Directive 2010/12 - Amendment of Directives 92/79/EEC, 92/80/EEC and 95/59/EC on the structure and rates of excise duty applied on manufactured tobacco and Directive 2008/118/EC - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 50/1

In accordance with Article 4 of Council Directive 92/79/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of taxes on cigarettes (3) and Article 4 of Council Directive 92/80/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of taxes on manufactured tobacco other than cigarettes (4), an in-depth review has been carried out of the rates and structure of excise duties on tobacco products. That review included provisions of Council Directive 95/59/EC of 27 November 1995 on taxes other than turnover taxes which affect the consumption of manufactured tobacco (5).

In order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and, at the same time, a high level of health protection, as required by Article 168 of the Treaty, bearing in mind that serious harm to health can be caused by tobacco products and that the Union is Party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), various changes should be made to the Union’s fiscal legislation on tobacco products. These changes should take account of the situation prevailing for each of the various tobacco products.

As regards cigarettes, the arrangements should be simplified so as to create neutral conditions of competition for manufacturers, to reduce the partitioning of the tobacco markets and to underscore health objectives. To this end, the concept of the most popular price category should be replaced; the price related minimum requirement should refer to the weighted average retail selling price, whereas the monetary minimum should be applicable to all cigarettes. For the same reasons, the weighted average retail selling price should also serve as a reference for measuring the importance of specific excise duty within the total tax burden.

Without prejudice to the mixed tax structure and the maximum percentage of the specific component on the total tax burden, Member States should be given more effective means to levy specific or minimum excise duty on cigarettes, so as to ensure that at least a certain minimum amount of taxation applies throughout the Union.

As regards fine-cut tobacco intended for the rolling of cigarettes, the Union price related minimum requirement should be expressed in such a way as to obtain effects similar to those in the field of cigarettes and should take the weighted average retail selling price as the point of reference.

The changes of prices and excise levels have been analysed, in particular, for cigarettes — by far the most important category of tobacco products — as well as for fine-cut tobacco intended for the rolling of cigarettes. The analysis shows that there are still considerable differences between Member States which may disturb the operation of the internal market. Greater convergence between the tax levels applied in the Member States would help reduce fraud and smuggling within the Union.

Greater convergence would also help to ensure a high level of human health protection. The level of taxation is indeed a major factor in the price of tobacco products, which in turn influences consumers’, smoking habits. Fraud and...