Duty Free Sales

HL Deb 16 June 1999 vol 602 cc25-6WA

Lord Shore of Stepney

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What article of the European Treaties gives authority to the European Commission and Council of Ministers to abolish the sale of duty free goods to passengers on British Airlines flying to and from European Union countries; and whether the decision to ban the sale of duty free goods as from June 1999 fits with Article 5 of the European Community Treaty (consolidated version), which enunciates the principle of subsidiarity and which states "any action by the Community shall not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this treaty". [HL2817]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

Article 28 of Council Directive 92/12/EEC provides that sales of goods to passengers to take away on intra-EU journeys may be free of excise duty until 30 June 1999. Article 28k of Council Directive 77/388/EEC provides that these sales may be exempt from VAT until 30 June 1999. Both these directives have regard to Article 99 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (which became Article 93 under the Amsterdam Treaty). Accordingly, the decision to end intra-EU duty free sales from 30 June 1999 is entirely consistent with Article 5 of the Treaty.