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)
Grade B
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Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/decision/2020/263@2020-01-15/en
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1) A number of amendments are to be made to Decision No 1152/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. In the interests of clarity, that Decision should be recast.
(2) Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 provides that goods moving between the territories of the Member States under excise-duty suspension arrangements are to be accompanied by a document completed by the consignor.
(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 684/2009 lays down the structure and content of the accompanying document referred to in Directive (EU) 2020/262 and the procedure for its use.
(4) In order to improve checks and allow the movement of excise goods inside the Union to be simplified, a computerised system was established by means of Decision No 1152/2003/EC.
(5) It is necessary to further maintain and develop the computerised system for monitoring the movement of excise goods in order to allow Member States to obtain real-time information on such movement and to carry out the requisite manual and automated checks, including checks during the movement of excise goods within the meaning of Chapters IV and V of Directive (EU) 2020/262 and Chapter IV of Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012.
(6) The modification, extension and operation of the computerised system should allow the intra-Union movement of excise goods under duty suspension as well as the movement of excise goods which have already been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and are moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered for commercial purposes.
(7) Modifying and extending the computerised system serves to enhance the internal-market aspects of the movement of excise goods. Any fiscal aspects relating to the movement of excise goods should be addressed by amending Directive (EU) 2020/262 or Regulation (EU) No 389/2012. This Decision does not prejudice the legal basis of any future amendments to Directive (EU) 2020/262 or Regulation (EU) No 389/2012.
(8) It is necessary to define the division between the Union and non-Union components of the computerised system, as well as the respective duties of the Commission and the Member States with regard to the system’s development and deployment. In that context, the Commission, assisted by the relevant Committee, should fulfil a major role in coordinating, organising and managing the system.
(9) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the measures necessary for the modification, extension and operation of the computerised system, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(10) Arrangements should be made for evaluating the implementation of the computerised system for monitoring excise goods.
(11) Before a new extension of the computerised system is operational, and given the problems which have been experienced, the Commission, in collaboration with Member States, and taking account of the views of the trade sectors concerned, should investigate whether any current paper-based systems are still suitable.
(12) The costs of the computerised system should be shared between the Union and the Member States.
(13) Due to the size and complexity of the computerised system, it is necessary that both the Union and the Member States provide human and financial resources for the development and deployment of the system. In developing the national components, Member States should apply the principles laid down for electronic government systems and should treat the economic operators in the same way as in the other fields where computer systems are set up. In particular, they should allow the economic operators, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises active in this sector, to use the national components at the lowest possible cost, and they should promote all measures aimed at preserving their competitiveness.
(14) Since the objective of this Decision, namely to provide a basis for the governance of further automations of processes set out in Union legislation on excise duties, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. This Decision makes provision for the management of the modification, extension and operation of the computerised system used for the movement and surveillance of excise goods referred to in Article 1(1) of Directive (EU) 2020/262 (the computerised system).
2. The computerised system is intended to:
(a) permit the electronic transmission of the administrative documents provided for in Directive (EU) 2020/262 and Regulation (EU) No 389/2012, and the improvement of checks;
(b) improve the functioning of the internal market, by simplifying the intra-Union movement of excise goods and by affording Member States the possibility of monitoring the flows in real time and of carrying out the requisite checks where necessary.
Article 2
Activities relating to the initiation of extension of the computerised system shall begin by 10 February 2021.
Article 3
1. The computerised system shall be made up of Union and non-Union components.
2. The Commission shall ensure that in work on the Union components of the computerised system every attention is paid to reusing existing systems as much as possible and ensuring that the computerised system is compatible with other relevant Commission and Member State computerised systems, with the objective of creating an integrated set of computerised systems for the surveillance both of intra-Union movements of excise goods and of movements of excise goods and goods subject to other duties and charges coming from or going to third countries.
3. The Union components of the computerised system shall be the common specifications, the technical products, the services of the Common Communications Network/Common Systems Interface network, and the coordination services used by all the Member States, to the exclusion of any variant or special feature of any such services designed to meet national requirements.
4. The non-Union components of the computerised system shall be the national specifications, the national databases forming part of the computerised system, network connections between the Union and non-Union components and any software or equipment which a Member State considers necessary to ensure full use of the computerised system throughout its administration.
Article 4
1. The Commission shall coordinate the modification, extension and operation of the Union and non-Union components of the computerised system, and in particular:
(a) the infrastructure and tools needed to guarantee the computerised system’s internal links and overall interoperability;
(b) the development of a security policy of the highest standard possible in order to prevent unauthorised access to data and to guarantee the integrity of the computerised system;
(c) the instruments for the exploitation of data to combat fraud.
2. To achieve the aims set out in paragraph 1, the Commission shall conclude the necessary contracts for the modification and extension of the Union components of the computerised system and shall, in cooperation with the Member States meeting within the Committee referred to in Article 7(1), draw up a master plan and management plans required for the modification, extension and operation of the computerised system. The master plan and the management plans shall specify the initial and routine tasks which the Commission and each Member State are to perform. The management plans shall specify the completion dates for the tasks required for carrying out each project identified in the master plan.
Article 5
1. Member States shall complete, by the date specified in the management plans referred to in Article 4(2), the initial and routine tasks allocated to them. They shall report to the Commission on the results of each task and the date of its completion. The Commission shall in turn inform the Committee referred to in Article 7(1) thereof.
2. Member States shall not take any action relating to the modification, extension or operation of the computerised system that might affect its internal links and overall interoperability or its functioning as a whole. Any measure that a Member State wishes to take that could affect either the computerised system’s internal links and overall interoperability or its functioning as a whole shall be taken with the prior agreement of the Commission.
3. Member States shall inform the Commission regularly of any measure they have taken to enable their respective administrations to make full use of the computerised system. The Commission shall in turn inform the Committee referred to in Article 7(1) thereof.
Article 6
The Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing the measures necessary for the modification, extension and operation of the computerised system as relating to the matters referred to in Article 4(1) and the second subparagraph of Article 5(2). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 7(2). Those implementing acts shall not affect the Union provisions in relation to the raising and checking of indirect taxes or administrative cooperation and mutual assistance in matters of indirect taxation.
Article 7
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee on Excise Duty. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 8
1. The Commission shall verify that the measures financed from the general budget of the European Union are being carried out correctly and in compliance with the provisions of this Decision. It shall regularly, in collaboration with the Member States, meeting in the Committee referred to in Article 7(1), monitor the various development and deployment stages of the computerised system with a view to determining whether the objectives pursued have been achieved and to issuing guidelines on how to increase the effectiveness of the activities involved in implementing the computerised system.
2. By 10 February 2025 and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation and operation of the computerised system. The report shall set out, inter alia, the methods and criteria to be used in the later evaluation of how the computerised system is functioning.
Article 9
The countries that have applied for membership of the Union shall be kept informed by the Commission of the development and deployment of the computerised system and may, if they so desire, take part in the tests to be carried out.
Article 10
1. The costs of modifying and extending the computerised system shall be split between the Union and the Member States in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.
2. The Union shall bear the costs of the design, acquisition, installation and maintenance of the Union components of the computerised system and the ongoing operating costs of those Union components installed in Commission premises, or in those of a subcontractor designated by the Commission.
3. Member States shall bear the costs of modifying, extending and operating the non-Union components of the computerised system and the ongoing operating costs of those Union components installed in their premises, or in those of a subcontractor designated by the Member State concerned.
Article 11
1. The annual appropriations, including appropriations assigned to the use and operation of the computerised system after the implementation period, shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective set out in Regulation (EU) No 1286/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
2. Member States shall estimate and make available the budgets and human resources needed to meet their obligations described in Article 5. The Commission and the Member States shall provide the human, budgetary and technical resources needed to modify, extend, operate and further develop the computerised system.
Article 12
Decision No 1152/2003/EC is repealed. References to the repealed Decision shall be construed as references to this Decision and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in the Annex.
Article 13
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 14
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Strasbourg, 15 January 2020. For the European Parliament The President D. M. Sassoli For the Council The President N. Brnjac
ANNEX
ANNEX CORRELATION TABLE
Decision No 1152/2003/EC This Decision Article 1 Article 1 Article 2, first paragraph – Article 2, second paragraph Article 2 Article 3 Article 3 Article 4 Article 4 Article 5 Article 5 Article 6 Article 6 Article 7(1) Article 7(1) Article 7(2) Article 7(2) Article 7(3) – Article 8(1) Article 8(1) Article 8(2) – Article 8(3) Article 8(2) Article 9 Article 9 Article 10 Article 10 Article 11(1), first subparagraph – Article 11(1), second subparagraph Article 11(1) Article 11(2) Article 11(2) – Article 12 Article 12 Article 13 Article 13 Article 14 – Annex
Versions
Cited by
- 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 Regulation · Grade B
Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 extends the use of the computerised system under Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which is currently used to supervise movements of excise goods under duty suspension, to the supervision of excise goods released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and then moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered for commercial purposes.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1636 of 5 July 2022 supplementing Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 by establishing the structure and content of the documents exchanged in the context of movement of excise goods, and establishing a threshold for the losses due to the nature of the goods Regulation · Grade B
Directive (EU) 2020/262 requires the use of electronic administrative documents, exchanged via the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council, in order for a movement of excise goods to be considered to take place under a duty suspension arrangement. It also requires the use of fallback documents in cases where that computerised system is unavailable in the Member State of dispatch. The structure and content of those documents should ensure a uniform completion of the necessary formalities and facilitate the supervision of movements
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2707 of 5 December 2023 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1637 as regards the rules and procedures concerning excise goods being exported under suspension of excise duty and the use of fallback documents Regulation · Grade B
Article 21(3) and (4) of Directive (EU) 2020/262 requires the competent authorities in the Member State of export to verify the data of the electronic administrative document and the export declaration and to notify any inconsistencies between the electronic administrative document and the export declaration to the Member State of dispatch by means of the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the computerised system). In order to provide legal certainty and inform about the status of the movement, the competent authorities in t
- Council Regulation (EU) 2023/246 of 30 January 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 as regards the exchange of information maintained in the electronic registers concerning economic operators who move excise goods between Member States for commercial purposes Regulation · Grade B
According to Article 36 of Council Directive (EU) 2020/262, the movement of excise goods which have been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and are moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered there for commercial purposes is to take place under cover of an electronic simplified administrative document. That Directive thus extends the use of the computerised system set out in Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council for monitoring the movement of excise goods, which is used to monitor movements of excise goods un
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/296 of 9 November 2023 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1636 as regards the messages concerning excise goods being exported under suspension of excise duty Regulation · Grade B
Article 21(3) of Directive (EU) 2020/262 requires the competent authorities in the Member State of export to verify the data of the electronic administrative document against the export declaration and to notify any inconsistencies between the electronic administrative document and the export declaration to the Member State of dispatch by means of the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the computerised system).
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2494 of 9 December 2025 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 as regards the structure of messages relating to the movements of excise goods exchanged pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 Regulation · Grade B
In order to allow Member States adequate time to prepare for the amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323, and to align the application date of this Regulation with the date on which the new version of the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 becomes operational, this Regulation should apply from 12 February 2026.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/50 of 12 November 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1636 as regards the data of the documents exchanged in the context of movement of excise goods Regulation · Grade B
In order to allow Member States adequate time to prepare for those changes, and to align the application date of this Regulation with the date in which the new version of the computerised system referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 becomes operational, this Regulation should apply from 12 February 2026,
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1637 of 5 July 2022 laying down the rules for the application of Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 as regards the use of documents in the context of movement of excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement and of movement of excise goods after release for consumption, and establishing the form to be used for the exemption certificate Regulation · Grade B
Directive (EU) 2020/262 requires that movements of excise goods under duty suspension arrangement be under cover of the electronic administrative document, exchanged via the computerised system, referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council. That Directive also requires the use of fallback documents in cases where that computerised system is unavailable in the Member State of dispatch. Rules and procedures should be established for the exchanges of the electronic administrative documents through the computerised system in the context of movement of excise
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1637 of 5 July 2022 laying down the rules for the application of Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 as regards the use of documents in the context of movement of excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement and of movement of excise goods after release for consumption, and establishing the form to be used for the exemption certificate Regulation · Grade B
Directive (EU) 2020/262 requires that movements of excise goods which have been released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and are moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered there for commercial purposes, be under cover of the electronic simplified administrative document, exchanged via the computerised system, referred to in Decision (EU) 2020/263. That Directive also requires the use of fallback documents in cases where that computerised system is unavailable in the Member State of dispatch. Rules and procedures should be established for the ex
- Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (recast) Directive · Grade B
In order to ensure a speedy completion of the necessary formalities and facilitate the supervision of movements of excise goods moved under suspension of excise duty, it is appropriate to use the computerised system under Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council for the exchange of electronic administrative documents between the persons and competent authorities concerned (the computerised system).
- Council Regulation (EU) 2021/774 of 10 May 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties as regards the content of electronic registers Regulation · Grade B
Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 extends the use of the computerised system under Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which is currently used to supervise movements of excise goods under duty suspension, to the supervision of excise goods released for consumption in the territory of one Member State and then moved to the territory of another Member State in order to be delivered for commercial purposes.
- P8_TA(2019)0351 Computerising the movement and surveillance of excise goods ***I European Parliament legislative resolution of 4 April 2019 on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on computerising the movement and surveillance of excise goods (recast) (COM(2018)0341 — C8-0215/2018 — 2018/0187(COD)) (Ordinary legislative procedure — recast) 2021/C 116/23 Notice · Grade B
(As an agreement was reached between Parliament and Council, Parliament's position corresponds to the final legislative act, Decision (EU) 2020/263.)