CELEX: 51989PC0331(02)
Language: en
Date: 1989-07-26
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 69/169/EEC TO INCREASE IN REAL TERMS THE TAX PAID ALLOWANCES IN INTRA-COMMUNITY TRAVEL

26. 9. 89                             Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 245/5
       — in the Member State to which the office of                       If, subsequently, the Member State where the said
            departure belongs,                                            offence or irregularity has been committed is
            or                                                            determined, the taxes (with the exception of
                                                                          import duties) to which the goods are liable in
       — in the Member State to which the office of
                                                                          that Member State shall be reimbursed to it by the
            transit at the point of entry into the
                                                                          Member State which had originally recovered
            Community belongs and to which a transit
                                                                          them. In that case, any overpayment shall be
            advice note has been given,
                                                                          reimbursed to the person who had originally paid
                                                                          the charges.';
       unless the principal furnishes proof to the
       competent authorities of the regularity of the
       transit operation or of the place where the offence        3. Article 42 (3) is replaced by the following:
       or irregularity has been committed.                            '3.    For the purposes of applying Article 22, the
                                                                      records kept by the railway authorities shall be
       If, in the absence of such proof, the said offence             substituted for transit advice notes.'
       or irregularity remains deemed to have been
       committed in the Member State of departure or in
       the Member State of point of entry, the duties                                        Article 2
       and other taxes shall be levied by that Member             This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1990.
       State at the highest rates applicable in the
       Community to the goods involved in the transit in          This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
       question.                                                  directly applicable in all Member States.
               Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 69/169/EEC to increase in real terms the
                                       tax paid allowances in intra-Community travel
                                              COM(89) 331 final — SYN 205
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 10 July 1989)
                                                       (89/C 245/06)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          anticipates the mode of movement of goods which will
                                                                  apply in the internal market;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 99                  Whereas, taking into account the progressive nature of
thereof,                                                          the creation of the internal market as stated in Article 8 a
                                                                  of the Treaty, graduated increases are necessary both for
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                this market and for achieving the aim of Council
                                                                  Directive 69/169/EEC (x), as last amended by Directive
Having regard       to   the  opinion   of  the   European
                                                                  89/194/EEC (2), as set out in the second recital thereto;
Parliament,
                                                                  whereas establishing the market means that goods
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  bought tax paid will be able to be taken across internal
Social Committee,                                                 frontiers without any liability to pay further tax and that
                                                                  the existing allowances for travellers will cease to exist,
Whereas Article 8 a of the Treaty defines the internal            because they would have no meaning;
market as an area without internal frontiers in which the
free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is          Whereas it is necessary in the same way to phase out all
ensured and states that this market should be                     differences in the treatment of travellers entering various
progressively established over a period expiring on               Member States,
31 December 1992;
Whereas the system of travellers' allowances applies to           (') OJ No L 133, 4. 6. 1969, p. 6.
goods which move about tax paid and in this respect               (2) OJ No L 73, 17. 3. 1989, p. 47.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/6                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    26. 9. 89
           HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                                               Article 1
           Directive 69/169/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
           1. in Article 2:
              (a) From 1 January 1990:
                  — in paragraph 1, 'ECU 390' is replaced by 'ECU 800',
                  — in paragraph 2, 'ECU 100' is replaced by 'ECU 200',
              (b) From 1 January 1991:
                  — in paragraph 1, 'ECU 800' is replaced by 'ECU 1 200',
                  — in paragraph 2, 'ECU 200' is replaced by 'ECU 300'.
              (c) From 1 January 1992:
                  — in paragraph 1, 'ECU 1 200' is replaced by 'ECU 1 600',
                  — in paragraph 2, 'ECU 300' is replaced by 'ECU 400';
          2. in Article 4 the table in paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
                                                                 I                                II
                                                        Travel between             Travel between Member States
                               'Products                 third countries
                                                             and the
                                                           Community     1 January 1990    1 January 1991 1 January 1992
              (a) Tobacco products:
                  cigarettes                                   200            400                500            600
                  cigarillos (cigars of a maximum
                  weight of 3 grams each)                       100           200                250            300
                  cigars                                        50            100                125            150
                  smoking tobacco                             250 g          550 g              700 g          800 g
              (b) Alcohol and alcoholic beverages:
                  distilled beverages and spirits of
                  an alcoholic strength by volume
                  of more than 22 % ; unde-
                  natured ethyl alcohol of an
                  alcoholic strength of 80 % or            a total of      a total of        a total of     a total of
                  higher                                      1 litre       2 litres         2,5 litres       3 litres
                  distilled beverages and spirits,
                  and aperitifs with a wine or
                  alcohol base, sake or similar
                  beverages      of   an     alcoholic
                  strength by volume of 22 % or
                  less; sparkling wines, fortified         a total of      a total of        a total of     a total of
                  wines                                      2 litres       4 litres          5 litres        6 litres
                  and
                  still wines                              a total of      a total of        a total of     a total of
                                                             2 litres       7 litres          9 litres       10 litres
              (c) Perfumes                                     50 g          100 g              125 g          150 g
                  and
                                                                                              5              3
                  toilet waters                              VA litre       Vi litre            /8 litre      A litre'
 ---pagebreak--- 26. 9. 89                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 245/7
          3. in Article 5 the table in paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
                                           'Product
                                                                                  1 January 1990       1 January 1992
              (a) Tobacco products:
                   cigarettes                                                           60                    80
                   cigarillos (cigars of a maximum weight of 3 grams
                   each)                                                                30                    40
                   or
                   cigars                                                               15                    20
                   or
                  smoking tobacco                                                      75 g                 100 g
              (b) Alcoholic beverages:
                  distilled beverages and spirits, of an alcoholic strength
                  exceeding 22 % vol                                                0,375 litre           0,5 litre
                  distilled beverages and spirits, and aperitifs with a
                  wine or alcohol base of an alcoholic strength not
                  exceeding 22 % vol; sparkling wines, fortified wines              0,75 litre             1 litre
                  and
                  still wines                                                       0,75 litre             1 litre'
          4. in Article 7b:
             (a) From 1 January 1990 'ECU 85' and 'ECU 310' is replaced by 'ECU 340';
             (b) From 1 January 1991 'ECU 340' is replaced by 'ECU 750'.
             From 1 January 1992 Article 7b is deleted;
          5. in Article 7c, 'in another country' is replaced by 'in a third country';
          6. a new Article 7d is added as follows:
              'Article 7d
             Notwithstanding Article 4 (1), Denmark shall be authorized to apply the following quanti-
             tative limits for the import of the goods in question by travellers resident in Denmark after a
             stay of less than 24 hours in another Member State:
                                                                                                               From
                                     'Products                       1 January 1990     1 January 1991   1 January 1992
             — cigarettes                                                  80                200               400
             — smoking tobacco, where the tobacco
                  particles have a width of less than 1,5 mm
                  ("fine cut")                                           150 g              350 g             600 g
             — distilled beverages and spirit drinks of an
                  alcoholic strength by volume more than
                  22 % vol                                                 nil              1 litre          2 litres'
 ---pagebreak--- No C 245/8                        Official Journal of the European Communities                            26. 9. 89
                                                      Article 2
           1.   Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to comply with this Directive
           by 1 January 1990.
          The provisions adopted pursuant to the first subparagraph shall make express reference to this
           Directive.
           2.   Member States shall inform the Commission of the provisions they adopt to implement
          this Directive.
                                                      Article 3
          This Directive is addressed to the Member States.