Council Decision (EU) 2021/991 of 7 June 2021 concerning the dock dues scheme in the French outermost regions and amending Decision No 940/2014/EU
Council Decision (EU) 2021/991 of 7 June 2021 concerning the dock dues scheme in the French outermost regions and amending Decision No 940/2014/EU
Decision (EU) 2021/991 · Decision · 8 articles
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
1. By way of derogation from Articles 28, 30 and 110 of the Treaty, France is authorised, until 31 December 2027, to apply exemptions or reductions to dock dues in respect of the products listed in Annex I which are produced locally in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte or Réunion, as outermost regions within the meaning of Article 349 of the Treaty. Those exemptions or reductions must be in keeping with the economic and social development strategy of the outermost regions concerned, taking account of the Union framework, and contribute to the promotion of local activities while not adversely affecting the conditions of trade to an extent contrary to the common interest.
2. With reference to the rate of taxation applied to similar products not originating in the outermost regions concerned, the application of the total exemptions or reductions referred to in paragraph 1 may not result in differences of more than:
(a)
20 percentage points for the products listed in part A of Annex I;
(b)
30 percentage points for the products listed in part B of Annex I.
France shall undertake to ensure that the exemptions or reductions applied to the products listed in Annex I do not exceed either the proven additional costs or the percentage strictly necessary to maintain, promote and develop local economic activities.
3. France shall apply the tax exemptions or reductions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 to operators whose annual turnover is at least EUR 550 000. Operators whose annual turnover is below that threshold shall not be subject to dock dues.
The French authorities shall apply the same taxation arrangements as those applied to products produced locally to products that have benefited from the specific supply arrangements under Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013.
France shall submit an evaluation report to the Commission by 30 September 2025 to enable the Commission to determine whether the grounds for applying the tax arrangements referred to in Article 1 still apply. The evaluation report shall contain the information set out in Annex II.
ANNEX II
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE EVALUATION REPORT REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 3
1.
Estimated additional production costs
The French authorities shall send to the Commission a summary report with sufficient data to determine whether additional costs exist which increase the cost price of local production in comparison with products produced elsewhere. The information provided in the summary report shall include at least the following elements, where such information is available: costs of inputs, costs related to storage (overstocking and longer rotation time), costs related to over-sizing of equipment and additional costs related to human resources and finance. That data shall be provided for at least each product category under the Harmonised System headings, according to the first four digits of the Combined Nomenclature. The summary report shall also contain ‘product information sheets’ relating to the additional costs that continue to be incurred periodically by France.
2.
Other subsidies
The French authorities shall send to the Commission a list of all the other aid and support measures addressing the additional production costs borne by economic operators and linked to the remoteness of the regions of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion.
3.
Impact on the budget of public authorities
The French authorities shall fill in Table 1, providing the estimated total amount (in EUR) of tax collected and not collected as a result of the application of a dock dues tax differential.
Table 1
Year (1)
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Notes (2)
Tax not collected (3)
Tax receipts – imports (4)
Tax receipts – local production (5)
Notes to the table:
(1)
Information may not be available for all the years listed.
(2)
Provide comments and clarifications as deemed relevant.
(3)
‘Tax not collected’: total amount (in EUR) of tax not collected because of the tax differentials applied to local production (reductions/exemptions). At product level, this is calculated by multiplying the amount of local production sold (excluding exports) by the tax differential applied. The indicator is then calculated by adding up the results obtained for each product.
(4)
‘Tax receipts – imports’: total amount (in EUR) of dock dues collected in respect of imported products.
(5)
‘Tax receipts – local production’: total amount (in EUR) of dock dues collected in respect of local production.
4.
Impact on overall economic performance
The French authorities shall complete Table 2 for each region, providing any data demonstrating the impact of the tax differentials on the socioeconomic development of those regions. The indicators required in the Table shall refer to the performance of the sectors benefiting from a tax differential compared to the general performance of the economy of these outermost regions. If some of the indicators are unavailable, alternative data on the impact on the overall economic performance of these regions shall be provided.
Table 2
Year (1)
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Notes (2)
Gross value added at regional level
—
In sectors benefiting from a tax differential (3)
Overall regional employment
—
In sectors benefiting from a tax differential (3)
Number of active companies
—
In sectors benefiting from a tax differential (3)
Price level index – mainland France
Price level index – outermost regions
Notes to the table:
(1)
Information may not be available for all the years listed.
(2)
Provide comments and clarifications as deemed relevant.
(3)
‘Sectors benefiting from a tax differential’: economic sectors (NACE or similar definition) in which most production (by production volume) benefits from a tax differential.
5.
Specifications of the scheme
The French authorities shall complete Tables 3 and 4 for each product (SH4, SH6, NC8 or TARIC10 as applicable) and by year (from 2019 to 2024) for each of the regions of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion. The list only includes products benefiting from a tax differential.
Table 3: Identification of products and rates applied
Product benefiting from a tax differential – customs nomenclature (4, 6, 8 or 10 digits)
Year
External dock dues rate (1)
Internal dock dues rate (2)
Tax differential applied (3)
Notes (4)
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Notes to the table:
(1)
‘External dock dues rate’: dock dues rate applied to imports.
(2)
‘Internal dock dues rate’: dock dues rate applied to local production.
(3)
‘Tax differential applied’: difference between the internal and external dock dues rates.
(4)
Provide comments and clarifications as deemed relevant.
Table 4: Market share of products benefiting from a tax differential
Product benefiting from a tax differential – CN code (4, 6, 8 or 10 digits) (1)
Year
Volume (2)
Amount (in EUR) (3)
Notes (4)
local production
unit
imports
market share (5)
local production
imports
market share (5)
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Notes to the table:
(1)
The first column must be identical to the first column in the previous table to enable data matching.
(2)
‘Volume’: in the ‘unit’ column, specify the unit of measurement (tonnes, hl, pieces, etc.).
(3)
‘Amount’: for imports, this corresponds to the taxable amount.
(4)
Provide comments and clarifications as deemed relevant.
(5)
‘Market share’: the market share is calculated by deducting the exports of local products.
6.
Irregularities
The French authorities shall provide information on any investigation into administrative irregularities, in particular in the case of tax evasion or smuggling, as part of the application of the dock dues tax differential scheme. They shall also provide detailed information including, as a minimum, the nature of the case and the value and time period involved.
7.
Complaints
The French authorities shall report any complaints received by local, regional or national authorities concerning the application of the dock dues tax differential scheme (from beneficiaries as well as non-beneficiaries of the scheme).