Evaluation finalised; 21.04.2017 – COM(2018) 184 and SWD(2017)131
Commission proposal adopted on 25.05. 2018; COM(2018)349.
Legal acts adopted:
1. Council Regulation (EU) 2020/261 of 19 December 2019 amending Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties as regards the content of electronic registers
2. Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (recast)
3. Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2020 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excise goods (recast)
The Commission proposed a revision of the Directive 2008/118/EC to align and ensure coherence between customs and excise legislation, and the automation of duty paid business to business (B2B) procedures, to improve legal certainty and ensure the uniform application of EU legislation.
The automation of the connection between excise and customs procedures is expected to reduce administrative burden for Member States and bring comparable reductions in compliance costs currently experienced by economic operators. It would provide legal certainty and uniform application of EU customs and excise law, which would eventually lead to facilitation of trade in the EU while securing payment of excise duties. Preferred options have a positive economic return with a payback time of a couple of years and/or help reduce fraud. The yearly benefits for Member States and economic operators are estimated by the impact assessment at EUR 14.55 and 32.27 million, respectively.