CELEX: 51988PC0810
Language: en
Date: 1989-01-11
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (presented by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (88) 810
Vol. 1988/0268
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983 concerning
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM(88 ) 810 final - SYN 181
                                               Brussels , Hjanuary 1989
                          Proposal for a
                    COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
  on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between
                          Member States
                 ( presented by the Commission )
                            r“"i{       V' - J       S-'- ' |
                                                 Æ
 ---pagebreak---                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.  Until the end of 1992 statistics on the movement of goods between the
    Member States , whether compiled for Community or national purposes , will
    be based on the formalities involved in crossing the Community 's internal
    frontiers and on the administrative documentation generated by these
    formalities . This means that at present the sources of statistics of V ade
    between Member States are the copies of the Single Administrative Document
    which are intended for statistical purposes and that the transit
    statistics compiled by the Member States , for which this movement is
    particularly important from an economic point of view , are unthinkable
    outside the Community transit procedure .
2 . With the elimination of physical frontiers , the formalities , documentation
    and checks which are generally still involved in the transfer of movable
    goods from one Member State to another will disappear , at least for most
    of the goods being moved across Community territory . This will mean that
    the statistics which have , even indirectly , drawn on these formalities ,
    documentation and checks will be deprived of their traditional sources .
3.  Neither the Community as such nor its Member States wish to lose suddenly
    after 1992 the information on intra-Community trade which has for 30 years
    provided them with clear evidence of their economic growth and
    integration . They must continue to have available any such information on
    the basis of which they will be able to assess the consequences of the
    gradual completion of the Internal Market and which will help them to
    accentuate or tone down these consequences . It is therefore essential for
    a replacement system to be set up which is capable of performing
    satisfactorily at the various levels at which this information is useful ,
    without a new burden being created or even a disproportionate burden being
    maintained for the economic operators concerned .
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 2 -
4 . The main aim of the system proposed by the Commission is to cover, from
    1993 on, all the requirements for information on trade in goods between
    Member States . As long as they are justified, it matters little whether
    they are Community or national requirements, since the relevant Community
    law must ensure that those with an obligation to submit statistical
    information, irrespective of the Member State 1n which the obligation is
    met , have only to conform to jointly adopted rules having equivalent
    weight and effect , and that there is free movement of goods on the same
    terms throughout the Community .
5 . The main difficulty to be overcome by the new system is to make those with
    an obligation to submit information aware of their duty regarding
    statistics, since the formalities which bring it to their attention at
    present will have been abolished . Two methods are proposed for achieving
    this : the first , which may be described as preventive, is designed solely
    to draw the attention of those concerned to their obligations either by
    means of administrative instructions or via intermediate operators; the
    second, which has a more critical function, involves the use of registers
    of intra-Community operators which would, as far as possible, be drawn up
    and managed by the national authorities .
6.  The future system must obviously allow the same facilities as the present
    method of collecting data : this is why it expressly provides for the
    globalization of the information for a given reference period . But it must
    also take full account of the ever increasing prospects afforded by
    information technology : the proposal accordingly gives the Commission the
    responsibility for adopting measures in the field of information
    transmission which are best able to take account of post-1992
    technological developments .
7 . No matter how carefully the experts design and Implement the system, it is
    impossible to ignore the risks to which it will be exposed simply because
    its purpose is to record events taking place in a hitherto unknown
    economic environment .
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 3 -
   It therefore seems reasonable not to deal with the measures accompanying
   the new system , as well as most of its implementing measures , until a
   detailed analysis has been made of a number of sensitive problems such as
   using the remaining formalities for statistical purposes , the advisability
   of retaining certain national provisions , the restrictive nature of
   cooperation between tax authorities and statistical authorities , and the
   need to organize regular supplementary surveys on the movement of goods
   not covered by the statistics or on persons exempted from the obligation
   to submit statistics . Furthermore, it must be possible for any
   unwieldiness or shortcomings which are revealed during the initial years
   of the new system 's operation to be rectified or eliminated within the
   relatively short period of three or four years .
8. Of all the statistics which will be covered by the INTRASTAT system , it is
   the statistics on trade between the Member States which most deserve to be
   carried over from the old system to the new . Adopted at Community level by
   the 1975 Council Regulation , which dealt at the same time with the
   Community 's external trade statistics , and subsequently dealt with
   separately by a 1985 Council Regulation on the simplification of
   formalities in intra-Community trade in goods , these statistics must for
   the most part be drawn up immediately if we are to preserve their
   continuity and test as soon as possible how exhaustive and up- to-date they
   are . After describing the system itself , this proposal therefore
   endeavours to adapt the rules and definitions of these special statistics
   to the new circumstances . As soon as the collection of data on special
   trade ( 1928 international convention ) begins , similar provisions will have
   to be proposed to the Council with a view to drawing up transit and
   warehousing statistics insofar as they contribute to the smooth operation
   of the Single Market .
9. Although not systematically expressed, the constant concern of this
   proposal is , furthermore, to prevent the INTRASTAT system from giving rise
   to procedures for processing information on trade in goods between Member
    States which are not compatible with the procedures which those with an
   obligation to submit statistics will have to maintain for their trade with
 ---pagebreak---      non-Community countries . No measure has been envisaged which might have
     the effect of forcing commercial operators to divide the management of
     their businesses into two separate schemes , one for the intra-Community
     flow and one for the extra-Community flow . However , on account of the
     complexity of the relationships between the two types of information,
     certain rules , in particular those concerning the transmission of data ,
     have not yet been laid down .
10 . The Regulation on post-1992 trade in goods between Member States thus
     complies with a number of considerations . Three things need to be done :
     firstly , to define the widest possible field of application in the light
     of the objective of the free movement of goods; secondly, to set up within
     this area without internal frontiers a convenient data collection system
     for the movement between Member States of goods which will no longer be
     subject to formalities; lastly , as a matter of the utmost urgency , to draw
     up , by deduction from these principles , the first specific rules for a
     system of statistics of trade between the Member States which will be
     largely independent of administrative formalities which have nothing to do
     with its actual purpose . These original foundations will make it possible
     in the next few years to reinforce and supplement the system as a whole by
     accompanying and implementing measures which , at present , still require
     more detailed examination and thorough debate .
 ---pagebreak---                                     Proposal for a
                             COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
      on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
The Council of the European Communities ,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community , and
in particular Article 100 A thereof ,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ^ ,
In co-operation with the European Parliament ( 2 ) f
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee O ).
Whereas abolishing physical barriers between Member States is necessary to
complete the internal market ; whereas a satisfactory level of information on
trading of goods between Member States should thus be ensured by means other
than those involving checks , even indirect ones , at internal frontiers ;
Whereas an analysis of the situation of the Community and the Member States
after 1992 reveals that a number of specific requirements will persist as
regards information on trading of goods between Member States ;
Whereas these requirements are not of a macroeconomic nature , as are those
relating for example to national accounts or the balance of payments , and many
of them cannot be met only by means of highly aggregated data ; whereas matters
such as trade policy , sectoral analyses , competition rules , the management and
guidance of agriculture and fisheries , regional development , energy
projections and the organization of transport must on the other hand be based
on statistical documentation providing the most up-to-date, accurate and
detailed view of the internal market ;
Whereas it is precisely information on trading of goods between Member States
which will contribute to measuring the progress of the internal market ,
thereby speeding up its completion and consolidating it on a sound basis ;
( 1 ) OJ No C        of            .P-
( 2 ) OJ No C        of            .P-
( 3 ) OJ No C        of            ,P­
                                                                                  C
 ---pagebreak---                                          -2-
Whereas until the end of 1992" statistics relating to the trading of goods
between Member States will_t>enef it from the formalities , documentation and
controls which the customs authorities , for their own requirements or for
those of other departments , prescribe for consignors and consignees of goods
 in circulation between Member States , but which will disappear through the
elimination of physical frontiers and tax barriers ;
Whereas it will consequently be necessary to collect directly from the
consignors and consignees the data necessary to compile statistics relating to
the trading of goods between Member States , using methods and techniques which
will ensure that they are exhaustive , reliable and up-to-date, without giving
rise for the parties concerhed , in particular for small and medium-sized
businesses , to a burden out of proportion to the results which users of the
said statistics can reasonably expect ;
Whereas related legislation must henceforth apply to all statistics relating
to the trading of goods between Member States , including those statistics
which are not to be harmonized or made compulsory by the Community before
1993 , in order to prevent Member States from replacing traditional procedures
by new procedures which , while effective , would however run the risk of
disparity ; whereas , in order to meet all the information needs likely to arise
through the implementation of the internal market , such legislation must be
able to encompass all goods circulating within the Community , whatever their
customs and tax status or the cause of their being moved ;                . ?
Whereas the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member states
are a function of the movements of goods involved ; whereas they may include
data on transport , which can be collected simultaneously with the data
specific to each of these categories of statistics , thus lightening the
overall statistical burden ;
Whereas private individuals will derive obvious advantages from the
approximation of indirect tax rates ; whereas it is necessary to ensure that
these advantages are not diminished in their eyes by requirements to provide
information on purchases made by such individuals in a Member State other than
the Member State of residence ; whereas the provision of such information would
undoubtedly impose an obligation which private individuals would consider at
the least inconvenient and which it would be impossible to enforce without
employing excessive measures ; whereas it is therefore reasonable not to
regard private individuals as responsible for providing such information ,
apart from suitable periodic surveys ;
Whereas the new collection system to be introduced is to apply to all
statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States ; whereas it
snist therefore be defined first in a general context involving new concepts ,
particularly as regards the scope , the party responsible for providing the
information and the transmission of data ;
Whereas the real economy of the system resides in the use of related
administrative networks , and in particular that of the VAT authorities , to
provide the statistical services with a minimum degree of indirect checks
without thereby increasing the burden on taxpayers ; whereas nonetheless it is
necessary to avoid confusion arising in the minds of the parties responsible
for providing information between their statistical and their tax obligations ;
 ---pagebreak---                                            3
 Whereas it is vital to use existing sources to compile basic documentation in
 each Member State regarding consignors and consignees of goods which are
 covered by statistics of trade between Member States , so as to identify , in
 preparation for 1992 , the main parties concerned and to develop modern data
 transmission techniques with their assistance ;
Whereas implementation alone will reveal the loopholes or weaknesses in the
 new collection system ; whereas improvements and simplifications should be
 introduced within a reasonable period of time in order to prevent its defects
 from having negative repercussions on the trading of goods between Member
States ;
Whereas among the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member
States , statistics of trade between Member States must receive priority , for
obvious reasons of importance and continuity ; whereas , however , substantial
adjustments must be made to these statistics in order to take account of the
new conditions on the internal market after 1992 ; whereas it will be necessary
to review , inter alia , the definition of their content , the goods
classification applicable to them and the list of data to be collected to
compile them ;
Whereas the Commission should be assisted by a committee to ensure the regular
cooperation of the Member States , in particular to resolve the problems which
are bound to arise in connection with information on trading of goods between
Member States following the numerous innovations introduced by the new
collection system ;
Whereas the relevant Community legislation should be implemented
systematically by provisions adopted either by the Commission or by the
Council ;
Whereas some of the provisions of this Regulation must enter into force
without delay so that the Community and its Member States can prepare for the
practical consequences which it will bring as from 1 January 1993 ;
Whereas one of these consequences is firstly that Council Regulation ( EEC) No
2954 / 85 of 22 October 1985 laying down certain measures for the
standardization and simplification of the statistics of trade between Member
States d ) must be repealed , and secondly that Council Regulation ( EEC) No
1736 / 75 of 24 June 1975 on the external trade statistics of the Community and
statistics of trade between Member States ( 2 ) f a8 laat amended by Regulation
( EEC ) No 1629 /88 O ), will no longer be applicable to statistics relating to
the trading of goods between Member States ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
( 1 ) OJ No L 285 of 25.10.1985 , p.l
( 2 ) OJ No L 183 of 14.7.1975 , p.3
( 3 ) OJ No L 147 of 14.6.1988 , p.l
 ---pagebreak---                                       TITLE I
                                GENERAL PROVISIONS
                                     Article 1
The Community and its Member States shall draw up statistics relating to the
trading of goods between Member States in accordance with the rules laid down
by this Regulation .
                                     Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation and without prejudice to any individual
provisions :
a)  “trading of goods between Member States ** means any movement of goods from
    one Member State to another ;
b)  "goods " means all movable property ;
c)  "Community goods " means goods :
    - entirely obtained in the customs territory of the Community , without the
      addition of goods from non-member countries or territories which are not
      part of the customs territory of the Community ,
    - from countries or territories not forming part of the customs territory
      of the Community which have been released for free circulation in a
      Member State ,
    - obtained in the customs territory of the Community either from the goods
      referred to exclusively in the second indent or from the goods referred
      to in the first and second indents ;
d ) "non-Communitv goods " means goods other than those referred to in c ).
    Without prejudice to the agreements concluded with non-member countries
    for the implementation of the Community transit arrangements , goods which ,
 ---pagebreak---                                          5
   while fulfilling the conditions laid down in c ), are reintroduced into the
   customs territory of Che Community after export therefrom are also
   considered as non-Coramunity goods ;
e) Member State ” , when the term is used in the geographical sense , means its
   statistical territory ;
f) " statistical territory of a Member State ” means the territory occupied by
   this Member State within the statistical territory of the Community , as
   this latter is defined in Article 3 of Regulation ( EEC ) No 1736 / 75 ;
g) "goods in free movement on the internal market of the Community" means
   goods complying with the conditions of the market of any Member State ;
h) "goods produced in a specific Member State" means , in addition to goods
   produced there , compensating Community goods which have undergone
   processing there ;
i) " intermediary" means any natural or legal person situated in the chain of
   trade in goods upstream or downstream , as the case may be , of the party
   responsible for providing statistical information ;
j) "private individual" means any natural person not liable to account for
   VAT in connection with a given movement of goods .
                                     Article 3
1. All goods which move from one Member State to another shall be the subject
   of statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States .
   In addition to the goods which move within the statistical territory of
   the Community , goods shall be considered as moving from one Member State
   to another if , in so doing , they cross the external frontier of the
   Community , whether or not they subsequently enter the territory of a
   non -Member state .
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply both to non-Community and Community goods whether
   or not they are the subject of a commercial transaction .
                                                                                X
 ---pagebreak---                                             6
                                        Article 4
1.  Of the goods referred to in Article 3 :
a)  shall be the subject of transit statistics : those which are transported ,
    with or without transshipment , across a Member State without being stored
    there for reasons not inherent in their transport ;
b)  shall be the subject of storage statistics :
    those referred to in Article 2 , second paragraph , of Regulation ( EEC )
    No 1736 / 75 ( EEC ), as well as those which enter or leave storage facilities
    determined by the Commission in accordance with Article 29 ;
c)  shall be the subject of statistics of trade between Member States : those
    which do not meet the conditions of a ) and b ) or which , while meeting
    either of those conditions , are expressly singled out by this Regulation
    or by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 ; .
d)  the Council , on a proposal from the Commission , shall determine the goods
    that are to be the subject of other statistics relating to the trading of
    goods between Member States .
2.  Without prejudice to Community provisions on statistical returns in
    respect of carriage of goods , the data on the movement of goods subject to
    the statistics referred to in paragraph 1 shall be included , as required ,
    in the list of data relating to each of these categories of statistics on
    the conditions and terms laid down by this Regulation or by the Commission
    pursuant to Article 29 .
                                        Article 5
Without prejudice to Article 15 , private individuals shall be exempt from the
obligations implied by the preparation of the statistics referred to in
Article 4 .
 ---pagebreak---                                         TITLE II
                          STATISTICAL COLLECTION SYSTEM
                                     ( INTRASTAT )
                                       Article 6
                                *
                             i .‘
With a view to compiling the statistics relating to the trading of goods -
between Member States , a statistical collection system shall be set -•
up , hereinafter referred to as the IMTRASTAT system .
                                      Article 7
1.   The INTRASTAT system shall be applied in the Member States whenever they
     are deemed to be partner countries in trading of goods between Member
     States by virtue of the provisions of paragraph 4 .
2.   The INTRASTAT system shall be applied to the goods referred to in Article
     3:
a)   which are in free movement on the internal market of the Community ;
b)   which , since they may move on the internal market of the Coasmraity only
     after completion of the formalities prescribed by Community legislation on
     the circulation of goods , are expressly designated either by this
     Regulation or by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 .
3.   The collection of data on the goods referred to in Article 3 to which the
     INTRASTAT system does not apply shall be regulated by the Comission
     pursuant to Article 29 within the framework of the formalities referred to
     in paragraph 2(b ).
4.   The INTRASTAT system shall apply :
a)   to the statistics of trade between Member States , pursuant to Articles 17
     to 27 ;
 ---pagebreak---                                          8
b)  to transit and storage statistics , in accordance with the provisions laid
    down by the Council on a proposal from the Commission pursuant to
    Article 30 .
5.  Earring a decision to the contrary by the Council on a proposal from the
    Commission taken no later than 31 December 1991 , in particular pursuant to
    Article 30 , the national provisions on the statistics referred to in
    paragraph 4 , insofar as they relate to data collection , shall cease to
    apply after 31 December 1992 .
                                     Artide 8
Without prejudice to Article 5 the obligation to supply the information
required by the INTRASTAT system shall be incumbent on any natural or legal
person who is involved in trading of goods between Member States .
Among those incurring this obligation , the party responsible for providing
information for each form of statistics covered by the INTRASTAT system shall
be designated by the relevant specific provisions .
                                     Article 9
1.  The party responsible for providing the information required by the
    INTRASTAT system may transfer the task of providing the information to a
    third party residing in a Member State , but such transfer will in no way
    reduce the responsibility of the said party .
    The party responsible for providing information shall provide this third
    party with all the information necessary to fulfil his obligations as
    party responsible .
2.  On the first occasion that a party responsible for providing information
    who is not liable to account for VAT transfers this task of providing
    information to a third party , he shall make this fact known without delay
    to the competent national departments , unless these departments have
    previously specifically exempted him from the obligation to make the fact
    known .
                                                                                ΛΊ
 ---pagebreak---                                             9
3.    If an intermediary is immediately downstream or upstream of a party
      responsible for providing information who is not liable to account for
      VAT , then the intermediary shall pass to him a copy of the instructions to
      parties responsible for providing information which are supplied to
      intermediaries for this purpose by the competent national departments .
4.    The implementing rules for paragraphs 1 , 2 and 3 shall be laid down by the
      Commission pursuant to Article 29 .
                                       Article 10
1.    Member States shall      take the measures necessary to compile a register
      in which they shall list up to 31 December 1992 upon dispatch the
      consignors , upon arrival the consignees and where necessary the
      declarants , within the meaning of Commission Regulation ( EEC ) No
      2792 / 86 ^, who are involved from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 1992 in
      trade between Member States , referred to hereinafter as intra-Communlty
      operators .
2.    The list of minimum data to be recorded in the register of Intra-Community
      operators in addition to the identification number referred to in
      paragraph 3 shall be laid down by the Commision pursuant to Article 29 by
      30 June 1990 .
3     The departments in the Member States responsible for compiling statistics
      relating to the trading of goods between Member States shall allocate to
      intra-Community operators an identifying code number and shall inform
( 1 ) OJ No L 263 of 15.9.1986 , p. 59
                                                                                  Λ
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 10
   the operators of their code number in time for them to comply with the
   provisions of Article 13 ( 1 ) using this number .
   However , where intra-Community operators are liable to account for VAT ,
   the said departments shall use for the purposes specified above , apart
   from exceptional cases which they shall justify to the operators
   concerned , the identification numbers allocated to these operators by the
   national VAT authorities .   The latter shall also furnish to the
   above-mentioned departments , on the basis of this number , auy information
   relating to the identification of the said operators which u*.ay be
   necessary for the compilation of the register of intra-Community operators .
4. Where required , the Commission shall draw up , in accordance with
   Article 29 , the rules relating to the management and updating of the
   register of intra-Community operators to be applied by the Member States .
                                    Article 11
1. The Member State 's departments responsible for VAT collection shall , at
   least once every three months , furnish the departments in that Member
   State responsible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of
   goods between Member States , with :
   a)         the list of those liable to account for VAT who , in the period
              under review , have declared that they have been charged VAT
              arising out of purchases in other Member States ;
   b)         the list of those liable to account for VAT who , in the period
              under review , have declared that they have charged VAT following
              sales in other Member States .
2. Under restricted conditions which the Commission shall determine pursuant
   to Article 29 , the Member States' departments responsible for VAT
   collection shall in addition furnish the departments in their own Member
   State responsible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of
   goods between Member States , on their own initiative or at the request of
 ---pagebreak---                                         11
     the latter with any information capable of improving the quality of
     statistics which those liable to account for VAT normally submit to the
     first-mentioned departments to comply with tax requirements .
3.  Whatever the administrative organization of the Member State , the party
    responsible for providing statistical information can be compelled to
    justify the information he supplies in comparison with the data he
    communicates to the departments responsible for VAT collection only within
    the limits laid down pursuant to paragraph 2 .
4.  In the instructions to persons liable to account for VAT regarding the
    periodic declaration which such persons must address to them , the
    departments in a Member State responsible for VAT collection shall draw
    attention , according to the rules adopted by the Commission pursuant to
    Article 29 , to the obligations they may incur as parties responsible for
    providing the information required by the INTRASTAT system .
5.  Administrative assistance between national departments of different Member
    States responsible for compiling statistics relating to the trading of
    goods between Member States shall , as necessary , be regulated by the
    Commission pursuant to Article 29 .
                                    Article 12
The statistical information media required by the INTRASTAT system shall be
set up by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 , in respect of each category
of statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States .
                                    Article 13
.  Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 the statistical
   information required by the INTRASTAT system shall be supplied by the
   party responsible to the competent national departments, within the
   time limits set up by the Commission persuant to Article 29 .
                                                                               (G
 ---pagebreak--- 7.  The party responsible is , on his request , authorized by these
    departments to transmit * this information by means of "global "
    declarations which combine the movements uf good * incurring
    obligations on his part- tinder the INTRASTAT system during a specific-
    period .
3.  The Member States shall inform the Commission of the conditions laid down
     by them under which the authorization requested in paragraph 2 will be
     granted . Pursuant to Article 29 the Commission shall adopt such prci'isions
     as it deems necessary in this connection .
4.  The Commission shall determine , pursuant to Article 29 :
    - where not laid down by this Regulation , the reference period applicable
       to each category of statistics relating to the trading of goods between
       Member States ;
    - the procedures for the transmission of the information , especially with
       a view to making available to the parties responsible for providing
       information networks of regional data collection offices .
                                     Article 14
Any party responsible for providing statistical information who does not
fulfil his obligations under this Regulation shall be liable to the penalties
which the Member States shall lay down in accordance with their relevant
national provisions .
                                     Article 15
The Commission may organize , under conditions which it shall determine
pursuant to Article 29 , periodic surveys on the trading of goods between
Member States by private individuals and on movements of goods or on
intra-Community operators excluded from the returns under specific provisions
relating to the various statistics on the trading of goods .
 ---pagebreak---                                      - 13
                                   Artide 16
The Commission shall report to the Council on the functioning of the INTRASTAT
system for each category of statistics relating to the trading of goods
between Member States covered by the INTRASTAT system within six months of the
annual results for the second year of operation of the said system being made
available to the Commission by the Member States .
 ---pagebreak---                                      TITLE III
                   STATISTICS ON TRADE BETWEEN MEMBER STATES
                                    Artide 17
1. Statistics on trade between Member States shall cover on the one hand
   movements of goods leaving the Member State of dispatch and on the other
   movements of goods entering the Member State of arrival .
2. For the purposes of statistics on trade between Member states , electric
   current shall be considered as goods .
                                     Article 18
1. The Member State of dispatch shall be the Member State in which the goods
   leaving it are the subject of a dispatch .
   Dispatch for the purposes of this Title shall be taken to mean the
   shipment of goods referred to in paragraph 2 to a destination in another
   Member State .
2. In a given Member State the following may be the subject of a dispatch :
   a)     Community goods :
      1 ) which comply with the conditions of the market of that Member State ;
      2 ) which do not comply with the conditions of the market of that Member
          State but :
               have been produced there ;
               have been placed in premises under the control of the tax
               authorities , insofar as their case is provided for in the
               specific provisions adopted by the Commission pursuant to
               Article 29 ;
   b)     non-Community goods placed , maintained or obtained in that Member
          State under inward processing customs arrangements or under
          arrangements for processing under customs control .
 ---pagebreak---                                            15
                                       Article 19
 The Member State of arrival shall be the Member State in which the goods which
 enter it are :
      a)  as Community goods :
          1)    introduced without formalities onto its market ;
          2)    released for consumption ;
          3)    placed under iqward processing arrangements of a tax nature with
                a view to subsequent export ;
          4)    placed in premises under the control of the tax authorities ,
                under the conditions laid down in the second indent of Article
                18 ( 2 ) ( a ) ( 2 ) ;
     b)   as non-Community goods , referred to in Article 18 ( 2)(b ):
          1)    placed in free circulation there ;
          2)    maintained under inward processing customs arrangements or under
                arrangements for processing under customs control or again made
                subject to such arrangements .
                                       Article 20
With a view to collecting the data required for the statistics of trade
between Member States , the provisions of Title II (INTBASTAT ) shall be
supplemented as follows :
1)   without prejudice to Article 33 , the INTRASTAT system shall apply to the
     goods referred to in Article 18 ( 2 ) ( a ) ( 1 ) and Article 19 ( a ) ( 1 );
2)   the partner countries in trading of goods between Member States within the
     meaning of Article 7(1 ) shall be the Member State of dispatch and the
     Member State of arrival ;
      *
                                                                                   %
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3) within the INTRASTAT system Member State of dispatch ahs.U h? He lined as
   that in which the goodsjwhich are dispatched from there to aveth^r Member
   State come under the terms of Article 18 ( 2 ) ( a ) ( , insofar ss they have
   been produced there , introduced without formalities onto it ?; market cr
   released for consumption ;
4) within the INTRASTAT system Member State of arrival shall be defined as
   that in which Community goods from another Member State are introduced
   without formalities onto its market ;
5) the party responsible for. providing the information referred to in Article
   8 shall be the natural dr legal person who
   a)    residing in the Member State of dispatch :
               has concluded the contract , with the exception of transport
               contracts , giving rise to the dispatch of goods or , failing this ,
               dispatches or provides for the dispatch of the goods or , failing
               this ,
               is in possession of the goods which are the subject of the
               dispatch ;
   b)    residing in the Member State of arrival :
               has concluded the contract , with the exception of transport
               contracts , giving rise to :he delivery of goods or , failing this ,
               takes possession or provides for possession to be taken of the
               goods or , failing this                                      >>
               is in possession of the goods which are the subject of the
               delivery ;
6) the Commission shall adopt the provisions provided for in Article 7 ( 3 ) by
   1 January 1991 ;
7) the reference period referred to in the first indent of Article 13 ( 4 )
   shall be the calendar month during which the movements of goods to be
   recorded pursuant to this Article , as appropriate , commence or are
   completed .
                                     Article 21
1) On the statistical data medium :
   - goods shall be designated in such a way as to permit easy and precise
      classification in the finest relevant subdivision of the classification
      of goods applicable to the statistics of trade between Member States ;
                                                                                    XI
 ---pagebreak---                                         17 -
   - the code of the corresponding subdivision in the classification shall
     also be given for each type of goods .
2) The Commission shall , no later than 31 December 1990 , adopt a Regulation
   pursuant to Article 29 establishing the classification referred to in
   paragraph 1 and laying down the rules under which the classification shall
   be managed by the Commission and published annually . The Commission shall
   annex to this Regulation the version of the said classification applicable
   on 1 January 1993 , subject however to any amendments resulting from the
   management of goods nomenclatures which are adopted not later than 31
   October 1992 .
3) The classification referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be compatible
   with the nomenclature of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding
   System .
4) Notwithstanding paragraph 1 , the party responsible for providing
   information may use for the purpose of describing and coding goods , the
   goods classification applicable to Community external trade statistics .
                                    Article 22
1. On the statistical data medium , the Member States shall be described by
   the alphabetical or numerical codes which the Commission shall determine
   pursuant to Article 29 .
2. Without prejudice to the provisions adopted by the Commission pursuant to
   Article 29 , the parties responsible for providing information shall
   comply , for the purposes of paragraph 1 , with the instructions issued by
   the competent national departments regarding the compiling of statistics
   on trade between Member States .
 ---pagebreak---                                       •  18
                                    Article 23
1. The following data must be given on the statistical data medium for each
   type of goods :
a) in the Member State of arrival :   the Member State of consignment of the
   goods , within the meaning of Article 24 ( 1 );
b) in the Member State of dispatch :    the Member Stato of destination wit'niu
   the meaning of Article 24 ( 2 );
c) the quantity of the goods , in net mass and supplementary units ;
d) the value of the goods ;
e) where appropriate , the statistical system .
   The list of these data shall be amended by the Commission pursuant to
   Article 29 , and this by 1 January 1991 if it needs to be supplemented ,
   especially in accordance with Article 4 ( 2 ), so that it can become
   applicable from 1 January 1993 .
2. The Member States may not prescribe that other data than those referred to
   in paragraph 1 must be given on the statistical data medium . However ,
   without prejudice to Article 25 ( 2 ), until 31 December 1998 at the latest
   this measure will not apply to such data as the Commission shall list in
   accordance with Article 29 .
   On a proposal from the Commission , the Council shall gradually reduce the
   number of these items of data .
3. Insofar as not laid down in this Regulation , the data referred to in
   paragraphs 1 and 2 and the rules governing their inclusion on the
   statistical data medium , shall be defined by the Commission pursuant to
   Article 29 .
                                    Article 24
1. When , before reaching the Member State of arrival , goods have entered one
   or more countries in transit and have been subject in those countries to
   halts or legal operations not inherent in their transport, the Member
                                                                                ZZ
 ---pagebreak---                                          19 -
    State of consignment shall be taken to be the last Member State where such
    halts or legal operations occurred . In other cases , the Member State of
    consignment shall be the same as the Member State of dispatch .
2.  Member State of destination shall be taken to mean the last country to
    which it is known at the time of dispatch that the goods are to be
    dispatched .
3.  Notwithstanding Article 23 ( 1 ) ( a ), the party responsible for
    providing information in the Member State of arrival may , in the following
    order :
    - if he does not know the Member State of consignment , state the Member
      State of dispatch ;
   - if he does not know the Member State of dispatch , state the Member State
      of purchase , within the meaning of paragraph 4 ;
   - if there is no country of purchase , state "Member State unknown".
4. The Member State of purchase shall be taken to mean the Member State of
   residence of the contracting partner of the natural or legal person who
   has concluded the contract , with the exception of transport contracts ,
   giving rise to the delivery of goods in the Member State of arrival .
                                    Article 25
1. The Community and the Member States shall compile statistics on trade
   between Member States from the data referred to in Article 23 ( 1 ).
2. Member States which do not compile statistics on trade between Member
   States from the data referred to in Article 23 ( 2 ) shall refrain from
   ordering the collection of such data .
3. The Community and the Member States shall compile the statistics on trade
   between Member States having regard to such provisions as the Commission
   may adopt pursuant to Article 29 on general and specific exemptions and
   the statistical threshold .
4. Any provision which has the effect of excluding goods referred to in
   Articles 18 and 19 from the compilation of the statistics of trade between
   Member states shall suspend the obligation to supply statistical
   information on the goods thus excluded .
 ---pagebreak---                                              20
                                        Article 26
1.    Member  States  shall transmit       to the  Commission without dalay , and at
      the latest six weeks after the end of the reference month , the monthly
      statisics on trade between Member States .   These statistics shall cover
      the data referred to in Article 23 ( 1 ).
2.    Where necessary the procedure for such transmission shall be laid down by
      the Commission pursuant to Article 29 .
3.    Data declared confidential by the Member States under the conditions
      referred to in Article 31 shall be transmitted by them in accordance with
      Council Regulation ( EEC ) No . of . on the transmission to the
      Statistical Office of the European Communities of information covered by
      statistical confidentiality ( 1 ).
                                        Article 27
Provisions regard the simplification of statistical information shall be
adopted :
a)    by the Council on a proposal from the Commission ;
b)    by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 ; in this case , they cannot apply
      before 1 January 1999 .
( 1 ) O.J. No L          of        . P-
 ---pagebreak---                                       TITLE IV
                          –ί
 COMMITTEE ON STATISTICS RELATING TO THE TRADING OF GOODS BETWEEN MEMBER STATES
                                     Article 28
1.  A Committee on the Statistics relating to the trading of goods between
    Member States , hereinafter called " the Committee", is hereby established .
    It shall be composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired
    by a Commission representative .
2.  The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure .
3.  The Committee may examine any question relating to the implementation of
    this Regulation raised by its Chairman , either on his own initiative or at
    the request of the representative of a Member State .
                                     Article 29
1.  The provisions required for the implementation of this Regulation shall be
    adopted according to the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 .
2.  The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee a proposal on
    the measures to be taken . The Committee shall deliver an opinion on the
    proposal within a period set by the Chairman in accordance with the
    urgency of the matter in question , if necessary by means of a vote .
    The opinion shall be entered in the minutes ; in addition , each Member
    State shall have the right to request that its position appear in the
    minutes .
    The Commission shall take the fullest account of the opinion delivered by
    the Committee . It shall inform the Committee of the way in which it has
    taken the opinion into account .
 ---pagebreak---                                       TITLE V
                                 FINAL PROVISIONS
                                    Article 30
On a proposal from the Commission , the Council shall adopt the provisions
necessary to enable the Community or its Member States to compile the
statistics other than statistics of trade between Member States referred to in
Article 4 .
                                    Article 31
1.  On a proposal from the Commission , the Council shall decide on the
    conditions under which the Member states may declare data compiled in
    accordance with this Regulation , or the Regulations provided for herein ,
    to be confidential .
2.  Until these conditions have been laid down , Member States' provisions on
    this matter shall apply .
                                    Article 32
The Commission may , pursuant to Article 29, adopt measures which adapt those ,
provided for in this Regulation to specific movements of goods within the meaning
of the statistical regulations of the Community .
                                    Article 33
In respect both of goods subject to the INTRASTAT system and of others goods ,
the Commission may , for the purpose of facilitating the task of the parties
responsible for providing information , establish in accordance with Article 29
simplified data collection procedures and in particular create the conditions
for increased use of automatic data processing and electronic data
transmission .
 ---pagebreak---                                               23
                                         Artide 34
1.  Regulation ( EEC ) No 2954 /85 is hereby repealed with effect from 1 January
    1993 and Regulation ( EEC ) No 1736/ 75 shall cease to apply to the statistics
    of trade in goods between Member States to which it was applicable , with
    effect from the same date .
2.  This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its
    publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
    Except insofar as they imply that the Council or the Commission shall
    adopt provisions implementing this Regulation before that date , Articles 1
    to 9 , 11 , 13 ( 1 ), 14 to 20 , 21 ( 1 ) and ( 4 ) and 22 to 27 shall not be
    applicable until 1 January 1993 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States .
Done at Brussels ,                1989 .
                                                             For the Council
                                                             The President