Brussels, 09/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 8 March, the finance ministers of the EU asked the Commission to send it an “appropriate legislative proposal” in 2017, following an impact assessment, aiming to ensure equal taxation treatment between new tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes.
In the conclusions it adopted, however, the Ecofin Council states that the Commission may opt not to put forward a legislative proposal, but that it would have to give reasons for such a decision.
The ministers observe that certain products, such as e-cigarettes, do not fall within any category of products subject to excise duty under Directive 2011/64/EU on the structure and rates of duty applicable to manufactured tobacco products. They note that in most member states, some of these non-categorised products are not subject to any excise duty and agree that “should the market share of such products show a tendency to increase, the ongoing efforts to develop an efficient taxation method for such products would have to be intensified”.
Whichever solution is chosen for excise duty on e-cigarettes, it must “strike the right balance between the revenue, expenses of tax administration and public health objectives”, the Council adds. In a statement appended to the Council conclusions, Austria, Ireland, Finland, France and Sweden argue that the work on a future revision of the minimum excise rates should begin “immediately”, as the Commission will have to undertake a public consultation and impact assessment before it can present a proposal. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)