COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 656/2004
of 7 April 2004
amending Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods (1), and in particular Article 7 thereof,
After consulting the Advisory Committee on Cultural Goods,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 of 30 March 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92 on the export of cultural goods (2), made provision for a model export licence form applicable to categories of cultural goods listed in annex to Regulation (EEC) No 3911/92. However, this form is not consistent with the United Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents and in practice its use causes some problems.
(2)
Therefore a new model form conforming to the United Nations Layout Key for Trade Documents should be drawn up. The form should also be accompanied by explanatory notes to help interested parties to draw it up uniformly and correctly.
(3)
Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 stipulates that the form should be filled in by mechanical or electronic means or by hand. However, in order to reduce the administrative costs, Member States which so wish and have the necessary technical means should be allowed to issue the document by electronic means.
(4)
To ensure that the issuing authority receives sheet 3 of the form, provision should be made for the customs office of exit from the Community customs territory to return this sheet directly to the issuing authority instead of giving it to the exporter or his/her representative, as provided for at present.
(5)
Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EEC) No 752/93 is amended as follows:
1.
In Article 3(3), the opening sentence is replaced by the following:
‘3. Forms shall be produced in printed or electronic form and filled out in an official language of the Communities designated by the competent authorities of the issuing Member State.’
2.
In Article 6(1), the opening sentence is replaced by the following:
‘1. The applicant shall complete boxes 1, 3, 6 to 21, 24 and, if necessary, 25 of the application and the other sheets except where pre-printing of the box or boxes is authorised.’
3.
Article 8 is amended as follows:
(a)
the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
‘1. The customs office responsible for handling the export declaration shall ensure that the entries on the export declaration or, if applicable, the ATA carnet, correspond to the entries on the export licence and that a reference to the export licence is entered in box 44 of the export declaration or on the counterfoil of the ATA carnet.’
(b)
Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
‘2. After completing box 23 in copies 2 and 3, the customs office authorised to accept the export declaration shall return to the declarant or to his/her authorised representative the sheet intended for the holder.’
(c)
In paragraph 3, the last sentence is replaced by the following:
‘The customs office shall affix its stamp to box 26 of the form and return it to the issuing authority.’
4.
In Article 16(3), the opening sentence is replaced by the following:
‘3. The licence form shall be produced in printed or electronic form in one or more of the official languages of the Community.’
5.
Annex I is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
Export licences issued up to 30 June 2004 shall remain valid until 30 June 2005.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 July 2004.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 April 2004.