  referred  to  in 
Article 14(3).’ 

(b) 

In paragraph 4, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘The  definition  of  these  thresholds  shall  be  specified  by  the  Commission.  Those 
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 14(3).’ 

(c) 

Paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: 

‘5.  Member  States  may,  under  certain  conditions  that  meet  quality  requirements, 
simplify the information to be provided for small individual transactions. The 
conditions  shall  be  defined  by  the  Commission.  Those  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 14(3).’ 

(5) 

Article 12 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

 In paragraph 1, point (a) is replaced by the following: 

‘(a)  40 calendar days after the end of the reference month for the aggregated data to 
be  defined  by  the  Commission.  Those  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 14(3).’ 

(b) 

In paragraph 2, the following sentences are added: 

‘The  estimates  shall  comply  with  criteria  that  shall  be  defined  by  the  Commission. 
Those  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 14(3).’ 

(c) 

 The following paragraph 4 is added: 

‘4.  Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) annual statistics on 

trade by business characteristics. 

These statistics shall be compiled by linking data on business characteristics 
recorded according to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93 of 22 July 1993 
on Community coordination in drawing up business registers for statistical 
purposes18 with the statistics referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation. 

Implementing provisions for compiling the statistics shall be determined by the 
Commission. Those measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this 

18 

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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Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with 
the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 14(3).’ 

(6) 

In Article 13, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3.  The indicators and standards enabling the quality of the data to be assessed, the 
structure of the quality reports to be presented by the Member States, and any 
action  necessary  for  assessing  or  improving  the  quality  of  the  data  shall  be 
determined  by  the  Commission.  Those  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 14(3).’ 

(7) 

In Article 14, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3.  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.’ 

Article 2 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

It shall apply 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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