Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2573 of 13 December 2022 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 as regards the messages relating to the movements of excise goods under duty suspension pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 of 2 May 2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2073/2004 (1), and in particular Article 9(2), Article 15(5) and Article 16(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 2008/118/EC (2) lays down the procedure to be followed for movements of excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement under the computerised system (‘the computerised system’) established by Article 1 of Decision No 1152/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3).

(2) Directive 2008/118/EC will be repealed and replaced by Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 (4) with effect from 13 February 2023. From that date, movements of excise goods under a duty suspension arrangement, as well as 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, are to be monitored by the computerised system referred to in Article 1 of Decision (EU) 2020/263 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(3) As from 13 February 2023, 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, are to take place under cover of an electronic simplified administrative document submitted by the consignor. Up to 13 February 2023, Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3649/92 (6) applies, in accordance with which such movements take place outside the computerised system and under cover of a document in paper form, which is a simplified accompanying document.

(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 (7) sets out the rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding only goods that are under an excise duty suspension arrangement. As a result of changes introduced by Directive (EU) 2020/262, the scope of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 needs to be amended to include the 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.

(5) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6) In order to align the application date of this Regulation with the application date of the relevant provisions of Directive (EU) 2020/262, the application of this Regulation should be deferred.

(7) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Excise Duty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 is amended as follows:

(1) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 of 24 February 2016 laying down detailed rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding excise goods pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012’;

(2) in Article 1, the introductory wording is replaced by the following: ‘For the purposes of cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding the movements of excise goods as referred to in Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Council Directive (EU) 2020/262() this Regulation lays down detailed rules concerning the following: ()  Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 4).’;"

(3) Article 2 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘movement’ means a movement of excise goods between two or more Member States as referred to in Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Directive (EU) 2020/262.’;

(4) in Article 3, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2.   Where codes are required for the completion of certain data fields in the mutual administrative assistance documents in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation, the codes listed in Annex II to this Regulation, Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 612/2013() and Annex II to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1636() shall be used as set out in the tables of Annex I to this Regulation. ()  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 612/2013 of 25 June 2013 on the operation of the register of economic operators and tax warehouses, related statistics and reporting pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 on administrative cooperation in the field of excise duties (OJ L 173, 26.6.2013, p. 9)." (**)  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 (OJ L 247, 23.9.2022, p. 2)’;"

(7) in Article 6, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   Requests for information regarding excise goods as referred to in Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Directive (EU) 2020/262 that is not contained in the computerised system shall be made by sending an ‘Administrative cooperation common request’ document, as set out in Table 7 of Annex I to this Regulation. The request type shall be set to ‘Administrative cooperation’.’;

(8) Article 6a is replaced by the following: ‘Article 6a Request for manual closure For the purposes of Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012, when the movement of excise goods as referred to in Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Directive (EU) 2020/262 cannot be closed under Articles 24, 25 or 37 of that Directive, the requesting authority may request the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch to close a movement of excise goods as referred to in Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of that Directive manually. Such a request shall be made by sending a ‘Manual Closure Request’ document set out in Table 15 of Annex I to this Regulation.’;

(9) Article 10 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 10 Mandatory exchange of information — Administrative cooperation results Where one of the cases referred to in Article 15(1), points (a) to (e), of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 is detected as a result of a documentary or physical control of goods at the premises of a registered consignee, within the meaning of Article 3(9) of Directive (EU) 2020/262 (‘registered consignee’), of an authorised warehouse keeper within the meaning of Article 3(1) of that Directive (‘authorised warehouse keeper’), of a certified consignor, within the meaning of Article 3(12) of that Directive (‘certified consignor’), or of a certified consignee, within the meaning of Article 3(13) of that Directive (‘certified consignee’), the mandatory transmission of the necessary information shall be carried out using an ‘Administrative cooperation results’ document, as set out in Table 10 of Annex I to this Regulation. The ‘Administrative cooperation results’ document shall be sent to the competent authorities in the Member State concerned within seven days of the control.’;

(10) Article 13 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 13 Mandatory exchange of information — alert or rejection notification Where a competent authority becomes aware that excise goods which are dispatched within the meaning of Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Directive (EU) 2020/262 had not been requested, or that the content of the electronic administrative document or the electronic simplified administrative document is incorrect, and the competent authority suspects that this is due to one of cases referred to in Article 15(1), points (a), (b), (c) or (e), of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012, it shall send an ‘Alert or rejection of an e-AD/e-SAD’ document, as set out in Table 14 of Annex I to this Regulation, to the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch. The ‘Alert or Rejection of an e-AD/e-SAD’ document shall be sent to the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch within one day of the moment when the competent authority becomes aware of the facts referred to in the first paragraph.’;

(11) in Article 14a, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: ‘For the purpose of Article 15(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 389/2012, where a competent authority of the Member State of dispatch has received evidence of the completion of a movement of excise goods within the meaning of Chapter IV and Chapter V, Section 2, of Directive (EU) 2020/262, and the movement cannot be closed under Articles 24, 25 or 37 of that Directive, it shall decide whether to close the movement of excise goods manually.’;

(12) Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation;

(13) Annex II is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 13 February 2023.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 13 December 2022.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 121, 8.5.2012, p. 1.

(2) Council Directive 2008/118/EC of 16 December 2008 concerning the general arrangements for excise duty and repealing Directive 92/12/EEC (OJ L 9, 14.1.2009, p. 12).

(3) Decision No 1152/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excisable products (OJ L 162, 1.7.2003, p. 5).

(4) Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 of 19 December 2019 laying down the general arrangements for excise duty (OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 4).

(5) 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 (OJ L 58, 27.2.2020, p. 43).

(6) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3649/92 of 17 December 1992 on a simplified accompanying document for the intra-Community movement of products subject to excise duty which have been released for consumption in the Member State of dispatch (OJ L 369, 18.12.1992, p. 17).

(7) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/323 of 24 February 2016 laying down detailed rules on cooperation and exchange of information between Member States regarding goods under excise duty suspension pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 389/2012 (OJ L 66, 11.3.2016, p. 1).