prop · GG03165 · 1992-12-31 00:00:00 — 9.For thepurpose of verifying whether the conditions stated in paragraphs 2 and 3 havebeen met, the customs authorities shall have the right to eall for anydocumentary evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate. The provisions of paragraphs 2 to 9 above shallapply, mutatismutandis, tothe evidence of origin made out by approved exporters under the conditions setout in Article 13. An Etni.l certificate shall be issued only onapplication having been made in writing by the exporter or, under theexporter's responsibility, by his authorized representative, on the form ofwhieh a specimen is given in to this Protocol, whieh shall becompleted in accordance with this Protocol. It shall be the responsibility of the customsauthorities of the exporting' State to ensure that the form referred to inparagraph 1 is properly completed. In particular, they shall check whether thebox reserved for the description of the goods has been completed in such amanner as to exclude any possibility of fraudulent additions. To this end, thedescription of the goods must be given without leaving any blank lines. Wherethe box is not completely filled, a horizontal line must be drawn below thelast line of the description, the empty space being crossed through. 1992/93:165 ProtocolB 3. since the EUR.l certificate constitutes thedocumentary evidence for the application of the preferential tariff and quotaarrangements laid down in the Agreement, it shall be the responsibility of thecustoms authorities of the exporting State to take any steps necessary toverify the origin of the goods and to check the other statements on thecertificate. When an EUR.l certificate is issued within the meaningof paragraph 5 of Article 9 after the goods to which it relätes have actually been exported, the exporter mustin the application referred to in paragraph 1: indicate the place and date of exportation of the goods towhich the EUR.l certificate relätes, certify that no EUR.l certificate was issued at the timeof exportation of the goods in question, and state the reasons. Applications for EUR.l certifieates and the evidenceof origin referred to in the second sub-paragraph of paragraph 3 of Article 9,upon presentation of which new EUR.l certifieates are issued, must be preservedfor at least two years by the customs authorities of the exporting State. EUR.l certifieates shall be made out on the form of whicha specimen is given in to this Protocol. This form shall be printedin one or more of the official languages of the States Parties to thisAgreement or in English. EUR.l certifieates shall be made out in one of thoselanguages and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of theexporting State; if they are handwritten, they shall be completed in ink incapital letters. The EUR.l certificate shall be 210 x 297 millimetres.A tolerance of up to plus 8 millimetres or minus 5 millimetres in the lengthmay be allowed. The paper used must be white-sized writing paper notcontaining mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 25 grammes per squaremetre. It shall have a printed green guilloche pattern background making anyfalsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye. Prop.1992/93:165 Protocol B The States Parties to this Agreement may reserve the right to print the EUR.lcertifieates themselves or may have them printed by printers approved by them. In the latter case, each EUR.l certificate must include a reference to suchapproval. Each EtJR.l certificate must bear the name and address of theprinter or a mark by which the printer can be identified. It shall also bear aserial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified. An EUR.l certificate must be submitted, within four months of the date of issueby the customs authorities of the exporting State, to the customs authoritiesof the importing State where the goods are entered, in accordance with theprocedures laid down by that State. The said authorities may require atranslation of a certificate. They may also require the import declaration tobe accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the goodsmeet the conditions required for the implementation of the Agreement. Without prejudice to paragraph 5 of Article 5, where, at the request of theperson declaring the goods at customs, a dismantled or non-assembled articlefalling within Chapter 84 or 85 of the is imported byinstalments under the conditions laid down by the competent authorities, itshall be considered to be a single artiele and an EUR.l certificate may besubmitted for the whole article upon importation of the first instalment. An EUR.l certificate which is submitted to the customs authorities of theimporting State after the final date for presentation specified in paragraph 1may be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment, where the failureto submit the certificate by the final date is due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances. Inother cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the importingState may accept the EUR.l certifieates where the goods have been submitted tothem before the said final date. 1992/93:165 Protocol B The discovery of slight discrepancies between thestatements made in the EUR.l certificate and those made in the documentssubmitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalitiesfor importing the goods shall not ipso facto render the certificate null and void, provided it is dulyestablished that the certificate corresponds to the goods. EUR.l certifieates shall be preserved by the customsauthorities of the importing State in accordance with the rules in force inthat State. Proof that the conditions set out in Article 7 havebeen met shall be provided by submission to the customs authorities of theimporting State of either: (a)a singlesupporting transport document, made out in the exporting State, under the coverof which the transit country has been crossed; or (b)a certificateissued by the customs authorities of the transit country containing: an exact description of the goods, the date of unloading and reloading of the goods and,where applicable, the names of the ships, certified proof of the conditions under which the goodshave stayed in the transit country; (c) or, failing these, any substantiating documents. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 to 7 of Article 9 andparagraphs 1, 4 and 5 of Article 10, a simplified procedure for the issue ofthe documentation relating to the evidence of origin shall be applicable underthe terms of the provisions set out below. 1992/93:165 ProtocolB The customs authorities in the exporting State mayauthorize any exporter, hereinafter referred to as "approvedexporter", who makes frequent shipments for which EUR.l certifieates maybe issued, and who offers to the satisfaction of the customs authorities allguarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the goods, not tosubmit to the customs office in the exporting State at the time of exporteither the goods or the application for an Etre.l certificate relating to thosegoods, for the purpose of obtaining an EUR.l certificate under the conditionslaid down in paragraphs 1 to 4 of Article 9. In addition, the customs authorities may authorize anapproved exporter to draw up Etm.l certifieates, valid for a maximum period of oneyear from the date of issué, hereinafter referred to as"LT certifieates". the authorization shall be granted only where theoriginating status of the goods to be exported is expected to remain unchangedfor the period of validity of the LT certificate. If any goods are no longercovered by the LT certificate, the approved exporter shall immediately informthe customs authorities who gave the authorization. Where the simplified procedure applies, the customsauthorities of the exporting State may prescribe the use of EUR.l certifieatesbearing a distinctive sign by which they may be identified. The authorization referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3shall stipulate, at the choice of the customs authorities, that Box 11,'Customs endorsement', of the EUR.l certificate must: (a)either beendorsed beforehand with the stamp of the competent customs office of theexporting State and the handwritten or non-handwritten signature of an officialof that office; or (b)be endorsed bythe approved exporter with a special stamp whieh has been approved by thecustoms authorities of the exporting State and corresponds to the specimengiven in to this Protocol; this stamp may be preprinted on the form. Box 11, 'Customs endorsement', of the EUR.l certificateshall be completed if necessary by the approved exporter. Prop.1992/93:165 ProtocolB In the cases referred to in paragraph 4 (a), one of the following phrases shallbe entered in box 7, "Remarks", of the EUR.l certificate:"Simplified procedure", "Yksinkertaistettu menettely","Procedure simplifiée", "Vereinfachtes Verfahren","Einföldud afgreidsla", "Procedurasemplificata", "Forenklet prosedyre", "Förenkladprocedur, "Procedura simplicata". The approved exporter shall ifnecessary indicate in Box 13, "Request for verification", the nameand address of the customs authority competent to verify the EUR.l certificate. In the case referred to in paragraph 3, the approved exporter shall also enterin box 7 of the EUR.l certificate one of the following phrases: "LTcertificate valid until ...", "LT-todistus voimassa ... saakka","certificat LT valable jusqu'au ...", "LT-Certificat gUltig bis...", "LT-skirteini gildir til ...", "certificato LT validofino al ...", "LT-sertifikat gyldig til ...", "LT-certifikatgiltigt till ...", "Certificat TL valabil pInS la...", (dateindicated in numerals), anda reference to the authorization under which the relevant LT certificate hasbeen issued. Theapproved exporter shall not be required to refer in Box 8 and Box 9 of the LTcertificate to the marks and numbers and number and kind of packages and thegross weight (kg) or other measure (litres, m3, etc). Box 8 must, however,contain a description and désignation of the goods which is sufficientlyprecise to allow for their Identification. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 12, the LT certificate must besubmitted to the customs office of import at or before the first importation ofany goods to whieh it relätes. When the importer out the customs clearanceat several customs offices in the State of importation, the customs authoritiesmay request him to produce a copy of the LT certificate to all of thoseoffices. Where an LT certificate has been submitted to the customs authorities, theevidence of the originating status of the imported goods shall, during thevalidity of the LT certificate, be given by invoices whieh satisfy thefollowing conditions: 1992/93:165 ProtocolB (a)when an invoiceincludes both goods originating in a State Party to this Agreement, or inBulgaria and non-originating goods, the exporter shall distinguish clearlybetween these two categories; (b)the exportershall state on each invoice the number of the LT certificate which covers thegoods and the date of expiry of the certificate and the name(s) of the countryor countries in whieh the goods originate. The statement on the invoice made by the exporter of thenumber of the LT certificate with the indication of the country of origin shallconstitute a declaration that the goods fulfil the conditions laid down in thisProtocol for the acquisition of preferential origin status in trade between theStates Parties to this Agreement. The customs authorities of the exporting State may requirethat the entries, which, under the above provisions, must appear on theinvoice, be supported by the manuscript signature followed by the name of thesignatory in clear script; (c) the description and the désignation of the goods on the invoice shall be in sufficient detail to show clearly that the goods are also listed on the LT certificate to which the invoice refers; (d) the invoices can be made out only for the goods exported during the period of validity of the relevant LT certificate. They may, however, be produced at the import customs office within four months of the date of their being made out by the exporter. In the framework of the simplified procedures,invoices whieh satisfy the conditions of this Article may be made out and/ortransmitted using telecommunications or eleetronie data processing methods. Such invoices shall be accepted by the customs of the importing State asevidence of the originating status of the goods imported in accordance with theprocedures laid down by the customs authorities there. Should the customs authorities of the exporting Stateidentify that a certificate and/or invoice issued under the provisions of thisArticle is invalid in relation to any 1992/93:165 Protocol B goods supplied, they shall immediately notify the customsauthorities of the importing State of the facts. The customs authorities may authorize an approvedexporter to make out invoices bearing the declaration given in to this Protocol in place of EtTO.lcertifieates. The declaration made by the approved exporter on theinvoice shall be made out in one of the official languages of the StatesParties to this Agreement, of or in English. It shall be signed inmanuscript and must either: (a)have areference to the approved exporter's authorization number, or (b)be endorsed bythe approved exporter with the special stamp referred to in paragraph 4 (b)which has been approved by the customs authorities of the exporting State. Thisstamp may be preprinted on the invoice. However, the customs authorities in the exportingState may authorize an approved exporter not to sign the statement in paragraph8 (b) or the declaration referred to in paragraph 11 given on the invoice, whensueh invoices are made out and/or transmitted using telecommunications oreleetronie data processing methods. The said customs authorities shall lay down conditions forthe implementation of this paragraph, including, if they so require, a writtenundertaking from the approved exporter, that he accepts full responsibility forsueh statement and declaration as if they had in fact been signed in manuscriptby him. In the authorizations referred to in paragraphs 2, 3and 11 the customs authorities shall speeify in particular: (a) the conditions under which the application for EUR.lcertifieates or for LT certifieates are made or under which the declarationconcerning the origin of goods is made on the invoice; 1992/93:165 ProtocolB (b) the conditions under which these applications, aswell as a copy of the invoices referring to an LT certificate and of theinvoices bearing the exporter's declaration, are kept for at least two years. In the case of LT certifieates or invoices referring to an LT certificate, thisperiod shall begin from the date of expiry of validity of the LT certificate.These provisions shall also apply to the EUR.l certifieates or LT certifieatesand the invoices referring to an LT certificate, as well as to invoices bearingthe exporter's declaration, having served as the basis for the issue of otherevidence of origin, used under the conditions laid down in the secondsub-paragraph of paragraph 3 of Article 9. The customs authorities in the exporting State maydeclare certain categories of goods ineligible for the special treatment providedfor in paragraphs 2, 3 and 11. The customs authorities shall refuse theauthorizations referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 11 to exporters who do notoffer all the guarantees whieh they consider necessary. The customs authorities may withdraw the authorizations atany time. They must do so where the conditions of approval are no longersatisfied or the approved exporter no longer offers those guarantees. The approved exporter may be required to inform thecustoms authorities, in accordance with the rules whieh they lay down, of goodsto be dispatched by him, so that the competent customs office may make anyverification it thinks necessary before the dispatch of the goods. The provisions of this Article shall not prejudiceapplication of the rules of the States Parties to this Agreement on customsformalities and the use of customs documents. Prop.1992/93:165 Protocol B Thedeclaration referred to in paragraph 1 (c) of Article 8 shall be made out bythe exporter in the form given in to thisProtocol in one of the official languages of the States Parties to thisAgreement, of or in English. It shall be typed or stamped and signedby hand. The exporter must keep a copy of the invoice bearing the said declarationfor at least two years. Theexporter or his representative shall submit with his request for an EUR.l certificate any appropriate supporting document proving that the goods to be exported qualify for the issue of an EUR.l certificate. Heshall undertake to submit at the request of the appropriate authorities, anysupplementary evidence they may require for the purpose of establishing thecorrectness of the originating status of the goods eligible for preferentialtreatment and shall undertake to agree to any inspection of his accounts and toany check on the processes of the obtaining of the above goods, carried out bythe said authorities. 2.Exporters must keep for atleast two years the supporting documents referred to in paragraph 1. 3.The provisions of paragraphs 1and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis in the case of the use of the procedures laid downin paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 13 and of the declarations referred to inparagraphs 1 (b) and 1 (c) of Article 8. Goods sent from an or from for exhibition in a country otherthan a State Party to this Agreement, or , and sold after theexhibition for importation into or into an benefit onimportation from the provisions of this Agreement on condition that the goodsmeet the requirements of this Protocol entitling them to be recognized asoriginating in an or in and provided that it is shown to thesatisfaction of the customs authorities that: 1992/93:165 ProtocolB (a)an exporter hasconsigned these goods from an or from to the country inwhieh the exhibition is held and has exhibited them there; (b)the goods havebeen sold or otherwise disposed of by that exporter to someone in or inan EFTA State; (c)the goods havebeen consigned during the exhibition or immediately thereafter to or toan in the state in which they were sent for exhibition; (d) the goods have not, since they were consigned for exhibition, been used for any purpose other than demonstration at the exhibition. 2.An EUR.lcertificate must be produced to the customs authorities in the normal . The name and address of the exhibition must be indicated thereon. Wherenecessary, additional documentary evidence of the nature of the goods and theconditions under which they have been exhibited may be required. 3.Paragraph 1shall apply to any trade, industrial, agricultural or erafts exhibition, fairor similar publie show or display which is not organized for private purposesin shops or business premises with a view to the sale of foreign goods, andduring which the goods remain under customs controi. 1.In order toensure the proper application of this Title, the States Parties to this Agreementshall assist each other through their respective customs administrations, inchecking the authentieity and accuracy of EUR.l certifieates, including thoseissued under paragraph 3 of Artiele 9 and the exporters' declarations made oninvoices. 2.The Joint Committeeshall be authorized to take any decisions necessary for the methods ofadministrative cooperation to be applied in due time in the States Parties tothis Agreement. 3.The customsauthorities of the States Parties to this Agreement shall provide each other,through the EFTA Secretariat, with specimen impressions of stamps used in theircustoms offices for the issue of Etni.l certifieates. 1992/93:165 ProtocolB 4.Penalties shallbe imposed on any person who draws up, or causes to be drawn up, a documentwhich contains ineorreet particulars for the purpose of obtaining apreferential treatment for goods. 5.The StatesParties to this Agreement shall take all necessary steps to ensure that goodstraded under cover of an EtJR.l certificate, which in the course of transportuse a free zone situated in their territory, are not substituted by other goodsand that they do not undergo handling other than normal operations designed toprevent their deterioration. 6.When productsoriginating in a State Party to this Agreement and imported into a free zoneunder cover of an EUR.l certificate undergo treatment or processing, thecustoms authorities concerned must issue a new EUR.l certificate at theexporter's request if the treatment or processing undergone is in conformitywith the provisions of this Protocol. 1.Subsequentverifications of EUR.l certifieates and of exporters' declarations made oninvoices shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities ofthe importing State have reasonable doubt as to the authentieity of thedocument or the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of thegoods in question. 2.For thepurposes of implementing the provisions of paragraph 1, the customs authoritiesof the importing State shall return the EUR.l certificate and the invoice, ifit has been submitted, or the invoice referring to an LT certificate, or theinvoice bearing the exporter's declaration or a copy of those documents, to thecustoms authorities of the exporting State, giving where appropriate, thereasons of substance or form for an inquiry. The customs authorities shall forward, in support of therequest for a posteriori verification, anydocuments and information that have been obtained suggesting that theparticulars given on the'EtJR.l certificate or the invoice are inaccurate. 1992/93:165 ProtocolB If the customs authorities of the importing State decideto suspend the provisions of the Agreement while awaiting the results of theverification, they shall offer to release the goods to the importer subject toany precautionary measures judged necessary. The customs authorities of the importing State shallbe informed of the results of the verification as soon as possible. Theseresults must be sueh as to make it possible to determine whether the documentsreturned under paragraph 2 apply to the goods actually exported, and whetherthese goods can, in fact, qualify for application of the preferentialarrangements. Where sueh disputes cannot be settied between the customsauthorities of the importing State and those of the exporting State or wherethey raise a question as to the interpretation of this Protocol they shall besubmitted to the Sub-Committee on customs and origin matters referred to inArticle 26. The decisions shall be taken by . For the purpose of the subsequent verification of EUR.lcertifieates, the customs authorities of the exporting State must keep theexport documents, or copies of EUR.l certifieates used in place thereof, for atleast two years. The States Parties to this Agreement shall each take thesteps necessary to implement this Protocol. The Annexes to this Protocol shall form an integral partthereof. Goods which conform to the provisions of Title I and whichon the date of entry into force of the Agreement are either being transportedor are being held in a State Party to 193 13 1992/93. 1 samL Nr 165 1992/93:165 Protocol B this Agreement in temporary storage, in bonded warehousesor in free zones, may be accepted as originating products subject to thesubmission, within four months from that date, to the customs authorities ofthe importing State of evidence of origin, drawn up retrospectively, and of anydocuments that provide supporting evidence of the conditions of transport. The States Parties to this Agreement undertake tointroduce measures necessary to ensure that the EUR.l certifieates whieh theircustoms authorities are authorized to issue in pursuance of this Agreement areissued under the conditions laid down by this Agreement.