CELEX: 51992PC0426
Language: en
Date: 1992-10-09
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such products

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                        C0M(92) 426 final
                                         Brussels, 9 October 1992
                              PROPOSAL
                               FOR À
                         COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
               amending Council Directive 92/12/EEC
                        of 25 February 1992
        on the general arrangements for products subject
         to excise duty and on the holding, movement and
                   monitoring of such products
                  (presented by the Commission)
it'-
 ---pagebreak--- EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
I.      INTRODUCTION
l.         This proposal for a Directive simplifies and clarifies
- without altering their content or substance - certain
Articles of Council Directive 92/12/EEC1 of 25 February 1992
on the general arrangements for products subject to excise
duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such
products.
II.    COMMISSION PROPOSAL
      2. Article 1 of this proposal clarifies that certain
           territories of Member States are to be treated as
           third countries for fiscal purposes.
      3. Article 2 of this proposal is a simple clarification
           with a view to a better understanding of the legal
           text.
      4. Article 3(a) of this proposal makes it clear that the
           intra-Community movement of products subject to zero-
           rate excise duty takes place between tax warehouses,
           so ensuring that such products are covered by the
           movement         arrangements     provided     for   in
           Directive 92/12/EEC.
      5. Articles 3(b), 4, 5(c) and 6 of this proposal
           establish a legal framework for the submission to the
           Committee on Excise Duties of purely technical draft
           simplification measures which take account of the
           specific circumstances surrounding certain movements
           of products subject to excise duty, (particularly in
           the case of a change of consignee), which relate to
           verification by the consignor on the status of the
           consignee, which relate to delivery of products under
           Community transit arrangements and which provide for
           certain arrangements in respect of administrative
           cooperation.
     6. In order to simplify administrative procedures,
           Article 5(a) of this proposal provides for an
           accompanying       document   not  to    be» uf>ed whom
           computerized procedures are employed.
     03 Ho L 76, 23.3.1992.
 ---pagebreak--- 7. Article 5(d) of this proposal stipulates that, where
    the dispatch of products subject to excise duty gives
    rise to a declaration to the effect that those
    products are to be placed under the internal Community
    transit    procedure    by    means    of    the   single
    administrative document, that document has the same
    legal effect as the accompanying document for excise
    duty   purposes    referred    to   in    Article 18   of
    Directive 92/12/EEC. This will mean, inter alia, that
    there will be no need for documents to be substituted,
    thus   simplifying    documentary    procedures,    where
    products   subject to      excise   duty   move   between
    Member States via EFTA countries.
8. Article 6 of this proposal provides, also in respect
    of products subject to zero-rate excise duty, for the
    duty to be collected         by the Member State of
    destination where it is not possible to determine
    where the offence or irregularity was committed and
    the products do not reach their destination.
    Article 7 of this Directive specifies that the
    procedures relating to Articles 15 and 15a (new) of
    Directive 92/12/EEC shall be laid down in accordance
    with the procedure foreseen in paragraphs 3 and 4 of
    Article 24.
10. Article 8 of this proposal provides, finally, that
    when products subject to excise are under a suspension
    arrangement (tax or customs duty) before 24.00 on
    31 December 1992, the excise duty on them shall be
    deemed to be suspended after that date.
 ---pagebreak---                 PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
              amending Council Directive 92/12/EEC
        of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements
    for products subject to excise duty and on the holding,
            movement and monitoring of such products
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 99 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,1
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,2
Whereas it is necessary, in order to give full effect to the
provisions of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992
to stipulate the territories of the Member States which must
be treated as third countries for fiscal purposes.
Whereas it should be made clear that the intra-Community
movement of products subject to zero-rate excise duty is also
to take place between tax warehouses;
Whereas draft simplification measures of a purely technical
nature relating in particular to a change of consignee, to
verification by the consignor of the status of the consignee
and to certain arrangements for administrative cooperation
should be submitted to the Committee on Excise Duties;
Whereas, in order to simplify administrative procedures, an
accompanying document should not be used where computerized
procedures are employed.
Whereas, in order to simplify documentary procedures, in the
event of the dispatch of products subject to excise duty
giving rise to a declaration to the effect that those products
are to be placed under the internal Community transit
procedure by means of the single administrative document, it
should be established that that document is equivalent to an
accompanying document for excise-duty purposes;
Whereas in the event of products subject to excise duty not
arriving at their destination and it not being possible to
determine where the offence or irregularity was committed, it
 ---pagebreak--- should be established that the excise duty is to be collected
by the Member state of destination;
Whereas, finally, provision should be made, in the case of
products subject to excise duty that are covered by suspension
arrangements in 1992, that those products should be under
suspension of excise duties thereafter if the suspension
arrangements have not been discharged,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
 ---pagebreak---                           Article 1
In Article 5(2) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC the words "or
territories referred to in Article 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) or the
Channel Islands" shall be added after the words "third
countries".
                              — T _ >">
 ---pagebreak---                   un^^MMHMÛMMMritAtMBdttdtfa
                                    Article 2
In Article 7(2) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC the words
"intended for delivery" shall be deleted and the words "or
intended for delivery in another Member State" added after the
words "are delivered".
 ---pagebreak---                            Article 3
Article 15 of Council Directive 92/12/EEC is hereby amended as
follows:
(a)   the following subparagraph shall be added to
     paragraph 1:
     "The provisions of the above subparagraph shall apply
     mutatis mutandis to the intra-Community movement of
     products subject to zero-rate excise duty."
(b)   The following paragraph shall be added:
     "5. In    order   to  take   account   of   the   specific
     circumstances surrounding certain types of movement of
     products subject to excise duty, it shall be necessary to
     derogate from certain provisions of Title III of this
     Directive, principally as regards a change of consignee.
     The arrangements and formalities relating to certain
     alterations, and in particular to a change of consignee,
     shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure
     provided for in Article 24 of this Directive."
 ---pagebreak---                     —MMMÉ*Ml»Hllltilnil«ll
                                  Article 4
In Title III of Council Directive 92/12/EEC    the   following
Article 15a shall be added:
     "Article 15a
     The arrangements to enable traders and the competent
     authorities to verify the status of the consignee in the
     light of the rules governing the movement of products
     subject to excise duty shall be laid down in accordance
     with the procedure provided for in Article 24 of this
     Directive."
 ---pagebreak---                                                             1U
                            Article 5
Article 18(1) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC is hereby amended
as follows:
 (a) in the first sentence the words "Notwithstanding the
     possible use" shall be replaced by the words "Except in
     the case of the use";
 (b) after the words "Member States" the following words shall
     be added: "including those moving by sea directly from
     one Community port to another";
 (c) after the final word in the paragraph the following shall
     be added: "as shall be the arrangements under which the
     accompanying document is replaced by a computerized
     procedure."
 (d) a new paragraph la shall be added:
     "la) where the dispatch of products subject to excise
          duty which are to move between Member States via
          EFTA countries gives rise to a declaration to the
          effect that those products are to be placed under
          the internal Community transit procedure by means of
          the single administrative document, that document
          shall be equivalent to that referred to above.
        In that case:
        - it shall be clearly indicated on the single
          administrative document that a dispatch of products
          subject to excise duty is involved;
        - it will be necessary tor a duly annotated copy oi
          the single administrative document to be sent back
          by   the   consignee   for  discharge   purposes  in
          accordance with the procedure foreseen in Article 19
          of this Directive."
 ---pagebreak---                            Article 6
In Article 20(3) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC the following
sentence shall be added after the final sentence:
     "However, where the Member State of departure applies a
     zero-rate excise duty to products which do not arrive at
     their destination and it is not possible to determine
     where the offence or irregularity was committed, that
     offence or irregularity shall be deemed to have been
     committed in the Member State of destination, which shall
     collect the excise duties at the rate in force on the
     date when the products were dispatched."
 ---pagebreak---                                                             12
                           Article 7
In Article 24(2) of Council Directive 92/12/EEC the figures
"15, 15a" shall be inserted after "Articles 7".
 ---pagebreak---                                                              13
                             Article 18
In Title VII of Council Directive 92/12/EEC the following
Article 25a shall be .added::
     "Article 2&a
     Products subject to excise duty that are under a
     suspension arrangement other than specified in Articles
     5(2) and 18(la) before 1 January 1993 and which has not
     been discharged, shall be deemed, after that date, to be
     under suspension of excise duty.
     When this involves the internal Community          transit
     suspension arrangements, the provisions in force at the
     time when    the    products    were placed  under   these
     arrangements shall continue to apply during the period
     when these products are under these arrangements which
     shall be determined        in accordance with the said
     provisions.
     When this involves national suspension arrangements,
     Member States shall determine the conditions and the
     formalities under which the suspension arrangements are
     discharged after 1.1.1993.
 ---pagebreak---                                                        *H
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Application of the present proposed Directive will not
produce an increase in Community own resources.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                  uriiii i-i«»i»»riii i r i iii»iiiHii.'i*ri->iliiTi ii>ri
                                 Stateient of ispact on SMEs and EaployBent
 This proposed Directive aodifying Council Directive 92/12/CEE dated 25 February 1992 on the general
 arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, aovesent and Eonitoring such
 products is accessary isi the light of the abolition of fiscal frontiers and is part of all the Measures
 taken in order to achieve the internal earket.
 1.            Administrative obligations on businesses arising froa application of the present
               Directive:
               None
2.             What are the advantages for businesses?
               - adainistative benefits regarding change of consignee;
               - a benefit for the consignor with verification of the status of the consignee.
3.             Are there any drawbacks for businesses in terns of additional costs?
               Application of the present Directive will not iiipose any additional costs on businesses.
4.            Effects on eaployient:
              None
5.            The two sides of industry have not been consulted.
6.            No less binding alternative is available with a view to abolishing tax frontiers.
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                               COM (92) 426 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                              09
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-92-441 -RN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-47978-7
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
L-2985 Luxembourg