# EUR-Lex - 52013PC0001 - EN

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# 52013PC0001

**Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION on the waiver from the requirement to submit entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods that are moved across the Neum corridor /* COM/2013/01 final - 2013/0003 (NLE) */**

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           LEGAL CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

Article 2 of the Act concerning the Conditions of Accession of the
Republic of Croatia and the Adjustments to the Treaty on European Union, the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty Establishing the
European Atomic Energy Community (“the Act concerning the conditions of
accession”) provides that, as from the date of accession, the provisions of the
original Treaties and the acts adopted by the institutions before accession shall
be binding on Croatia under the conditions laid down in those Treaties and acts
and the Act concerning the conditions of accession.

Article 43 of the Act
concerning the conditions of accession provides that the Council, acting by
qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall define the terms
under which the requirements for an entry or exit summary declaration may be
waived as regards goods that are being moved through the Neum Corridor.

Regulation (EC) No 648/2005 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2005[1]
amended Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992[2] establishing the Community
Customs Code ("the Code") in order to provide for an appropriate
legal basis for risk analysis.

According to Article 36a (1) of the Code,
and subject to certain exemptions or derogations as laid down in Article 181c of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993[3] ("CCIP") laying down
provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12
October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, goods brought into the
customs territory of the Union shall be covered by a summary declaration
('entry summary declaration').

According to Article 182a (1) of the Code
and subject to the relevant exemptions or derogations as applicable under Article
842a (3) and (4) CCIP, in the case of goods that leave temporarily the customs
territory of the EU without being exported, re-exported or placed under a
transit procedure, an exit summary declaration shall be required.

Articles 36b(2) and 182d(2) of the Code
require the use of electronic data-processing techniques for lodging those summary
declarations in order to allow the electronic exchange of data between customs
authorities, with a view of basing customs controls on risk-analysis using
automated systems, as required by Article 13 of the Code.

2.           THE NEUM CORRIDOR

The Neum Corridor is a part of the
territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina accessing the coast of the Adriatic Sea
which divides the land territory of Croatia in two parts, thus separating the
area surrounding the city of Dubrovnik from the rest of the territory of the
country. At present, the Adriatic Highway, a two-lane state road D8 passing
through the Neum Corridor, is the only land transport connection between the
area of Dubrovnik and the rest of the territory of Croatia. The section of the
road that passes through the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina at Neum is
9.25 km long. There are two border crossing points on the territory of Croatia,
situated at both ends of the road mentioned in the Neum Corridor. These are
Klek – Neum I, on the western part of the Neum Corridor, and Zaton Doli - Neum
II, in the eastern part of the Neum Corridor. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes
for a vehicle to travel the distance between these two points.

The local economy in the area surrounding
the city of Dubrovnik is primarily focused on tourism which is run mostly by
small and medium sized enterprises dependent on supplies of goods from the main
territory of Croatia whose value is usually below EUR 10 000 per consignment.

Currently, 89% of the goods transported
through the Neum Corridor are goods that have obtained the status of goods in
free circulation in Croatia. They pass through the corridor accompanied by
paper-based documents equivalent to the T2L document as referred to in Article
317 (2) of Regulation (EEC) N° 2454/92.

The customs authorities of Croatia
establish the identity of vehicles and goods, checking the accompanying
commercial documents before they leave temporarily the customs territory of Croatia.
Customs checks and controls are also to be performed, as appropriate, upon the
re-entry of the goods after crossing the Neum Corridor. The capacity for
customs controls is to be enhanced at the time of accession of Croatia to the
EU.

The application of the customs legislation
of the EU as of the date of accession of Croatia will entail the application of
the customs formalities, risk analysis and controls for the purposes of safety
and security as well as the electronic submission and exchange of information
for that purpose. This requires significant investments and efforts to ensure
an appropriate IT framework. Given the specific circumstances of the Neum
Corridor the application of these measures seems excessively burdensome and
disproportionate.

3.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

By virtue of Article 43
of the Act concerning the conditions of accession, a special act of the Council
has to be adopted in order to lay down the conditions for derogation from entry/exit
summary declarations as regards goods that are being transported through the
Neum Corridor.

In accordance with the European Union
common position on that matter[4],
the derogations from the submission of entry and exit summary declarations shall
apply under the following conditions:

–
the goods have Community status,

–
the goods are accompanied by commercial (invoice
or transport) documents, which should contain at least the set of data required
in Article 317(2) CCIP as well as the total value of the goods,

–
the total value of the goods transported by a
vehicle shall not exceed EUR 10 000,

–
the document in question shall be endorsed by the
customs authorities of Croatia upon exit of the goods with official markings
(signature, stamps and date and time of exit),

–
when deemed necessary, proper sealing of
consignments or means of transport is performed at exit from Croatia,

–
upon re-entry into the territory of Croatia, the
customs authorities shall check the documents, the time spent for crossing the
corridor, the seals (if any) and the goods (where appropriate).

The application of these derogations shall
not prejudice the requirement to carry out risk analysis and controls for safety
and security purposes, exchange of risk information in accordance with Article
4g (2) CCIP and appropriate measures in case of irregularities. Croatia should
provide the Commission with sufficient proof that the arrangements applied by
the customs authorities are equivalent to the standards of risk analysis laid
down in the EU customs legislation.

In addition to the exchange of risk information referred to
above, Croatia shall regularly inform the Commission under the agreed procedures of the Common Risk Management
Framework of irregularities that have been found and, where applicable,
of the measures that have been subsequently adopted.

A review, aimed to verify the proper
application of this regime, shall be held two years after the date of
accession.

Where appropriate, acting on the
basis of a proposal from the Commission, the Council shall amend or terminate this regime.

2013/0003 (NLE)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

on the waiver from the requirement to
submit entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods that are moved
across the Neum corridor

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Accession Treaty of Croatia,
and in particular Article 3(4) thereof,

Having regard to the Act concerning the Conditions of Accession of
Croatia, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European
Commission,

Whereas:

(1)       On 9 December 2011, the
Member States of the Union and Croatia signed the Treaty concerning the accession
of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (“Accession Treaty”). By
virtue of Article 3(3) of the Accession Treaty it is to enter into force on 1
July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited
before that date.

(2)       According to Article 2 of
the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the
Republic of Croatia and the adjustments to the Treaty on European Union, the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty Establishing the
European Atomic Energy Community (“the Act concerning the conditions of
accession”), as from the date of accession, the provisions of the original
Treaties and the acts adopted by the institutions before accession shall be
binding on Croatia under the conditions laid down in those Treaties and in the
Act concerning the conditions of accession.

(3)       The territory of Neum
("Neum Corridor") is a place where the territory of Bosnia and
Herzegovina reaches the Adriatic coast, thus separating the area of Dubrovnik
from the rest of the territory of Croatia. Tourism is of significant importance
for the local economy, which is driven by small and medium sized enterprises
dependent on supplies from the rest of the territory of Croatia. The value of
such supplies usually does not exceed EUR 10 000 per consignment and 89 % of
these goods have the status of goods in free circulation on the territory of
Croatia.

(4)       Article
43 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession provides that the Council,
acting by qualified majority on a proposal from the Commission is to define the
terms under which the requirement for an entry or exit summary declaration may
be waived as regards Union goods that are moved across the Neum Corridor.

(5)       According to Articles 36a (1)
and 182a (1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing
the Community Customs Code[5]
("the Community Customs Code"), goods entering or leaving the customs
territory of the Union must be accompanied, in advance, by a summary declaration
submitted electronically which contains the data necessary for the performance
of risk analysis.

(6)       Given the specific
characteristics of the local economy it is appropriate to provide for waivers from
the obligation to lodge entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods moved
across the Neum Corridor.

(7)       Customs authorities should
perform effective risk analysis and customs security checks on the basis of the
data present on the invoice and transport documents, accompanying the goods.

(8)       The current arrangements
derogate from the principle of electronic pre-arrival submission of safety and
security data set up under the Community Customs Code. In order to ensure
effective and efficient risk analysis and controls for the purposes of safety
and security, Croatia should ensure that the border crossing points at the Neum
Corridor dispose of the necessary human resources, equipment and control.

(9)       Where a consignment is
found not to fulfil the requirements of this Regulation, the consignment in
question should not be allowed to re-enter the territory of Croatia unless an
assessment of the risk involved has been carried out and effective and targeted
measures based upon a risk analysis have been adopted.

(10)     In
addition to the exchange of information for the purposes of safety and security
as provided under Article 4g (2) of Regulation (EEC) N°
2454/92, Croatia should regularly inform the Commission
under the procedures of the Common Risk
Management Framework for any irregularities found and, where applicable,
of the measures subsequently adopted with regard to the movement of goods
across the Neum Corridor.

(11)     An
assessment for the purposes of verifying the proper application of this
Regulation should be carried out two years after the date of accession,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down the rules under which:

(a)
the requirement for an exit summary declaration is waived for Union goods
leaving the territory of Croatia to be moved across the Neum corridor;

(b) the requirement for
an entry summary declaration is waived for Union goods when they re-enter the
territory of Croatia after having moved across the Neum corridor.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of
this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(1)     "Union goods" means the goods defined in Article 4(7) of the Community
Customs Code;

(2)     “Area of Dubrovnik” means the
administrative region of Dubrovnik as established in accordance with the national
law of Croatia;

(3)     “Mainland territory of Croatia” means
the territory of Croatia except for the area of Dubrovnik;

(4)     "Neum Corridor" means the
area which is a part of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina that separates
the area of Dubrovnik from the mainland territory of Croatia;

(5)     "Customs authorities" means
the customs authorities of Croatia at the exit and re-entry border crossing
points at the Neum Corridor;

(6)     "Exit" means the exit of goods, either from the area of
Dubrovnik into the mainland territory of Croatia through the Neum Corridor, or
from the mainland territory of Croatia into the area of Dubrovnik through the
Neum Corridor;

(7)     "Re-entry" means the entry of goods into the area of
Dubrovnik from the mainland territory of Croatia through the Neum Corridor, or into
the mainland territory of Croatia from the area of Dubrovnik through the Neum
Corridor.

Article 3

Waiver from the requirement to submit an exit or an entry
summary declaration

1.         No exit
summary declaration shall be required for Union goods upon their exit.

2.         No entry
summary declaration shall be required for Union goods upon their re-entry.

Article 4

Conditions for the application of the waiver

Article 3 shall apply where the following
conditions are met:

(a)        The total
value of each consignment of Union goods moved across the Neum Corridor does not
exceed EUR 10 000 or its equivalency in local currency;

(b)        The goods referred
to under point (a) of this Article are accompanied by invoices or transport documents
which:

i)       include at least the particulars
referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 317(2) of Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93[6]
as well as the total value of the goods;

ii)       are endorsed with official markings
by the customs authorities upon exit;

iii)      are presented for verification to the customs authorities upon re-entry.

Article 5

Customs Controls

1.         The risk analysis associated to the customs controls applied to Union
goods moved across the Neum
Corridor may be performed by the customs authorities
through means other than automated data-processing techniques.

2.         Croatia shall ensure that the border crossing points at exit from
and re-entry into its territory of goods moved through the Neum Corridor
dispose of all necessary resources, equipment, control facilities and
capabilities to ensure the application of this Regulation at the date of its accession.

3.         Upon exit,
the customs authorities shall:

(a) determine
a time limit for the movement of Union goods across the Neum Corridor;

(b) indicate that time
limit together with the date of endorsement of the invoice or transport
document as referred to in Article 4(b) ii);

(c) where
they deem it
necessary, seal the space containing the goods or each individual package of
goods that are to be moved accross the Neum corridor.

4.         Upon
re-entry, the customs authorities shall:

(a) carry out risk analysis primarily for security
and safety purpose;

(b) verify the invoices or transport documents
accompanying the goods;

(c) check compliance with the time limit referred
to in Article 5 (3)(a);

(d) check the integrity of seals, when affixed in
accordance with Article 5 (3)(c);

(e) where appropriate, physically examine the
goods;

(f) remove seals as appropriate.

5.         Where customs authorities establish
that a requirement laid down in this Regulation has not been complied with, they shall allow the re-entry of such a
consignment where:

(a) an effective risk analysis has been carried
out;

(b) on the basis of the analysis referred to in
point (a), the customs authorities have adopted effective measures specifically
targeted to prevent risks related to safety and
security.

Article 6

Information

Croatia shall inform the
Commission about any irregularities found as regards the application of this
Regulation as well as concrete measures that have been taken in order to remedy
those irregularities no later than two months after the entry into force of
this Regulation and at the latest on 1 March 2014.

Article 7

Report

The Commission shall
submit a report to the Council providing an assessment of the application of
the rules laid down under this Regulation no later than two years after the
accession of Croatia.

Article 8

Entry
into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1
July 2013, subject to the entry into force of the Accession Treaty.

This
Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all
Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For
the Council

The
President

[1]               OJ L 117, 4.5.2005,
p. 13.

[2]               OJ L, 302, 19.10.1992, p.1.

[3]               OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p.1.

[4]               Document 12133/11 of the Council of 28 June 2011.

[5]               OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p.1.

[6]               OJ L
253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.