CELEX: 51990PC0177
Language: en
Date: 1990-06-27
Title: AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) ON THE STATISTICS RELATING TO THE TRADING OF GOODS BETWEEN MEMBER STATES

N o C 177/14                         Official Journal of the European Communities                            18. 7.90
                                                 COMMISSION
              Amended proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on the statistics relating to the trading of
                                                goods between Member States
                                               COM(90) 177 final — SYN 181
              (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 17 May 1990)
                                                       (90/C 177/07)
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                        THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community, and in particular Article 100A
 thereof,
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
 In cooperation with the European Parliament,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
 Social Committee,
Whereas abolishing physical barriers between Member                      Visas and first 13 recitals unchanged
 States is necessary to complete the internal market;
whereas a satisfactory level of information on the 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 infor-
mation on trading of goods between Member States;
Whereas these requirements are not of a macroeconomic
nature, unlike those relating, for example, to national
accounts or the balance of payments, and many of them
can not be met by means of highly aggregated data
alone; whereas matters such as trade policy, sectoral
analyses, competition rules, the management and
guidance of agriculture and fisheries, regional devel-
opment, 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;
 ---pagebreak---   18.7.90                              Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 177/15
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
 Whereas it is precisely information on the 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;
Whereas until the end of 1992 statistics relating to the
 trading of goods between Member States will benefit
 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 tech-
niques which will ensure that they are exhaustive,
reliable and up-to-date, without giving rise for the
parties concerned, 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 implemen-
tation 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;
 ---pagebreak---  No C 177/16                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                   18.7.90
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
 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 indi-
 viduals 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 must 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;
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 it will not be possible to apply the new
                                                                  collection system as it stands during the limited period
                                                                  which it has been agreed to introduce from 1 January
                                                                  1993 until the transition to uniform tax arrangements in
                                                                  the country of origin; whereas its adaptation should be
                                                                  defined to take account of the new relations to be estab-
                                                                  lished between tax and statistical authorities, in particular
                                                                  as regards the obligations of parties responsible for
                                                                  providing the information;
 ---pagebreak--- 18.7.90                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                          No C 177/17
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
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, during the abovementioned limited period,
                                                                  trade flows to be recorded relate to goods whose status
                                                                  is fixed in line with special criteria applying to this
                                                                  period; whereas the scope of statistics of trade between
                                                                  Member States should be redefined to take account of
                                                                  these flows; whereas, similarly, the list of data to be
                                                                  reported should be revised; whereas it is desirable to
                                                                  adopt forthwith the principle on which the statistical
                                                                  thresholds shall operate;
Whereas the Commission should be assisted by a                               Four following recitals unchanged
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 the trading of goods between Member States
following the numerous innovations introduced by the
new collection system;
Whereas 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 (*) 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), as last
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1629/88 (3), will no
longer be applicable to statistics relating to the trading of
goods between Member States,
O OJ No L 285, 25. 10. 1985, p. 1.
O OJ No L 183, 14. 7. 1975, p. 3.
C) OJ No L 147, 14. 6. 1988, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak---   No C 177/18                             Official Journal of the European Communities                    18. 7.90
                        INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
  HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:                                      HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                             TITLE I                                            Articles 1 to 9 unchanged
                      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-Community 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, while fulfilling the
     conditions laid down in (c), are reintroduced into the
     customs territory of the Community after export
     therefrom are also considered as non-Community
     goods;
(e) 'Member State', when the term is used in the
     geographical sense, means its statistical territory;
 ---pagebreak---  18. 7. 90                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 177/19
                          INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
 (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 or 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 stat-
istical 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.
                              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 transhipment, 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 Regu-
     lation (EEC) No 1736/75, as well as those which
     enter or leave storage facilities determined by the
     Commission in accordance with Article 29;
 ---pagebreak---   No C 177/20                              Official Journal of the European Communities                18.7.90
                          INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
  (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 prepa-
 ration of the statistics referred to in Article 4.
                              TITLE II
                  Statistical collection system
                             (Intrastat)
                              Article 6
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 Intrastat system.
                              Article 7
1.     The Intrastat system shall be applied in the Member
States whenever they are deemed to be partner countries
in the 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 Community 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.
 ---pagebreak---  18. 7. 90                              Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 177/21
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
 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 Commission 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;
 (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.    Barring 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, in so far as they relate to data collection,
shall cease to apply after 31 December 1992.
                           Article 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 the 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.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 177/22                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               18. 7. 90
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
3.    If an intermediary is immediately downstream or
upstream of a party responsible for providing infor-
mation 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                                                     Article 10
 1.   Member States shall take the measures necessary to          1.   Unchanged
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 Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2792/86 (1), who are involved from 1
January 1991 to 31 December 1992 in trade between
Member States, referred to hereinafter as intra-
Community operators.
2.    The list of minimum data to be recorded in the             2.    The list of minimum data to be recorded in the
register of intra-Community operators in addition to the         register of intra-Community operators in addition to the
identification number referred to in paragraph 3 shall be        identification number referred to in Article 16E (3) shall
laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article 29 by            be laid down by the Commission pursuant to Article 29.
30 June 1990.
3.    The departments in the Member States responsible           3. and 4.     Unchanged
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 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 abovementioned departments, on the basis of this
number, any information relating to the identification of
the said operators which may 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.
(») OJ No L 263, 15. 9. 1986, p. 59.
 ---pagebreak---   18. 7.90                                Official Journal of the European Communities                     No C 177/23
                         INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                             Article 11                                        Articles 11 to 16 unchanged
  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 the latter, with any infor-
 mation 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 stat-
istical information can be compelled to justify the infor-
mation 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.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 177/24                            Official Journal of the European Communities                18.7.90
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                           Article 13
1.     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 pursuant to Article 29.
2.     The party responsible is, on his request, authorized
by these departments to transmit this information by
means of 'global' declarations which combine the
movements of goods incurring obligations on his part
under the Intrastat system during a specific period.
3.      Member States shall inform the Commission of the
conditions laid down by them under which the authori-
zation requested in paragraph 2 will be granted.
Pursuant to Article 29 the Commission shall adopt such
provisions 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 stat-
     istics relating to the trading of goods between
     Member States,
— the procedures for the transmission of the infor-
     mation, 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 infor-
mation 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--- 18. 7.90                               Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 177/25
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
                          Article 16
The Commission shall report to the Council on the func-
tioning of the Intrastat system for each category of stat-
istics 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.
                                                                                          TITLE Ha
                                                                            On the Intrastat system transition phase
                                                                                         Article 16A
                                                                  1.   The Intrastat system transition phase shall be taken
                                                                 to mean the form in which the system shall apply from 1
                                                                 January 1993 until the transition to uniform tax
                                                                 arrangements in the Member State of origin.
                                                                 2.    The Intrastat system transition phase shall be based
                                                                 on:
                                                                 — the provisions of this title,
                                                                 — except where provisions to the contrary or restrictive
                                                                     or extensive provisions are adopted in the present
                                                                     Title or by the Commission pursuant to Article 29,
                                                                     the provisions of the other Titles in this Regulation.
                                                                                         Article 16B
                                                                 For the application of Article 7 (2) (a), goods in free
                                                                 movement on the internal market of the Community
                                                                 means, for the purposes of this Title, goods authorized,
                                                                 pursuant to the provisions of Council Directive
                                                                 77/388/EEC (*), to move from one Member State to
                                                                 another without prior formalities or formalities linked to
                                                                 the crossing of internal frontiers.
                                                                 (') OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 177/26                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                    18.7.90
            INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                                 Article 16C
                                                        1.    The exemption provided for in Article 5 shall also
                                                       apply to the party responsible for providing the infor-
                                                       mation who, being liable to account for VAT, qualifies,
                                                       in the Member State in which he is responsible for
                                                       providing the information, for one of the special systems
                                                       provided for by Articles 24 and 25 of Directive
                                                       77/388/EEC.
                                                       This provision shall be extended mutatis mutandis to
                                                       institutional parties not liable to account for VAT and to
                                                       parties exempt from VAT, pursuant to Article 28 (b) and
                                                       (c) of the abovementioned Directive.
                                                       2.     Article 8 shall apply without prejudice to paragraph
                                                        1.
                                                                                 Article 16D
                                                       Article 9 (1) shall apply provided that the periodic
                                                       declaration referred to in Article 16G is separate from
                                                       the periodic declaration required for tax purposes.
                                                                                 Article 16E
                                                        1.    Article 10 (1), (2) and (4) shall not apply to those
                                                       Member States which take measures to make available
                                                       for their use by 1 January 1993 at the latest:
                                                       (a) a register of parties liable to account for VAT who
                                                            have, during the 12 months prior to this date, taken
                                                            part in the trading of goods between Member States,
                                                            either as dispatchers or as consignees; and
                                                       (b) a register of institutional parties not liable to account
                                                            for VAT and of parties exempt from VAT who,
                                                            from this date, are obliged to carry out their
                                                            acquisitions, within the meaning of Directive
                                                            77/388/EEC, in compliance with the provisions of
                                                            Article 28 (b) and (c) of this Directive.
                                                       2.     In those Member States which take the measures
                                                       referred to in paragraph 1, the departments responsible
                                                       for VAT collection shall make the registers referred to in
                                                       paragraph 1 accessible to the departments responsible for
                                                       compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods
                                                       between Member States under the conditions required
                                                       for application of the present Regulation which the
                                                       Commission shall determine, where necessary, pursuant
                                                       to Article 29.
                                                       3.     Apart from exceptions which they shall justify to
                                                       the parties responsible for providing statistical infor-
                                                       mation, the departments responsible for compiling stat-
                                                       istics on the trading of goods between Member States
                                                       shall use in their relations with those parties, and in
                                                       particular with a view to application of Article 16G, the
                                                       identification number which the departments responsible
                                                       for collecting VAT shall allocate to those parties.
 ---pagebreak--- 18. 7. 90                  Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 177/27
          INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                               Article 16F
                                                      1.    The lists referred to in Article 11 (1) shall also
                                                      include:
                                                      (a) parties liable to account for VAT who have declared
                                                          that, during the period in question, they have
                                                          conducted trading of goods between Member States
                                                          which, although not resulting from sales or
                                                          purchases, is the object of their periodic tax
                                                          declaration;
                                                      (b) institutional parties not liable to account for VAT
                                                          and parties exempt from VAT who have declared
                                                          that, during the same period, they have conducted
                                                          trading of goods between Member States for which
                                                          they have authorization.
                                                     2.     For each operator listed, shall be provided the value
                                                     of trading of goods which the operator has mentioned in
                                                     his periodic tax declaration in accordance with Article 22
                                                     (4) of Directive 77/388/EEC.
                                                     3.     The party responsible for providing the statistical
                                                     information may be required to justify to the
                                                     departments responsible for compiling statistics relating
                                                     to the trading of goods the information he provides in
                                                     relation to the data referred to in paragraph 2.
                                                     4.      For the application of Article 11 (2) and (4) to the
                                                     Intrastat system transition phase, 'parties liable to
                                                     account for VAT' shall also mean institutional parties
                                                     not liable to account for VAT and parties exempt from
                                                     VAT, within the meaning of Article 28 (b) and (c) of
                                                     Directive 77/388/EEC.
                                                                              Article 16G
                                                     The statistical information required by the Intrastat
                                                     system shall be covered in periodic declarations to be
                                                     sent by the party responsible for providing the infor-
                                                     mation to the competent national departments, by
                                                     deadlines and under conditions which the Commission
                                                     shall lay down pursuant to Article 29.
                                                                              Article 16H
                                                     1.    The following provisions of Title II shall not apply
                                                     to the Intrastat system transition phase:
                                                     (a) Article 9 (2) and (3);
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 177/28                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               18.7.90
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                   (b) Article 10 (3);
                                                                   (c) Article 13 (1), (2) and (3);
                                                                   (d) Article 16.
                                                                  2.    The following provisions of Title II shall apply to
                                                                  the Intrastat system transition phase only within the
                                                                  limits of this title:
                                                                   (a) Article 9 (1);
                                                                   (b) Article 10 (1), (2) and (4).
                                                                  3.    The following provisions of Title II shall apply to
                                                                  the Intrastat system transition phase, taking account of
                                                                  the extension they imply to the provisions of this Title:
                                                                   (a) Article 7 (2);
                                                                   (b) Article 8;
                                                                  (c) Article 11 (1), (2), (3) and (4).
                           TITLE III                                              Articles 17 to 19 unchanged
        Statistics on trade between Member States
                           Article 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;
 ---pagebreak---   18.7.90                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 177/29
                         INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
       (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, in so far 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.
                            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 inward 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                                                 Article 20
With a view to collecting the data required for the stat-          Unchanged
istics of trade between Member States, the provisions of
Title II (Intrastat) shall be supplemented as follows:
1. without prejudice to Article 33, the Intrastat system
    shall apply to the goods referred to in Articles 18 (2)
    (a) (1) and 19 (a) (1);
 ---pagebreak--- No C 177/30                               Official Journal of the European Communities                18.7.90
                         INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
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;
3. within the Intrastat system Member State of dispatch
   shall be defined as that in which the goods which are
   dispatched from there to another Member State come
   under the terms of Article 18 (2) (a) (1), in so far as
   they have been produced there, introduced without
   formalities onto its market or 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 or 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 the
            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               6. Deleted
   for in Article 7 (3) by 1 January 1991;
7. the reference period referred to in the first indent of          7. Unchanged
   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                                                  Article 21
1.    On the statistical data medium:                               1.   Unchanged
— 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,
 ---pagebreak---  18. 7. 90                               Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 177/31
                        INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
— 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             2.    The Commission shall adopt a Regulation pursuant
 1990, adopt a Regulation pursuant to Article 29 estab-            to Article 29 establishing the classification referred to in
lishing the classification referred to in paragraph 1 and          paragraph 1 and laying down the rules under which the
laying down the rules under which the classification shall         classification shall be managed by the Commission and
be managed by the Commission and published annually.               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        Remainder unchanged
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                                             Articles 22 to 27 unchanged
 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.
                           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 State
     of destination within 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.
 ---pagebreak---  N o C 177/32                           Official Journal of the European Communities                18.7.90
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
 The list of these data shall be amended by the
 Commission purusant 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.     Member States may not prescribe that data other
 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.    In so far 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
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.
 ---pagebreak--- 18.7.90                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                          No C 177/33
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                           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.
                          Article 26
1.    Member States shall transmit to the Commission
without delay, and at the latest six weeks after the end of
the reference month, the monthly statistics on trade
between Member States. These statistics shall cover the
data referred to in Article 23 (1).
2.    Where necessary the procedure for such trans-
mission 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 Regu-
lation (EEC) N o . . . of . . . on the transmission to the
Statistical Office of the European Communities of infor-
mation covered by statistical confidentiality.
                          Article 27                                                        Article 27
Provisions regard the simplification of statistical infor-        Provisions regard the simplification of statistical infor-
mation shall be adopted:                                          mation shall be adopted:
(a) by the Council on a proposal from the Commission;             (a) by the Council on a proposal from the Commission;
(b) by the Commission pursuant to Article 29; in this             (b) by the Commission pursuant to Article 29; in this
     case, they cannot apply before 1 January 1999.                   case, they cannot apply to the transition phase for
                                                                      statistics of trade between Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 177/34                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                 18.7.90
             INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                                  TITLE Ilia
                                                        On the transition phase for statistics of trade between
                                                                               Member States
                                                                                 Article 27A
                                                         1.   The transition phase for statistics of trade between
                                                        Member States shall be taken to mean the form they take
                                                        by virtue of paragraph 2. It coincides as regards
                                                        duration, with the transition phase of the Intrastat
                                                        system.
                                                        2.    The provisions applying to statistics of trade
                                                        between Member States in their transition phase shall be:
                                                        — those of this Title,
                                                        — those of Title III, save as otherwise provided in the
                                                            present Title or by the Commission pursuant to
                                                            Article 29.
                                                                                 Article 27B
                                                        In a given Member State, the following may be the
                                                        subject of a dispatch within the meaning of Article 18
                                                        (1), second subparagraph:
                                                        (a) Community goods, which are not in direct or inter-
                                                             rupted transit in that Member State, unless they have
                                                             been placed in free circulation there;
                                                        (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.
                                                                                 Article 27C
                                                        The Member State of arrival shall be the Member State
                                                        in which the goods which enter it are:
                                                        (a) as Community goods, not there in direct or inter-
                                                             rupted transit;
                                                        (b) as non-Community goods, referred to in Article 27B
                                                             (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.
 ---pagebreak--- 18.7.90                  Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 177/35
        INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                             Article 27D
                                                   With a view to collecting the data required for the stat-
                                                   istics of trade between Member States, the provisions of
                                                   Titles II and Ha shall be supplemented by those of
                                                   Article 20 (2), (5) and (7) and by the following:
                                                    1. without prejudice to Article 33, the Intrastat system
                                                       shall apply to the goods referred to in Articles 27B (a)
                                                       and 27C (a);
                                                   2. in the Intrastat system, the Member State of dispatch
                                                       shall be defined as that in which the goods which are
                                                       dispatched from there to another Member State come
                                                       under the terms of Article 27B (a);
                                                   3. in the Intrastat system, the Member State of arrival
                                                       shall be defined as that in which the goods which
                                                       enter from another Member State come under the
                                                       terms of Article 27C (a);
                                                   4. the Commission shall adopt the provisions provided
                                                       for in Article 7 (3) by 1 July 1991.
                                                                             Article 27E
                                                   On the statistical data medium to be transmitted to the
                                                   competent departments:
                                                   — goods shall be designated in such a way as to permit
                                                        easy and precise classification in the finest relevant
                                                        subdivision of the version of the combined nomen-
                                                        clature in force at the time,
                                                   — the eight-digit code number of the corresponding
                                                        subdivision of the combined nomenclature shall also
                                                        be given for each type of goods.
                                                                             Article 27F
                                                   1.     For each kind of goods, the statistical data medium
                                                   to be transmitted to the competent departments must
                                                   provide the following data:
                                                   (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 State
                                                        of destination of the goods, within the meaning of
                                                        Article 24 (2);
                                                   (c) the quantity of goods,            in  net    mass   and
                                                        supplementary units;
                                                   (d) the value of the goods;
                                                   (e) the nature of the transaction;
                                                   (f) the delivery terms;
                                                   (g) the presumed mode of transport.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 177/36                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                   18.7.90
            INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                       2.     Member States may not prescribe that data other
                                                       than those listed in paragraph 1 be provided on the stat-
                                                       istical data medium, except for the following:
                                                        (a) in the Member State of arrival, the third country of
                                                            origin; however, this item may be required only as
                                                            allowed by Community law;
                                                        (b) in the Member State of dispatch, the region of
                                                            production; in the Member State of arrival, the
                                                            region of destination;
                                                        (c) in the Member State of dispatch, the port of loading;
                                                            in the Member State of arrival, the port of
                                                            unloading.
                                                       3.     Article 23 (3) shall apply to the data referred to in
                                                       paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
                                                                                Article 27 G
                                                        1.     Parties liable to account for VAT, institutional
                                                       parties not liable to account for VAT and parties exempt
                                                       from VAT who, falling below thresholds laid down
                                                       pursuant to Articles 24, 25 and 28 (b) of Directive
                                                       77/388/EEC, qualify for the exemption referred to in
                                                       Article 16C shall be exempted from the obligations
                                                       which would devolve upon them, as parties responsible
                                                       for providing the statistical information, from the compi-
                                                       lation of statistics of trade between Member States.
                                                       2.     Pursuant to Article 29, the Commission shall lay
                                                       down value thresholds below which:
                                                       (a) the tax return shall be considered to be the statistical
                                                            return;
                                                       (b) the provisions of the present Regulation concerning
                                                            the return shall be simplified in accordance with
                                                            procedures which the Commission shall determine.
                                                       These thresholds may vary from one Member State to
                                                       another, by product group and by period.
                                                       3.     The thresholds referred to in paragraph 1 above
                                                       shall be known as exclusion thresholds, and those
                                                       mentioned in paragraph 2 above as simplification thre-
                                                       sholds.
                                                                                 Article 27H
                                                        1.    Article 24 (3) shall apply, notwithstanding Article
                                                       27F (1) (a).
                                                       2.     Article 25 (1) and (2) shall apply to the data
                                                       referred to in Article 27F (1) and (2) respectively.
                                                        3.    Article 25 (4) shall apply to the goods referred to in
                                                       Articles 27B and 27C.
                                                        4.    Article 26 (1) shall apply to the data referred to in
                                                       Article 27F (1).
 ---pagebreak---   18. 7. 90                             Official Journal of the European Communities                          No C 177/37
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                                            Article 271
                                                                  The following provisions of Title III shall not apply to
                                                                  statistics of trade between Member States in their tran-
                                                                  sition phase:
                                                                  (a) Article 18 (2);
                                                                  (b) Article 19;
                                                                  (c) Article 20 (1), (3) and (4);
                                                                  (d) Article 21;
                                                                  (e) Article 23 (1) and (2).
                          TITLE IV                                                Articles 28 to 33 unchanged
 Committee on statistics relating to the trading of goods
                  between Member States
                          Article 28
 1.    A Committe 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 is has taken the opinion
into account.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 177/38                             Official Journal of the European Communities                18.7.90
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                           TITLE V
                      Final provisions
                           Article 30
On a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall
adopt the provision 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 Regu-
lation 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 processing
and electronic data transmission.
                          Article 34                                                  Article 34
1.      Regulation (EEC) No 2954/85 is hereby repealed                 Unchanged
with effect from 1 January 1993 and Regulation (EEC)
N o 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.
 ---pagebreak--- 18. 7. 90                              Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 177/39
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
2.    This Regulation shall enter into force on the third        2.    This Regulation shall enter into force on the third
day following its publication in the Official Journal of the     day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.                                            European Communities.
Except in so far as they imply that the Council or the           Except in so far as they imply that the Council or the
Commission shall adopt provisions implementing this              Commission shall adopt provisons implementing this
Regulation before that date, Articles 1 to 9, 11, 13 (1),        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                14 to 16, 16A to 16D, 16F to 16H, 17 to 20, 21 (1) and
applicable until 1 January 1993.                                 (4), 22 to 27 and 27A to 271 shall not be applicable until
                                                                  1 January 1993.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and             Unchanged
directly applicable in all Member States.