CELEX: 51987PC0325
Language: en
Date: 1987-08-21
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF TAXES ON CIGARETTES

19.9.87                                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 251/3
                                                                     II
                                                             (Preparatory Acts)
                                                       COMMISSION
                             Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of taxes on cigarettes
                                                          COM(87) 325 final 12
                                     (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 7 August 1987)
                                                              (87/C 251/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                 HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                                              Article 1
Economic Community, and in particular Article 99
thereof,                                                                 Not later than 31 December 1992, Member States shall
                                                                         apply to cigarettes approximated taxes on consumption
                                                                         subject to the conditions and within the limits laid down
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                       in this Directive.
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                        This provision shall apply to the taxes which, pursuant to
liament,                                                                 Directive 72/464/EEC, are levied on cigarettes and
                                                                         which comprise:
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                         (a) a specific excise duty per unit of the product;
Social Committee,
                                                                         (b) a proportional excise duty calculated on the basis of
Whereas Council Directive 72/464/EEC (*), as last                             the maximum retail selling price;
amended by Directive 86/246/EEC (2), lays down
                                                                         (c) a VAT proportional to the retail selling price.
general provisions relating to excise duties on manu-
factured tobacco and special provisions relating to the
structure of excise duties applicable to cigarettes;                                               Article 2
                                                                         Not later than 31 December 1992, each Member State
Whereas Council Directive 79/32/EEC (3) lays down the                    shall apply
definitions of the different types of manufactured
tobacco;                                                                 (a) a specific excise duty, the basic amount of which is
                                                                              fixed at 19,5 ECU per 1 000 cigarettes and which is
                                                                              to be adjusted in line with the general consumer
Whereas, in the case of cigarettes, harmonization, as                         price index in the Community, taking 1987 as the
provided for in Directive 72/464/EEC, of the ratio                            reference year;
between the specific excise duty and the sum of the
proportional excise duty and VAT does not make it                        (b) a proportional excise duty the rate of which is to be
possible to harmonize the rates of taxation;                                  fixed in such a way that the combined incidence of
                                                                              this rate and the VAT rate lies between 52 % and
Whereas, for the purpose of establishing an internal                          54 % of the retail selling price inclusive of all taxes.
market without frontiers, it is necessary to bring more
closely together the rates of taxes on consumption;                                                Article 3
                                                                         The provisions governing the periodic adjustment of the
Whereas, in the case of cigarettes, those taxes are made                 rate of the specific excise duty and the provisions
up of a mixed excise duty and VAT; whereas they                          governing the arrangements for collecting tax and the
display special characteristics, notably as regards their                time allowed for payment of tax shall be laid down
cumulative and multiplier effects; whereas therefore, all                before 1 January 1989 in Directives adopted by the
the components of those taxes should be harmonized,                      Council acting on proposals from the Commission.
                                                                                                   Article 4
(») OJ No L 303, 31. 12. 1972, p. 1.
(») OJ No L 164, 20. 6. 1986, p. 26.                                     Article 1, Article 4(3) and (4), and Titles II and Ha of
(») O J N o L l O , 16. 1. 1979, p. 9.                                   Directive 72/464/EEC shall cease to apply once Member
 ---pagebreak--- No C 251 /4                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                   19.9.87
States have brought into force the national provisions                 They shall forthwith inform the Commission of any
necessary to comply with this Directive.                               provisions of national law which they adopt in the field
                                                                       governed by this Directive.
                             Article 5
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu-                                              Article 6
lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
with this Directive not later than 31 December 1992.                   This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
               Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of taxes on manufactured tobacco other
                                                            than cigarettes
                                                        COM(87) 326 final I 2
                                   (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 7 August 1987)
                                                            (87/C 251/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                               Whereas a proportional excise duty displays special char-
                                                                       acteristics, notably with regard to its multiplier effect in
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                  combination with VAT; whereas, therefore, the
Economic Community, and in particular Article 99                       incidence of the sum of the rates of those two taxes
thereof,                                                               should be harmonized as a proportion of the retail
                                                                       selling prices of the products in question;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                       Whereas the incidence of taxation should be harmonized
                                                                       in the case of all products belonging to the same group
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                      of manufactured tobacco,
liament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                       HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Social Committee,
                                                                                                 Article 1
Whereas Council Directive 72/464/EEC ('), as last
amended by Directive 86/246/EEC (2), sets out in Title I               The following groups of home-produced and imported
general provisions relating to excise duties applicable to             manufactured tobacco shall be subject, in each Member
all groups of manufactured tobacco; whereas special                    State, to an ad valorem excise duty calculated on the
provisions relating to cigarettes have already been                    basis of the maximum retail selling price of each product,
adopted in Title II of that Directive; whereas special                 freely determined by manufacturers and importers in
provisions still have to be adopted for other manu-                    accordance with Article 5 of Directive 72/464/EEC:
factured tobacco products;
                                                                       (a) cigars and cigarillos;
Whereas Council Directive 79/32/EEC (3) lays down the                  (b) smoking tobacco;
definitions of the different types of manufactured
tobacco;                                                               (c) chewing tobacco;
                                                                       (d) snuff.
Whereas, in order to establish an internal market without
frontiers, the structures of excise duties and VAT need
to be harmonized and their rates brought more closely                                             Article 2
into line;
                                                                       For the purposes of this Directive, the definitions of the
                                                                       products referred to in Article 1 shall be those laid down
Whereas in the case of manufactured tobacco other than                 in Articles 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively of Directive
cigarettes, an excise duty structure proportional to the               79/32/EEC.
retail selling prices is the structure best suited to
achieving that objective;
                                                                                                 Article 3
                                                                       1. Not later than 31 December 1992, each Member
O OJ No L 303, 31. 12. 1972, p. 1.                                     State shall apply an ad valorem rate of excise duty in
(2) OJ No L 164, 20. 6. 1986, p. 26.                                   such a way that the total tax burden resulting from the
(») O J N o L 10, 16. 1. 1979, p. 8.                                   combination of the excise duty and VAT is: