CELEX: 51973PC1277
Language: en
Date: 1973-07-26
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION (EEC) OF THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1496/68 of 27 September 1968 on the definition of the customs territory of the Community (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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COM (73) 1277
Vol. 1973/0241
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                          COM(73)1277 final
                                                         Brussels , 26 July 1973
                                PROPOSAL FOR A
                       REGULATION (EEC) OP THE COUNCIL
                amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1496/68
                             of 27 September 1968
                  on the definition of the customs territory
                               of the Community
                ( submitted to the Council by the Commission)
  COK(73) 1277 final
 ---pagebreak---                                      Explanatory memorandum
 INTRODUCTION
1 , Article 46 of the Treaty of Accession provided that , for so long as customs
      duties continued to be levied in trade within the enlarged Community , the
      " customs territory" for the purposes of establishing the customs value shall
      continue to be as defined in the law of the Community and the new Member
      States immediately before enlargement .      The Treaty did not , however , deal
      expressly with the question of " customs territory" for the purposes of valuing
                                            ι
      importations from third countries .     Subsequently , it was recognised that the
      legal provisions , as enacted , would have resulted in discrimination against
      intra^-Community trade as compared with trade between the Community and third
      countries . Regulation (EEC ) No . 2744/72 » dated 19 December 1972 , was there­
     fore drafted to remedy this situation by applying the same provisions as
      regards customs territory to third country importations as had been applied
   ' by the Treaty of Accession to intra–Community trade .       However , in view of
      the planned 40 /= reduction in Customs duties by 1 January 1974 » (with the
      consequent lessening in absolute terms of the effects of the discrimination),
     and of the possibility that the Common Customs Tariff would be applied in
      full for a large number of products , it was decided to limit the operation
      of Regulation (EEC ) N O . 2744/72 to 12 months .                 •
2 . In adopting the Regulation , the Council took note of a request from the
      French delegation that the Commission should report to the Council in the
      last quarter of 1973 on the possibility of extending the measures beyond
      31 December , 1973 •  The purpose of this note is to report on this matter
     and to propose an extension of the provisions of Regulation (EEC ) No . 2744/72
     until 30 June , 1977 .
CU3T0MS VALUE
3 . The value for customs purposes of imported goods in what is- known a.s' the
      "normal price".   This -price is established .by reference toi aUnumber of rules
     which determine what elements shall be included in or excluded from the
     Customs value . One of the elements normally included in the customs value
      is the "transports . costs-", i^e . costs , charges and expenses incidental to the
    'transportation of the goods from seller to buyer. In determining the
 ---pagebreak---     transport costs , and certain other elements of customs value euch as quantity
    to be taken into account and the value of the right to use a trade mark , the
    concept of " customs territory" has decisive importance . In so far as transport
    costsare concerned , this is because the value for duty normally includes the
    transport costs of the goods from the seller 's premises to the place of their
    introduction into a particular customs territory .
CUSTOMS TERRITORY
4» Council Regulation (EEC ) No ^ I496/68 of 27 September, 1968 as adopted by the
    Treaty of Accession (Annex i ) defines the' customs territory of the Community
    for general purposes . As previously indicated however , Article 46 of the
    Treaty of Accession provided that until customs duties within the enlarged
    Community tvere finally abolished , the territories of the Community of the
    Six ,- of Denmark , of Ireland and of the United Kingdom should remain separate
    customs territories for the purposes of establishing customs value in intra-
    Community traded
     r
REGULATION (EEC ) No . 2744/72
5 . As the Treaty of Accession was silent on the question of imports from third
    countries in this context , the practical effect of Article 46 would have
    been as follows :
    (a ) Intra–Community trade
         Transport . costs from the seller , s premises to the place of introduction
         of the goods into the customs territory of the original Community , or
          of Denmark , of Ireland or of the United Kingdom , according to their
         destination , would have been included.
    (b ) Imports from third countries
         Transport costs from the seller 's premises to the place . of introduction
         of the goods into the customs territory of the enlarged Community only
         would have been included .                                   1
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 3 -
6 . The potential discrimination against intra-Community trade inherent in such
     a situation can be seen from tho following simple example :
     ( a ) Exportation from Italy to Ireland via Prance - value for duty includes
           transport costs all the way to Ireland .
     (b ) Exportation from Yugoslavia to Ireland via Italy and France - value for
           duty includes transport costs only as far as Italian border .
7 . Such discrimation would clearly have been in conflict with the objective
    of Article 33 of the Treaty of Accession as regards the maintenance of Com­
    munity preference . Regulation (EEC ) No . 2744/72 was , therefore , enacted to
    place importations from third countries on the same footing as intra-community
    trade . As indicated , the Regulation provides for the period up to 31 December ,
    1973 and the possibility of extension was to be reported on .
8 . The Customs Valuation Committee is of the unanimous opinion that , in the
    circumstances , it is necessary to retain the provisions of last December 's
    Regulation (EEC ) No . 2744/72 in force until 30 June , 1 977 •
CONCLUSION
9 . The Commission proposes that the Council should adopt a regulation asper
    the attached draft . Such a regulation would have the effect of maintaining
    in force until 30 June , 1977 "the arrangements made in Regulation (ESC )
    No . 2744/72 .
                                                    \
 ---pagebreak---                                      Proposal for a
                            REGULATION (ESC ) OP THE COI3NCIL
                  amending Council Regulation (EEC ) NO ^ I496/68
                                of 27 September , 1968
          on the definition of the customs territory of the Community-
TES COUNCIL 0? TZS EUROPEEN COEKUXITIES ,
Ifevmg regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community , and
 in particular to Article 235 thereof ,
Jfeving regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Ifeving regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ,
Ifeving regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ,
Whereas , in regard to the determination of the customs value of goods imported
from third countries , the Council adopted , for the year 1973 1 Regulation (EEC )
No . 2744/72 of 19 December, 1972 ( l ) amending Council Regulation (EEC ) NO , 1496/68
of 27 September, 1958 ( 2 ) which defined the customs territory of the Community;
Whereas that Regulation provided that , in regard to such determination , the
customs territory as defined by the provisions existing in the Community and in
the new Member States on 31 December , 1972 , should continue to be taken into
cons iderat ion ;
Whereas the reasons underlying that Regulation , notably those related to trans­
port costs and trade marks , will continue to be valid for as long as customs
duties continue to be levied in intrcv-Community trade , i.e. up to the 30 June ,
1977 » even though , the discrimination against Community goods will , in real
terms , diminish proportionally with the application of the reductions in duty
in intra–Community trade provided for in the Accession Treaty ;
VJhereas , contrary to what was implied in the considerata on which Regulation
(EEC ) NO . 2744/72 was based , further examination has shown that the number of
headings in the tariffs of the new Member States which will carry the same rates
of duty as the Commons Customs Tariff as from 1 January , 1974 will be comparti–
vely small ,
( 1 ) J.O. No . L 291 , 28.12.1972 , p . 145 .
( 2 ) J.O? No . L 238 , 28 . 9.1968 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak--- HAS ADOPTED TEE PRESENT REGULATION :
                                     Article 1
              Article 5 of Regulation (EEC ) NO , 1496/68 as inserted by Regulation
(EEC ) NO . 2744/72 is hereby amended by the substitution of "30 June , 1977" FOR
"31 December , 1973" »
                                     Article 2
              This Regulation shall enten into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
            " This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States .
Done at Brussels ,
                                                 For the Council