COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 12/97
of 18 December 1996
amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (1), as amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 249 thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (2), as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2153/96 (3), lays down provisions for the implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;
Whereas the Council adopted Decision 94/800/EC of 22 December 1994 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community, as regards matters within its competence, of the agreements reached in the Uruguay Round multilateral negotiations (1986 to 1994) (4); whereas, pursuant to Annex 1A to that Decision, concerning the agreement on the rules of origin, the Community undertook to establish a system of binding information regarding origin;
Whereas it is necessary, while respecting the specific nature of each system of rules of origin, to improve the consistency between those systems in order to facilitate overall legibility and in particular for the autonomous rules of origin; whereas it is necessary to take into consideration the entry into force of the combined nomenclature adopted subsequent to the amendment of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, together with the entry into force of the certificate of origin Form A as amended by Unctad;
Whereas it should be clearly determined which documents shall accompany the declaration of entry for a customs procedure with economic impact, in order to reduce the formalities connected to the application of those procedures;
Whereas it is appropriate to specify certain key data to be included on the receipt issued when duty is paid following an oral declaration, as evidence that customs formalities for the goods in question have been completed;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 482/96 (5) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 establishing the Community Customs Code introduced more flexibility in supplying alternative proof for obtaining the discharge of Community transit operations in the case of non-return of Copy 5 of the Single Administrative Document; whereas equal flexibility should be introduced in supplying alternative proof in the case of non-return of the copy for return of the TIR carnet or ATA carnet;
Whereas provision has also been made in Regulation (EC) No 482/96 for the prescription of binding itineraries under the Community transit procedure as regards, in particular, the movement of goods for which the comprehensive guarantee is suspended; whereas identical control measures should also be laid down for the same goods under the TIR procedure;
Whereas provisions should be made for import duties to be repaid following the export of goods in the unaltered state placed under the inward processing procedure (drawback system);
Whereas pursuant to Articles 871 and 905 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 the Commission must take a decision, on the basis of information supplied by the Member States, both on situations not liable to occasion post-clearance entry in the accounts of import duties or export duties and on requests for repayment or remission of import or export duties;
Whereas the right to a hearing of persons affected by a decision on post-clearance entry in the accounts of import and export duties and of applicants for a repayment or remission of import or export duties should be guaranteed;
Whereas in order to avoid recovery proceedings in cases where repayment is likely to be granted subsequently, provision should be made for suspending the debtor's obligation to pay duties in these cases, in accordance in particular with Article 222 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;
Whereas Article 24 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 lays down the conditions for determining the origin of goods; given that numerous components may originate in more than one country and may be pre-assembled in countries other than that where they are definitively assembled into certain unrecorded magnetic diskettes, and given that assembly from pre-assembled elements cannot be considered as conferring origin, in those conditions and in order to assure a uniform interpretation and application of the abovementioned Article 24, it is necessary to amend Annex 11 to Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93;
Whereas Decision 4/92 of the EEC-San Marino Cooperation Committee of 22 December 1992 (6) and Decision 1/96 of the EC-Andorra Joint Committee of 1 July 1996 (7) permit the use of the Community transit procedure between the Community and Andorra and San Marino respectively; whereas, therefore, it is necessary to supplement the list of codes used in boxes 51, 52 and 53 of the Single Administrative Document (SAD);
Whereas it is desirable on economic grounds to extend the list in Annex 87;
Whereas the measures provided for by this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 is amended as follows:
1.
Title II of Part I is replaced by the following text:
‘TITLE II
BINDING INFORMATION
CHAPTER 1
Definitions
Article 5
For the purpose of this Title:
1.
binding information:
means tariff information or origin information binding on the administrations of all Community Member States when the conditions laid down in Articles 6 and 7 are fulfilled;
2.
applicant:
-
tariff matters: means a person who has applied to the customs authorities for binding tariff information,
-
origin matters: means a person who has applied to the customs authorities for binding origin information and has valid reasons to do so,
3.
holder:
means the person in whose name the binding information is issued.
CHAPTER 2
Procedure for obtaining binding information - Notification of information to applicants and transmission to the Commission
Article 6
1. Applications for binding information shall be made in writing, either to the competent customs authorities in the Member State or Member States in which the information is to be used, or to the competent customs authorities in the Member State in which the applicant is established.
2. An application for binding tariff information shall relate to only one type of goods. An application for binding origin information shall relate to only one type of goods and one set of circumstances conferring origin.
3.
(A)
Applications for binding tariff information shall include the following particulars:
(a)
the holder's name and address;
(b)
the name and address of the applicant where that person is not the holder;
(c)
the customs nomenclature in which the goods are to be classified. Where an applicant wishes to obtain the classification of goods in one of the nomenclatures referred to in Article 20 (3) (b) and (6) (b) of the Code, the application for binding tariff information shall make express mention of the nomenclature in question;
(d)
a detailed description of the goods permitting their identification and the determination of their classification in the customs nomenclature;
(e)
the composition of the goods and any methods of examination used to determine this, where the classification depends on it;
(f)
any samples, photographs, plans, catalogues or other documents available which may assist the customs authorities in determining the correct classification of the goods in the customs nomenclature, to be attached as annexes;
(g)
the classification envisaged;
(h)
agreement to supply a translation of any attached document into the official language (or one of the official languages) of the Member State concerned if requested by the customs authorities;
(i)
any particulars to be treated as confidential;
(j)
indication by the applicant whether, to his knowledge, binding tariff information for identical or similar goods has already been applied for, or issued in the Community;
(k)
acceptance that the information supplied may be stored on a database of the Commission; however, apart from Article 15 of the Code, the provisions governing the protection of information in force in the Member States shall apply.
(B)
Applications for binding origin information shall include the following particulars:
(a)
the holder's name and address;
(b)
the name and address of the applicant where that person is not the holder;
(c)
the applicable legal basis, for the purposes of Articles 22 and 27 of the Code;
(d)
a detailed description of the goods and their tariff classification;
(e)
the composition of the goods and any methods of examination used to determine this and their ex-works price, as necessary;
(f)
the conditions enabling origin to be determined, the materials used and their origin, tariff classification, corresponding values and a description of the circumstances (rules on change of tariff heading, value added, description of the operation or process, or any other specific rule) enabling the conditions in question to be met; in particular the exact rule of origin applied and the origin envisaged for the goods shall be mentioned;
(g)
any samples, photographs, plans, catalogues or other documents available on the composition of the goods and their component materials and which may assist in describing the manufacturing process or the processing undergone by the materials;
(h)
agreement to supply a translation of any attached document into the official language (or one of the official languages) of the Member State concerned if requested by the customs authorities;
(i)
any particulars to be treated as confidential, whether in relation to the public or the administrations;
(j)
indication by the applicant whether, to his knowledge, binding tariff information or binding origin information for goods or materials identical or similar to those referred to under points (d) or (f) have already been applied for or issued in the Community;
(k)
acceptance that the information supplied may be stored on a public-access database of the Commission; however, apart from Article 15 of the Code, the provisions governing the protection of information in force in the Member States shall apply.
4. Where, on receipt of the application, the customs authorities consider that it does not contain all the particulars required to give an informed opinion, the customs authorities shall ask the applicant to supply the required information. The time limits of three months and 150 days referred to in Article 7 shall run from the moment when the customs authorities have all the information needed to reach a decision; the customs authorities shall notify the applicant that the application has been received and the date from which the said time limit will run.
5. The list of customs authorities designated by the Member States to receive applications for or to issue binding information shall be published in the “C” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 7
1. Binding information shall be notified to the applicant as soon as possible.
(a)
Tariff matters: if it has not been possible to notify binding tariff information to the applicant within three months of acceptance of the application, the customs authorities shall contact the applicant to explain the reason for the delay and indicate when they expect to be able to notify the information.
(b)
Origin matters: information shall be notified within a time limit of 150 days from the date when the application was accepted.
2. Binding information shall be notified by means of a form conforming to the specimen shown at Annex 1 (binding tariff information) or Annex 1A (binding origin information). The notification shall indicate what particulars will be treated as confidential. The right of appeal referred to in Article 243 of the Code shall be mentioned.
Article 8
1. A copy of the binding tariff information notified (copy No 2 of Annex 1) and the facts (copy No 4 of the same Annex), or a copy of the binding origin information notified and the facts, shall be transmitted to the Commission without delay by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned. Such transmission shall be effected by electronic means.
2. Where a Member State so requests, the Commission shall send it without delay the particulars contained in the copy of the form and the other relevant information. Such transmission shall be effected by electronic means.
CHAPTER 3
Provisions applying in the event of inconsistencies in binding information
Article 9
1. Where different binding information exists:
-
the Commission shall, on its own initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member State, place the item on the agenda of the Committee for discussion at the meeting to be held the following month or, failing that, the next meeting,
-
in accordance with the Committee procedure, the Commission shall adopt a measure to ensure the uniform application of nomenclature or origin rules, as applicable, as soon as possible and within six months following the meeting referred to in the first indent.
2. For the purpose of applying paragraph 1, binding origin information shall be deemed to be different where it confers different origin on goods which:
-
fall under the same tariff heading and whose origin was determined in accordance with the same origin rules and,
-
have been obtained using the same manufacturing process.
CHAPTER 4
Legal effect of binding information
Article 10
1. Without prejudice to Articles 5 and 64 of the Code, binding information may be invoked only by the holder.
2.
(a)
Tariff matters: the customs authorities may require the holder, when fulfilling customs formalities, to inform the authorities that he is in possession of binding tariff information in respect of the goods being customs cleared through customs.
(b)
Origin matters: the authorities responsible for checking the applicability of binding origin information may require the holder, when completing any formalities, to inform the said authorities that he is in possession of binding origin information covering the goods in respect of which the formalities are being completed.
3. The holder of binding information may use it in respect of particular goods only where it is established:
(a)
tariff matters: to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that the goods in question conform in all respects to those described in the information presented;
(b)
origin matters: to the satisfaction of the authorities referred to in paragraph 2 (b) that the goods in question and the circumstances determining their origin conform in all respect to those described in the information presented.
4. The customs authorities (for binding tariff information) or the authorities referred to in paragraph 2 (b) (for binding origin information) may ask for the information to be translated into the official language or one of the official languages of the Member State concerned.
Article 11
Binding tariff information supplied by the customs authorities of a Member State since 1 January 1991 shall become binding on the competent authorities of all the Member States under the same conditions.
Article 12
1. On adoption of one of the acts or measures referred to in Article 12 (5) of the Code, the customs authorities shall take the necessary steps to ensure that binding information shall thenceforth be issued only in conformity with the act or measure in question.
2.
(a)
For binding tariff information, for the purposes of paragraph 1 above, the date to be taken into consideration shall be as follows:
-
for the Regulations provided for in Article 12 (5) (a) (i) of the Code concerning amendments to the customs nomenclature, the date of their applicability,
-
for the Regulations provided for in Article 12 (5) (a) (i) of the Code and establishing or affecting the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature, the date of their publication in the “L” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities,
-
for the Regulations provided for in Article 12 (5) (a) (ii) of the Code concerning amendments to the explanatory notes to the combined nomenclature, the date of their publication in the “C” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities,
-
for judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Communities provided for in Article 12 (5) (a) (ii) of the Code, the date of the judgment,
-
for the measures provided for in Article 12 (5) (a) (ii) of the Code concerning the adoption of a classification opinion, or amendments to the explanatory notes to the Harmonized System Nomenclature by the World Customs Organization, the date of the Commission communication in the “C” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.
(b)
For binding origin information, for the purposes of paragraph 1, the date to be taken into consideration shall be as follows:
-
for the Regulations provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (i) of the Code concerning the determination of the origin of goods and the rules provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (ii), the date of their applicability,
-
for the measures provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (ii) of the Code concerning amendments to the explanatory notes and opinions adopted at Community level, the date of their publication in the “C” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities,
-
for judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Communities provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (ii) of the Code, the date of the judgment,
-
for the measures provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (ii) of the Code concerning opinions on origin or explanatory notes adopted by the World Trade Organization, the date given in the Commission communication in the “C” series of the Official Journal of the European Communities,
-
for the measures provided for in Article 12 (5) (b) (ii) of the Code concerning the Annex to the World Trade Organization's Agreement on rules of origin and those adopted under international agreements, the date of their applicability.
3. The Commission shall communicate the dates of adoption of the measures and acts referred to in this Article to the customs authorities as soon as possible.
CHAPTER 5
Provisions applying in the event of expiry of binding information
Article 13
Where, pursuant to the second sentence of Article 12 (4) and Article 12 (5) of the Code, binding information is void or ceases to be valid, the customs authority which supplied it shall notify the Commission as soon as possible.
Article 14
1. When a holder of binding information which has ceased to be valid for reasons referred to in Article 12 (5) of the Code, wishes to make use of the possibility of invoking such information during a given period pursuant to paragraph 6 of that Article, he shall notify the customs authorities, providing any necessary supporting documents to enable a check to be made that the relevant conditions have been satisfied.
2. In exceptional cases where the Commission, in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 12 (7) of the Code, adopts a measure derogating from the provisions of paragraph 6 of that Article, or where the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article concerning the possibility of continuing to invoke binding tariff information or binding origin information have not been fulfilled, the customs authorities shall notify the holder in writing.’
2.
In Part 1, Title IV, Chapter 2 is replaced by the following text:
‘CHAPTER 2
Preferential origin
Article 66
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a)
“manufacture” means any kind of working or processing including assembly or specific operations;
(b)
“material” means any ingredient, raw material, component or part, etc., used in the manufacture of the product;
(c)
“product” means the product being manufactured, even if it is intended for later use in another manufacturing operation;
(d)
“goods” means both materials and products;
(e)
“customs value” means the value as determined in accordance with the 1994 Agreement on implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (WTO Agreement on customs valuation);
(f)
“ex-works price” in the lists in Annexes 15, 19 and 20 means the price paid to the manufacturer in whose undertaking the last working or processing is carried out, provided the price includes the value of all materials used, minus any internal taxes which are, or may be, repaid when the product obtained is exported;
(g)
“value” in the lists in Annexes 15, 19 and 20 means the customs value at the time of importation of the non-originating materials used or, if this is not known and cannot be ascertained, the first ascertainable price paid for the materials in the Community or in the beneficiary country within the meaning of Article 67 (1) or the beneficiary republic or territory within the meaning of Article 98 (1). Where the value of the originating materials used needs to be established, this subparagraph shall be applied mutatis mutandis;
(h)
“chapters” and “headings” mean the chapters and the headings (four-digit codes) used in the nomenclature which makes up the Harmonized System;
(i)
“classified” refers to the classification of a product or material under a particular heading;
(j)
“consignment” means products which are either sent simultaneously from one exporter to one consignee or covered by a single transport document covering their shipment from the exporter to the consignee or, in absence of such a document, by a single invoice.
Section 1
Generalized system of preferences
Subsection 1
Definition of the concept of originating products
Article 67
1. For the purposes of the provisions concerning generalized tariff preferences granted by the Community to products originating in developing countries (hereinafter referred to as “beneficiary countries”), the following shall be considered to originate in a beneficiary country:
(a)
products wholly obtained in that country, within the meaning of Article 68;
(b)
products obtained in that country in the manufacture of which products other than those referred to in (a) are used, provided that the said products have undergone sufficient working or processing within the meaning of Article 69.
2. For the purposes of this section, products originating in the Community, within the meaning of paragraph 3, which are subject in a beneficiary country to working or processing going beyond that described in Article 70, shall be considered as originating in that beneficiary country.
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis in order to establish the origin of the products obtained in the Community.
4. In so far as Norway and Switzerland grant generalized tariff preferences to products originating in the beneficiary countries referred to in paragraph 1 and apply a definition of the concept of origin corresponding to that set out in this Section, products originating in the Community, Norway or Switzerland which are subject in a beneficiary country to working or processing going beyond that described in Article 70 shall be considered as originating in that beneficiary country.
The provisions of the first subparagraph shall only apply to products originating in the Community, Norway or Switzerland (according to the rules of origin relative to the tariff preferences in question) which are exported directly to the beneficiary country.
The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities (“C” Series) the date from which the provisions laid down in the first and second subparagraphs shall apply.
5. The provisions of paragraph 4 shall apply on condition that Norway and Switzerland grant, by reciprocity, the same treatment to Community products.
Article 68
1. The following shall be considered as wholly obtained in a beneficiary country or in the Community:
(a)
mineral products extracted from its soil or from its seabed;
(b)
vegetable products harvested there;
(c)
live animals born and raised there;
(d)
products from live animals raised there;
(e)
products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
(f)
products of sea fishing and other products taken from the sea outside the territorial waters by their vessels;
(g)
products made on board their factory ships exclusively from the products referred to in (f);
(h)
used articles collected there fit only for the recovery of raw materials;
(i)
waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;
(j)
products extracted from the seabed or below the seabed which is situated outside their territorial waters but where it has exclusive exploitation rights;
(k)
goods produced there exclusively from products specified in (a) to (j).
2. The terms “their vessels” and “their factory ships” in paragraph 1 (f) and (g) shall apply only to vessels and factory ships:
-
which are registered or recorded in the beneficiary country or in a Member State,
-
which sail under the flag of a beneficiary country or of a Member State,
-
which are owned to the extent of at least 50 % by nationals of the beneficiary country or of Member States or by a company having its head office in the that country or in one of those Member States, of which the manager or managers, chairman of the board of directors or of the supervisory board, and the majority of the members of such boards are nationals of that beneficiary country or of the Member States and of which, in addition, in the case of companies, at least half the capital belongs to that beneficiary country or to the Member States or to public bodies or nationals of that beneficiary country or to the Member States,
-
of which the master and officers are nationals of the beneficiary country or of the Member States,
and
-
of which at least 75 % of the crew are nationals of the beneficiary country or of the Member States.
3. The terms “beneficiary country” and “Community” shall also cover the territorial waters of that country or of the Member States.
4. Vessels operating on the high seas, including factory ships on which the fish caught is worked or processed, shall be considered as part of the territory of the beneficiary country or of the Member State to which they belong, provided that they satisfy the conditions set out in paragraph 2.
Article 69
1. For the purpose of Article 67, non-originating materials shall be considered to be sufficiently worked or processed when the product obtained is classified in a heading which is different from those in which all the non-originating materials used in its manufacture are classified, subject to paragraph 2.
2. For a product mentioned in columns 1 and 2 of the list set out at Annex 15, the conditions given in column 3 for the product concerned must be fulfilled instead of the rule in paragraph 1.
Article 70
The following operations shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, regardless of whether or not the requirements of Article 69 (1) are satisfied:
(a)
operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading-out, drying, chilling, placing in salt, sulphur dioxide or other aqueous solutions, removal of damaged parts, and like operations);
(b)
simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making-up of sets of articles), washing, painting, cutting up;
(c)
(i)
changes of packing and breaking up and assembly of packages,
(ii)
simple placing in bottles, flasks, bags, cases, fixing on cards or boards, etc., and all other simple packing operations;
(d)
the affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(e)
simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds, where one or more components of the mixture do not meet the conditions laid down in this section to enable them to be considered as originating products of a beneficiary country or of the Community;
(f)
simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;
(g)
a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (f);
(h)
the slaughter of animals.
Article 71
1. By way of derogation from the provisions of Article 69, non-originating materials may be used in the manufacture of a given product, provided that their total value does not exceed 5 % of the ex-works price of the final product and subject to the conditions laid down in Note 3.4 in Annex 14.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to products falling within Chapters 50 to 63 of the Harmonized System.
Article 72
1. By the way of a derogation from Article 67, for the purposes of determining whether a product manufactured in a beneficiary country which is a member of a regional group originates therein within the meaning of that Article, products originating in any of the countries of that regional group and used in further manufacture in another country of the group shall be treated as if they originated in the country of further manufacture (regional cumulation).
2. The country of origin of the final product shall be determined in accordance with Article 72a.
3. Regional cumulation shall apply to three separate regional groups of beneficiary countries benefiting from the generalized system of preferences:
(a)
the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam);
(b)
the Central American Common Market (CACM) (Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador);
(c)
the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela).
4. The expression “regional group” shall be taken to mean the Asean or the CACM or the Andean Community as the case may be.
Article 72a
1. When goods originating in a country which is a member of a regional group are worked or processed in another country of the same regional group, they shall have the origin of the country of the regional group where the last working or processing was carried out provided that:
(a)
the value-added there, as defined in paragraph 3, is greater than the highest customs value of the products used originating in any one of the other countries of the regional group, and
(b)
the working or processing carried out there exceeds that set out in Article 70 and, in the case of textile products, also those operations referred to at Annex 16.
2. When the conditions of origin in 1 (a) and (b) are not satisfied, the products shall have the origin of the country of the regional group which accounts for the highest customs value of the originating products coming from other countries of the regional group.
3. “Value added” means the ex-works price minus the customs value of each of the products incorporated which originated in another country of the regional group.
4. Proof of the originating status of goods exported from a country of a regional group to another country of the same group to be used in further working or processing, or to be re-exported where no further working or processing takes place, shall be established by a certificate of origin Form A issued in the first country.
5. Proof of originating status, acquired or retained under the terms of Article 72, this Article and Article 72b, of goods exported from a country of a regional group to the Community, shall be established by a certificate of origin Form A issued, or an invoice declaration made out in that country on the basis of a certificate of origin Form A issued according the provisions of paragraph 4.
6. The country of origin shall be marked in box 12 of the certificate of origin Form A or on the invoice declaration, that country being:
-
in the case of products exported without further working or processing according to paragraph 4, the country of manufacture,
-
in the case of products exported after further working or processing, the country of origin as determined in accordance with paragraph 1.
Article 72b
1. Articles 72 and 72a shall apply only where:
(a)
the rules regulating trade in the context of regional cumulation, as between the countries of the regional group, are identical to those laid down in this section;
(b)
each country of the regional group has undertaken to comply or ensure compliance with the terms of this section and to provide the administrative cooperation necessary both to the Community and to the other countries of the regional group in order to ensure the correct issue of certificates of origin Form A and the verification of certificates of origin Form A and invoice declarations.
This undertaking shall be transmitted to the Commission through the Secretariat of the regional group.
The Secretariats are as follows:
-
the Asean General Secretariat,
-
the Permanent Secretariat of the CACM,
-
the Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena,
as the case may be.
2. The Commission shall inform the Member States when the conditions set out in paragraph 1 have been satisfied, in the case of each regional group.
3. Article 78 (1) (b) shall not apply to products originating in any of the countries of the regional group when they pass through the territory of any of the other countries of the regional group, whether or not further working or processing takes place there.
Article 73
Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle which are part of the normal equipment and included in the price or not separately invoiced are regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.
Article 74
Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 of the Harmonized System, shall be regarded as originating sets when the component articles are originating products. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating articles, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating, provided that the value of the non-originating articles does not exceed 15 % of the ex-works price of the set.
Article 75
In order to determine whether a product is an originating product, it shall not be necessary to determine the origin of the following which might be used in its manufacture:
(a)
energy and fuel;
(b)
plant and equipment;
(c)
machines and tools;
(d)
goods which do not enter, and which are not intended to enter, into the final composition of the product.
Article 76
1. Derogations from the provisions of this Section may be made in favour of the least-developed beneficiary countries benefiting from the generalized system of preferences when the development of existing industries or the creation of new industries justifies them. The least-developed beneficiary countries are listed in the Council EC Regulations and the ECSC Decision applying generalized tariff preferences for the current year. For this purpose, the country concerned shall submit to the Community a request for a derogation together with the reasons for the request in accordance with paragraph 3.
2. The examination of requests shall, in particular, take into account:
(a)
cases where the application of existing rules of origin would affect significantly the ability of an existing industry in the country concerned to continue its exports to the Community, with particular reference to cases where this could lead to business closures;
(b)
specific cases where it can be clearly demonstrated that significant investment in an industry could be deterred by the rules of origin and where a derogation encouraging implementation of the investment programme would enable the rules to be satisfied by stages;
(c)
the economic and social impact of the decision to be taken especially in respect of employment in the beneficiary countries and the Community.
3. In order to facilitate the examination of requests for derogation the country making the request shall furnish in support of its request the fullest possible information, covering in particular the points listed below:
-
description of the finished product,
-
nature and quantity of materials originating in a third country,
-
manufacturing process,
-
value-added,
-
the number of employees in the enterprise concerned,
-
the anticipated volume of the exports to the Community,
-
other possible sources of supply for raw materials,
-
reasons for the duration requested,
-
other observations.
4. The Commission shall present the derogation request to the Committee. It shall be decided on according to the committee procedure.
5. Where use is made of a derogation the following phrase must appear in box 4 of the certificate of origin Form A, or on the invoice declaration laid down in Article 90:
“Derogation - Regulation (EC) No 0000/96”
6. The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 5 shall apply to any prolongations.
Article 77
The conditions set out in this section as to the acquisition of the originating status shall be satisfied without interruption in the beneficiary country or in the Community.
If originating goods exported from the beneficiary country or from the Community to another country are returned, they must be considered as non-originating unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authorities that:
-
the goods returned are the same goods as those exported, and
-
they have not undergone any operations beyond what is necessary to preserve them in good condition while in that country.
Article 78
1. The following shall be considered as transported direct from the beneficiary country to the Community or from the Community to the beneficiary country:
(a)
goods transported without passing through the territory of any other country, except in the case of the territory of another country of the same regional group where Article 72 is applied;
(b)
goods constituting one single consignment transported through the territory of countries other than the beneficiary country or the Community, with, should occasion arise, trans-shipment or temporary warehousing in those countries, provided that the goods have remained under the surveillance of the customs authorities in the country of transit or of warehousing and have not undergone operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition;
(c)
goods transported through the territory of Norway or Switzerland and subsequently re-exported in full or in part to the Community or to the beneficiary country, provided that the goods have remained under the surveillance of the customs authorities of the country of transit or warehousing and have not undergone operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition;
(d)
products which are transported by pipeline without interruption across a territory other than that of the exporting beneficiary country or of the Community.
2. Evidence that the conditions specified in paragraph 1 (b) and (c) have been satisfied shall be provided by presenting to the competent customs authorities:
(a)
a through-bill of lading covering the passage through the country of transit; or
(b)
a certification issued by the customs authorities of the country of transit:
-
giving an exact description of the goods,
-
stating the dates of unloading and reloading of the goods or, possibly, of their embarkation or disembarkation, identifying the ships or other means of transport used,
-
certifying the conditions under which the goods remained in the transit country,
(c)
or, failing these, any substantiating documents.
Article 79
1. Products sent from a beneficiary country for exhibition in another country and sold for importation into the Community shall benefit, on importation, from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67, on condition that the products meet the requirements of this section entitling them to be recognized as originating in the beneficiary country and provided that it is shown to the satisfaction of the competent Community customs authorities that:
(a)
an exporter has dispatched the products from the territory of the exporting beneficiary country direct to the country in which the exhibition is held;
(b)
the products have been sold or otherwise disposed of by that exporter to a person in the Community;
(c)
the products have been dispatched to the Community in the state in which they were sent for exhibition;
(d)
the products have not, since they were dispatched for exhibition, been used for any purpose other than demonstration at the exhibition.
2. A certificate of origin Form A shall be produced to the Community customs authorities in the normal manner. The name and address of the exhibition shall be indicated thereon. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence of the nature of the products and the conditions under which they have been exhibited may be required.
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply to any trade, industrial, agricultural or crafts exhibition, fair or similar public show or display which is not organized for private purposes in shops or business premises with a view to the sale of foreign products, and during which the products remain under customs control.
Subsection 2
Proof of origin
Article 80
Products originating in the beneficiary country shall benefit from this section on submission of either:
(a)
a certificate of origin Form A, a specimen of which appears at Annex 17; or
(b)
in the cases specified in Article 90 (1), a declaration, the text of which appears at Annex 18, given by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note or any other commercial document which describes the product concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified (hereinafter referred to as the “invoice declaration”).
(a) Certificate of origin Form A
Article 81
1. Originating products within the meaning of this section shall be eligible, on importation into the Community, to benefit from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67, provided that they have been transported direct within the meaning of Article 78, on production of a certificate of origin Form A, issued either by the customs authorities, or by other governmental authorities of the beneficiary country, provided that the latter country:
-
has communicated to the Commission the information required by Article 93,
-
assists the Community by allowing the customs authorities of Member States to verify the authenticity of the document or the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the products in question.
2. A certificate of origin Form A may be issued only where it can serve as the documentary evidence required for the purpose of the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67.
3. A certificate of origin Form A shall be issued only on written application from the exporter or his authorized representative.
4. The exporter or his authorized representative shall submit with his application any appropriate supporting document proving that the products to be exported qualify for the issue of a certificate of origin Form A.
5. The certificate shall be issued by the competent governmental authority of the beneficiary country if the products to be exported can be considered products originating in that country within the meaning of Subsection 1. The certificate shall be made available to the exporter as soon as the export has taken place or is ensured.
6. For the purpose of verifying whether the condition stated in paragraph 5 has been met, the competent governmental authority shall have the right to call for any documentary evidence or to carry out any check which it considers appropriate.
7. It shall be the responsibility of the competent governmental authority of the beneficiary country to ensure that certificates and applications are duly completed.
8. The completion of box 2 of the certificate of origin Form A shall be optional. Box 12 shall be duly completed by indicating “European Community” or one of the Member States.
9. The date of issue of the certificate of origin Form A must be indicated in box 11. The signature to be entered in that box, which is reserved for the competent governmental authorities issuing the certificate, must be handwritten.
Article 82
1. A certificate of origin Form A must be submitted, within 10 months of the date of issue by the competent governmental authority of the beneficiary country, to the customs authorities of the Member State of importation where the products are presented.
2. Certificates of origin Form A submitted to the customs authorities of the Member State of importation after expiry of the period of validity stipulated in paragraph 1 may be accepted for the purpose of applying the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67 where the failure to observe the time limit is due to exceptional circumstances.
3. In other cases of belated presentation, the customs authorities of the importing Member State may accept the certificates where the products have been presented to them within the period laid down in paragraph 1.
4. At the request of the importer and having regard to the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing Member State, when the goods:
(a)
are imported within the framework of frequent and continuous trade flows of a significant commercial value;
(b)
are the subject of the same contract of sale, the parties of this contract established in the exporting country and in the Community;
(c)
are classified in the same code (eight digits) of the combined nomenclature;
(d)
come exclusively from the same exporter, are destined for the same importer, and are made the subject of entry formalities at the same customs office in the Community,
a single proof of origin may be submitted to the customs authorities at the importation of the first consignment. This procedure shall be applicable for the quantities and a period determined by the competent customs authorities. This period cannot, in any circumstances, exceed three months.
Article 83
Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing country, dismantled or non-assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2 (a) of the Harmonized System falling within Sections XVI and XVII or heading Nos 7308 and 9406 of the Harmonized System are imported by instalments, a single proof of origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities on importation of the first instalment.
Article 84
Since the certificate of origin Form A constitutes the documentary evidence for the application of provisions concerning the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67, it shall be the responsibility of the competent governmental authority of the exporting country to take any steps necessary to verify the origin of the products and to check the other statements on the certificate.
Article 85
Proofs of origin shall be submitted to the customs authorities of the Member State of importation in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 62 of the Code. The said authorities may require a translation of a proof of origin and may also require the import declaration to be accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the products meet the conditions required for the application of this section.
Article 86
1. By way of derogation from Article 81 (5), a certificate of origin Form A may exceptionally be issued after exportation of the products to which it relates if:
(a)
it was not issued at the time of exportation because of errors or accidental omissions or special circumstances; or
(b)
it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that a certificate of origin Form A was issued but was not accepted on importation for technical reasons.
2. The competent governmental authority may issue a certificate retrospectively only after verifying that the particulars contained in the exporter's application conform with those contained in the corresponding export documents and that a certificate of origin Form A satisfying the provisions of this section was not issued when the products in question were exported.
3. Box 4 of certificates of origin Form A issued retrospectively must contain the endorsement “Délivré a posteriori” or “issued retrospectively”.
Article 87
1. In the event of the theft, loss or destruction of a certificate of origin Form A, the exporter may apply to the competent governmental authority which issued it for a duplicate to be made out on the basis of the export documents in their possession, box 4 of a duplicate Form A issued in this way must contain the word “Duplicata” or “Duplicate”, together with the date of issue and the serial number of the original certificate.
2. For the purposes of Article 82 the duplicate shall take effect from the date of the original.
Article 88
1. When originating products are placed under the control of a customs office in the Community, it shall be possible to replace the original proof of origin by one or more certificates of origin Form A for the purpose of sending all or some of these products elsewhere within the Community or in Norway or Switzerland. The replacement certificate(s) of origin Form A shall be issued by the customs office under whose control the products are placed.
2. The replacement certificate issued in application of paragraph 1 or Article 89 shall be regarded as the definitive certificate of origin for the products to which it refers. The replacement certificate shall be made out on the basis of a written request by the re-exporter.
3. The top right-hand box of the replacement certificate shall indicate the name of the intermediary country where it is issued.
Box 4 shall contain the words “replacement certificate” or “certificate de remplacement”, as well as the date of issue of the original certificate of origin and its serial number.
The name of the re-exporter shall be given in box 1.
The name of the final consignee may be given in box 2.
All particulars of the re-exported products appearing on the original certificate must be transferred to boxes 3 to 9.
References to the re-exporter's invoice must be given in box 10.
The customs authority which issued the replacement certificate shall endorse box 11. The responsibility of the authority is confined to the issue of the replacement certificate. The particulars in box 12 concerning the country of origin and the country of destination shall be taken from the original certificate. This box shall be signed by the re-exporter. A re-exporter who signs this box in good faith shall not be responsible for the accuracy of the particulars entered on the original certificate.
4. The customs office which is requested to perform the operation referred to in paragraph 1 should note on the original certificate the weights, numbers and nature of the goods forwarded and indicate thereon the serial numbers of the corresponding replacement certificate or certificates. It shall keep the original certificate for at least three years.
5. A photocopy of the original certificate may be annexed to the replacement certificate.
6. In the case of goods which benefit from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67, under a derogation granted in accordance with the provisions of Article 76, the procedure laid down in this Article shall apply only when such goods are intended for the Community.
Article 89
Originating products within the meaning of this section shall be eligible on importation into the Community to benefit from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67 on production of a replacement certificate of origin Form A issued by the customs authorities of Norway or Switzerland on the basis of a certificate of origin Form A issued by the competent authorities of the beneficiary country, provided that the conditions laid down in Article 78 have been satisfied and provided that Norway or Switzerland assists the Community by allowing its customs authorities to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the issued certificates. The verification procedure laid down in Article 94 shall apply mutatis mutandis. The time limit laid down in Article 94 (3) shall be extended to eight months.
(b) Invoice declaration
Article 90
1. An invoice declaration may be made out:
(a)
by an approved Community exporter within the meaning of Article 90a, or
(b)
by any exporter for any consignment consisting of one or more packages containing originating products whose total value does not exceed ECU 3 000, and provided that the assistance referred to in Article 81 (1) shall apply to this procedure.
2. An invoice declaration may be established if the products concerned can be considered as originating in the Community or in a beneficiary country within the meaning of the present section.
3. The exporter making an invoice declaration must be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs or governmental authorities of the exporting country, all appropriate documents substantiating the originating status of the goods concerned and providing that the other conditions laid down in this section are fulfilled.
4. An invoice declaration shall be made by the exporter in either French or English by typing, stamping or printing on the invoice, the delivery note or any other commercial document, the declaration, the text of which appears at Annex 18. If the declaration is handwritten, it shall be written in ink in block capitals.
5. Invoice declarations shall bear the original signature of the exporter in manuscript. However, an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 90a shall not be required to sign such declarations provided that he gives the customs or governmental authorities a written undertaking that he accepts full responsibility for any invoice declaration which identifies him as if it had been signed in manuscript by him.
6. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 (b), the use of an invoice declaration shall be subject to the following special conditions:
(a)
one invoice declaration shall be completed for each consignment;
(b)
if the goods contained in the consignment have already been subject to verification in the exporting country by reference to the definition of “originating products”, the exporter may refer to this check in the invoice declaration.
The provisions of the first subparagraph do not exempt exporters from complying with any other formalities required under customs or postal regulations
Article 90a
1. The customs authorities of the Community may authorize any exporter, hereinafter called “approved exporter”, who makes frequent shipments of Community goods, within the meaning of Article 67 (2), and who offers, to the satisfaction of the customs authorities, all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the products as well as the fulfilment of the other requirements of this section, to draw up invoice declarations.
2. The customs authorities may grant the status of approved exporter on any conditions which they consider appropriate.
3. The customs authorities shall grant to the approved exporter a customs authorization number which must appear on the invoice declaration.
4. The customs authorities shall monitor the use of the authorization by the approved exporter.
5. The customs authorities may withdraw the authorization at any time. They shall do so where the approved exporter no longer offers the guarantees referred to in paragraph 1, does not fulfill the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 or makes improper use of the authorization in any manner whatever.
Article 90b
1. Evidence of originating status of Community products within the meaning of Article 67 (2) shall be furnished either by:
(a)
production of a EUR.l movement certificate, a specimen of which is set out at Annex 21; or by
(b)
production of a declaration as referred to at Article 90.
2. The exporter or his authorized representative shall enter “GSP beneficiary countries” and “EC” or “pays beneficiaire du SPG” and “CE” in box 2 of the EUR.l movement certificate.
3. The provisions of this section concerning the issue, use and subsequent verification of certificates of origin Form A shall apply mutatis mutandis to movement certificates EUR.l and, with the exception of the provisions concerning their issue, to invoice declarations.
Article 90c
1. Products sent as small packages from private persons to private persons or forming part of travellers' personal luggage shall be admitted as originating products benefiting from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67 without requiring the presentation of a certificate of origin Form A or an invoice declaration, provided that such imports are of a non-commercial nature and have been declared as meeting the conditions required for the application of this section where there is no doubt as to the veracity of such declaration.
2. Imports which are occasional and consist exclusively of products for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall be considered as being of a non-commercial nature if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the products that they are not being imported for commercial reasons.
Furthermore, the total value of the products must not exceed ECU 215 in the case of small packages or ECU 600 in the case of the contents of travellers' personal luggage.
Article 91
1. When Article 67 (2) (3) or (4) applies, the competent authorities of the beneficiary country called on to issue a certificate of origin Form A for products in the manufacture of which materials originating in the Community, Norway or Switzerland are used shall rely on the EUR.l movement certificate or, where necessary, the invoice declaration.
2. Box 4 of certificates of origin Form A issued in the cases set out in paragraph 1 shall contain the endorsement “Cumul CE”, “cumul Norvège”“cumul Suisse”, or “EC cumulation”, “Norway cumulation”, “Switzerland cumulation”.
Article 92
The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the certificate of origin Form A, in the EUR.l movement certificate or in an invoice declaration, and those made in the documents produced to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the products shall not ipso facto render the certificate or declaration null and void, provided that it is duly established that the document does correspond to the products concerned.
Obvious formal errors such as typing errors on a certificate of origin Form A, EUR.l movement certificate or an invoice declaration should not cause the document to be rejected if these errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in the document.
Subsection 3
Methods of administrative cooperation
Article 93
1. The beneficiary countries shall inform the Commission of the names and addresses of the governmental authorities situated in their territory which are empowered to issue certificates of origin Form A, together with specimens of stamps used by those authorities, and the names and addresses of the relevant governmental authorities responsible for the control of the certificates of origin Form A and the invoice declarations. The stamps shall be valid as from the date of receipt by the Commission of the specimens. The Commission shall forward this information to the customs authorities of the Member States. When these communications are made within the framework, of an amendment of previous communications, the Commission shall indicate the date of entry into use of those new stamps according to the instructions given by the competent authorities of the beneficiary countries. This information is for official use; however, when goods have to be presented for free circulation, the customs authorities in question may allow the importer or his duly authorized representative to consult the specimen impressions of stamps mentioned in this paragraph.
2. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities (“C” series) the date on which the new beneficiary countries referred to in Article 97 met the obligations referred to in paragraph 1.
3. The Commission shall send the beneficiary countries specimens of the stamps used by the customs authorities of the Member States to issue EUR.1 movement certificates.
Article 93a
For the purposes of the provisions concerning the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67, every beneficiary country shall comply or ensure compliance with the rules concerning the origin of the goods, the completion and issue of certificates of origin Form A, the conditions for the use of invoice declarations and those concerning methods of administrative cooperation.
Article 94
1. Subsequent verifications of certificates of origin Form A and invoice declarations shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities in the Community have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the document or as to the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the products in question.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the customs authorities in the Community shall return a copy of the certificate of origin Form A or the invoice declaration to the competent governmental authority in the exporting beneficiary country, giving where appropriate the reasons of form or substance for an inquiry. If the invoice has been submitted, such invoice or a copy thereof shall be attached to the copy of certificate of origin Form A or to the invoice declaration as well as all other relevant documents. The customs authorities shall also forward any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the said certificate or the invoice declaration are inaccurate.
If the said authorities decide to suspend the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67 pending the results of the verification, they shall offer to release the products to the importer subject to any protective measures judged necessary.
3. When an application for subsequent verification has been made in accordance with paragraph 1, such verification shall be carried out and its results communicated to the customs authorities in the Community within a maximum of six months. The results shall be such as to establish whether the certificate of origin Form A or the invoice declaration in question applies to the products actually exported and whether these products were in fact eligible to benefit from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 67.
4. In the case of certificates of origin Form A issued in accordance with Article 91, the reply shall include a copy (copies) of the EUR.l movement certificate(s), or where necessary, the corresponding invoice declaration(s).
5. If in cases of reasonable doubt there is no reply within the six months specified in paragraph 3 or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the authenticity of the document in question or the real origin of the products, a second communication shall be sent to the competent authorities. If after the second communication the results of the verification are not communicated to the requesting authorities within four months, or if these results do not allow the authenticity of the document in question or the real origin of the products to be determined, the requesting authorities shall, except in the case of exceptional circumstances, refuse entitlement to the preferential tariff measures.
The provisions of the first subparagraph apply between the countries of the same regional group for the purposes of subsequent control of the issued certificates of origin Form A or the invoice declaration, drawn up in accordance with this section.
6. Where the verification procedure or any other available information appears to indicate that the provisions of this section are being contravened, the exporting beneficiary country shall, on its own initiative or at the request of the Community, carry out appropriate inquiries or arrange for such enquiries to be carried out with due urgency to identify and prevent such contraventions. For this purpose the Community may participate in the inquiries.
7. For the purpose of subsequent verification of certificates of origin Form A, copies of the certificates as well as any export documents referring to them shall be kept for at least three years by the competent governmental authority of the exporting beneficiary country.
Article 95
Article 78 (1) (c) and Article 89 shall apply only in so far as Norway and Switzerland, in the context of tariff preferences granted by them to certain products originating in developing countries, apply provisions similar to those of the Community.
The Commission shall inform the Member States' customs authorities of the adoption by Norway and Switzerland of such provisions and shall notify them of the date from which the provisions of Article 78 (1) (c) and Article 89, and the similar provisions adopted by Norway and Switzerland, are applied.
These provisions shall apply on condition that the Community, Norway and Switzerland have concluded an agreement stating, among other things, that they shall provide each other with the necessary mutual assistance in matters of administrative cooperation.
Subsection 4
Ceuta and Melilla
Article 96
1. The term “Community” used in this section shall not cover Ceuta and Melilla. The term “products originating in the Community” shall not cover products originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
2. This Section shall apply mutatis mutandis in determining whether products may be regarded as originating in the exporting beneficiary country benefiting from the generalized system of preferences when imported into Ceuta and Melilla or as originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
3. Ceuta and Melilla shall be regarded as a single territory.
4. The provisions of this section concerning the issue, use and subsequent verification of certificates of origin Form A shall apply mutatis mutandis to products originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
5. The Spanish customs authorities shall be responsible for the application of this section in Ceuta and Melilla.
Subsection 5
Final provisions
Article 97
When a country or territory is admitted or readmitted as a beneficiary country in respect of products referred to in the relevant Council EC Regulations or the ECSC Decision, goods originating in that country or territory may benefit from the generalized system of preferences on condition that they were exported from the beneficiary country or territory on or after the date referred to in Article 93 (2).
Section 2
Republics of Bosnia-Herzogovina and Croatia; Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Subsection 1
Definition of the concept of originating products
Article 98
1. For the purposes of the provisions concerning tariff preferences granted by the Community to certain products originating in the Republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, (hereinafter referred to as “beneficiary Republics or Territories”), the following products shall be considered as products originating in a beneficiary Republic or Territory:
(a)
products wholly obtained in that beneficiary Republic or Territory, within the meaning of Article 99;
(b)
products obtained in that beneficiary Republic or Territory, in the manufacture of which products other than those referred to in (a) are used, provided that the said products have undergone sufficient working or processing within the meaning of Article 100.
2. For the purposes of this section, products originating in the Community within the meaning of paragraph 3 which are subject, in a beneficiary Republic or Territory to working or processing going beyond that described in Article 101 shall be considered as originating in that beneficiary Republic or Territory.
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis in establishing the origin of the products obtained in the Community.
Article 99
1. The following shall be considered as wholly obtained in a beneficiary Republic or Territory or in the Community:
(a)
mineral products extracted from its soil or from its seabed;
(b)
vegetable products harvested there;
(c)
live animals born and raised there;
(d)
products from live animals raised there;
(e)
products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
(f)
products of sea-fishing and other products taken from the sea outside the territorial waters by their vessels;
(g)
products made on board their factory ships exclusively from the products referred to in (f);
(h)
used articles collected there, being fit only for the recovery of raw materials;
(i)
waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing operations conducted there;
(j)
products extracted from the seabed or below the seabed which is situated outside their territorial waters but where it has exclusive exploitation rights;
(k)
products produced there exclusively from products specified in (a) to (j).
2. The terms “their vessels” and “their factory ships” in paragraphs 1 (f) and (g) shall apply only to vessels and factory ships:
-
which are registered or recorded in the beneficiary Republic or Territory or in a Member State,
-
which sail under the flag of a beneficiary Republic or Territory or of a Member State,
-
which are owned to the extent of at least 50 % by nationals of the beneficiary Republic or Territory or of Member States or by a company with its head office in one of those Republics, Territories or States, of which the manager or managers, chairman of the board of directors or of the supervisory board, and the majority of the members of such boards are nationals of that beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Member States and of which, in addition, in the case of companies, at least half the capital belongs to that beneficiary Republic or Territory or to the Member States or to public bodies or nationals of that beneficiary Republic or Territory or to the Member States,
-
of which the master and officers are nationals of the beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Member States,
and
-
of which at least 75 % of the crew are nationals of the beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Member States.
3. The terms “beneficiary Republic or Territory” and “Community” shall also cover the territorial waters of that republic or territory or of the Member States.
4. Vessels operating on the high seas, including factory ships on which the fish caught are worked or processed, shall be considered as part of the territory of the beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Member State to which they belong, provided that they satisfy the conditions set out in paragraph 2.
Article 100
1. For the purposes of Article 98, non-originating materials shall be considered to have been sufficiently worked or processed when the product obtained is classified under a heading different from those under which all the non-originating materials used in its manufacture are classified, subject to paragraph 2.
2. For a product mentioned in columns 1 and 2 of the list:
-
contained in Annex 19, for the territories of West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or
-
contained in Annex 20, for the Republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
the conditions set out in column 3 for the product concerned must be fulfilled instead of the rule in paragraph 1.
Article 101
The following operations shall be considered as insufficient working or processing to confer the status of originating products, regardless of whether or not the requirements of Article 100 (1) are satisfied:
(a)
operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (ventilation, spreading-out, drying, chilling, placing in salt, sulphur dioxide or other aqueous solutions, removal of damaged parts, and like operations);
(b)
simple operations consisting of removal of dust, sifting or screening, sorting, classifying, matching (including the making-up of sets of articles), washing, painting, cutting up;
(c)
(i)
changes of packing and breaking-up and assembly of packages,
(ii)
simple placing in bottles, flasks, bags, cases, fixing on cards or boards, etc., and all other simple packing operations;
(d)
the affixing of marks, labels or other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(e)
simple mixing of products, whether or not of different kinds, where one or more components of the mixture do not meet the conditions laid down in this section to enable them to be considered as originating products of a beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Community;
(f)
simple assembly of parts of products to constitute a complete product;
(g)
a combination of two or more operations specified in (a) to (f);
(h)
the slaughter of animals.
Article 102
1. By way of derogation from Article 100, non-originating materials may be used in the manufacture of a given product, provided that their total value does not exceed 5 % of the ex-works price of the final product and subject to the conditions laid down in Note 3.4 to Annex 14.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to products falling within Chapters 50 to 63 of the Harmonized System.
Article 103
Accessories, spare parts and tools dispatched with a piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle which are part of the normal equipment and included in the price or not separately invoiced are regarded as one with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question.
Article 104
Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 of the Harmonized System, shall be regarded as originating sets when the component articles are originating products. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating articles, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating provided that the value of the non-originating articles does not exceed 15 % of the ex-works price of the set.
Article 105
In order to determine whether a product is an originating product, it shall not be necessary to determine the origin of the following which might be used in its manufacture:
(a)
energy and fuel;
(b)
plant and equipment;
(c)
machines and tools;
(d)
goods which do not enter, and which are not intended to enter, into the final composition of the product.
Article 106
The conditions set out in this section as to the acquisition of originating status must be fulfilled without interruption in the beneficiary Republic or Territory or in the Community.
If originating goods exported from the Republic or Territory or the Community to another country are returned, they must be considered as non-originating, unless it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authorities that:
-
the goods returned are the same goods as those exported, and
-
they have not undergone any operation beyond what is necessary to preserve them in good condition while in that country.
Article 107
1. The following shall be considered as transported direct from the beneficiary Republic or Territory to the Community and from the Community to the beneficiary Republic or Territory:
(a)
goods transported without passing through the territory of any other country;
(b)
goods constituting one single consignment transported through the territory of countries other than the exporting beneficiary Republic or Territory or the Community, with, should the occasion arise, trans-shipment or temporary warehousing in those countries, provided that they remain under the surveillance of the customs authorities in the country of transit or of warehousing and do not undergo operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good condition;
(c)
products which are transported by pipeline without interruption across a territory other than that of the exporting beneficiary Republic or Territory or of the Community.
2. Evidence that the conditions set out in paragraph 1 (b) have been fulfilled shall be supplied to the relevant customs authorities by the production of either:
(a)
a through-bill of lading covering the passage through the country of transit;
or
(b)
a certificate issued by the customs authorities of the country of transit:
-
giving an exact description of the goods,
-
stating the dates of unloading and reloading of the goods and, where applicable, the names of the ships or other means of transport used, and
-
certifying the conditions under which the goods remained in the transit country; or
(c)
failing these, any substantiating documents.
Article 108
1. Products sent from a beneficiary Republic or Territory for exhibition in another country and sold after the exhibition for importation into the Community shall benefit on importation into the Community from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 98, provided that they meet the requirements of this section entitling them to be recognized as originating in that beneficiary Republic or Territory and provided that it is shown to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that:
(a)
an exporter has dispatched the products from the beneficiary Republic or Territory to the country in which the exhibition is held;
(b)
the products have been sold or otherwise disposed of by that exporter to a person in the Community;
(c)
the products have been dispatched during the exhibition or immediately thereafter to the Community in the state in which they were sent for exhibition;
(d)
the products have not, since they were dispatched for exhibition, been used for any purpose other than demonstration at the exhibition.
2. A EUR.1 movement certificate must be submitted to the customs authorities of the Community in the normal manner. The name and address of the exhibition shall be indicated thereon. Where necessary, additional documentary evidence of the nature of the products and the conditions under which they have been exhibited may be required.
3. Paragraph 1 shall apply to any trade, industrial, agricultural or crafts exhibition, fair or similar public show or display which is not organized for private purposes in shops or business premises with a view to the sale of foreign products, and during which the products remain under customs control.
Subsection 2
Proof of origin
Article 109
Products originating in the beneficiary Republics or Territories shall benefit from this section on submission of either:
(a)
a EUR.1 movement certificate, a specimen of which appears at Annex 21; or
(b)
in the cases specified in Article 117 (1), a declaration, the text of which appears at Annex 22, given by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note or any other commercial document which describes the product concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified (hereinafter referred to as the “invoice declaration”).
(a) EUR.1 movement certificate
Article 110
1. Originating products within the meaning of this section shall be eligible, on importation into the Community, to benefit from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 98, provided they have been transported directly into the Community within the meaning of Article 107, on submission of a EUR.1 movement certificate issued:
-
by the customs or governmental authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or
-
by the chambers of commerce of the Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
on condition that these competent authorities of these beneficiary Republics or Territories:
-
have communicated to the Commission the information required by Article 121, and
-
assist the Community by allowing the customs authorities of Member States to verify the authenticity of the document or the accuracy of the information regarding the true origin of the products in question.
2. A EUR.1 movement certificate may be issued only where it can serve as the documentary evidence required for the purposes of implementing the tariff preferences referred to in Article 98.
3. A EUR.1 movement certificate shall be issued on application having been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter's responsiblity, by his authorized representative. Such application shall be made on a form, a specimen of which appears at Annex 21, which shall be completed in accordance with the provision of this subsection.
Applications for EUR.1 movement certificates must be kept for at least three years by the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territory.
4. The exporter or his representative shall submit with his request any appropriate supporting documents proving that the products to be exported are such as to qualify for the issue of a EUR.1 movement certificate.
The exporter shall undertake to submit, at the request of the competent authorities, any supplementary evidence they may require for the purpose of establishing the correctness of the originating status of the products eligible for preferential treatment and shall undertake to agree to any inspection of those accounts and to any check on the circumstances in which the products were obtained by the said authorities.
5. The EUR.1 movement certificate shall be issued by the competent authorities, of the beneficiary Republics or Territories or by the customs authorities of the exporting Member State, if the goods to be exported can be considered originating products within the meaning of this section.
6. Since the EUR.1 movement certificate constitutes the documentary evidence for the application of the preferential arrangements set out in Article 98, it shall be the responsiblity of the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territory, or of the customs authorities of the exporting Member State, to take any steps necessary to verify the origin of the goods and to check the other statements on the certificate.
7. For the purpose of verifying whether the conditions set out in paragraph 5 have been met, the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territory, or the customs authorities of the exporting Member State shall have the right to call for any documentary evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate.
8. It shall be the responsiblity of the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territory, or the customs authorities of the exporting Member State, to ensure that the forms referred to in paragraph 1 are duly completed.
9. The date of issue of the EUR.1 movement certificate shall be indicated in that part of the certificate reserved for the customs authorities.
10. A EUR.1 movement certificate shall be issued by the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territory, as the case may be, or by the customs authorities of the exporting Member State when the products to which it relates are exported. It shall be made available to the exporter as soon as exportation has actually been effected or ensured.
Article 111
Where, at the request of the importer and on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities of the importing country, dismantled or non-assembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2 (a) of the Harmonized System falling within Sections XVI and XVII or heading Nos 7308 and 9406 of the Harmonized System are imported by instalments, a single proof of origin for such products shall be submitted to the customs authorities upon importation of the first instalment.
Article 112
Proofs of origin shall be submitted to the customs authorities of the Member State of importation in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 62 of the Code. The said authorities may require a translation of a proof of origin. They may also require the import declaration to be accompanied by a statement from the importer to the effect that the products meet the conditions required for the application of this section.
Article 113
1. By way of derogation from Article 110 (10), a EUR.1 movement certificate may exceptionally be issued after exportation of the products to which it relates if:
(a)
it was not issued at the time of exportation because of errors or accidental omissions or special circumstances; or
(b)
it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that a EUR.1 movement certificate was issued but was not accepted on importation for technical reasons.
2. The competent authorities may issue a EUR.1 movement certificate retrospectively only after verifying that the particulars contained in the exporter's application conform with those contained in the corresponding export documents and that a EUR.1 movement certificate satisfying the provisions of this section was not issued when the products in question were exported.
3. EUR.1 movement certificates issued retrospectively shall be endorsed with one of the following phrases:
“EXPEDIDO A POSTERIORI”, “UDSTEDT EF-TERFØLGENDE”, “NACHTRÄGLICH AUSGESTELLT”, “ΕΚΔΟθΕΝ ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΥΣΤΕΡΩΝ”, “ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY”, “DELIVRE A POSTERIORI”, “RILASCIATO A POSTERIORI”, “AFGEGEVEN A POSTERIORI”, “EMITIDO A POSTERIORI”, “ANNETTU JÄLKIKÄTEEN”, “UTFÄRDAT I EFTERHAND”.
4. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 3 shall be inserted in the “Remarks” box of the EUR.1 movement certificate.
Article 114
1. In the event of the theft, loss or destruction of a EUR.1 movement certificate, the exporter may apply to the competent authorities, or the customs authorities of the exporting Member State which issued it for a duplicate made out on the basis of the export documents in their possession.
2. The duplicate issued in this way shall be endorsed with one of the following words:
“DUPLICADO”, “DUPLIKAT”, “DUPLIKAT”, “ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦΟ”, “DUPLICATE”, “DUPLICATA”, “DUPLICATO”, “DUPLICAAT”, “SEGUNDA VIA”, “KAKSOISKAPPALE”, “DUPLIKAT”.
3. The endorsement referred to in paragraph 2 shall be inserted in the “Remarks” box of the EUR.1 movement certificate.
4. The duplicate, which shall bear the date of issue of the original EUR.1 movement certificate, shall take effect as from that date.
Article 115
When originating products are placed under the control of a customs office in the Community, it shall be possible to replace the original proof of origin by one or more EUR.1 movement certificates for the purpose of sending all or some of these products elsewhere in the Community. The replacement EUR.1 movement certificate(s) shall be issued by the customs office under whose control the products are placed.
Article 116
1. A EUR.1 movement certificate shall be valid for five months from the date of issue in the beneficiary Republic or Territory or in the Community, and must be submitted within the said period to the customs authorities in the Member State or of the importing beneficiary Republic or Territory.
2. A EUR.1 movement certificate which is submitted to the customs authorities of the Member State after the final date for presentation specified in paragraph 1 may be accepted for the purpose of applying preferential treatment, where the failure to submit the certificate by the final date set is due to exceptional circumstances.
3. In other cases of belated presentation as set out in paragraph 2, the customs authorities of the importing Member State may accept the certificates where the products have been submitted to them before the said final date.
(b) Invoice declaration
Article 117
1. The invoice declaration may be made out:
(a)
by an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 118 or,
(b)
by any exporter for any consignment consisting of one or more packages containing originating products whose total value does not exceed ECU 3 000, and on condition that the assistance referred to in Article 110 (1) also applies to this procedure.
2. An invoice declaration may be made out if the products concerned can be considered as originating in the Community or in a beneficiary Republic or Territory within the meaning of this section.
3. The exporter making an invoice declaration must be prepared to submit at any time, at the request of the customs authorithies of the Community or of the beneficiary Republics or Territories, as the case may be, all appropriate documents substantiating the originating status of the products concerned as well as fulfilling the administrative cooperation referred to in this section.
4. An invoice declaration shall be made by the exporter by typing, stamping or printing on the invoice, the delivery note or another commercial document, the declaration, the text of which appears at Annex 22, using one of the linguistic versions set out in that Annex and in accordance with the provisions of the domestic law of the exporting country. If the declaration is handwritten, it shall be written in ink, in printed characters.
5. Invoice declarations shall bear the original signature of the exporter in manuscript. However, an approved exporter within the meaning of Article 118 shall not be required to sign such declarations provided that he gives the governmental authorities a written undertaking that he accepts full responsibility for any invoice declaration which identifies him as if it had been signed in manuscript by him.
6. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 (b), the use of an invoice declaration shall be subject to the following special conditions:
(a)
one invoice declaration shall be completed for each consignment;
(b)
if the goods contained in the consignment have already been subject to verification in the beneficiary Republic or Territory by reference to the definition of “originating products”, the exporter may refer to this check in the invoice declaration.
The provisions of the first subparagraph do not exempt exporters from complying with any other formalities required under customs or postal regulations.
Article 118
1. The customs authorities in the Community may authorize any exporter, hereinafter referred to as “approved exporter”, who makes frequent shipments of products within the meaning of Article 98 (2), to make out invoice declarations irrespective of the value of the products concerned. An exporter seeking such authorization must offer, to the satisfaction of the customs authorities, all guarantees necessary to verify the originating status of the products and the fulfilment of the other requirements of this section.
2. The customs authorities may grant the status of approved exporter on any conditions which they consider appropriate.
3. The customs authorities shall assign the approved exporter a customs authorization number which shall appear on the invoice declaration.
4. The customs authorities shall monitor the use of the authorization by the approved exporter.
5. The customs authorities may withdraw the authorization at any time. They shall do so when the approved exporter no longer offers the guarantees referred to in paragraph 1, does not fulfil the conditions referred to in paragraph 2, or makes improper use of the authorization in any manner whatever.
Article 119
1. Products sent as small packages from private persons to private persons or forming part of travellers' personal luggage shall be admitted as originating products benefiting from the tariff preferences referred to in Article 98 without requiring the submission of a EUR.1 movement certificate or an invoice declaration, provided that such products are of a non-commercial nature and have been declared as meeting the conditions required for the application of this section, where there is no doubt as to the veracity of such declaration.
2. Imports which are occasional and consist exclusively of products for the personal use of the recipients or travellers or their families shall be considered as being of a non-commercial nature if it is evident from the nature and quantity of the products that they are not being imported for commercial reasons.
Furthermore, the total value of the products must not exceed ECU 215 in the case of small packages or ECU 600 in the case of the contents of traveller's personal luggage.
Article 120
The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the proof of origin and those made in the documents submitted to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the goods, shall not ipso facto render the proof of origin null and void, provided that it is duly established that the document corresponds to the goods submitted.
Obvious formal errors such as typing errors on a proof of origin should not cause the document to be rejected if those errors are not such as to create doubts concerning the correctness of the statements made in the document.
Subsection 3
Methods of administrative cooperation
Article 121
1. The beneficiary Republics or Territories shall inform the Commission of the names and addresses of the governmental authorities situated in their territory which are empowered to issue EUR.1 movement certificates, together with specimens of stamps used by those authorities, and the names and addresses of the relevant governmental authorities responsible for the control of the EUR.1 movement certificates and the invoice declarations. The stamps shall be valid as from the date of receipt by the Commission of the specimens. The Commission shall forward this information to the customs authorities of the Member States. When these communications are made within the framework of an amendment of previous communications, the Commission will indicate the date of entry into use of those new stamps according to the instructions given by the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republics or Territories. This information is for official use; however, when goods have to be presented for free circulation, the customs authorities in question may allow the importer or his duly authorized representative to consult the specimen impressions of stamps mentioned in this paragraph.
2. The Commission shall send to the beneficiary Republics or Territories the specimens of stamps utilized by the Member States' customs authorities when issuing the EUR.1 movment certificates.
Article 122
1. Subsequent verifications of EUR.1 movement certificates or invoice declarations shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities in the importing Member State or the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republics or Territories, have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of such documents or the origin status of the products concerned or the fulfilment of the other requirements of these provisions.
2. For the purposes of implementing the provisions of paragraph 1, the competent authorities of the importing Member State or of the beneficiary Republic or Territory shall return the EUR.1 movement certificate, the invoice declaration or a copy of these documents to the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republics or Territories, or to the customs authorities of the exporting Member State, giving, where appropriate, the reasons of substance or form for an inquiry.
They shall attach any relevant commercial documents or a copy thereof to the EUR.1 certificate or the invoice declaration and any documents and information obtained suggesting that the information given on the proof of origin is incorrect shall be forwarded in support of the request for verification.
If the customs authorities in the importing Member State decide to suspend the granting of preferential treatment to the products concerned while awaiting the results of the verification, release of the products shall be offered to the importer subject to any precautionary measures judged necessary.
3. The customs authorities of the importing Member State, or the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republic or Territories, requesting the verification shall be informed of the results of this verification within six months. These results must indicate clearly whether the EUR.1 movement certificate or the invoice declaration applies to the products actually exported, and whether these products can benefit from the preferences referred to in Article 98.
4. For the purposes of subsequent verification of EUR.1 movement certificates and invoice declarations, as well as any export documents or any copies of certificates referring to them, shall be kept for at least three years by the competent authorities of the beneficiary Republics or Territories, or by the exporting customs authorities of the Member State.
5. If, in cases of reasonable doubt there is no reply within 10 months of the request, or if the reply does not contain sufficient information to determine the authenticity of the document in question, or the real origin of the products, the requesting authorities shall, except in exceptional circumstances, refuse entitlement to the preferential treatment.
Subsection 4
Ceuta and Melilla
Article 123
1. The term “Community” used in this section shall not cover Ceuta and Melilla. The term “products originating in the Community” shall not cover products originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
2. This section shall apply mutatis mutandis in determining whether products may be regarded as originating in the exporting beneficiary Republics or Territories benefiting from the preferences when imported into Ceuta and Melilla or as originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
3. Ceuta and Melilla shall be regarded as a single territory.
4. The provisions of this section concerning the issue, use and subsequent verification of EUR.1 movement certificates shall apply mutatis mutandis to products originating in Ceuta and Melilla.
5. The Spanish customs authorities shall be responsible for the application of this section to Ceuta and Melilla.’
3.
Article 220 is replaced by the following text:
‘Article 220
1. Without prejudice to specific provisions, the documents to accompany the declaration of entry for a customs procedure with economic impact, shall be as follows:
(a)
for the customs warehousing procedure:
-
type D; the documents laid down in Article 218 (1) (a) and (b),
-
other than type D; no documents;
(b)
for the inward-processing procedure
-
drawback system; the documents laid down in Article 218 (1),
-
suspension system; the documents laid down in Article 218 (1) (a) and (b),
and, where appropriate, the written authorization for the customs procedure in question or a copy of the application for authorization where the second subparagraph of Article 556 (1) applies;
(c)
for processing under customs control the documents laid down in Article 218 (1) (a) and (b), and, where appropriate, the written authorization for the customs procedure in question;
(d)
for the temporary importation procedure:
-
with partial relief from import duties; the documents laid down in Article 218 (1),
-
with total relief from import duties; the documents laid down in Article 218 (1) (a) and (b),
and, where appropriate, the written authorization for the customs procedure in question;
(e)
for the outward-processing procedures, the documents laid down in Article 221 (1) and, where appropriate, the written authorization of the procedure or a copy of the application for authorization where the second subparagraph of Article 751 (1) applies.
2. Article 218 (2) shall apply to declarations of entry for any customs procedure with economic impact.
3. The customs authorities may allow the written authorization of the procedure or a copy of the application for authorization to be kept at their disposal instead of accompanying the declaration.’
4.
The following paragraphs are added to Article 228:
‘The receipt shall include at least the following information:
(a)
a description of the goods which is sufficiently precise to enable them to be identified; this may include the tariff heading;
(b)
the invoice value and/or quantity of the goods, as appropriate;
(c)
a breakdown of the charges collected;
(d)
the date on which it was made out;
(e)
the name of the authority which issued it.
The Member States shall inform the Commission of any standard receipts introduced pursuant to this Article. The Commission shall forward any such information to the other Member States.’
5.
In Article 455, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
‘3. The proof referred to in paragraph 2 shall be furnished to the satisfaction of the customs authorities:
(a)
by production of a customs or commercial document certified by the customs authorities establishing that the goods in question have been presented at the office of destination. This document must include information enabling the goods to be identified; or
(b)
by the production of a customs document showing entry for a customs procedure in a third country, or a copy or photocopy thereof; such copy or photocopy must be certified as a true copy either by the body which endorsed the original document, or by the authorities of the third country concerned, or by the authorities of one of the Member States. This document must include information enabling the goods in question to be identified; or
(c)
for the purposes of the ATA Convention, by the evidence referred to in Article 8 of that Convention.’
6.
The following Article 457b is added to Section 2:
‘Article 457b
1. Where a TIR operation concerns the same goods as those covered by Article 362 or where the customs authorities consider it necessary, the office of departure/office of entry may prescribe an itinerary for the consignment. The itinerary shall be changed, on application by the holder of the TIR carnet, only by the customs authorities of the Member State in which the consignment is located in the course of its prescribed movement. The customs authorities shall record the relevant details on the TIR carnet and inform the customs authorities of the office of departure/office of entry without delay.
Member States shall take the necessary measures to deal with any offence or irregularity and to impose effective penalties.
2. In the case of force majeure the carrier may diverge from the prescribed itinerary. The consignment and the TIR carnet shall be presented without delay to the nearest customs authorities of the Member State in which the consignment is located. The customs authorities shall inform the office of departure/office of entry without delay and record the relevant details on the TIR carnet.’
7.
Article 629 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 629
The declaration or application to assign compensating products or, if need be, goods in the unaltered state to one of the customs-approved treatments or uses referred to in Article 128 of the Code shall contain all the particulars necessary to support a repayment claim.’
8.
Article 630 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 630
Without prejudice to the use of the simplified procedures, any compensating products and, if need be, goods in the unaltered state which are to be assigned to one of the customs-approved treatments or uses referred to in Article 128 of the Code shall be presented to the office of discharge and undergo the customs formalities specified for the treatment or use in question in accordance with the general provisions applicable.’
9.
Article 631 (1) is replaced by the following:
‘1. Except where Article 568 applies, the declaration assigning the compensating products and, if need be, goods in the unaltered state to one of the customs-approved treatments or uses referred to in Article 128 of the Code shall be lodged at one of the offices of discharge specified in the authorization.’
10.
Article 640 (1) (j) is replaced by the following:
‘(j)
reference to the declarations under which the compensating products or, if need be, goods in the unaltered state were entered for one of the customs-approved treatments or uses referred to in Article 128 of the Code;’.
11.
Part IV of Title III is hereby amended as follows:
(a)
The Title is replaced by the following:
‘RECOVERY OF THE AMOUNT OF THE CUSTOMS DEBT’
(b)
The following sentence is added to the first paragraph of Article 871:
‘It must also contain a signed statement from the person concerned with the case to be brought before the Commission certifying that he has read the case and stating, either that he has nothing to add, or listing all the additional information which he considers should be included.’
(c)
The following Article 876a is added:
‘Article 876a
1. The customs authorities shall suspend the debtor's obligation to pay the duties until such time as they have taken a decision on the request, provided that, where the goods are no longer under customs supervision, security is lodged for the amount of those duties, and that:
(a)
in cases where a request for invalidation of a declaration has been presented, this request is likely to be met;
(b)
in cases where a request has been presented for remission pursuant to Article 236 in conjunction with Article 220 (2) (b) of the Code or pursuant to Article 238 or Article 239, the customs authorities consider that the conditions laid down in the relevant provision may be regarded as having been fulfilled;
(c)
in cases other than those referred to under (b), a request has been presented for remission pursuant to Article 236 of the Code and the conditions referred to in the second paragraph of Article 244 of the Code have been fulfilled.
It shall not be necessary to require a security where such requirement would be likely, owing to the debtor's circumstances, to cause serious economic or social difficulties.
2. In cases where goods in one of the circumstances referred to in the second indent of Article 233 (c) or in Article 233 (d) of the Code are seized, the customs authorities shall suspend the debtor's obligation to pay the duties if they consider that the conditions for confiscation may be regarded as having been fulfilled.’
12.
The following sentence is added to the first subparagraph of Article 905 (2):
‘It shall also include a statement, signed by the applicant for repayment or remission, certifying that he has read the case and stating either that he has nothing to add or listing all the additional information that he considers should be included.’
13.
Annex I to this Regulation is inserted as Annex 1A.
14.
Annex 11 is amended in accordance with Annex II hereto.
15.
Annex 14 is amended in accordance with Annex III hereto.
16.
Annex 15 is replaced by the text shown at Annex IV hereto.
17.
Annex 17 is replaced by the text shown at Annex V hereto.
18.
Annex 18 is replaced by the text shown at Annex VI hereto.
19.
Annex 19 is replaced by the text shown at Annex VII hereto.
20.
Annex 20 is replaced by the text shown at Annex VIII hereto.
21.
Annex 22 is replaced by the text show at Annex IX hereto.
22.
Annex 38 is amended in accordance with Annex X hereto.
23.
Annex 87 is amended in accordance with Annex XI hereto.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 1996.