Activites

• 2001/12/11 Additional information
• 2001/12/11 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1996/05/06 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0165 summary

    Following the opinion by the European Parliament, the Commission amended its proposal for a regulation setting out the cases where relief from import duties or export duties shall be granted. The proposed amendments were mainly aimed at: - highlighting the importance of the fight against fraud. Within three years, the Commission would forward to the EP and to the Council a report that would make it possible to estimate the cost of the reliefs and to prevent their improper use; - clarifying the presentation of the regulation: some of the provisions in the annex were included in the body of the regulation, and the Taric numbers were included in the annex; - ensuring that within the single market a person claiming relief was able to declare goods for free circulation at any point on the Community's external border without having to submit them to customs control in the Member State that is the final destination of the goods so as to declare them there. It was also essential to guarantee a proper flow of information between customs authorities in the country where the goods were declared and those in the Member State where the goods were to be used, who were responsible for ensuring compliance with the terms of relief. The amendments tabled by Parliament concerning perfume and sparkling wines were not accepted by the Commission. �

• 1995/06/16 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    When reviewing the main amendments, Mr CASSIDY (EPP, UK) expressed his disagreement with Amendment No 8, tabled by the Socialist Group, which added the word ‘public’ to ‘galleries and museums’ for the admission free of import duties of works of art intended for exhibitions open to the public. Mr MILLER (PSE, UK) supported the content of this amendment, which, in spite of the commitments made under the Nairobi Protocol to UNESCO’s Florence Convention on such duties, sought to exclude from this exemption all private organisations, which did not require subsidies. Commissioner LIIKANEN stated that he could take over 6 of the 8 amendments. Amendment No 2 on the duties applicable to travellers could not be taken over by the Commission as it could result in unfair competition among the various categories of duty-free alcoholic beverages and, therefore, in a reduction in excise revenue; the second part of the amendment in question should also be rejected as it sought to maintain quantitative limits for perfumes and toilet waters and that was no longer consistent with the Community tax status of the products in question (exempt from excise duties). Finally, Amendment No 8, amended by Amendment No 3, only redrafted and clarified the text proposed by the Commission. It was neither necessary nor acceptable since there was no provision made for sales subsequent to exhibitions.

  • T4-0321/1995 summary

    The European Parliament approved the Commission proposal with certain amendments stipulating that: - sparkling wines be classified with wines rather than spirits (relief would thus be granted for 2 litres); - special relief be granted for perfume (50 grams) and eaux de toilette (0.25 litres); - collectors' pieces and works of art not intended for sale, imported by public galleries, museums and other institutions approved by the Member States be admitted free of import duties; - educational, scientific and cultural articles produced by the United Nations or any of its specialised agencies, whoever the consignee and whatever the intended use of such materials, be admitted free of import duties; - where relief from import duties was dependent upon the goods being put to a particular use, the customs authorities should notify the customs authorities of the Member State where the goods were to be used; - that within three years of the date of entry into force of the regulation, the Commission should forward to Parliament and the Council a report including an estimate of the cost of the reliefs covered by the regulation accompanied, where necessary, by recommendations concerning appraisals of the control systems established by the Member States. �

• 1995/05/24 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0124/1995
• 1995/01/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1994/06/08 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1994)0232 summary

    This proposal aimed to consolidate the Community system of customs duties, amended six times since its entry into force in 1984 (Regulation (EEC) No 918/83). This consolidation was extremely appropriate as it would make it possible to harmonise the terminology of the customs duty system with that of the Community Customs Code. It also aimed to made the system easier to understand by reorganising its provisions, introducing a detailed index, clarifying certain articles, aligning other articles with international conventions (particularly the Kyoto Convention and the OECD Code of Liberalisation of Current Invisible Operations) and the introduction of language taking account of technological advances. Finally, the proposal was designed to ensure greater harmony with the corresponding fiscal provisions that would soon be proposed and would be based on this text. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1994)0232
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0124/1995
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0321/1995
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0165

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)