Brussels, 12/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission presented a draft decision that would computerise the system under which excise goods - alcohol, tobacco and mineral oils - are moved between traders in the Community in bond under duty-suspension arrangements. The proposed new system would provide Member States with real-time information about consignments under way, enabling them to plan checks and inspections in advance. The current paper-based system is unable to cope with increasing levels of tax evasion - fraud involving alcohol and tobacco is particularly prevalent - and is unpopular with traders who find it cumbersome.
Goods currently moving under the suspension arrangements (alcohol, tobacco and mineral oils) from one Member State to be sold in another are suspended from duty until they are put on sale. The goods in question must be accompanied by an administrative document which provides the Member States' tax authorities with information about the movement and traders involved in the delivery. Traders are required to lodge a guarantee to cover the risk inherent in movements of untaxed goods, which is only released once the recipient - the consignee - sends notification that the goods have arrived, thus discharging the consignor's responsibility. The proposed new system would replace the administrative accompanying document with a computer-messaging system linking traders with one another via their respective national administrations. Such a system would provide the Member States with real-time information on current movements and allow them to carry out various prior checks. It would also ensure that the consignor gets immediate notification of arrival, allowing the guarantee to be released more quickly. Around 80,000 individuals and firms would have to be connected to the system. The cost of developing the system is high, both for the Community budget (EUR 35 million) and for Member States (between EUR 5 million and 12 million each country). But set against the cost of fraud, the total cost will be no more than 5% of revenue lost in any particular year since tax evasion for tobacco and alcohol alone is estimated at EUR 4.8 million for 1996 alone. The full text of the proposal (including annexes) will soon be available on http: //europa.eu.int/comm/ taxation_customs/whatsnew.htm.