Regulation (EC) No 1182/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 1999 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States with a view to reducing the data to be provided

REGULATION (EC) No 1182/1999 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 10 May 1999
amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States with a view to reducing the data to be provided
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 13 April 1999,
(1) Whereas, pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91(4), the Community and the Member States have been compiling statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States (Intrastat) during the transitional period beginning on 1 January 1993 and ending on the date of changeover to a unified system of taxation in the Member State of origin;
(2) Whereas the simplification of legislation for the internal market, as formulated in the SLIM (simpler legislation for the internal market) initiative, aims to improve enterprises' competitiveness and job-creation potential;
(3) Whereas the simplification of the Intrastat system was chosen as a SLIM pilot project, and specific proposals formulated by the SLIM-Intrastat Working Party with a view to reducing the burden on providers of statistical information which were contained in a communication to the European Parliament and to the Council have been endorsed by those institutions;
(4) Whereas limiting the information on declarations, while maintaining an acceptable level of information for users, is a prime means of reducing the burden on providers of statistical information;
(5) Whereas deletion of the mode of transport and the delivery terms is one of these simplification measures; whereas, however, reporting of the country of origin, the region of origin and/or the region of destination is of particular benefit to many users and should therefore be retained;
(6) Whereas it is important to simplify the combined nomenclature to be used on a uniform basis in both intra-Community and external trade, so as to make it easier to apply the system - in particular for small and medium-sized undertakings; whereas in this context the results of the on-going discussions conducted by the Commission with Member States and European trade and industry organisations in the SLIM framework should be taken into account, preserving the principle of one single nomenclature;
(7) Whereas it is necessary for certain Member States to require reporting of delivery terms, the presumed mode of transport and the statistical procedure; whereas certain Member States may wish to have reports other than those needed for information forming part of the Community statistical system; whereas, however, it is desirable for thresholds below which Member States may not prescribe such statistical data to be set in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 in order to avoid a disproportionate burden for small and medium-sized undertakings;
(8) Whereas, in order to meet the expectations of the providers of statistical information and take account of the Member States' differing administrative structures, national administrations should be afforded greater flexibility in laying down the deadlines for the transmission of declarations,