REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL in accordance with Article 16 of Council Directive 2007/74/EC on the exemption from value added tax and excise duty of goods imported by persons travelling from third countries
Date: 2013-12-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: VAT, derogation from EU law, exchange of information, excise duty, exemption from customs duties, import tax, interpretation of the law, quantitative restriction, third country, traveller













EUR-Lex - 52013DC0849 - EN











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52013DC0849

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL in accordance with Article 16 of Council Directive 2007/74/EC on the exemption from value added tax and excise duty of goods imported by persons travelling from third countries /* COM/2013/0849 final */









REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
in accordance with Article 16 of Council
Directive 2007/74/EC on the exemption from value added tax and excise duty of
goods imported by persons travelling
from third countries 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL.... 2
1........... Summary....................................................................................................................... 4
2........... Analysis of consultation results.................................................................................... 4
2.1........ Introduction.................................................................................................................. 4
2.1.1..... Legal base
and main elements of the Directive............................................................ 4
2.1.2..... Methodology................................................................................................................ 4
2.2........ Discussion of comments received................................................................................. 5
2.2.1..... Articles 3, 7 and 13 - Definitions................................................................................. 5
2.2.2..... Article 6 a - Interpretation of “occasional imports”...................................................... 8
2.2.3..... Article 8 - Treatment of other tobacco products (here: snus)..................................... 11
2.2.4..... Article 8(2) – distinction between air travellers and other
travellers.......................... 11
2.2.5..... Articles 8, 9, 11 – Quantitative limits......................................................................... 12
2.2.6..... Article 10 – Age of travellers..................................................................................... 12
2.2.7..... Article
11 – fuel in a portable container..................................................................... 13
2.2.8..... Article 14 – Minimum tax amount.............................................................................. 14
2.2.9..... Relation between monetary thresholds and quantitative limits.................................. 14
2.2.10... Inland navigation and passenger
transport on the river Danube................................ 14
3........... Overall
evaluation and conclusion.............................................................................. 14
4........... Annex......................................................................................................................... 15
1.           Summary
This report is based on Article 16 of
Council Directive 2007/74/EC on the exemption from
value added tax and excise duty of goods imported by persons travelling from
third countries (‘the
Directive’) according to which the Commission shall provide a report to the
Council concerning the implementation of this Directive,
where appropriate accompanied by a proposal for amendment. 
For preparing this report the Commission
sent a questionnaire to Member States in June 2012 requesting them to
comment on any part of the Directive (all Recitals and Articles) and raising
specific questions on the use of exemptions provided for in the Directive. The
Commission received replies from all the then 27 Member
States[1].
15 Member States saw no need to amend the current rules. 5 Member States
suggested editorial changes and 7 Member States reported problems with the
application of certain provisions.
While identifying a number of relevant
problems, notably as regards the definition and interpretation of technical
terms such as ‘occasional imports’, the Commission sees no convincing case for
legislative action at this stage and will rather endeavour to tackle these
issues via relevant Committee procedures, exchange of best practice and
practical administrative guidelines and tools.
2.           Analysis
of consultation results
2.1.        Introduction
2.1.1.     Legal base and main elements of the Directive
The legal base of this report is Article 16
of the Directive: “Every four years and for the
first time in 2012 the Commission shall forward a report on the implementation
of this Directive to the Council, where appropriate accompanied by a proposal
for amendment.”
The Directive lays down rules relating to
the exemption from value added tax (VAT) and excise duty of goods imported in
the personal luggage of persons travelling from a third country or from a
territory where the Community provisions on VAT or excise duty, or both, do not
apply. In other words it defines essentially the EU tax-free allowances in
international travel. Article 41 of Regulation
1186/2009 is relevant as far as customs duties are concerned. This is not directly
covered by the present report other than for purposes of consistent analysis or
in an attempt to address synergies (see below).
The aim of the regular evaluation as
requested via the reporting obligation is to verify whether the definitions, threshold
values, quantitative limits and other provisions laid down in the Directive
still reflect economic realities and serve their purpose.
2.1.2.     Methodology
For establishing this report the Commission
carried out a consultation of Member States in order to obtain feedback on the
implementation, effectiveness and usefulness of the relevant provisions. In
particular, specific questions were asked about the use of exemptions and
quantitative limits provided for in the Directive[2]. The data of the
questionnaire provided the principal input for this report. The Commission
services also evaluated the “Report
on personal luggage provisions – Reporting on issues related to the
implementation of Article 41 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 which was
introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 274/2008” established by the
Secretariat General on 22 November 2011 to the Council[3].
While Regulation No
274/2008 addresses exemptions from customs duties and Council Directive
2007/74/EC addresses exemptions from value added tax and excise duties, both
sets of rules basically deal with the same issues, namely imports of goods from
third countries or territories where the Community rules do not apply, carried
in the personal luggage of travellers. Moreover, both sets of rules are applied
by the same authorities, the customs authorities on importation. Therefore the
problems identified by Member States will be either identical or at least
partly overlap. Against this background the dimension of problem areas reported
by Member States in the questionnaire as well as possible solutions are better understood
and addressed if both sets of rules are looked at in a consistent context.
This report hereafter only discusses the substantial
issues thus identified. Requests for editorial and linguistic changes are not
covered; these were however considered in the proceedings of the Committee on
excise duties[4].

2.2.        Discussion of comments received
2.2.1.     Articles
3, 7 and 13 - Definitions
Two Member States asked for a more precise definition of the following
terms provided for in the Directive:
Art. 3(1) and (2) - ‘Third country’ and ‘Territory where the
Community provisions on VAT or excise duty, or both do not apply‘
For the purpose of the application of exemption
from VAT and excise duty of goods imported by persons travelling from third
countries, it was suggested to clarify the definitions for “third country” and
“territories” in accordance with Council Directives 2006/112/EC and 2008/118/EC,
in view of the conventions and treaties concluded with France, the United
Kingdom and Cyprus respectively, that the Principality of Monaco, the Isle of
Man and the United Kingdom Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia shall
not be regarded, for the purposes of the application of that Directive, as
third countries.
It is true that Art. 3(1) and 3(2) of Council Directive 2007/74/EC distinguish between a
“third country “and a “territory other than a third
country where Directives 2006/112/EC or
92/12/EEC, or both not apply”. That distinction is due
to the situation that some territories are part of the customs territory of the
EU but certain fiscal rules do not apply there and in other cases certain
territories are outside the customs territory but due to association agreements
certain Community fiscal rules apply there. In most cases the reasons for these
- admittedly sometimes complex rules – are of historical nature and have often
settled longstanding conflicts. It is for these historical reasons and for
respecting obligations in which certain Member States have engaged that the
distinctions in Article 3(1) and 3(2) exist and must continue to exist. Travellers entering the Community from the Isle of Man
cannot benefit from traveller allowances in accordance with Articles 1 and 3(1)
because the territory of the Isle of Man is not a third country and travellers
from Monaco cannot benefit from traveller allowances in accordance with
Articles 1 and 3(2) because in their territories Directives 2006/112/EC or 92/12/EEC, or both
apply.
For the same historical reasons the exemptions
from these definitions exist and must continue to apply. The second
sub-paragraph of Article 3(1) provides that in view of
the Fiscal Agreement between France and the Principality of Monaco dated 18 May
1963 and the Agreement of friendship and neighbourly relations between Italy
and the Republic of San Marino dated 31 March 1939, Monaco and San Marino shall
not be regarded as third countries in respect of excise duty. The fact that Monaco and San Marino (only for excise
purposes) are not considered as third countries (Article 3(1)) ensures, together
with the definition in Article 3(2), that travellers entering the Community
from Monaco can under no circumstances benefit from traveller allowances under Council Directive 2007/74/EC and travellers from San Marino cannot benefit from traveller
allowances for excise purposes. In
fact, Article 1 of that same Directive limits the benefits of allowances to
travellers from third countries and territories other than a third country
where Directives 2006/112/EC or 92/12/EEC, or both do not apply. 
Similarly, the second sub-paragraph of Article 3(2) provides that in view of the Agreement between the Governments of the United
Kingdom and the Isle of Man on Customs and Excise and associated matters dated
15 October 1979, the Isle of Man shall not be regarded as a territory other than a third country where Directives 2006/112/EC or 92/12/EEC, or both
not apply. This
exemption ensures again that travellers entering the Community from these
territories cannot benefit from traveller allowances under Council Directive 2007/74/EC because Article 1
of that same Directive limits the allowances to travellers from a territory where the Community provisions on VAT or excise duty, or
both do not apply and to travellers from third countries.
As these specific situations, which have evolved historically,
continue to exist, the Commission continues to see a need for the specific
rules in Art. 3 (1) and 3(2) of Council Directive
2007/74/EC.
Art. 3(3) - Air and sea travellers
This Article differentiates, on the one hand, between air and sea
travellers and excludes, on the other hand, individuals travelling via private
pleasure-flying or private pleasure-sea-navigation from traveller allowances. Sub-paragraph
1 of Article 7 of the Directive provides for a monetary threshold for air and
sea travellers of 430€ while the threshold for other travellers is 300€. 
One proposal made in
the consultation was to amend Art. 3(3) for making the exclusion of individuals
travelling via private pleasure-flying or private pleasure-sea-navigation optional
for Member States, thus enabling them to apply a single monetary threshold of
430 EUR for all travellers instead of 430 EUR for air- and sea-travellers
and 300 EUR for all other travellers. The underlying idea was to facilitate
procedures in Member States without land border to third countries.
The distinction between different means of transport was introduced in
order to reflect the situation in Member States sharing a land borders with
Eastern European countries (e.g. Russia, Ukraine) with a significantly lower
price and/ or tax/ excise duty level. The Commission is not aware of any
significant approximation of these price gaps since the adoption of the
Directive in 2007. On the contrary, relatively high inflation rates in most Member
States at the EU Eastern border seem to have led to even larger gaps in
purchasing power between these countries and third countries at the EU Eastern
border. 
Furthermore, the problems reported by Hungary
and Estonia in the “Report on personal luggage provisions – Reporting on issues
related to the implementation of Article 41 of Council Regulation (EC) No
1186/2009 which was introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 274/2008” seem to
confirm that conclusion. 
Against this background the Commission sees no
real room for making the exclusion of individuals travelling via private
pleasure-flying or private pleasure-sea-navigation optional for Member States.
Another proposal put forward in the
consultation was to align the definition of “traveller” to Article 236 of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions
for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the
Community Customs Code. 
Art. 236 Letter A of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 2454/93 states that“[…] ‘traveller’ means:
1. any person temporarily entering the
customs territory of the Community, not normally resident there, and
2. any person returning to the customs
territory of the Community where he is normally resident, after having been
temporarily in a third country.”
Contrary to that, Article 1 of the Directive,
however, lays down rules for “[…] persons travelling from a third country or
from a territory where the Community provisions on VAT or excise duty, or both,
as defined in Article 3, do not apply”. Article 3 further defines these
territories by providing the reference to Directives 2006/112/EC and
2008/118/EC (repealing Directive 92/12/EEC). These Directives constitute a more
differentiated concept for the reasons explained above on the proposed
amendment of Article 3 of the Directive. 
Therefore, the Commission sees no room for
aligning the definition of traveller in Article 3 of the Directive to that in
Article 236 of Regulation 2454/93.
Art. 7(4) - Personal luggage  
This provision exempts the value of a traveller's personal luggage
from the monetary threshold[5].
Following a wider interpretation of this provision, "a traveller's
personal luggage" could also include duty free purchases made on the
traveller's outward journey. This could create a loophole where a traveller can
purchase goods on his way out without paying VAT and/or customs duty and
reimport those goods in addition to the monetary threshold. The individual would
be able to purchase an unlimited value of goods VAT free and yet still use them
within the EU. It was therefore suggested to include a definition of 'personal
luggage' in this Article to make it clear that duty free purchases on the
outward journey do not qualify as personal luggage and are subject to the
monetary threshold.
Under Articles 5 and 7(4) of the Directive and Articles 147(1)
letter a) and 146(1) letter b) of Directive 2006/112/EC there might indeed be a
theoretical possibility of misuse. In practice, however, third countries or
territories outside the EU usually also apply monetary thresholds as well as
quantitative limits for travellers entering their territory. The value or
amount of goods admitted duty-free in such countries of destination is
generally not unlimited but needs to fulfil national/territorial legal
requirements on both legs of the journey at importation. 
The Commission is not aware of abusive practices
having an economic dimension which would require a legislative initiative nor
have Member States reported such practices. The Commission services do
therefore not intend to open discussion on this issue of including duty free
purchases made on the traveller's outward journey in the provision on personal
luggage/monetary thresholds.
Art. 13
- Crew of a means of transport
In the consultation it was also proposed to
align the definition of "crew of a means of transport” in Article 13 of the Directive to Article 49(1)
of Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 of the Council of 28 March 1983 on the Community
system of reliefs from customs duty, replaced by Council Regulation (EU) No
1186/2009 of 16 November 2009.
According to Annex VI of Council Regulation
(EU) No 1186/2009, Article 49 of Regulation (EEC) No 918/83 was abolished
without any correlated (new) provision in the repealing Regulation. Instead,
Article 41 of Council Regulation (EU) No 1186/2009 addresses reliefs from
customs duties for goods contained in travellers’ personal luggage by referring
to the provisions of Council Directive 2007/74/EC: 
“Goods contained in the personal luggage of travellers
coming from a third country shall be admitted free of import duties, provided
such imports are exempt from value added tax (VAT) under provisions of national
law adopted in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 2007/74/EC
of 20 December 2007 on the exemption from value added tax and excise duty
of goods imported by persons travelling from third countries”.
The Commission therefore does not see a need or any
value-added in aligning the definition of “crew of a means of transport” in Article
13 of the Directive to that of Article 49(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 918/83.
2.2.2.     Article 6 a - Interpretation of “occasional imports”
Four Member States stressed that they see the
need to better determine the allowed frequency of non-commercial imports by
travellers (i.e. by determining the maximum number of journeys in a given
period of time). It would appear that some Member States sharing land borders
with third countries face particular difficulties with private individuals
crossing the EU-third country border several times per week or – in extreme
cases – per day, carrying excisable goods just according to or slightly below
the maximum allowed quantitative limits and other goods just according to the
monetary thresholds allowed. 
The Commission services understand the concerns
of these Member States especially since they are largely congruent with those
described in the “Report on personal luggage provisions – Reporting on issues
related to the implementation of Article 41 of Council Regulation (EC) No
1186/2009 which was introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 274/2008”. The
Commission services also share the view that such imports should not be regarded
as ‘occasional imports’. 
The Directive does not, however, provide for
any benchmark defining an appropriate frequency of journeys.          
According to Article 6 of the Directive, “imports shall be regarded as being
of a non-commercial character if they meet the following conditions:
(a) they take place occasionally;
(b) they consist exclusively of goods for
the personal or family use of the travellers, or of goods intended as presents.
The nature or quantity of the goods must not
be such as to indicate that they are being imported for commercial reasons”.
When analysing the multitude of importation
scenarios for travellers, the Commission services could not but conclude that a
legislative initiative for amending the provisions of the Directive does not
apply an appropriate solution for addressing the reported problems because the
further break-down of the definition of occasional imports as “taking place
infrequently/from time to time/not habitual would only increase the complexity
of legal definitions without increasing legal certainty. There is simply no
unambiguous definition of “occasional” in terms of any figure on the frequency;
however, and in particular when excisable goods are concerned, the amounts
carried by the traveller upon entry into the EU should be consumable taking
into consideration normal consumer behaviour of that private individual.
Example 1: a traveller crosses the EU/third country border every second day,
thereby carrying a carton of cigarettes (200 pieces) on each of his entries
into the EU when coming back from the third country.
The amount of 100 cigarettes which would need
to be consumed by this private individual per day clearly exceeds the normal
consumer behaviour. Such imports cannot be regarded as being of a
non-commercial character.
Example 2: a traveller crossing the EU/third country border once a week,
thereby bringing five packs of cigarettes and one litre of vodka on each of his
entries into the EU when coming back from the third country.
In case all other conditions are met, the
amounts indicated in this example should not give rise to initiating the
customs procedures.
Example 3: a traveller crossing the EU/third country border on a daily basis,
thereby entering the EU with a motor vehicle with a full standard tank of petrol/diesel
plus additional 10 litres in a portable container.
It is very unlikely that a private individual
uses such big amounts of fuel for non-commercial purposes.
Example 4: a traveller crossing the EU/third country
border once a week, thereby carrying 3 packs of fine-cut tobacco (total of
90g), 4 litres of still wine, 1 litre of whiskey, 5 wristwatches, several
bottles of perfume and 3 GPS devices on each of his entries into the EU.
Although the amount of excisable goods imported
seems to be still in line with the Directive’s requirements, the import of
other goods gives rise to control the traveller’s intentions, respectively the
use for commercial purposes. 
The Commission is aware that there are many
different scenarios which cannot be discussed in detail and appropriately in
the framework of this report. This multitude can only be addressed on a case-by-case
basis, particularly when there is an indication of tax avoidance, thereby
taking into account all conditions listed in particular in Articles 4 to 6 of
the Directive. The Commission does not have principal objections to the
approach chosen by a number of Member States monitoring the amount of journeys
of a single traveller in a certain period of time, in particular at land
borders with third countries. Such monitoring should, however, not lead to a
disproportionate curtailing of the freedom of travel for EU citizens nor
restrict normal border crossings for persons not carrying any goods purchased
abroad. As regards the ‘architecture’ of such monitoring activities, Member
States are free to determine which measures they find most appropriate and
least burdensome.
It should also not be overlooked that many of
the provisions in Council Directive 2007/74/EC have
their origin in international Conventions to which Member States and the EU are
contracting parties. Therefore, the consistency of the Community provisions
with the provisions of these Conventions must be preserved. 
Against this background the Commission does not
intend to launch a legislative initiative at this stage for resolving the
described problems; however, the Commission is open to developing administrative
tools and practices together with interested Member States for addressing the
described problem scenarios appropriately and then share that knowledge with
other Member States.
The situations described above are even more
complex to handle in the case of persons resident in a frontier zone,
frontier-zone workers or a crew of a means of transport (see Article 13 of the
Directive). When evaluating such border crossings Member States need to take
into account the geographical position of the traveller’s residence, the
occupational situation and/or working environment in addition to the
requirements imposed by Articles 4 to 6 of the Directive.
For facilitating the handling of such special
cases, Article 3, paragraphs (5) and (6) of the Directive provide definitions
of ‘frontier zone’ and ‘frontier zone worker’. According to these definitions
and in correlation to Article 13(2) travellers going beyond a zone of 15
kilometres from the border (“as the crow flies”) do not face any other
restrictions than the ones applicable to all other travellers. However, some
private individuals misuse this provision by stopping within the frontier zone
and by handing out the goods purchased abroad to persons residing less than 15
km away from the border. As such imports usually take place only at land
borders the Directive provides for certain measures which Member States can
apply in order to tackle/limit the misuse of exemptions granted.
First, travellers other than air and sea
travellers can only bring in goods (other than tobacco, alcohol, fuel) up to a
value of 300 Euro per person. For air and sea travellers, this limit amounts to
430 Euro.
Second, and for promoting a high level of
public health protection, Member States can reduce the maximum allowed quantity
applicable to tobacco products to 20 per cent of the regular quantities (i.e.
40 cigarettes instead of 200). Thereby, Member States are free to choose whether
such lower limits apply for all travellers (Article 8(1)) or for sea and land
travellers only (Article 8(2)).
Third, Member States can lower both, the
monetary threshold as well as the quantitative limits for frontier zone
residents, frontier zone workers and the crew of a means of transport used in
international travel to a level which they determine on a national basis, see
Article 13(1) in correlation with Article 13(2) 2nd subparagraph of
the Directive. In some cases, Member States reduced the quantities/amounts even
to a zero level. 
The Commission fully
acknowledges the difficult situation in a number of Member States which they face
when implementing the special cases and exemptions granted for in the
Directive. It considers, however, that the current legislation provides a
balance between Member States’ obligation to prevent double taxation for
non-commercial imports and Member States’ sovereign right to protect their
domestic economy and national revenues.
Again the Commission is of the opinion that a
legislative initiative for dealing with frontier zone cases is simply not a feasible
approach to address the problems reported. The Commission is, however, open to
developing administrative tools and best practices together with interested
Member States for addressing the described problem scenarios appropriately and
then share that knowledge with other Member States.
2.2.3.     Article 8 - Treatment of other tobacco products (here: snus)
One Member State (Sweden) reports that the tax
exemption provided for in this Directive is being abused for a tobacco product called
“snus”. Snus is a tobacco product liable to excise duty under Swedish law. It
is banned in all other EU markets except Sweden. Since the tax exempted import
of snus is limited only by the 430/300 Euro threshold in Article 7 (and not by
the quantitative limits of Article 8), it seems possible to bring large
quantities of non-taxed snus into Sweden claiming that it is for personal use.
Customs control measures seem to confirm that snus is illegally brought into Sweden by travellers (couriers) via Baltic Sea ferries in an organized way and on large scale. The
non-taxed snus is re-sold at the retail level in Sweden and seems to cause
market distortions. Sweden suggests introducing a quantitative limit for snus
as a derogation to Articles 7 and 8. Furthermore, Sweden also proposes that
there should be quantitative limits for all taxed tobacco products, including
smokeless tobacco products.
According to Article 8 of the Directive,
quantitative limits are provided for certain tobacco products that Member
States shall exempt from VAT and excise duty. Other goods, such as tobacco
products that are not listed in Article 8, need to respect the 300/430 Euro
threshold only (Article 7). It would appear that the Swedish administrative
practice of applying over years relief thresholds of
4,300 SEK and 3000 SEK for travellers arriving by boat or ship from third
countries which corresponds to 507,49 Euro (air and sea) resp. 354,06
Euro (other travellers), has aggravated that situation considerably. 
Against this background national measures seem
to be a priority; such national measures could align the Swedish relief
thresholds to the Euro amounts provided for in Article 7 of the Directive but
also aim at restricting the imports of snus. Examples can be found for drugs,
medicines, weapons, explosive materials, pornographic materials, where Member
States examine their sovereign right to prohibit or restrict the import and/or
distribution of such products.
Currently the Commission does not intend
proposing an amendment of the Directive as regards the treatment of ‘snus’.
2.2.4.     Article 8(2) – distinction between air travellers and other
travellers
One Member State proposes to abolish the
distinction between air travellers and other travellers (applying lower
quantitative limits for tobacco products only to travellers other than air
travellers).
According to Article 8(2) “Member States may
choose to distinguish between air travellers and other travellers by applying the
lower quantitative limits specified in paragraph 1 only to travellers other
than air travellers.” Abolishing this distinction would lead to Member States being
obliged to apply the lower quantitative limits for tobacco products (i.e. 40
instead of 200 cigarettes) to either all travellers or none.
The current provision of Article 8(2) enables
Member States to decide autonomously whether they would like to distinguish
between different kinds of travelling or not. Maintaining this provision is
necessary for taking account of the situation in certain Member States which
share land or sea borders with third countries with considerably lower price
levels. Member States are however free to decide to apply the same limit to all
travellers. 
Therefore the Commission does not see room for abolishing
the option in Article 8(2).
2.2.5.     Articles 8, 9, 11 – Quantitative limits
One Member State suggested aligning the
quantitative limits to the (considerably higher) indicative limits applicable
to intra-EU travellers (Art. 32(3) of Council Directive
2008/118/EC), thereby preventing a different treatment for
travellers coming from third countries.
According to Articles 8, 9 and 11 of the
Directive, Member State shall exempt from VAT and excise duty certain
quantities of tobacco and alcohol products as well as fuel in a standard tank
and a portable container. 
As a basic principle of the EU Internal Market,
there are no limits on what private persons can buy and take with them when
they travel between EU countries, as long as the products are for personal use
and not for resale, with the exception of new means of transport. Taxes (VAT
and excise) are included in the price of the products in the Member State of purchase and no further payment of taxes is due in any other Member State. However, in order to determine whether goods subject to excise duty are intended
for the own use of the private individual, Member States lay down guide levels,
solely as a form of evidence. These guide levels are several times higher than
the quantitative limits for tax exempt imports under the Directive.
Therefore it would not make much sense
increasing the quantitative limits for tax exempt imports with the indicative
guide levels for taxed goods in the EU; on the contrary it would create a negative
discrimination of Community citizens and at the same time increase the risk of
competitive distortions. The quantitative limits of Articles 8, 9 and 11 of the
Directive help protecting the Member States socio-economic, budget and public
health policies by setting clear benchmarks which are enforceable by national
authorities at any time.
The Commission does not support an increase of
quantitative limits in Article 8, 9 and 11 of the Directive to the guide levels
stipulated in Article 32(3-4) of Council Directive 2008/118/EC.
2.2.6.     Article 10 – Age of travellers
One Member State suggests replacing the age
indication of "17" with "18", with respect to public health
measures for minors in the various Member States.
According to Article 10 of the Directive,
exemptions on tobacco and alcoholic products shall not apply to adolescents
under 17 years of age. The legal drinking age limit across the EU Member States
follows national/regional public health as well as socio-economic policies.
While some Member States allow purchasing and consuming of any
alcohol/alcoholic beverages only to persons of the minimum age of 18 or even
20, other Member States apply a lower age limit of 16 which is either
applicable to beer only or to any alcohol/alcoholic beverages, including
spirits. As regards the age limits for the purchase and consumption of tobacco
products, the situation in the Member States is similar to the one for alcohol.
However, a majority of Member States apply the higher age limit of 18 for the
buying of tobacco products, while a smaller number of Member States allow it
for adolescents of the age of 16. Furthermore, some Member States implemented
legislation on youth protection which falls under regional competence. This
leads to the fact that provisions on smoking and drinking vary widely even
within one single country.
Before the adoption of the current Article 10
of the Directive these aspects have been discussed in detail and the age limit
of 17 contained in Article 10 of the Directive reflects a fair compromise
between the different jurisdictions and national/regional public health and
socio-economic policies in the Member States. There are no new elements which
would merit discussion with the perspective of a different result. 
Therefore the Commission does not intend to amend
this provision concerning the age of travellers at this stage.
2.2.7.     Article
11 – fuel in a portable container
One Member State expressed the view that there
is no need to provide the exemption for fuel in a portable container, mainly
for practical reasons. Furthermore, this Member State
suggests aligning Article 11 of the Directive to the provisions established in
Articles 84 and 87 of Council Directive 2009/132/EC determining the scope of
Article 143(b) and (c) of Directive 2006/112/EC as regards exemption from VAT
on the final importation of certain goods for VAT purposes, and in Articles 107
and 110 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 setting up a Community system
of reliefs from customs duty in order to ensure a clearer and more coherent
application of tax exemptions for fuel contained in the standard tank. Under Article 11 of the Directive, fuel contained in the standard
tank and an additional quantity of 10 litres contained in a portable container
may be exempted from VAT and excise duty. These provisions have their origin in
several International Conventions such as the Kyoto Convention and the Istanbul
Convention on temporary importation to which Member States and/ or the European
Union are contracting parties. This consistency between the Community rules and
the international obligation must be maintained. In addition to that, road
safety aspects should not be ignored by adopting a pure fiscal view. 
On the other hand the Commission shares the
concerns of these Member States about a misuse of these exemptions, especially
since they are confirmed and described in detail in the
“Report on personal luggage
provisions – Reporting on issues related to the implementation of Article 41 of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 which was introduced by Council Regulation
(EC) No 274/2008”. But again a legislative initiative does not seem the
instrument of choice for addressing these misuse scenarios. It would appear
more appropriate to develop administrative practices and instruments for combatting
that misuse. The provisions in Articles 84 and 87 of
Council Directive 2009/132/EC and in Articles 107 and 110 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 1186/2009 could serve as a basis for developing such instruments and
practices.
Therefore, the exemption for fuel contained in
standard tanks of vehicles as well as the exemption for fuel contained in a
portable container of not exceeding 10 litres shall be maintained. The
Commission is, however, open to developing administrative tools and best practices
together with interested Member States for addressing the described problem
scenarios appropriately and then share that knowledge with other Member States.
2.2.8.     Article 14 – Minimum tax amount
One Member States asked whether the amount
mentioned in Article 14 (10 Euro) applies to both VAT and excise duty (a total
of 10 Euro) or to each separate tax (10 + 10 Euro).
According to Article 14, “Member States may
choose not to levy VAT or excise duty on the import of goods by a traveller
when the amount of the tax which should be levied is equal to, or less than,
EUR 10”.
The Commission would like to clarify that this
minimum tax amount refers to the total calculated tax (both VAT and excise
duty).
2.2.9.     Relation between monetary
thresholds and quantitative limits
In the “Report on
personal luggage provisions – Reporting on issues related to the implementation
of Article 41 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 which was introduced by
Council Regulation (EC) No 274/2008” Member States had criticised that the possibilities
to choose between monetary thresholds and quantitative limits might be too
liberal and would trigger competitive distortions between Member States. For
excise duties Member States have not reported any such competitive distortions
or provided economic data supporting a corresponding assumption.
At this stage the Commission does therefore not
intend to re-open discussions on this topic of the relation between monetary
thresholds and quantitative limits.
2.2.10.   Inland navigation and passenger
transport on the river Danube
An economic operator had asked the question why
travellers entering the EU via the river Danube on a non-sea-going vessel
cannot benefit from traveller allowances. The Commission services had no
immediate answer to that question and will discuss that question with Member
States because there seem to be questions of equal fiscal treatment involved.
The Commission will discuss the topic of inland
navigation and passenger transport on the river Danube with Member States in
the Committee on excise duties.
3.           Overall
evaluation and conclusion
The Member States’ consultation provided
up-to-date insights on the current application of Community law in national
legislation. The vast majority of Member States is content with the provisions
and do not see any need to revise the current Directive. A considerable number
of comments received refer to linguistic/editorial changes only. For these
reasons, the Commission proposes not to launch any legislative
initiative aiming to amend the Directive on traveller allowances at the current
stage. The Commission is, however open to developing administrative tools and best
practices together with interested Member States for addressing practical
problem scenarios appropriately and then share that knowledge with other Member
States.
All substantial comments received are
reflected in the framework of this report. Member States will find guidance on
particular questions, mainly referring to the definition and interpretation of
technical terms used for the application of this Directive. Some of the
comments touch on broader issues dealt with by other excise legislation (in
particular general arrangements on excise duty provided for in Council
Directive 2008/118/EC). These comments will be taken into consideration when
proposing the revision of such legislation.
4.           Annex

Overview
of Member States' application of exemptions and higher/lower quantitative limits according to Articles 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 of Council
Directive 2007/74/EC

According to Articles 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 of Council Directive 2007/74/EC,
Member States can make use of exemptions and higher/lower quantitative limits
when implementing the provisions of this Directive. These provisions are
applied nationally. The tables below provide an overview of Member States’
application of such exemptions.
Implementation of reduced
quantities/monetary threshold according to Art. 7(2) and Art. 8(1-2)
 MS || Reduced monetary threshold according to Art. 7 (2) in Euro || Reduced quantities for all travellers according to Art. 8 (1) || Reduced quantities for travellers other than air travellers, Art. 8 (2) 
 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 
 AT* || 150 || no || no 
 BE || 175 || no || no 
 BG || no || Partly yes || yes 
 CY || 175 || no || no 
 CZ || 200 || no || no 
 DE || 175 || no || no 
 DK || no || no || no 
 EE || no || only for Art. 8(1) a & d || n/a 
 EL || 150 || no || yes 
 ES || 150 || no || no 
 FI || no || no || no 
 FR || 150 || no || no 
 HU || 150 || no || yes 
 IE || 215 || no || no 
 IT || 150 || no || no 
 LT || 147,70 || no || yes 
 LU || 175 || no || no 
 LV || 282,01 || no || yes 
 MT || no || no || no 
 NL || no || no || no 
 PL || no || VAT: no. Excises: both. || yes 
 PT || 150 || no || no 
 RO || no || only for Art. 8(1) a || no 
 SE || no || no || yes (only to some extent) 
 SI || 150 || no || no 
 SK || no || Partly yes || yes 
 UK || no || no || no 
* Austria applies Art. 8(3) for travellers arriving
from Samnauntal
Implementation
of reduced quantities/monetary threshold according to Art. 13 (1) a
     MS || Tobacco (a) cigarettes (b) cigarillos (c) cigars (d) smoking tobacco || Alcohol and alcoholic beverages (a) more than 22%vol or undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80%vol and over (b) 22%vol or less (c) still wine (d) beer || Fuel (a) standard tank (b) portable container || Monetary threshold (maximum amount in Euro) 
 AT || a ) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || n/a || 20 Euro incl. 4 Euro for food and non-alcoholic drinks 
 BE || no || no || no || no 
 BG || no || no || no || no 
 CY || no || no || no || no 
 CZ || no || no || no || no 
 DE || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0 litre b) 0 litre c) 0 litre d) 0 litre ||   n/a || 90 Euro   
 DK || no || no || no || no 
 EE || no || no || no || no 
 EL || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 1 litre (b): 2 litre (c): 4 litres (d): 16 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 175 Euro 
 ES || a) 200 per month || no || no || no 
 FI || no || no || no || no 
 FR || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 0,25 litre (b): 0,50 litre (c): 0,50 litres (d): 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank: 200 litres b) 10 l fuel in portable container || Max.: 175 Euro (voyageurs 15 ans et plus). Pour moins de 15 ans: 40 Euro. 
 HU || no || no || no || no 
 IE || no || no || no || no 
 IT || a ) 20 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,125 litre b) 0,250 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || only standard tank || 50 Euro 
 LT || a ) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,5 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 0,75 litre d) 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) no exemption for portable container || 147,70 Euro 
 LU || no || no || no || no 
 LV || no || no || no || no 
 MT || no || no || no || no 
 NL || no || no || no || no 
 PL || no || a) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) b) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) c) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) d) 2 litres (for VAT only) || no || no 
 PT || no || no || no || no 
 RO || no || no || no || no 
 SE || no || no || no || no 
 SI || a) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 250g || a) 0,25 litre c) 1 litre   || n/a || 40 Euro 
 SK || no || no || no || no 
 UK || no || no || no || no 
Implementation of reduced
quantities/monetary threshold according to Art. 13 (1) b
     MS || Tobacco products (a) cigarettes (b) cigarillos (c) cigars (d) smoking tobacco || Alcohol and alcoholic beverages (a) more than 22%vol or undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80%vol and over (b) 22%vol or less (c) still wine (d) beer || Fuel (a) standard tank (b) portable container || Monetary threshold (maximum amount in Euro) 
 AT || a ) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || n/a || 20 Euro incl. 4 Euro for food and non-alcoholic drinks 
 BE || no || no || no || no 
 BG || no || no || no || no 
 CY || no || no || no || no 
 CZ || no || no || no || no 
 DE || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0 litre b) 0 litre c) 0 litre d) 0 litre ||   n/a || 90 Euro   
 DK || no || no || no || no 
 EE || no || no || no || no 
 EL || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 1 litre (b): 2 litre (c): 4 litres (d): 16 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 175 Euro 
 ES || a) 200 per month || no || no || no 
 FI || no || no || no || no 
 FR || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 0,25 litre (b): 0,50 litre (c): 0,50 litres (d): 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank: 200 litres b) 10 l fuel in portable container || Max.: 175 Euro (voyageurs 15 ans et plus). Pour moins de 15 ans: 40 Euro. 
 HU || no || no || no || no 
 IE || no || no || no || no 
 IT || a ) 20 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,125 litre b) 0,250 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || only standard tank || 50 Euro 
 LT || a ) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,5 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 0,75 litre d) 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) no exemption for portable container || 147,70 Euro 
 LU || no || no || no || no 
 LV || no || no || no || no 
 MT || no || no || no || no 
 NL || no || no || no || no 
 PL || no || a) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) b) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) c) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) d) 2 litres (for VAT only) || no || no 
 PT || no || no || no || no 
 RO || no || no || no || no 
 SE || no || no || no || no 
 SI || a) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 250g || a) 0,25 litre c) 1 litre || n/a || 40 Euro 
 SK || no || no || no || no 
 UK || no || no || no || no 
Implementation of reduced
quantities/monetary threshold according to Art. 13 (1) c
     MS || Tobacco products (a) cigarettes (b) cigarillos (c) cigars (d) smoking tobacco || Alcohol and alcoholic beverages (a) more than 22%vol or undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80%vol and over (b) 22%vol or less (c) still wine (d) beer || Fuel (a) standard tank (b) portable container || Monetary threshold (maximum amount in Euro) 
 AT || a ) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || n/a || 20 Euro incl. 4 Euro for food and non-alcoholic drinks 
 BE || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,50 litre c) 2 litre d) 8 litres || a) standard tank:  none. b) portable container: none || Max. amount: 175 € 
 BG || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 1 litre (b): 1 litre (c): 2 litres (d): 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 150 Euro 
 CY || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,50 litre c) 1 litre d) 3 litres || n/a || 35 Euro 
 CZ || n/a || n/a || n/a || 300 EUR 
 DE || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0 litre b) 0 litre c) 0 litre d) 0 litre ||   n/a || 90 Euro   
 DK || no || no || no || no 
 EE || no || no || no || no 
 EL || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 1 litre (b): 2 litre (c): 4 litres (d): 16 litres || a) fuel in standard tank. b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 175 Euro 
 ES || no || no || no || 30 or 43 Euro 
 FI || Per month: a) 200 b) 100 c) 50 d) 250g || Per month: a) 1 litre b) 2 litres c) 4 litres d) 16 litres || Per month: a) fuel in standard tank. b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 430 € per month (air and sea travel). Land traffic: monetary threshold of goods imported in one time max. 300 €. 
 FR || a) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 0,25 litre (b): 0,50 litre (c): 0,50 litres (d): 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank: 200 litres b) 10 l fuel in portable container || Max.: 175 Euro (voyageurs 15 ans et plus). Pour moins de 15 ans: 40 Euro. 
 HU || no || no || no || no 
 IE || (a) 40 (b) 20 (c) 10 (d) 50g || (a) 0,35 litre (b) 0,50 litre (c) 0,75 litre (d) 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank. b) 10 l fuel in portable container || 430 Euro 
 IT || a) 20 b) 10 c) 5 d) 25g || a) 0,125 litre b) 0,250 litre c) 1 litre d) 2 litres || only standard tank || 50 Euro 
 LT || a ) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,5 litre b) 0,75 litre c) 0,75 litre d) 4 litres || a) fuel in standard tank b) no exemption for portable container || 147,70 Euro 
 LU || a ) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || a) 0,25 litre b) 0,5 litre c) 2 litres d) 8 litres || n/a || 175 Euro 
 LV || no || no || no || no 
 MT || no || no || no || no 
 NL || a ) 40 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || (a): 1 litre (b): 1 litre (c): 2 litres (d): 8 litres || No lower quantity || No lower threshold 
 PL || no || a) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) b) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) c) 0,5 litre (for VAT only) d) 2,0 litres (for VAT only) || no || no 
 PT || a ) 80 b) 20 c) 10 d) 50g || n/a || n/a || 200 Euro 
 RO || no || no || no || no 
 SE || a) 100 b) 20 c) 20 d) 100g || a) 0 litre b) 0 litre c) 0 litre d) 0 litre || n/a || 0 Euro 
 SI || a) 25 b) 10 c) 5 d) 250g || a) 0,25 litre c) 1 litre || n/a || 40 Euro 
 SK || no || no || no || no 
 UK || no || no || no || no 
Implementation of the exceptions
according to Art. 14 and Art. 15
 MS || Exceptions of Art. 14 (no VAT or excise duty if tax is equal to or less than 10 Euro) || Exceptions of Art. 15 (adjustment/rounding off of the national currency to the Euro)* 
 AT || yes || no 
 BE || no || no 
 BG || no || no 
 CY || yes || no 
 CZ || yes || Yes (only for Art. 15(2)) 
 DE || no || no 
 DK || no || no 
 EE || no || no 
 EL || no || no 
 ES || no || no 
 FI || no || no 
 FR || no || no 
 HU || no || yes (only for Art. 15(2)) 
 IE || no || no 
 IT || yes || no 
 LT || no || yes (only for Art. 15(2)) 
 LU || yes || no 
 LV || no || yes (only for Art. 15(2)) 
 MT || yes || no 
 NL || no || no 
 PL || yes || no 
 PT || yes || no 
 RO || yes || no 
 SE || yes || yes 
 SI || no || no 
 SK || no || no 
 UK || no || yes 
[1]               Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013 only and is not
included in the exercise.
[2]               The questionnaire was presented
in a meeting of the Committee on Excise Duty and open for comments from 26 June
2012 until 27 July 2012.
[3]               Document 16879/2011 – UD
335 – Annex
[4]               See Commission document on
the “Outcome of the questionnaire on the implementation of Council Directive
2007/74/EC of 20 December 2007 on the exemption from value added tax and excise
duty of goods imported by persons travelling from third countries” (CED
798).
[5]               “The value of the personal
luggage of a traveller, which is imported temporarily or is re-imported
following its temporary export, and the value of medicinal products required to
meet the personal needs of a traveller shall not be taken into consideration for
the purposes of applying the exemptions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.”