CELEX: 51980PC0852
Language: en
Date: 1980-12-15
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) amending Regulations (EEC) Nos 1544/69, 2780/78 and 3060/78 on the tariff treatment applicable to goods contained in travellers' personal luggage or sent in small consignments to private individuals. (submitted to the Council by the Commission)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (80) 852
Vol. 1980/0270
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 ---pagebreak---  COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                     COM(80)852 final
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                              Proposal for - a
                        COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
amending Regulations ( EEC ) Nos 1544/ 69 , 2780/ 78 and 3060/ 78 on the
tariff treatment applicable to goods contained in travellers' personal
luggage or sent in small consignments to private individuals
             ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
C0M(80 ) 852 final
 ---pagebreak---                               EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.       The first subparagraph of Article 2 ( 2 ) of Council Regulation
 ( EEC ) No 2779 / 78 of 23 November 1978 on the procedure for applying
the European unit of account CEUA ) to legal acts adopted in the
customs sphere ( 1 ) provides that the equivalents in national currencies
of the sums expressed in EUA which are applicable to the tariff
treatment of goods imported by private individuals shall be adjusted
once a year in line with the exchange rate obtaining on the first
working day of October , with effect from 1 January of the following
year .
2.      The Regulation which determine the tariff treatment applicable
to private persons(2) (3 ) (4)incorporate a provision whereby Member
States are allowed to maintain unchanged the national currency
equivalents of the sums laid down in those Regulations if , at the time
of the annual adjustment provided for in Regulation 2779 / 78 , conversion
of the sums results in a change of less than 5 % in their national
currency equivalents . However , the abovementioned Regulations do not
make any provision for cases where the change exceeds 5 % .
 ( 1 ) OJ No L 333 , 30.11.1978, p. 5
 ( 2 ) Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1544 / 69 of 23 July 1969 on the tariff >
       treatment applicable to goods contained in travellers' personal
       luggage ( 0J No L 191 , 5.8.1969, p. 1 ), as amended by Regulation
       ( EEC ) No 3061 / 78 ( 0J No L 366 , 28.12.1978, p. 3 )
 ( 3 ) Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 2780 / 78 of 27 November 1978 amending
       Regulation ( EEC ) No 950 / 68 as regards the preliminary provisions
       o.f the Common Customs Tariff ( 0J No L 333 , 30.11.1978, p. 7 )
 ( 4 ) Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 3060 / 78 of 19 December 1978 providing
       exemption from import duties for goods in small consignments of a
       non-commercial character from third countries ( 0J No L 366 ,
       28.12.1978, p. 1 )
 ---pagebreak---                                - 2 -
3.    When adopting Regulation ( EEC ) No 2779 / 78 , the Council , in
a statement recorded in the minutes , called upon the Commission to
keep the effects of the application of Article 2 of the Regulation
under review and to propose appropriate measures in the event of
there being major fluctuations in the exchange rates of the EUA
against the various national currencies in a particular year .
Such will be the case with the pound sterling from 1 January 1981 .
Since the change over from the UA to the EUA , the EUA 's exchange
rate against the pound has fallen as follows :
                    1 January 1979       1 January 1980      1 January 1981
      1 EUA =       £ 0.669415           0.652555            0.587199
Application of the new exchange rate from 1 January 1981 would
result in a reduction in the pound sterling equivalents of the
duty-free allowances and other concessions granted by the United
Kingdom under the abovementioned Regulations . This could have serious
psychological and political consequences among the citizens of
the United Kingdom . The Commission is therefore proposing to
increase the sums expressed in EUA in the three Regulations referred
to in paragraph 2 above .
4.    A corresponding proposal has been submitted in the taxation field .
 ---pagebreak---                                     Proposal for a
                               COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
                amending Regulations ( EEC ) Nos 1544/ 69 / 2780 / 78 and
                3060 / 78 on the tariff treatment applicable to goods
                contained in travellers' personal luggage or sent in
                small consignments to private individuals
  THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES /           .
   Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community /
   and in particular Articles 28 and 43 /
                                                           1
   Having regard to the proposal from the Commission         ,
                                                                 2
   Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament /
   Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee''/
   Whereas the first subparagraph of Article 2(2 ) of Counci I Regulation ( EEC ) No
   2779 / 78 of 23 November .1978 on the procedure for applying the European unit
                                                                       4
   of account ( EUA ) to legal acts adopted in the customs sphere         provides that
   the equivalents in national currencies of the sums expressed in EUA applic­
   able / in particular to the tariff treatment of private individuals sha»ll be
. adjusted once a year ;                      _                „
 . Whereas it is important that the said adjustment should not result in a
   reduction in the present value / expressed in national currency , of duty-
   free allowances and other concessions granted to private individuals ; whereas
   to avoid such a reduction resulting from the exchange rates of the European unit of
   account applicable from 1 January 1981 / it is necessary to increase the sums expres-
                                                    I
   sed in European units of account which are laid down in the Regulations listed
   below which govern the tariff treatment of private individuals :
    1                                           3
      0J                                          0J
    20J                                         Vl No L 333/ 30.11.1978/ p. 5
 ---pagebreak---                                        - 2 -
- Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1544/ 69 of 23 July 1969 on the tariff treatment
                                                                     1
   applicable to goods contained in travellers' personal luggage , as amended
   by Regulation ( EEC ) No 2780 /78 , referred to below , and Regulation ( EEC )
   No 3061 /782,
                                   /
- Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 2780 /78 of 27 November 1978 amending Regul­
   ation ( EEC ) No 950 / 68 as regards the preliminary provisions of the Common
   Customs Tariff
- Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 3060 /78 of 19 December 1978 providing exemp-
 . tioR from import duties for goods in small consignments of a non-commercial
                                     1
   character from third countries ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
10J No L 191 , 5.8.1969, p. 1
20J No L 366, 28.12.1978, p. 3
3OJ No L 333, 30.11.1978, p. 7
40J No L 366, 28.12.1978, p. 1
 ---pagebreak---                                        Article 1
          *   Regulation ( EEC ; No 1544 / 69 is hereby amended as follows :
1 . In the first subparagraph of Article 1(1 ), " 40 European units of account "
    is replaced by " 45 European units of account "*
2 . In Article 1(2 )/ " 20 European units of account " is replaced by " 23 Euro­
    pean units of account ".
3 . In Article 1(3 ) , " 40 European units of account " is replaced by " 45 Euro­
    pean units of account ".
4 . In Article 8(2 ) , " 40 and 20 European units of account " is replaced by
    " 45 and 23 European units of account ".          '                             >
                                       Article 2                      \
              In Article 1(1 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6) of Regulation ( EEC ) No 2780 / 78 ,
" 100 European units of account " is replaced by " 115 European units of ac­
count ".
                                                        ,           «    ;
                                                                                 *
                                     Article 3
              In Article 1(2)(a ) and Article 4(1 ) and ( 2 ) of Regulation ( EEC )
No 3060 / 78 , "30 European units of account " is replaced by " 35 European units
of account ".
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 4 -
                                 Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1981 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States .
                                      Done at Brussels ,
   «                                i
                           i          For the Council ,
                                      The President