Question 35220 — overseas

Summary

Mr. Guillaume Vuilletet draws the attention of the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, responsible for public accounts, to the customs letter of September 21, 2020 informing overseas opticians that their activity would now be subject to internal production dues. A circular of December 27, 2018 modified the taxation of dock dues and its doctrine under conditions denounced detrimental to the ophthalmic optics industry. By assimilating the activity of assembling lenses and spectacle frames carried out by the optician to that of production, corrective glasses are subject to an increase in tax since they find themselves subject to external dock dues on imports of lenses and frames supplied by manufacturers (7% in Guadeloupe, 20% in Martinique), and to internal dock dues on production as part of the lens and frame assembly operation carried out by the optician (7% in Guadeloupe, 20% in Martinique). The assembly operation does not, however, seem to constitute a production operation, the grinding of the lenses and their assembly in the frame by the optician not creating a new transformed product and not leading to the placing on the market of a new product falling within a tariff heading different. The economic impact of this reform is likely to be heavy, especially since a retroactive effect over three years is planned. The health impact of this measure must also be taken into account, with the cost of dock dues likely to be reflected in the final sale price of corrective glasses. This modification also risks encouraging the importation of pre-assembled glasses or with lenses and frames imported from lower cost. Also, he asks him if he can reconsider the application of this measure.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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