Section VIII: Imports

I. - 1. Imports of goods are subject to value added tax.

2. The following are considered to be imports of goods:

a. the entry into France of goods originating in or coming from a State or territory not belonging to the European Union, and which have not been released for free circulation, or of goods coming from a territory referred to in 1° of Article 256-0 of another Member State of the European Union;

b. the release for consumption in France of a good placed, on its entry into the territory under one of the following regimes provided for by the Community regulations in force: customs clearance, warehouses and temporary storage areas, free zone, free warehouse, import warehouse, inward processing, temporary admission with total exemption from import duties, external transit or under the internal Community transit regime.

II. - However, the following are exempt:

1° the importation within the meaning of b of 2 of I of goods which have been the subject of one or more deliveries referred to in 6° or 7° of I of Article 277 A during their placement under the arrangements listed in the said b;

2° Goods imported definitively under Community tax exemptions and which are designated by decree.

This decree also determines the procedures for applying this paragraph.

2° bis In the event of a disaster affecting the territory of a Member State of the European Union, imports of goods covered by an authorisation granted to France by a decision of the European Commission taken pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 53 of Council Directive 2009/132/EC of 19 October 2009 determining the scope of Article 143(b) and (c) of Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the exemption from value added tax of certain definitive imports of goods. An order issued by the Minister responsible for the budget sets out the obligations for recording and monitoring transactions to which the exemption applies and, to the extent that the European Commission's authorisation so provides, specifies the goods and persons concerned by this exemption. Imports into Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion carried out under the same conditions are also exempt;

3° The following products:

a. Human organs, blood and milk;

b. Currency, banknotes and coins that are legal means of payment, with the exception of collector's notes and coins;

c. (repealed).

d. (repealed).

e. (repealed).

4° Gold, in all its forms, imported by issuing institutes;

5° Under the conditions laid down by order of the Minister for the Budget, vessels, aircraft, incorporated objects, gear and nets for sea fishing provided for in 2° to 5° of II of Article 262;

6° Fishery products in their unaltered state or having undergone operations intended to preserve them with a view to their marketing imported by sea fishing companies;

7° Dental prostheses imported by dentists or dental prosthetists;

8° Original works of art, stamps, collectors' items or antiques, when imported directly to establishments approved by the Minister of Culture and Communication; the conditions for the application of these provisions are set by order of the Minister of the Budget;

9° (Repealed as from 1 January 1995).

10° Imports of natural gas, electricity, heat or cold.

11° Imports of goods carried out as part of a distance sale of imported goods referred to in B of I of Article 298 sexdecies H for which the taxable person carrying out the distance sale of imported goods has presented, at the latest when the import declaration is submitted, the value added tax identification number allocated to him under the special scheme provided for in the same Article 298 sexdecies H or provided to him in accordance with the legislation of another Member State under Article 369 octodecies of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax.

III. - The following are also exempt from value added tax:

1° The re-importation, by the person who exported them, of goods in the state in which they were exported and which benefit from exemption from customs duties, or which would benefit if they were subject to customs duties;

2° the provision of services directly linked to the placing of a good under one of the regimes mentioned in b of 2 of I;

3° Refits, repairs and conversions of French ships abroad with the exception of those of these operations which relate to sports or pleasure boats.

4° Imports of goods dispatched or transported to a place located on the territory of another Member State of the European Union and which are the subject of an exempt supply by the importer pursuant to I of article 262 ter.

IV.-.Imports of goods the supply of which is exempt pursuant to I to III of article 262-00 bis are also exempt from value added tax.