Brussels, 10/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 July, the European Commission decided to refer Portugal to the European Court of Justice for failing to change its excise duty rules related to the marketing of cigarettes, despite receiving a written warning about this in May.
In Portugal, a time limit for the sale of cigarettes is set down, linked to the fiscal stamp on the packaging. The design of the tax markings in Portugal changes regularly and a new tax rate frequently applies with the new marking. Cigarettes cannot be sold any later than 3 months after the end of the year that they are released for consumption. Under EU law (Directive 2008/118/EC), excise duty on tobacco products must be charged at the rate applicable on the date on which they are released for consumption. There is no provision under EU legislation which allows member states to add supplementary duty to this release-date tax rate, or to limit the distribution of tobacco products for fiscal reasons.
The Commission says the sales and marketing prohibition in Portugal is clearly disproportionate to any fraud-tackling objective. It also runs contrary to the provisions of Directive 2008/118/EC, under which member states must ensure that tax markings do not create obstacles to the free movement of excise goods. (FG)