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(Sharing of expenses) • Incoterms
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WORLD
TRADE DOCUMENTATION: Intrastat
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The Intrastat
System was thus created by the EU for the purpose of satisfying the
need for information relating to trade between the EU countries. This procedure
rests on the direct provision of trade data by enterprises to the statistical
services in the member states. Where the Netherlands is concerned, the
requirement is that all relevant information should be passed on to Statistics
Netherlands. For the Intrastat System, detailed, timely and reliable data
on your imports from EU countries (ICV or Arrivals) and/or your exports
to EU countries (ICL or Dispatches)
are indispensable for Statistics Netherlands.
Intrastat system - Statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States
The European Parliament and the Council have adopted a new regulation on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States. This regulation makes the unprecedented system of data collection which is currently in place (the Intrastat system) more transparent and easier to understand. Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91. [>>]
| Declarable event |
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| An Intrastat declaration must be made whenever
goods cross from one EU country to another, as part of a commercial transaction.
There are a variety of exemptions, such as temporary movements, or goods transiting
through a country but not staying in it, but the bulk of normal commercial goods
movements will have to be declared in both countries (in one country as an import,
in the other as an export). Goods do not have to be sold in order to require declaration; there is a specific category of declaration, for example, for free-of-charge shipments, and another for long-term hire. Transfers between between branches of a transnational corporation which are in different countries may not be considered by that corporation as a sale, but will have to be declared under Intrastat rules. |
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| Commodity code |
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| The Commodity Code is an 8 digit number taken
from the Intrastat Classification Nomenclature (ICN) which is common to all EU
countries. The coding system distinguishes between the various types of goods
(for example, steel, foodstuffs, machinery) and goes into considerable detail.
It is often ambiguous - for example, if you are shipping a consignment of screws
intended as spare parts for motor vehicles, you have an option to declare them
either specifically as 73181569 under a code for 'screws' or else more vaguely
under the code 87089910 for 'Vehicle spare parts'. It is quite possible, if the
exporter is a manufacturer of screws and the importer is a manufacturer of vehicles,
that the seller could use one code for the export declaration, and the buyer a
different code for the import declaration. Both would be right. The ICN (also known as CN8 or NC8) is also extremely old-fashioned; there are many pages of ICN codes for the various grades and shapes of steel, but only a very few codes allocated to modern products such as computers and opto-electronic components. Minor changes to the system are initiated in Brussels and implemented at yearly intervals. |
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| Country of consignment or destination |
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| This identifies the EU country to which the goods
are being exported, or from which they are being imported. The codes used are
generally recognisable - FR for France, for example. There are some quirks; Britain
uses BL for indicate Belgium and Luxembourg, whereas Ireland uses XU for the same
purpose. In France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Denmark a 3 digit numeric code (the Geonom) is used instead of the more familiar 2 digit ISO alpha code; '006' instead of 'GB' to signify Britain; however this is gradually being phased out. |
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| Nature of transaction | |
| This is a numeric code which indicates whether
a particular shipment is, for example, part of a sale or a hire transaction. These
codes are theoretically common to all EU countries but there are some differences
in interpretation. 1. Sale; includes free-of-charge samples (except in Britain) 2. Return or replacement of goods issued under NoT code 1 3. Free of charge - e.g. disaster relief. In Britain, used for samples. 4. Outward movement of goods before processing or repair 5. Return movement of goods after processing or repair 6. Long-term hire 7. Intergovernmental Defence projects etc. 8. Materials for civil engineering projects 9. Other The procedure to be adopted for code 2 (return or replacement of goods) is more complicated than you would expect, and is best ignored if returns are not significant in the context of the business. Some countries add a second digit in order to make up a 2 digit code, but there is some inconsistency in its use. A credit note cancelling a normal sale, for example, is denoted in Germany as '21' or in Britain as '16'. A movement e.g. from a warehouse in one country to a warehouse in another country which does not involve change of ownership is regarded in Britain and Portugal as category 1 (sale) but in Belgium and Germany as category 9 (other). |
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| Mode of transport |
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| To you and me, it may seem irrelevant whether
goods crossed a border by bus, train, or carrier pigeon. However, the EU cares,
and these are the codes: 1. Sea 2. Rail 3. Road 4. Air 5. Post 6. Not used 7. Fixed installations (e.g. conveyor belt) 8. Inland waterway 9. Own propulsion This information is being phased out by some countries as part of simplification measures. |
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| Value |
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| The most important, and therefore the most complicated
item which has to be declared. Some countries require declaration of both 'Invoice
Value' and 'Statistical Value'. The difference between these can be clearly illustrated
in the case of a shipment which is free of charge; the invoice value is zero,
but the statistical value is the price which would have been charged if the goods
were sold. There is a more subtle difference between the two values, which can be illustrated as follows: Goods are shipped from Belfast (Britain) to Dublin (Ireland). The exporter produces an invoice for EUR 10,000. The Irish importer of the goods pays the transport costs which are EUR 1,000, separately to a logistics company. Therefore he has paid a total of EUR 11,000 for the goods by the time they have arrived in his warehouse. The 'Statistical value' of the goods is their value when they crossed the border. In the example, this lies somewhere between EUR 10,000 and EUR 11,000. The difficulty for traders in identifying and calculating Statistical Value means that the authorities have taken a pragmatic view, and in most circumstances accept that Invoice Value and Statistical Value on declarations are the same. The technical definition of the Statistical Value is;- the invoice value of the goods adjusted in the case of Imports to a CIF basis, and in the case of exports to an FOB basis. |
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| Suplementary units |
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| The requirement for Supplementary Units is part
of the Intrastat Classification Nomenclature (ICN), and only applies to certain
classes of products. The nature of the Supplementary Unit depends on the product;
commonly, it may be the number of units, or the volume in litres, or the area
in square metres. As examples: br> - Live animals: the number of animals shipped - Skis: the number of pairs - Diamonds: the weight in carats |
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| Mass |
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| The net weight, in kilograms, of the items being shipped. This should be rounded up to the nearest whole kilogram; a book weighing 2.5 kilos should be declared as 3 kilos, a diamond wieghing .0001 kilos will be declared as 1 kilo (but see above for Supplementary Units). | |
| Methods of declaration |
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| Data can be submitted either on forms or electronically. In theory, EU forms R and N are accepted in every country, and the EDIFACT message INSTAT-CUSDEC is similarly a theoretical standard for electronic submission. However, there is a gap between theory and practice and almost all EU countries have alternative layouts (both on paper or electronically) which they prefer. | |
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