COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 19 December 1978 on the exemption from taxes of imports of small consignments of goods of a non-commercial character from third countries (78/1035/EEC)

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THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

( 1 ) EFT nr . C 18 af 25 . 1 . 1975 , s . 6 og EFT nr . C 213 af 7 . 9 . 1978 , s . 11 .

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 99 thereof,

( 2 ) EFT nr . C 261 af 6 . 11 . 1978 , s . 46 .

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

( 3 ) Udtalelse afgivet den 19 . 10 . 1978 ( endnu ikke offentliggjort i EFT ) .

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

( 4 ) EFT nr . L 354 af 30 . 12 . 1974 , s . 57 .

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),

( 5 ) Se side 33 i denne Tidende .

Whereas Council Directive 74/651/EEC of 19 December 1974 on the tax reliefs to be allowed on the importation of goods in small consignments of a non-commercial character within the Community (4), as amended by Directive 78/1034/EEC (5), laid down the limits and conditions under which such consignments may be exempted from value added tax and from any other taxes on consumption;

( 6 ) Se side 1 i denne Tidende .

Whereas Community rules should likewise be laid down for the exemption from turnover taxes and excise duties of imports of small consignments of a similar nature from third countries;

( 7 ) EFT nr . L 356 af 31 . 12 . 1977 , s . 1 .

Whereas to that end the limits within which such exemption is to be applied should, for practical reasons, be as far as possible the same as those laid down by the arrangements for exemption from customs duties in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3060/78 (6);

RAADETS DIREKTIV

Whereas finally it appears necessary to set special limits for certain products because of the high level of taxation to which they are at present subject in the Member States,

af 19 . december 1978

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

om afgiftsfritagelse ved indfoersel af varer i smaaforsendelser uden erhvervsmaessig karakter fra tredjelande

( 78/1035/EOEF )

Article 1

RAADET FOR DE EUROPAEISKE FAELLESSKABER HAR _

1. Goods in small consignments of a non-commercial character sent from a third country by private persons to other private persons in a Member State shall be exempt on importation from turnover tax and excise duty.

under henvisning til traktaten om oprettelse af Det europaeiske oekonomiske Faellesskab , saerlig artikel 99 ,

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, "small consignments of a non-commercial character" means consignments which: - are of an occasional nature,

under henvisning til forslag fra Kommissionen ( 1 ) ,

- contain only goods intended for the personal or family use of the consignees, the nature and quantity of which do not indicate that they are being imported for any commercial purpose,

under henvisning til udtalelse fra Europa-Parlamentet ( 2 ) ,

- contain goods with a total value not exceeding 30 EUA.

under henvisning til udtalelse fra Det oekonomiske og sociale Udvalg ( 3 ) , og

- are sent by the sender to the consignee without payment of any kind.

ud fra foelgende betragtninger :

Raadets direktiv 74/651/EOEF af 19 . december 1974 om afgiftsfritagelse ved indfoersel af varer i smaaforsendelser uden erhversmaessig karakter inden for Faellesskabet ( 4 ) , aendret ved direktiv 78/1034/EOEF ( 5 ) , fastsaetter i hvilket omfang og under hvilke betingelser de naevnte forsendelser kan fritages for mervaerdiafgift og i givet fald for andre forbrugsafgifter ;

der boer ligeledes fastsaettes faellesskabsregler for fritagelse for omsaetningsafgifter og punktafgifter for smaaforsendelser af samme art fra tredjelande ;

med henblik herpaa boer det omfang , i hvilket en saadan afgiftsfritagelse skal gaelde , af praktiske grunde i videst mulig udstraekning svare til det , der er fastsat for toldfritagelsesordningen i forordning ( EOEF ) nr . 3060/78 ( 6 ) ;

Article 2

endelig forekommer det noedvendigt at fastsaette saerlige begraensninger for visse varer i betragtning af det hoeje afgiftsniveau , som for tiden er gaeldende for disse varer i medlemsstaterne _

1. Article 1 shall apply to the goods listed below subject to the following quantitative limits: (a) tobacco products

UDSTEDT FOELGENDE DIREKTIV :

50 cigarettes,

Artikel 1

or 25 cigarillos (cigars of a maximum weight of three grams each),

1 . Varer i smaaforsendelser uden erhvervsmaessig karakter , der af en privatperson afsendes fra et tredjeland til en anden privatperson i en medlemsstat , fritages ved indfoerselen for omsaetningsafgifter og punktafgifter .

or 10 cigars,

2 . I stk . 1 forstaas ved " smaaforsendelser uden erhvervsmaessig karakter " forsendelser , der

or 50 grams of smoking tobacco;

_ finder sted lejlighedsvis ,

(b) alcoholic beverages - distilled beverages and spirits of an alcoholic strength exceeding 22º : one standard bottle (not exceeding one litre),

_ udelukkende indeholder varer , der er bestemt til modtagerens brug eller forbrug , personligt eller i husholdningen , idet disse varer hverken ved deres beskaffenhed eller maengde maa baere praeg af at vaere af erhvervsmaessig interesse ,

or

_ bestaar af varer , hvis samlede vaerdi ikke overstiger 30 europaeiske regningsenheder , samt

- distilled beverages and spirits and aperitifs with a wine or alcohol base, of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 22º ; sparkling wines and liqueur wines : one standard bottle (not exceeding one litre),

_ fremsendes fra afsenderen til modtageren uden nogen form for vederlag .

or

Artikel 2

- still wines : two litres;

1 . Artikel 1 gaelder for nedennaevnte varer kun inden for foelgende kvantitative graenser :

a ) Tobaksvarer :

50 cigaretter

(c) perfumes : 50 grams,

eller 25 cigarillos ( cigarer med en vaegt af hoejst 3 gram pr . stk . ) ,

or

eller 10 cigarer ,

toilet waters : 0 725 litre or eight ounces; (1)OJ No C 18, 25.1.1975, p. 6 ; OJ No C 213, 7.9.1978, p. 11. (2)OJ No C 261, 6.11.1978, p. 46, (3)Opinion delivered on 19 October 1978 (not yet published in the Official Journal). (4)OJ No L 354, 30.12.1974, p. 57. (5)See page 33 of this Official Journal. (6)See page 1 of this Official Journal.

eller 50 gram roegtobak ;

(d) coffee : 500 grams,

b ) alkoholholdige drikkevarer :

or

_ destillerede drikkevarer og andre spiritusholdige drikkevarer med et alkoholindhold paa over 22 rumfangsprocent : 1 normalflaske ( indtil 1 liter )

coffee extracts and essences : 200 grams;

eller

(e) tea : 100 grams,

_ destillerede drikkevarer og andre spiritusholdige drikkevarer , aperitif paa basis af vin eller alkohol , med et alkoholindhold paa 22 rumfangsprocent og derunder ; mousserende vin , hedvin : 1 normalflaske ( indtil 1 liter )

or

eller

tea extracts and essences : 40 grams.

_ ikke-mousserende vin : 2 liter ;

c ) parfume :

50 gram

2. The Member States shall have the right to reduce the quantities of the products referred to in paragraph 1 eligible for exemption from turnover tax and excise duties, or to abolish exemption for such products altogether.

eller

3. Under no circumstances shall tax exemption granted for small consignments from non-member countries exceed that applicable to small consignments sent within the Community.

toiletvand 1/4 liter eller 8 ounces ;

d ) kaffe :

Article 3

500 gram

Goods listed in Article 2 contained in a small consignment of a non-commercial character in quantities exceeding those laid down in the said Article shall be excluded in their entirety from exemption.

eller

kaffe-ekstrakter og kaffe-essencer 200 gram ;

Article 4

e ) te :

1. For the purpose of this Directive, "European unit of account" (EUA) shall be as defined in the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 (1).

100 gram

2. The EUA equivalent in national currency which shall apply for the implementation of this Directive shall be fixed once a year. The rates applicable shall be those obtaining on the first working day of October with effect from 1 January of the following year.

eller

3. Member States may round off the amounts in national currency resulting from the conversion of the amounts in European units of account provided for in Article 1 (2), provided such rounding-off does not exceed 2 EUA.

te-ekstrakter og te-essencer 40 gram .

4. Member States may maintain the amount of the exemption in force at the time of the annual adjustment provided for in paragraph 2 if, prior to the rounding-off provided for in paragraph 3, conversion of the amount of the exemption expressed in EUA would result in a change of less than 5 % in the exemption expressed in national currency.

2 . Medlemsstaterne kan begraense eller udelukke de i stk . 1 naevnte varer for saa vidt angaar fritagelse for omsaetningsafgifter og punktafgifter .

3 . Afgiftsfritagelsen for smaaforsendelser fra tredjelande maa under ingen omstaendighed vaere stoerre end den , der gaelder for smaaforsendelser inden for Faellesskabet .

Article 5

Artikel 3

1. Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 1 January 1979.

Varer , som er anfoert i artikel 2 , og som er indeholdt i smaaforsendelser uden erhvervsmaessig karakter i maengder , der overstiger de i artikel 2 fastsatte , udelukkes som helhed fra fritagelsen .

2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the provisions which they adopt to implement this Directive. The Commission shall inform the other Member States thereof.

Artikel 4

1 . I dette direktiv forstaas ved europaeisk regningsenhed ( ERE ) , den europaeiske regningsenhed , der er defineret i finansforordningen af 21 . december 1977 ( 7 ) .

Article 6

2 . Den modvaerdi i national valuta af ERE , der skal komme i betragtning ved gennemfoerelsen af dette direktiv , fastsaettes en gang om aaret . De kurser , der skal anvendes , er dem , der konstateres den foerste arbejdsdag i oktober , med virkning pr . 1 . januar det foelgende aar .

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

3 . Medlemsstaterne kan afrunde de beloeb i national valuta , som fremkommer ved omregningen af det i artikel 1 , stk . 2 , anfoerte beloeb i ERE , saafremt denne afrunding ikke overstiger 2 ERE .

4 . Medlemsstaterne kan opretholde det beloeb for afgiftsfritagelsen , som gaelder ved den i stk . 2 omhandlede aarlige tilpasning , saafremt omregningen af beloebet for fritagelsen udtrykt i ERE inden den i stk . 3 naevnte afrunding medfoerer en aendring af det afgiftsfri beloeb udtrykt i national valuta paa under 5 % .

Artikel 5

Done at Brussels, 19 December 1978.

1 . Medlemsstaterne saetter de noedvendige foranstaltninger i kraft for senest den 1 . januar 1979 at efterkomme dette direktiv .

For the Council

2 . Medlemsstaterne underretter Kommissionen om de bestemmelser , som de vedtager med henblik paa gennemfoerelsen af dette direktiv . Kommissionen underretter de oevrige medlemsstater herom .

The President

Artikel 6

H.-D. GENSCHER (1)OJ No L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1.

Dette direktiv er rettet til medlemsstaterne .

Udfaerdiget i Bruxelles , den 19 . december 1978 .

Paa Raadets vegne

H.D . GENSCHER

Formand