Evaluation of the Council Directive 92/83/EEC on the harmonisation of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages : final report

The EU's responsibility in the area of excise duties is established in Article 113 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union1: "the Council shall adopt provisions for the harmonisation of legislation concerning turnover taxes, excise duties and other forms of indirect taxation to the extent that such harmonisation is necessary to ensure the establishment and the functioning of the internal market and to avoid distortion of competition". The basic principles applicable to all products that are subject to excise duties are laid down in Directive 2008/118/EC. The specific arrangements for the taxation structure of alcoholic beverages are contained in - Directive 92/83/EEC (hereafter referred to as "the Directive") defining inter alia, excise categories, the scope for reduced rates and exemptions while - Directive 92/84/EEC fixes minimum rates for alcohol. The subject of this study is the retrospective evaluation of Directive 92/83/EEC and its functioning under the current legal framework for enabling the Commission to assess the current and future policy for alcohol excise duties. Accordingly, the study evaluates: - the extent to which the Directive meets the objectives it sought to achieve - if original objectives continue to be relevant - weaknesses in the Directive resulting in negative consequences for stakeholders - the coherence of the Directive with EU and international law - the added value of common rules at EU level - Recommendations on how to address the issues identified.