Decision (EU) 2019/664 amending Decision No 940/2014/EU as regards products eligible for exemption from or a reduction in dock dues

Summary:

Council Decision of 15 April 2019 updating the list of products eligible for exemptions from or reductions to dock dues in the French outermost regions.

Further information:

Decision No 940/2014/EU authorises France to apply, until 31 December 2020, exemptions or reductions to dock dues in respect of certain locally produced products in the outermost regions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte.

In February 2018 the French authorities submitted a report to the Commission on the application of the tax arrangements authorised by the Decision, evaluating the impact of the measures taken and their contribution to the promotion or maintenance of local economic activities in the light of the handicaps affecting the outermost regions.

The purpose of the Decision is to adapt the list of products eligible for a tax differential to reflect the economic changes which have occurred since the adoption of Decision No 940/2014/EU.

Background:

The TFEU, in particular Article 110, does not in principle authorise any difference in the French outermost regions between the taxation of local products and the taxation of products from metropolitan France, the other Member States or non-member countries. However, Article 349 TFEU envisages the possibility of introducing specific measures for those regions because of the existence of permanent handicaps affecting the economic and social situation of the outermost regions. Such measures concern various policies, including taxation.

The dock dues tax is an indirect tax in force only in the French outermost regions of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte. This tax applies to imports of products, irrespective of their origin, and to supplies of goods for consideration by persons engaged in production activities.

EUR-Lex: COM(2018)825: Proposal to amend Decision No 940/2014/EU as regards products eligible for exemption from or a reduction in dock dues https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2018:825:FIN

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