CELEX: 51983PC0166
Language: en
Date: 1983-04-06
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A SEVENTH COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 69/169/EEC ON THE HARMONIZATION OF PROVISIONS LAID DOWN BY LAW, REGULATION OR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTION FROM TURNOVER TAX AND EXCISE DUTY ON IMPORTS IN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

28. 4. 83                        Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 114/7
              Proposal for a Seventh Council Directive amending Directive 69/169/EEC on the
              harmonization of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action relating
                  to exemption from turnover tax and excise duty on imports in international travel
                            (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 11 April 1983)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                  Whereas it must be possible for Member States to
COMMUNITIES,                                                  maintain in force the provisions they apply at present
                                                              to sales made in shops under customs control at
                                                              airports and ports, or on board means of air or sea
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                  transport, to travellers going to third countries;
European Economic Community, and in particular
Article 99 thereof,
                                                              Whereas, for this purpose, Council              Directive
                                                              69/169/EEC ('), as last amended by              Directive
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,             82/443/EEC (2), should be amended,
Having regard to the opinion of the European                  HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Parliament,
                                                                                        Article 1
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                             Directive 69/169/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
                                                              1. The following subparagraph is added to Article
Whereas the provisions currently applicable in respect
                                                                  2(1):
of the remission of tax on goods acquired by persons
travelling by air or by sea within the Community, and             'However, the requirement that such goods should
in respect of the tax exemptions to be granted on                 have been acquired subject to the general rules
imports of such goods, give rise to differing national            governing taxation on the domestic market of one
interpretations and hence to differing national rules;            of the Member States shall not apply in respect of
                                                                  the exemption applying to imports of goods
                                                                  acquired subject to the conditions referred to in
Whereas the conditions under which goods may be                   Article 6 (7) provided that their total value does
sold in shops under customs control at airports and               not exceed the amount mentioned in Article 1 (1)
ports, on board aircraft, and on vessels or hovercraft            or (2), as the case may be.'
used for sea transport should be harmonized;
                                                              2. In Article 4:
Whereas it would appear to be advisable to limit the              (a) the following new paragraph 5 is inserted:
value and quantity of goods supplied tax-free to
persons travelling between Member States and to                        '5.   For imports of goods acquired subject to
allow such persons an exemption at import                              the conditions referred to in Article 6 (7), the
corresponding to that granted to travellers coming                     quantities to be exempted shall be those set out
from third countries; whereas Member States should                     in paragraph 1, column I.';
remain free to apply more restrictive provisions to
supplies of such goods in order to ensure that such               (b) former paragraph 5 becomes paragraph 6.
harmonization does not lead to an extension of sales
of this kind;                                                 3. In Article 6:
                                                                   (a) in paragraph 2 the following expression is
Whereas the relaxation and ultimately the elimination                  deleted:
 of checks at import in intra-Community travel are
                                                                       "Without prejudice to rules relating to sales
 objectives of the Community; whereas, in order to
                                                                       made at airport shops under customs control
 achieve these objectives, Member States must adopt
                                                                       and on board aircraft,';
 measures which will ensure strict compliance by
 licensed operators of shops under customs control, by
 airlines and by shipping companies of the restrictions       (') OJ No L 133, 4. 6. 1969, p. 6.
 on supplies of tax-free goods;                               O OJ No L 206, 14. 7. 1982, p. 35.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 114/8                         Official Journal of the European Communities                             28.4.83
  (b) the following paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 are added:              8.    Member States shall adopt the provisions
      '7.   In the case of sales made at airport or               necessary to ensure that the limits and
      port shops under customs control and on                     conditions laid down at (a) in paragraph 7 are
      board aircraft, sea-going vessels or hovercraft            strictly applied by the seller. At the moment of
      operating international services, Member                   the sale, the seller shall provide the buyer with
      States may authorize supplies of goods on                  a copy of the invoice or of any other
      which tax has been remitted or on which                     document issued in lieu thereof specifying the
      excise duty and/or turnover tax has not been                nature and price of the goods sold.
      charged:
                                                                  9.    The Commission shall send to the
      (a) notwithstanding paragraph 1 and within
                                                                  Council every five years a report on the
          the limits laid down in Articles 1 and 4 (1),
                                                                  application of Articles 2 (1), 4 (5), 6 (7) and 6
          column I, to travellers possessing a travel
                                                                  (8), together with any necessary proposals.'
          document mentioning as their immediate
          destination an airport or port situated in
          another Member State;
                                                                                   Article 2
      (b) subject to the conditions laid down by
          them, to travellers possessing a travel          Member States shall take the measures necessary to
          document mentioning as their immediate           comply with this Directive from
          destination an airport or port situated in a
          third country.                                   They shall inform the Commission of the provisions
      "Immediate destination" means the airport or         they adopt for the application of this Directive.
      port at which the traveller may, on the basis of
      the particulars given on the travel document,
      disembark from the aircraft or means of sea                                  Article 3
      transport in order to leave the area under
      customs control at that airport or port.             This Directive is addressed to the Member States.