§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rules will apply for sales on ferries of goods bought at port of loading following the abolition of duty free sales inside the European Union. [58209]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe arrangements which will apply for sales of goods on board ferries, for passengers to take away, following the abolition of intra-EU duty free sales are still being considered. The Commission recently set out, in a press release, their thinking on how the successor regime will work and the Government are giving very careful consideration to this. It is based on the existing provisions of Council Directive 92/12/EEC At the EU Excise Committee meeting on 1 October the UK reserved its position to allow time for a full appraisal of the Commission's position.
§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with European partners about the tax regime which will apply after the abolition of duty free sales inside the European Union. [58210]
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§ Dawn PrimaroloThe last time that the abolition of intra-EU duty free sales was discussed at a political level with EU partners was at the ECOFIN Council meeting on 19 May 1998 where a number of Finance Ministers made it clear that they opposed any re-opening of the decision to abolish. Subsequent discussions, on the operation of the successor regime, have been at official level in the Commission chaired EU Excise Committee. Customs and Excise are also entering into a bi-lateral and multi-lateral discussions with a number of other member states to work through the detail of how a successor regime might work in practice.