1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2913/92
of12October1992
establishingtheCommunityCustomsCode
(OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 82/97 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 19 December 1996L 17 1 21.1.1997
►M2Regulation (EC) No 955/1999 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 13 April 1999L 119 1 7.5.1999
►M3Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 16 November 2000L 311 17 12.12.2000
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
►A2Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,
the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of
Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the SlovakRepublic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion isfoundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 152, 11.6.1997, p. 34 (2913/92)
►C2Corrigendum, OJ L 179, 8.7.1997, p. 11 (82/97)
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January 1999
should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980, p. 1) andCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2913/92
of12October 1992
establishingtheCommunityCustomsCode
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles28, 100a and 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas the Community is based upon a customs union; whereas it is
advisable, in the interests both of Community traders and the customsauthorities, to assemble in a code the provisions of customs legislationthat are at present contained in a large number of Community regula-
tions and directives; whereas this task is of fundamental importance
from the standpoint of the internal market;
Whereas such a Community Customs Code (hereinafter called ‘the
Code’) must incorporate current customs legislation; whereas it is,nevertheless, advisable to amend that legislation in order to make it
more consistent, to simplify it and to remedy certain omissions that still
exist with a view to adopting complete Community legislation in thisarea;
Whereas, based on the concept of an internal market, the Code must
contain the general rulesand procedureswhich ens ure the implementa-
tion of the tariff and other measures introduced at Community level inconnection with trade in goodsbetween the Community and thirdcountries; whereas it must cover, among other things, the implementa-tion of common agricultural and commercial policy measures takinginto account the requirements of these common policies;
Whereas it would appear advisable to specify that this Code is applic-
able without prejudice to specific provisions laid down in other fields;whereas such specific rules may exist or be introduced in the context,inter alia , of legislation relating to agriculture, statistics, commercial
policy or own resources;
Whereas, in order to secure a balance between the needs of the customs
authorities in regard to ensuring the correct application of customslegislation, on the one hand, and the right of traders to be treated fairly,on the other, the said authorities must be granted, inter alia , extensive
powersof control and the s aid tradersa right of appeal; whereasthe
implementation of a customs appeals system will require the UnitedKingdom to introduce new administrative procedures which cannot beeffected before 1 January 1995;
Whereasin view of the paramount importance of external trade for the
Community, customs formalities and controls should be abolished or at
least kept to a minimum;
Whereasit isimportant to guarantee the uniform application of this
Code and to provide, to that end, for a Community procedure whichenablesthe proceduresfor itsimplementation to be adopted within a
suitable time; whereas a Customs Code Committee should be set up
in order to ensure close and effective cooperation between the MemberStates and the Commission in this field;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 128, 23. 5. 1990, p. 1.
(2) OJ No C 72, 18. 3. 1991, p. l76 and Decision of 16 September 1992 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ No C 60, 8. 3. 1991, p. 5.
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Whereasin adopting the meas uresrequired to implement thisCode, the
utmost care must be taken to prevent any fraud or irregularity liable toaffect adversely the General Budget of the European Communities,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
GENERALPROVISIONS
CHAPTER 1
SCOPEANDBASICDEFINITIONS
Article 1
Customs rules shall consist of this Code and the provisions adopted at
Community level or nationally to implement them. The Code shall
apply, without prejudice to special rules laid down in other fields
— to trade between the Community and third countries,
— to goods covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and
Steel Community, the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity or the Treaty establishing the European Atomic EnergyCommunity.
Article 2
1. Save asotherwis e provided, either under international conven-
tionsor cus tomary practicesof a limited geographic and economicscope or under autonomous Community measures, Community customsrules shall apply uniformly throughout the customs territory of theCommunity.
2. Certain provisions of customs rules may also apply outside the
customs territory of the Community within the framework of either
rules governing specific fields or international conventions.
Article 3
1. The customs territory of the Community shall comprise:
— the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium,
— the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, except the Faroe Islands
and Greenland,
— the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, except the Island
of Heligoland and the territory of Büsingen (Treaty of 23November 1964 between the Federal Republic of Germany and theSwiss Confederation),
— the territory of the Hellenic Republic,
— the territory of the Kingdom of Spain, except Ceuta and Melilla,
— the territory of the French Republic, except the overseas territories
and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and Mayotte
— the territory of Ireland,
— the territory of the Italian Republic, except the municipalitiesof
Livigno and Campione d'Italia and the national watersof Lake
Lugano which are between the bank and the political frontier of
the area between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresio,
— the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
— the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlandsin Europe,— the territory of the Republic of Austria,
— the territory of the Portuguese Republic,
— the territory of the Republic of Finland,1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 3
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— the territory of the Kingdom of Sweden,— the territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man,
— the territory of the Czech Republic,
— the territory of the Republic of Estonia,
— the territory of the Republic of Cyprus,
— the territory of the Republic of Latvia,— the territory of the Republic of Lithuania,— the territory of the Republic of Hungary,— the territory of the Republic of Malta,— the territory of the Republic of Poland,— the territory of the Republic of Slovenia,— the territory of the Slovak Republic.
2. Although situated outside the territory of the French Republic, the
territory of the Principality of Monaco asdefined in the Cus tomsConvention signed in Paris on 18 May 1963 ( Official Journal of the
French Republic of 27 September 1963, p. 8679) shall, by virtue of
that Convention, also be considered to be part of the customs territory
of the Community.
3. The customs territory of the Community shall include the terri-
torial waters, the inland maritime waters and the airspace of theMember States, and the territories referred to in paragraph 2, except
for the territorial waters, the inland maritime waters and the airspace
of those territories which are not part of the customs territory of theCommunity pursuant to paragraph 1.
Article 4
For the purposes of this Code, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) ‘Person’ means:
— a natural person,
— a legal person,— where the possibility is provided for under the rules in force,
an association of persons recognized as having the capacity toperform legal actsbut lacking the legal s tatusof a legalperson.
(2) ‘Persons established in the Community’ means:
— in the case of a natural person, any person who is normally
resident there,
— in the case of a legal person or an association of persons, any
person that has in the Community its registered office, centralheadquarters or a permanent business establishment.
(3) ‘Customs authorities’ means the authorities responsible inter alia
for applying customs rules.
(4) ‘Customs office’ means any office at which all or some of the
formalitieslaid down by cus tomsrulesmay be completed.
(5) ‘Decision’ means any official act by the customs authorities
pertaining to customs rules giving a ruling on a particular case,such act having legal effects on one or more specific or identifi-
able persons; ►
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information within the meaning of Article 12; ◄
(6) ‘Customs status’ means the status of goods as Community or non-
Community goods.
(7) ‘Community goods’ means goods:
— wholly obtained in the customs territory of the Community
under the conditionsreferred to in Article 23 and not incorpor-ating goodsimported from countriesor territoriesnot forming1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 4
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part of the customs territory of the Community. Goods
obtained from goods placed under a suspensive arrangementshall not be deemed to have Community status in cases of
special economic importance determined in accordance with
the committee procedure,
— imported from countriesor territoriesnot forming part of the
customs territory of the Community which have been releasedfor free circulation,
— obtained or produced in the customs territory of the Commu-
nity, either from goodsreferred to in the s econd indent aloneor from goods referred to in (SIC! in the) first and secondindents.
(8) ‘Non-Community goods’ means goods other than those referred to
in subparagraph 7.
Without prejudice to Articles163 and 164, Community goods
shall lose their status as such when they are actually removed
from the customs territory of the Community.
(9) ‘Customs debt’ means the obligation on a person to pay the
amount of the import duties(cus tomsdebt on importation) or
export duties(cus tomsdebt on exportation) which apply tospecific goods under the Community provisions in force.
(10) ‘Import duties’ means:
— customs duties and charges having an effect equivalent to
customs duties payable on the importation of goods,
—►
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common agricultural policy or under the specific arrangements
applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing ofagricultural products.
(11) ‘Export duties’ means:
— customs duties and charges having an effect equivalent to
customs duties payable on the exportation of goods,
—►
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common agricultural policy or under the specific arrangements
applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of
agricultural products.
(12) ‘Debtor’ means any person liable for payment of a customs debt.(13) ‘Supervision by the customs authorities’ means action taken in
general by those authorities with a view to ensuring that customsrulesand, where appropriate, other provis ionsapplicable to goodssubject to customs supervision are observed.
(14) ‘Control by the customs authorities’ means the performance of
specific acts such as examining goods, verifying the existence
and authenticity of documents, examining the acounts (SIC!
accounts) of undertakings and other records, inspecting means oftransport, inspecting luggage and other goods carried by or onpersons and carrying out official inquiries and other similar actswith a view to ensuring that customs rules and, where appropriate,other provisions applicable to goods subject to customs supervi-
sion are observed.
(15) ‘Customs-approved treatment or use of goods’ means:
(a) the placing of goodsunder a cus tomsprocedure;
(b) their entry into a free zone or free warehouse;
(c) their re-exportation from the customs territory of the Commu-
nity;
(d) their destruction;
(e) their abandonment to the Exchequer.
(16) ‘Customs procedure’ means:
(a) release for free circulation;
(b) transit;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 5
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(c) customs warehousing;
(d) inward processing (SIC! inward-processing);
(e) processing under customs control;
(f) temporary admission;
(g) outward processing (SIC! outward-processing);(h) exportation.
(17) ‘Customs declaration’ means the act whereby a person indicates
in the prescribed form and manner a wish to place goods under a
given customs procedure.
(18) ‘Declarant’ means the person making the customs declaration in
his own name or the person in whose name a customs declarationismade.
(19) ‘Presentation of goods to customs’ means the notification to the
customs authorities, in the manner laid down, of the arrival ofgoods at the customs office or at any other place designated orapproved by the customs authorities.
(20) ‘Release of goods’ means the act whereby the customs authorities
make goods available for the purposes stipulated by the customs
procedure under which they are placed.
(21) ‘Holder of the procedure’ means the person on whose behalf the
customs declaration was made or the person to whom the rightsand obligations of the abovementioned person in respect of acustoms procedure have been transferred.
(22) ‘Holder of the authorization’ meansthe pers on to whom an
authorization hasbeen granted.
(23) ‘Provisions in force’ means Community or national provisions.
(24) Committee procedure meanseither the procedure referred to in
Articles247 and 247a, or in Articles248 and 248a.
CHAPTER 2
SUNDRYGENERALPROVISIONSRELATINGINPARTICULARTO
THERIGHTSANDOBLIGATIONSOFPERSONSWITHREGARDTO
CUSTOMSRULES
Section 1
Rightofrepresentation
Article 5
1. Under the conditions set out in Article 64 (2) and subject to the
provisions adopted within the framework of Article 243 (2) (b), anyperson may appoint a representative in his dealings with the customs
authoritiesto perform the actsand formalitieslaid down by cus toms
rules.
2. Such representation may be:
— direct, in which case the representative shall act in the name of and
on behalf of another person, or
— indirect, in which case the representatives (SIC! representative)
shall act in his own name but on behalf of another person.
A Member State may restrict the right to make customs declarations:
— by direct representation, or
— by indirect representation,
so that the representative must be a customs agent carrying on his busi-
ness in that country's territory.
3. Save in the cases referred to in Article 64 (2) (b) and (3), a repre-
sentative must be established within the Community.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 6
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4. A representative must state that he is acting on behalf of the
person represented, specify whether the representation is direct orindirect and be empowered to act asa repres entative.
A person who fails to state that he is acting in the name of or on behalf
of another person or who states that he is acting in the name of or on
behalf of another person without being empowered to do so shall bedeemed to be acting in hisown name and on hisown behalf.
5. The customs authorities may require any person stating that he is
acting in the name of or on behalf of another person to produceevidence of hispowersto act asa repres entative.
Section 2
Decisionsrelatingtotheapplicationofcustomsrules
Article 6
1. Where a person requests that the customs authorities take a deci-
sion relating to the application of customs rules that person shall supply
all the information and documentsrequired by thos e authoritiesin
order to take a decision.
2. Such decision shall be taken and notified to the applicant at the
earliest opportunity.
Where a request for a decision is made in writing, the decision shall be
made within a period laid down in accordance with the existing provi-sions, starting on the date on which the said request is received by thecustoms authorities. Such a decision must be notified in writing to theapplicant.
However, that period may be exceeded where the customs authorities
are unable to comply with it. In that case, those authorities shall so
inform the applicant before the expiry of the abovementioned period,
stating the grounds which justify exceeding it and indicating the furtherperiod of time which they consider necessary in order to give a rulingon the request.
3. Decisions adopted by the customs authorities in writing which
either reject requests or are detrimental to the persons to whom theyare addressed shall set out the grounds on which they are based. They
shall refer to the right of appeal provided for in Article 243.
4. Provision may be made for the first sentence of paragraph 3 to
apply likewise to other decisions.
Article 7
Save in the cases provided for in the second subparagraph of Article
244, decisions adopted shall be immediately enforceable by customs
authorities.
Article 8
1. A decision favourable to the person concerned shall be annulled if
it was issued on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information and:
— the applicant knew or should reasonably have known that the infor-
mation wasincorrect or incomplete, and
— such decision could not have been taken on the basis of correct or
complete information.
2. The persons to whom the decision was addressed shall be notified
of itsannulment.
3. Annulment shall take effect from the date on which the annulled
decision was taken.
Article 9
1. A decision favourable to the person concerned, shall be revoked
or amended where, in cases other than those referred to in Article 8,1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 7
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one or more of the conditions laid down for its issue were not or are no
longer fulfilled.
2. A decision favourable to the person concerned may be revoked
where the person to whom it is addressed fails to fulfil an obligationimposed on him under that decision.
3. The person to whom the decision is addressed shall be notified of
itsrevocation or amendment.
4. The revocation or amendment of the decision shall take effect
from the date of notification. However, in exceptional cases where thelegitimate interests of the person to whom the decision is addresed(SIC! addressed) so require, the customs authorities may defer thedate when revocation or amendment takeseffect.
Article 10
Articles8 and 9 s hall be without prejudice to national ruleswhich
stipulate that decisions are invalid or become null and void for reasons
unconnected with customs legislation.
Section 3
Information
Article 11
1. Any person may request information concerning the application
of customs legislation from the customs authorities.
Such a request may be refused where it does not relate to an import or
export operation actually envisaged.
2. The information shall be supplied to the applicant free of charge.
However, where special costs are incurred by the customs authorities,in particular as a result of analyses or expert reports on goods, or thereturn of the goodsto the applicant, he may be charged the relevantamount.
Article 12
1. The customs authorities shall issue binding tariff information or
binding origin information on written request, acting in accordancewith the committee procedure.
2. Binding tariff information or binding origin information shall be
binding on the customs authorities as against the holder of the informa-tion only in respect of the tariff classification or determination of the
origin of goods.
Binding tariff information or binding origin information shall be
binding on the customs authorities only in respect of goods on which
customs formalities are completed after the date on which the informa-
tion wass upplied by them.
In matters of origin, the formalities in question shall be those relating
to the application of Articles22 and 27.
3.4. (SIC! 3.) The holder of such information must be able to prove
that:
— for tariff purposes: the goods declared correspond in every respect
to those described in the information,
— for origin purposes: the goods concerned and the circumstances
determining the acquisition of origin correspond in every respectto the goods and the circumstances described in the information.
4. Binding information shall be valid for a period of six years in the
case of tariffs and three years in the case of origin from the date ofissue. By way of derogation from Article 8, it shall be annulled whereit isbas ed on inaccurate or incomplete information from the applicant.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 8
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5. Binding information shall cease to be valid:
(a) in the case of tariff information:
(i) where a regulation isadopted and the information no longer
conformsto the law laid down thereby;
(ii) where it isno longer compatible with the interpretation of one
of the nomenclaturesreferred to in Article 20 (6):
— at Community level, by reason of amendments to the
explanatory notesto the combined nomenclature or by a
judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Commu-nities,
— at international level, by reason of a classification opinion
or an amendment of the explanatory notesto the Nomen-
clature of the Harmonized Commodity Description andCoding System, adopted by the World Customs Organiza-tion established in 1952 under the name ‘the CustomsCooperation Council’;
(iii) where it isrevoked or amended in accordance with Article 9,
provided that the revocation or amendment isnotified to theholder.
The date on which binding information ceases to be valid for the
cases cited in (i) and (ii)shall be the date of publication of thesaid measures or, in the case of international measures, the date of
the Commission communication in the ‘C’ series of the Official
Journal of the European Communities ;
(b) in the case of origin information:
(i) where a regulation isadopted or an agreement isconcluded by
the Community and the information no longer conformsto thelaw thereby laid down;
(ii) where it isno longer compatible with:
— at Community level, the explanatory notesand opinions
adopted for the purposes of interpreting the rules or witha judgment of the Court of Justice of the EuropeanCommunities,
— at international level, the Agreement on Rulesof Origin
established in the World Trade Organization (WTO) or
with the explanatory notesor an origin opinion adoptedfor the interpretation of that Agreement;
(iii) where it isrevoked or amended in accordance with Article 9,
provided that the holder hasbeen informed in advance.
The date on which binding information ceases to be valid for the
cases referred to in (i) and (ii) shall be the date indicated whenthe abovementioned measures are published or, in the case of inter-national measures, the date shown in the Commissioncommunication in the ‘C’ series of the Official Journal of the
European Communities .
6. The holder of binding information which ceases to be valid
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C2pursuant to paragraph 5 (a) (ii) or (iii) or (b) (ii) or (iii) ◄
may still use that information for a period of six months from the
date of publication or notification, provided that he concluded binding
contracts for the purchase or sale of the goods in question, on the basisof the binding information, before that measure was adopted. However,in the case of products for which an import, export or advance-fixingcertificate is submitted when customs formalities are carried out, the
period of six months is replaced by the period of validity of the certi-
ficate.
In the case of paragraph 5 (a) (i) and b (i), the Regulation or agreement
may lay down a period within which the first subparagraph shall apply.
7. The classification or determination of origin in binding informa-
tion may by applied, on the conditionslaid down in paragraph 6,solely for the purpose of:
— determining import or export duties,1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 9
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— calculating export refundsand any other amountsgranted for
importsor exportsaspart of the common agricultural policy,
— using import, export or advance-fixing certificates which are
submitted when formalities are carried out for acceptance of thecustoms declaration concerning the goods in question, providedthat such certificates were issued on the basis of the informationconcerned.
In addition, in exceptional cases where the smooth operation of the
arrangementslaid down under the common agricultural policy may bejeopardized, it may be decided to derogate from paragraph 6, in accor-dance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of Council
Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September 1966 on the establishment
of a common organization of the market in oilsand fats(
1) and in the
corresponding Articles in other regulations on the common organiza-tion of markets.’
Section 4
Otherprovisions
Article 13
The customs authorities may, in accordance with the conditions laid
down by the provisions in force, carry out all the controls they deemnecessary to ensure that customs legislation is correctly applied.
Article 14
For the purposes of applying customs legislation, any person directly or
indirectly involved in the operationsconcerned for the purpos esoftrade in goods shall provide the customs authorities whith (SIC! with)all the requisite documents and information, irrespective of the medium
used, and all the requisite assistance at their request and by any time
limit prescribed.
Article 15
All information which isby nature confidential or which isprovided on
a confidential basis shall be covered by the obligation of professionalsecrecy. It shall not be disclosed by the customs authorities withoutthe express permission of the person or authority providing it; thecommunication of information shall be permitted where the customsauthorities may be obliged or authorized to do so pursuant to the provi-
sions in force, particularly in respect of data protection, or in
connection with legal proceedings.
Article 16
The persons concerned shall keep the documents referred to in Article
14 for the purposes of control by the customs authorities, for the periodlaid down in the provisions in force and for at least three calendaryears, irrespective of the medium used. That period shall run from theend of the year in which:
(a) in the case of goods released for free circulation in circumstances
other than those referred to in (b) or goods declared for export,from the end of the year in which the declarationsfor releas e forfree circulation or export are accepted;
(b) in the case of goods released for free circulation at a reduced or
zero rate of import duty on account of their end-use, from the end
of the year in which they cease to be subject to customs supervi-sion;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 10
(1) OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. Regulation aslas t amended by Regula-
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(c) in the case of goods placed under another customs procedure, from
the end of the year in which the customs procedure concerned iscompleted;
(d) in the case of goods placed in a free zone or free warehouse, from
the end of the year on which they leave the undertaking concerned.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 221 (3), second sentence,
where a check carried out by the customs authorities in respect of a
customs debt shows that the relevant entry in the accounts has to becorrected, the documentss hall be kept beyond the time limit providedfor in the first paragraph for a period sufficient to permit the correctionto be made and checked.
Article 17
Where a period, date or time limit is laid down pursuant to customs
legislation for the purpose of applying legislation, such period shall
not be extended and such date or time limit shall not be deferred unlessspecific provision is made in the legislation concerned.
Article 18
1. The value of the ecu in national currenciesto be applied for the
purposes of determining the tariff classification of goods and importduties shall be fixed once a month. The rates to be used for thisconversion shall be those published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities on the penultimate working day of the month.
Those rates shall apply throughout the following month.
However, where the rate applicable at the start of the month differs by
more than 5 % from that published on the penultimate working day
before the 15th of that same month, the latter rate shall apply from
the 15th until the end of the month in question.
2. The value of the ecu in national currenciesto be applied within
the framework of customs legislation in cases other than those referred
to in paragraph 1 shall be fixed once a year. The rates to be used forthis conversion shall be those published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities on the first working day of October, with effect
from 1 January of the following year. If no rate isavailable for a parti-
cular national currency, the rate applicable to that currency shall be
that obtaining on the last day for which a rate was published in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
3. The customs authorities may round up or down the sum resulting
from the conversion into their national currency of an amountexpressed in ecus for purposes other than determining the tariff classi-fication of goodsor import or export duties .
The rounded-off amount may not differ from the original amount by
more than 5 %.
The customs authorities may retain unchanged the national-currency
value of an amount expressed in ecus if, at the time of the annualadjustment provided for in paragraph 2, the conversion of that amount,prior to the abovementioned rounding-off, results in a variation of lessthan 5 % in the national-currency value or a reduction in that value.
Article 19
The procedure of the Committee shall be used to determine in which
cases and under which conditions the application of customs legislationmay be simplified.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 11
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TITLE II
FACTORSONTHEBASISOFWHICHIMPORTDUTIESOR
EXPORTDUTIESANDTHEOTHERMEASURES
PRESCRIBEDINRESPECTOFTRADEINGOODSARE
APPLIED
CHAPTER 1
CUSTOMSTARIFFOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIESAND
TARIFFCLASSIFICATIONOFGOODS
Article 20
1. Duties legally owed where a customs debt is incurred shall be
based on the Customs Tariff of the European Communities.
2. The other measures prescribed by Community provisions
governing specific fields relating to trade in goods shall, where appro-priate, be applied according to the tariff classification of those goods.
3. The Customs Tariff of the European Communities shall comprise:
(a) the combined nomenclature of goods;
(b) any other nomenclature which iswholly or partly bas ed on the
combined nomenclature or which adds any subdivisions to it, and
which is established by Community provisions governing specific
fieldswith a view to the application of tariff meas uresrelating totrade in goods;
(c) the ratesand other itemsof charge normally applicable to goods
covered by the combined nomenclature asregards :
— customs duties; and,
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common agricultural policy or under the specific arrangements
applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing ofagricultural products.
(d) the preferential tariff measures contained in agreements which the
Community hasconcluded with certain countriesor groupsofcountriesand which provide for the granting of preferential tarifftreatment;
(e) preferential tariff measures adopted unilaterally by the Community
in respect of certain countries, groups of countries or territories;
(f) autonomous suspensive measures providing for a reduction in or
relief from import dutieschargeable on certain goods ;
(g) other tariff measures provided for by other Community legislation.
4. Without prejudice to the rules on flat-rate charges, the measures
referred to in paragraph 3 (d), (e) and (f) shall apply at the declarant's
request instead of those provided for in subparagraph (c) where thegoods concerned fulfil the conditions laid down by those first-mentioned measures. An application may be made after the eventprovided that the relevant conditionsare fulfilled.
5. Where application of the measures referred to in paragraph 3 (d),
(e) and (f) is restricted to a certain volume of imports, it shall cease:
(a) in the case of tariff quotas, as soon as the stipulated limit on the
volume of importsisreached;
(b) in the case of tariff ceilings, by ruling of the Commission.
6. The tariff classification of goods shall be the determination,
according to the rulesin force, of:
(a) the subheading of the combined nomenclature or the subheading of
any other nomenclature referred to in paragraph 3 (b); or
(b) the subheading of any other nomenclature which is wholly or partly
based on the combined nomenclature or which adds any subdivi-sions to it, and which is established by Community provisions1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 12
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governing specific fields with a view to the application of measures
other than tariff measures relating to trade in goods,
under which the aforesaid goods are to be classified.
Article 21
1. The favourable tariff treatment from which certain goodsmay
benefit by reason of their nature or end-use shall be subject to condi-tionslaid down in accordance with the committee procedure. Where an
authorization isrequired Articles86 and 87 s hall apply.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the expression ‘favourable tariff
treatment’ means a reduction in or suspension of an import duty as
referred to in Article 4 (10), even within the framework of a tariff
quota.
CHAPTER 2
ORIGINOFGOODS
Section 1
Non-preferential origin
Article 22
Articles23 to 26 define the non-preferential origin of goodsfor the
purposes of:
(a) applying the Customs Tariff of the European Communities with the
exception of the measures referred to in Article 20 (3) (d) and (e);
(b) applying measures other than tariff measures established by
Community provisions governing specific fields relating to tradein goods;
(c) the preparation and issue of certificates of origin.
Article 23
1. Goods originating in a country shall be those wholly obtained or
produced in that country.
2. The expression ‘goods wholly obtained in a country’ means:
(a) mineral productsextracted within that country;
(b) vegetable productsharves ted therein;
(c) live animalsborn and rais ed therein;
(d) productsderived from live animalsrais ed therein;
(e) productsof hunting or fis hing carried on therein;
(f) products of sea-fishing and other products taken from the sea
outside a country's territorial sea by vessels registered or recordedin the country concerned and flying the flag of that country;
(g) goodsobtained or produced on board factory s hipsfrom the
productsreferred to in s ubparagraph (f) originating in that country,provided that such factory ships are registered or recorded in thatcountry and fly itsflag;
(h) products taken from the seabed or subsoil beneath the seabed
outside the territorial sea provided that that country has exclusiverights to exploit that seabed or subsoil;
(i) waste and scrap products derived from manufacturing operations
and used articles, if they were collected therein and are fit onlyfor the recovery of raw materials;
(j) goodswhich are produced therein exclus ively from goodsreferred
to in subparagraphs (a) to (i) or from their derivatives, at any stage
of production.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 2 the expression ‘country’ covers
that country'sterritorial s ea.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 13
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Article 24
Goods whose production involved more than one country shall be
deemed to originate in the country where they underwent their last,
substantial, economically justified processing or working in an under-
taking equipped for that purpose and resulting in the manufacture of anew product or representing an important stage of manufacture.
Article 25
Any processing or working in respect of which it is established, or in
respect of which the facts as ascertained justify the presumption, thatits sole object was to circumvent the provisions applicable in theCommunity to goods from specific countries shall under no circum-
stances be deemed to confer on the goods thus produced the origin of
the country where it iscarried out within the meaning of Article 24.
Article 26
1. Customs legislation or other Community legislation governing
specific fields may provide that a document must be produced as proofof the origin of goods.
2. Notwithstanding the production of that document, the customs
authorities may, in the event of serious doubts, require any additional
proof to ensure that the indication of origin does comply with the rules
laid down by the relevant Community legislation.
Section 2
Preferential originofgoods
Article 27
The ruleson preferential origin s hall lay down the conditions
governing acquisition of origin which goods must fulfil in order tobenefit from the measures referred to in Article 20(3)(d)or (e).
Those rules shall:
(a) in the case of goods covered by the agreements referred to in
Article 20 (3) (d), be determined in those agreements;
(b) in the case of goods benefitting (SIC! benefiting) from the prefer-
ential tariff measures referred to in Article 20 (3) (e), bedetermined in accordance with the committee procedure.
CHAPTER 3
VALUEOFGOODSFORCUSTOMSPURPOSES
Article 28
The provisions of this Chapter shall determine the customs value for
the purposes of applying the Customs Tariff of the European Commu-nities and non-tariff measures laid down by Community provisionsgoverning specific fields relating to trade in goods.
Article 29
1. The customs value of imported goods shall be the transaction
value, that is, the price actually paid or payable for the goods when
sold for export to the customs territory of the Community, adjusted,where necessary, in accordance with Articles 32 and 33, provided:
(a) that there are no restrictions as to the disposal or use of the goods
by the buyer, other than restrictions which:
— are imposed or required by a law or by the public authorities in
the Community,
— limit the geographical area in which the goodsmay be res old,
or
— do not substantially affect the value of the goods;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 14
▼B
(b) that the sale or price is not subject to some condition or considera-
tion for which a value cannot be determined with respect to thegoodsbeing valued;
(c) that no part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or
use of the goods by the buyer will accrue directly or indirectly to
the seller, unless an appropriate adjustment can be made in accor-
dance with Article 32; and
(d) that the buyer and seller are not related, or, where the buyer and
seller are related, that the transaction value is acceptable for
customs purposes under paragraph 2.
2. (a) In determining whether the transaction value is acceptable for
the purposes of paragraph 1, the fact that the buyer and theseller are related shall not in itself be sufficient grounds for
regarding the transaction value as unacceptable. Where neces-
sary, the circumstances surrounding the sale shall be examinedand the transaction value shall be accepted provided that therelationship did not influence the price. If, in the light of infor-mation provided by the declarant or otherwise, the customsauthorities have grounds for considering that the relationship
influenced the price, they shall communicate their grounds to
the declarant and he shall be given a reasonable opportunity torespond. If the declarant so requests, the communication of thegroundss hall be in writing.
(b) In a sale between related persons, the transaction value shall be
accepted and the goodsvalued in accordance with paragraph 1wherever the declarant demonstrates that such value closelyapproximatesto one of the following occurring at or about the
same time:
(i) the transaction value in sales, between buyers and sellers
who ar not related in any particular case, of identical or
similar goods for export to the Community;
(ii) the customs value of identical or similar goods, as deter-
mined under Article 30 (2) (c);
(iii) the customs value of identical or similar goods, as deter-
mined under Article 30 (2) (d).
In applying the foregoing tests, due account shall be taken of
demonstrated differences in commercial levels, quantity levels,the elementsenumerated in Article 32 and cos tsincurred bythe seller in sales in which he and the buyer are not related andwhere such costs are not incurred by the seller in sales in which
he and the buyer are related.
(c) The tests set forth in subparagraph (b) are to be used at the
initiative of the declarant and only for comparison purposes.
Substitute values may not be established under the said subpara-
graph.
3. (a) The price actually paid or payable isthe total payment made or
to be made by the buyer to or for the benefit of the seller for theimported goodsand includesall paymentsmade or to be made
asa condition of s ale of the imported goodsby the buyer to the
seller or by the buyer to a third party to satisfy an obligation ofthe seller. The payment need not necessarily take the form of atransfer of money. Payment may be made by way of letters ofcredit or negotiable instrument and may be made directly or
indirectly.
(b) Activities, including marketing activities, undertaken by the
buyer on his own account, other than those for which an adjust-
ment isprovided in Article 32, are not cons idered to be an
indirect payment to the seller, even though they might beregarded asof benefit to the s eller or have been undertaken byagreement with the seller, and their cost shall not be added tothe price actually paid or payable in determining the customsvalue of imported goods.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 15
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Article 30
1. Where the customs value cannot be determined under Article 29,
it is to be determined by proceeding sequentially through subpara-graphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 to the first subparagraphunder which it can be determined, subject to the proviso that the orderof application of subparagraphs (c) and (d) shall be reversed if the
declarant so requests; it is only when such value cannot be determined
under a particular subparagraph that the provisions of the next subpar-agraph in a sequence established by virtue of this paragraph can beapplied.
2. The customs value as determined under this Article shall be:
(a) the transaction value of identical goods sold for export to the
Community and exported at or about the same time as the goods
being valued;
(b) the transaction value of similar goods sold for export to the
Community and exported at or about the same time as the goodsbeing valued;
(c) the value based on the unit price at which the imported goods for
identical or similar imported goods are sold within the Communityin the greatest aggregate quantity to persons not related to thesellers;
(d) the computed value, consisting of the sum of:
— the cost or value of materials and fabrication or other proces-
sing employed in producing the imported goods,
— an amount for profit and general expenses equal to that usually
reflected in sales of goods of the same class or kind as thegoodsbeing valued which are made by producersin the countryof exportation for export to the Community,
— the cost or value of the items referred to in Article 32 (1) (e).
3. Any further conditionsand rulesfor the application of paragraph
2 above shall be determined in accordance with the committee proce-
dure.
Article 31
1. Where the customs value of imported goods cannot be determined
under Articles 29 or 30, it shall be determined, on the basis of dataavailable in the Community, using reasonable means consistent withthe principlesand general provis ionsof:
— the agreement on implementation of Article VII of the General
Agreement on Tariffsand Trade ►
M1of 1994◄
— Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffsand Trade
►M1of 1994◄
— the provisions of this chapter.
2. No customs value shall be determined under paragraph 1 on the
basis of:
(a) the selling price in the Community of goods produced in the
Community;
(b) a system which provides for the acceptance for customs purposes
of the higher of two alternative values;
(c) the price of goodson the domes tic market of the country of expor-
tation;
(d) the cost of production, other than computed values which have
been determined for identical or similar goods in accordance withArticle 30 (2) (d);
(e) pricesfor export to a country not forming part of the cus tomsterri-
tory of the Community;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 16
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(f) minimum customs values; or
(g) arbitrary or fictitiousvalues .
Article 32
1. In determining the customs value under Article 29, there shall be
added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods:
(a) the following, to the extent that they are incurred by the buyer but
are not included in the price actually paid or payable for the goods:
(i) commissions and brokerage, except buying commissions,
(ii) the cost of containers which are treated as being one, for
customs purposes, with the goods in question,
(iii) the cost of packing, whether for labour or materials;
(b) the value, apportioned asappropriate, of the following goodsand
services where supplied directly or indirectly by the buyer free of
charge or at reduced cost for use in connection with the productionand sale for export of the imported goods, to the extent that suchvalue hasnot been included in the price actually paid or payable:
(i) materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in
the imported goods,
(ii) tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in the production of
the imported goods,
(iii) materials consumed in the production of the imported goods,
(iv) engineering, development, artwork, design work, and plans
and sketches undertaken elsewhere than in the Community
and necessary for the production of the imported goods;
(c) royaltiesand licence feesrelated to the goodsbeing valued that the
buyer must pay, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale
of the goodsbeing valued, to the extent that s uch royaltiesand feesare not included in the price actually paid or payable;
(d) the value of any part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale,
disposal or use of the imported goods that accrues directly or indir-ectly to the seller;
(e) (i) the cost of transport and insurance of the imported goods, and
(ii) loading and handling charges associated with the transport of
the imported goods
to the place of introduction into the customs territory of the
Community.
2. Additionsto the price actually paid or payable s hall be made
under thisArticle only on the bas isof objective and quantifiable data.
3. No additionss hall be made to the price actually paid or payable
in determining the customs value except as provided in this Article.
4. In this Chapter, the term ‘buying commissions’ means fees paid
by an importer to his agent for the service of representing him in the
purchase of the goods being valued.
5. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 (c):
(a) chargesfor the right to reproduce the imported goodsin the
Community shall not be added to the price actually paid or payablefor the imported goodsin determining the cus tomsvalue; and
(b) payments made by the buyer for the right to distribute or resell the
imported goodss hall not be added to the price actually paid orpayable for the imported goodsif s uch paymentsare not a condi-tion of the sale for export to the Community of the goods.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 17
▼B
Article 33
1. (SIC!) Provided that they are shown separately from the price
actually paid or payable, the following shall not be included in the
customs value:
(a) chargesfor the trans port of goodsafter their arrival at the place of
introduction into the customs territory of the Community;
(b) charges for construction, erection, assembly, maintenance or tech-
nical assistance, undertaken after importation of imported goodssuch as industrial plant, machinery or equipment;
(c) chargesfor interes t under a financing arrangement entered into by
the buyer and relating to the purchase of imported goods, irrespec-tive of whether the finance isprovided by the s eller or anotherperson, provided that the financing arrangement has been made inwriting and where required, the buyer can demonstrate that:
— such goods are actually sold at the price declared as the price
actually paid or payable, and
— the claimed rate of interest does not exceed the level for such
transactions prevailing in the country where, and at the time
when, the finance wasprovided;
(d) chargesfor the right to reproduce imported goodsin the Commu-
nity;
(e) buying commissions;
(f) import dutiesor other chargespayable in the Community by reas on
of the importation or sale of the goods.
Article 34
Specific rulesmay be laid down in accordance with the procedure of
the committee to determine the customs value of carrier media for use
in data processing (SIC! data-processing) equipment and bearing data
or instructions.
Article 35
Where factors used to determine the customs value of goods are
expressed in a currency other than that of the Member State wherethe valuation is made, the rate of exchange to be used shall be thatduly published by the authorities competent in the matter.
Such rate shall reflect as effectively as possible the current value of
such currency in commercial transactions in terms of the currency ofsuch Member State and shall apply during such period as may be deter-mined in accordance with the procedure of the committee.
Where such a rate does not exist, the rate of exchange to be used shall
be determined in accordance with the procedure of the committee.
Article 36
1. The provisions of this chapter (SIC! Chapter) shall be without
prejudice to the specific provisions regarding the determination of thevalue for customs purposes of goods released for free circulation after
being assigned a different customs-approved treatment or use.
2. By way of derogation from Articles29, 30 and 31, the cus toms
value of perishable goods usually delivered on consignment may, atthe request of the declarant, be determined under simplified rulesdrawn up for the whole Community in accordance with the committeeprocedure.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 18
▼M3
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▼B
TITLE III
PROVISIONSAPPLICABLETOGOODSBROUGHTINTOTHE
CUSTOMSTERRITORYOFTHECOMMUNITYUNTILTHEY
AREASSIGNEDACUSTOMS-APPROVEDTREATMENTOR
USE
CHAPTER 1
ENTRYOFGOODSINTOTHECUSTOMSTERRITORYOFTHE
COMMUNITY
Article 37
1. Goods brought into the customs territory of the Community shall,
from the time of their entry, be subject to customs supervision. They
may be subject to control by the customs authority in accordance withthe provisions in force.
2. They shall remain under such supervision for as long as necessary
to determine their customs status, if appropriate, and in the case of
non-Community goodsand without prejudice to Article 82 (1), until
their customs status is changed, they enter a free zone or free ware-house or they are re-exported or destroyed in accordance with Article182.
Article 38
1. Goods brought into the customs territory of the Community shall
be conveyed by the person bringing them into the Community without
delay, by the route specified by the customs authorities and in accor-
dance with their instructions, if any:
(a) to the customs office designated by the customs authorities or to
any other place designated or approved by those authorities; or,
(b) to a free zone, if the goodsare to be brought into that free zone
direct:
— by sea or air, or
— by land without passing through another part of the customs
territory of the Community, where the free zone adjoinsthe
land frontier between a Member State and a third country.
2. Any person who assumes responsibility for the carriage of goods
after they have been brought into the customs territory of the Commu-nity,inter alia as a result of transhipment, shall become responsible for
compliance with the obligation laid down in paragraph 1.
3. Goods which, although still outside the customs territory of the
Community, may be subject to the control of the customs authority ofa Member State under the provisions in force, as a result of inter alia
an agreement concluded between that Member State and a thirdcountry, shall be treated in the same way as goods brought into the
customs territory of the Community.
4. Paragraph 1 (a) shall not preclude implementation of any provi-
sions in force with respect to tourist traffic, frontier traffic, postaltraffic or traffic of negligible economic importance, on condition thatcustoms supervision and customs control possibilities are not thereby
jeopardized.
5. Paragraphs1 to 4 and Articles39 to 53 s hall not apply to goods
which have temporarily left the customs territory of the Communitywhile moving between two pointsin that territory by s ea or air,provided that carriage hasbeen effected by a direct route and byregular air service or shipping line without a stop outside Community
customs territory.
This provision shall not apply to goods loaded in third country ports or
airportsor at free ports .
6. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to goods on board vessels or aircraft
crossing the territorial sea or airspace of the Member States without1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 19
▼B
having as their destination a port or airport situated in those Member
States.
Article 39
1. Where, by reason of unforeseeable circumstances or force
majeure, the obligation laid down in Article 38 (1) cannot be complied
with, the person bound by that obligation or any other person acting inhis place shall inform the customs authorities of the situation withoutdelay. Where the unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure do notresult in total loss of the goods, the customs authorities shall also be
informed of their precise location.
2. Where, by reason of unforeseeable circumstances or force
majeure, a vessel or aircraft covered by Article 38 (6) is forced to put
into port or land temporarily in the customs territory of the Community
and the obligation laid down in Article 38 (1) cannot be complied with,the person bringing the vessel or aircraft into the customs territory ofthe Community or any other person acting in his place shall informthe customs authorities of the situation without delay.
3. The customs authorities shall determine the measures to be taken
in order to permit customs supervision of the goods referred to in para-graph 1 as well as those on board a vessel or aircraft in thecircumstances specified in paragraph 2 and to ensure, where appro-
priate, that they are subsequently conveyed to a customs office or
other place designated or approved by the authorities.
CHAPTER 2
PRESENTATIONOFGOODSTOCUSTOMS
Article 40
Goods which, pursuant to Article 38 (1) (a), arrive at the customs
office or other place designated or approved by the customs authoritiesshall be presented to customs by the person who brought the goods intothe customs territory of the Community or, if appropriate, by theperson who assumes responsibility for carriage of the goods following
such entry.
Article 41
Article 40 shall not preclude the implementation of rules in force
relating to goods:
(a) carried by travellers;
(b) placed under a customs procedure but not presented to customs.
Article 42
Goods may, once they have been presented to customs, and with the
permission of the customs authorities, be examined or samples may betaken, in order that they may be assigned a customs-approved treatmentor use. Such permission shall be granted, on request, to the personauthorized to assign the goods such treatment or use.
CHAPTER 3
SUMMARYDECLARATIONANDUNLOADINGOFGOODS
PRESENTEDTOCUSTOMS
Article 43
Subject to Article 45, goods presented to customs within the meaning
of Article 40 shall be covered by a summary declaration.
The summary declaration shall be lodged once the goods have been
presented to customs. The customs authorities may, however, allow aperiod for lodging the declaration which shall not extend beyond thefirst working day following the day on which the goods are presentedto customs.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 20
▼B
Article 44
1. The summary declaration shall be made on a form corresponding
to the model prescribed by the customs authorities. However, thecustoms authorities may permit the use, as a summary declaration, ofany commercial or official document which containsthe particularsnecessary for identification of the goods.
2. The summary declaration shall be lodged by:
(a) the person who brought the goods into the customs territory of the
Community or by any person who assumes responsibility forcarriage of the goodsfollowing s uch entry; or
(b) the person in whose name the persons referred to in subparagraph
(a) acted.
Article 45
Without prejudice to the provisions governing goods imported by
travellers and consignments by letter and parcel post, the customsauthoritiesmay waive the lodging of a s ummary declaration on condi-
tion that this does not jeopardize customs supervision of the goods,
where, prior to the expiry of the period referred to in Article 43 theformalities necessary for the goods to be assigned a customs-approvedtreatment or use are carried out.
Article 46
1. Goods shall be unloaded or transhipped from the means of trans-
port carrying them solely with the permission of the customsauthorities in places designated or approved by those customs authori-ties.
However, such permission shall not be required in the event of the
imminent danger necessitating the immediate unloading of all or partof the goods. In that case, the customs authorities shall be informedaccordingly forthwith.
2. For the purpose of inspecting goods and the means of transport
carrying them, the customs authorities may at any time require goodsto be unloaded and unpacked.
Article 47
Goods shall not be removed from their original position without the
permission of the customs authorities.
CHAPTER 4
OBLIGATIONTOASSIGNGOODSPRESENTEDTOCUSTOMSA
CUSTOMS-APPROVEDTREATMENTORUSE
Article 48
Non-Community goods presented to customs shall be assigned a
customs-approved treatment or use authorized for such non-Communitygoods.
Article 49
1. Where goodsare covered by a s ummary declaration, the formal-
ities necessary for them to be assigned a customs-approved treatmentor use must be carried out within:
(a) 45 daysfrom the date on which the s ummary declaration islodged
in the case of goods carried by sea;
(b) 20 daysfrom the date on which the s ummary declaration islodged
in the case of goods carried otherwise than by sea.
2. Where circumstances so warrant, the customs authorities may set
a shorter period or authorize an extension of the periods referred to in1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 21
▼B
paragraph 1. Such extension shall not, however, exceed the genuine
requirements which are justified by the circumstances.
CHAPTER 5
TEMPORARYSTORAGEOFGOODS
Article 50
Until such time as they are assignated a customs-approved treatment or
use, goods presented to customs shall, following such presentation,have the status of goods in temporary storage. Such goods shall herein-after be described as ‘goods in temporary storage’.
Article 51
1. Goods in temporary storage shall be stored only in places
approved by the customs authorities under the conditions laid down
by those authorities.
2. The customs authorities may require the person holding the goods
to provide security with a view to ensuring payment of any customs
debt which may arise under Articles 203 or 204.
Article 52
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 42, goods in temporary
storage shall be subject only to such forms of handling as are designedto ensure their preservation in an unaltered state without modifying
their appearance or technical characteristics.
Article 53
1. The customs authorities shall without delay take all measures
necessary, including the sale of the goods, to regularize the situationof goods in respect of which the formalities necessary for them to beassigned a customs-approved treatment or use are not initiated within
the periodsdetermined in accordance with Article 49.
2. The customs authorities may, at the risk and expense of the
person holding them, have the goods in question transferrred (SIC!
transferred) to a special place, which is under their supervision, untilthe situation of the goods is regularized.
CHAPTER 6
PROVISIONSAPPLICABLETONON-COMMUNITYGOODSWHICH
HAVEMOVEDUNDERATRANSITPROCEDURE
Article 54
Article 38, with the exception of paragraph 1 (a) thereof, and Articles
39 to 53 shall not apply when goods already placed under a transitprocedure are brought into the customs territory of the Community.
Article 55
Once non-Community goodswhich have moved under a trans it proce-
dure reach their destination in the customs territory of the Community
and have been presented to customs in accordance with the rules
governing transit, Article (SIC! Articles) ►
M142◄to 53 shall
apply.
CHAPTER 7
OTHERPROVISIONS
Article 56
Where the circumstances so require, the customs authorities may have
goods presented to customs destroyed. The customs authorities shall1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 22
▼B
inform the holder of the goods accordingly. The costs of destroying the
goodss hall be borne by the holder.
Article 57
Where customs authorities find that goods have been brought unauthor-
ized into the customs territory of the Community or have been
withheld from customs surveillance, they shall take any measures
necessary, including sale of the goods, in order to regularize their situa-tion.
TITLE IV
CUSTOMS-APPROVEDTREATMENTORUSE
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL
Article 58
1. Save asotherwis e provided, goodsmay at any time, under the
conditions laid down, be assigned any customs-approved treatment or
use irrespective of their nature or quantity, or their country of origin,
consignment or destination.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not preclude the imposition of prohibitions or
restrictions justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or
public security, the protection of health and life of humans, animals or
plants, the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historicor archaeological value or the protection of industrial and commercialproperty.
CHAPTER 2
CUSTOMSPROCEDURES
Section 1
Placingofgoodsunderacustomsprocedure
Article 59
1. All goods intended to be placed under a customs procedure shall
be covered by a declaration for that customs procedure.
2. Community goods declared for an export, outward processing
(SIC! outward-processing), transit or customs warehousing procedure
shall be subject to customs supervision from the time of acceptance of
the customs declaration until such time as they leave the customs terri-tory of the Community or are destroyed or the customs declaration isinvalidated.
Article 60
Insofar (SIC! In so far) as Community customs legislation lays down
no ruleson the matter, Member Statess hall determine the competenceof the various customs offices situated in their territory, account beingtaken, where applicable, of the nature of the goodsand the cus toms
procedure under which they are to be placed.
Article 61
The customs declaration shall be made:
(a) in writing; or
(b) using a data-processing technique where provided for by provisions
laid down in accordance with the committee procedure or whereauthorized by the customs authorities; or
(c) by meansof a normal declaration or any other act whereby the
holder of the goods expresses his wish to place them under a1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 23
▼B
customs procedure, where such a possibility is provided for by the
rulesadopted in accordance with the committee procedure.
A.Declarationsinwriting
I. Normal procedure
Article 62
1. Declarations in writing shall be made on a form corresponding to
the official specimen prescribed for that purpose. They shall be signedand contain all the particulars necessary for implementation of theprovisions governing the customs procedure for which the goods are
declared.
2. The declaration shall be accompanied by all the documents
required for implementation of the provisions governing the customsprocedure for which the goodsare declared.
Article 63
Declarationswhich comply with the conditionslaid down in Article 62
shall be accepted by the customs authorities immediately, provided that
the goods to which they refer are presented to customs.
Article 64
1. Subject to Article 5, a customs declaration may be made by any
person who is able to present the goods in question or to have thempresented to the competent customs authority, together with all thedocumentswhich are required to be produced for the application of
the rules governing the customs procedure in respect of which the
goodswere declared.
2. However,
(a) where acceptance of a customs declaration imposes particular obli-
gations on a specific person, the declaration must be made by thatperson or on his behalf;
(b) the declarant must be established in the Community.
However, the condition regarding establishment in the Community
shall not apply to persons who:
— make a declaration for transit or temporary importation;
— declare goods on an occasional basis, provided that the customs
authorities consider this to be justified.
3. Paragraph 2 (b) shall not preclude the application by the Member
Statesof bilateral agreementsconcluded with third countries , or
customary practices having similar effect, under which nationals ofsuch countries may make customs declarations in the territory of theMember States in question, subject to reciprocity.
Article 65
The declaration (SIC! declarant) shall, at his request, be authorized to
amend one or more of the particularsof the declaration after it has
been accepted by customs. The amendment shall not have the effect
of rendering the declaration applicable to goodsother than thos e itoriginally covered.
However, no amendment shall be permitted where authorization is
requested after the customs authorities:
(a) have informed the declarant that they intend to examine the goods;
or,
(b) have established that the particulars in question are incorrect; or,
(c) have released the goods.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 24
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Article 66
1. The customs authorities shall, at the request of the declarant,
invalidate a declaration already accepted where the declarant furnishesproof that goodswere declared in error for the cus tomsprocedurecovered by that declaration or that, as a result of special circumstances,the placing of the goodsunder the cus tomsprocedure for which they
were declared isno longer jus tified.
Nevertheless, where the customs authorities have informed the
declarant of their intention to examine the goods, a request for invali-dation of the declaration shall not be accepted until after the
examination hastaken place.
2. The declaration shall not be invalidated after the goods have been
released, expect (SIC! except) in cases defined in accordance with the
committee procedure.
3. Invalidation of the declaration shall be without prejudice to the
application of the penal provisions in force.
Article 67
Save as otherwise expressly provided, the date to be used for the
purposes of all the provisions governing the customs procedure for
which the goodsare declared s hall be the date of acceptance of the
declaration by the customs authorities.
Article 68
For the verification of declarationswhich they have accepted, the
customs authorities may:
(a) examine the documentscovering the declaration and the documents
accompanying it. The customs authorities may require the declarant
to present other documents for the purpose of verifying the accu-racy of the particularscontained in the declaration;
(b) examine the goods and take samples for analysis or for detailed
examination.
Article 69
1. Transport of the goods to the places where they are to be exam-
ined and samples are to be taken, and all the handling necessitated bysuch examination or taking of samples, shall be carried out by or under
the responsibility of the declarant. The costs incurred shall be borne by
the declarant.
2. The declarant shall be entitled to be present when the goods are
examined and when samples are taken. Where they deem it appro-
priate, the customs authorities shall require the declarant to be presentor represented when the goods are examined or samples are taken inorder to provide them with the assistance necessary to facilitate suchexamination or taking of samples.
3. Provided that samples are taken in accordance with the provisions
in force, the customs authorities shall not be liable for payment of anycompensation in respect thereof but shall bear the costs of theiranalysis or examination.
Article 70
1. Where only part of the goodscovered by a declaration are exam-
ined, the results of the partial examination shall be taken to apply to all
the goodscovered by that declaration.
However, the declarant may request a further examination of the goods
if he considers that the results of the partial examination are not valid
asregardsthe remainder of the goodsdeclared.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, where a declaration form covers
two or more items, the particulars relating to each item shall bedeemed to constitute a separate declaration.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 25
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Article 71
1. The results of verifying the declaration shall be used for the
purposes of applying the provisions governing the customs procedure
under which the goodsare placed.
2. Where the declaration isnot verified, the provis ionsreferred to in
paragraph 1 shall be applied on the basis of the particulars contained inthe declaration.
Article 72
1. The customs authorities shall take the measures necessary to iden-
tify the goodswhere identification isrequired in order to ens urecompliance with the conditionsgoverning the cus tomsprocedure forwhich the said goods have been declared.
2. Meansof identification affixed to the goodsor meansof trans port
shall be removed or destroyed only by the customs authorities or withtheir permission unless, as a result of unforeseeable circumstances orforce majeure, their removal or destruction is essential to ensure theprotection of the goodsor meansof trans port.
Article 73
1. Without prejudice to Article 74, where the conditionsfor placing
the goodsunder the procedure in ques tion are fulfilled and provided thegoods are not subject to any prohibitive or restrictive measures, thecustoms authorities shall release the goods as soon as the particulars
in the declaration have been verified or accepted without verification.
The same shall apply where such verification cannot be completedwithin a reasonable period of time and the goods are no longer requiredto be present for verification purposes.
2. All the goods covered by the same declaration shall be released at
the same time.
For the purposes of this paragraph, where a declaration form covers
two or more items, the particulars relating to each item shall bedeemed to constitute a separate declaration.
Article 74
1. Where acceptance of a customs declaration gives rise to a
customs debt, the goods covered by the declaration shall not bereleased unless the customs debt has been paid or secured. However,without prejudice to paragraph 2, this provision shall not apply to thetemporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties.
2. Where, pursuant to the provisions governing the customs proce-
dure for which the goodsare declared, the cus tomsauthoritiesrequirethe provision of a security, the said goods shall not be released for thecustoms procedure in question until such security is provided.
Article 75
Any necessary measures, including confiscation and sale, shall be taken
to deal with goodswhich:
(a) cannot be released because:
— it has not been possible to undertake or continue examination of
the goods within the period pre-scribed by the customs authori-tiesfor reas onsattributable to the declarant; or,
— the documentswhich mus t be produced before the goodscan be
placed under the customs procedure requested have not been
produced; or,
— payments or security which should have been made or provided
in respect of import duties or export duties, as the case may be,have not been made or provided within the period prescribed;or
— they are subject to bans or restrictions;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 26
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(b) are not removed within a reasonable period after their release.
II. Simplified procedures
Article 76
1. In order to simplify completion of formalities and procedures as
far as possible while ensuring that operations are conducted in a propermanner, the customs authorities shall, under conditions laid down inaccordance with the committee procedure, grant permission for:
(a) the declaration referred to in Article 62 to omit certain of the parti-
cularsreferred to in paragraph 1 of that Article for s ome of the
documentsreferred to in paragraph 2 of that Article not to beattached thereto;
(b) a commercial or administrative document, accompanied by request
for the goods to be placed under the customs procedure in question,to be lodged in place of the declaration referred to in Article 62;
(c) the goodsto be entered for the procedure in ques tion by meansof
an entry in the records; in this case, the customs authorities maywaive the requirement that the declarant presents the goods tocustoms.
The simplified declaration, commercial or administrative document or
entry in the records must contain at least the particulars necessary for
identification of the goods. Where the goods are entered in the records,
the date of such entry must be included.
2. Except in cases to be determined in accordance with the
committee procedure, the declarant shall furnish a supplementarydeclaration which may be of a general, periodic or recapitulative
nature.
3. Supplementary declarationsand the s implified declarations
referred to in subparagraphs 1 (a), (b) and (c), shall be deemed toconstitute a single, indivisible instrument taking effect on the date ofacceptance of the simplified declarations; in the cases referred to in
subparagraph 1 (c), entry in the records shall have the same legal force
asacceptance of the declaration referred to in Article 62.
4. Special simplified procedures for the Community transit proce-
dure shall be laid down in accordance with the committee procedure.
B.Otherdeclarations
Article 77
►M31.◄Where the customs declaration is made by means of a
data-processing technique within the meaning of Article 61 (b), or byan oral declaration or any other act within the meaning of Article 61(c), Articles62 to 76 s hall apply mutatis mutandis without prejudice
to the principless et out therein.
2. Where the customs declaration is made by means of a data-
processing technique, the customs authorities may allow accompanyingdocumentsreferred to in Article 62(2) not to be lodged with the
declaration. In this case the documents shall be kept at the customs
authorities' disposal.
C.Post-clearance examinationofdeclarations
Article 78
1. The customs authorities may, on their own initiative or at the
request of the declarant, amend the declaration after release of thegoods.
2. The customs authorities may, after releasing the goods and in
order to satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the particulars1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 27
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contained in the declaration, inspect the commercial documents and
data relating to the import or export operationsin res pect of the goodsconcerned or to subsequent commercial operations involving those
goods. Such inspections may be carried out at the premises of the
declarant, of any other person directly or indirectly involved in thesaid operations in a business capacity or of any other person in posses-sion of the said document and data for business purposes. Thoseauthorities may also examine the goods where it is still possible for
them to be produced.
3. Where revision of the declaration or post-clearance examination
indicates that the provisions governing the customs procedureconcerned have been applied on the basis of incorrect or incompleteinformation, the customs authorities shall, in accordance with any
provisions laid down, take the measures necessary to regularize the
situation, taking account of the new information available to them.
Section 2
Releaseforfree circulation
Article 79
Release for free circulation shall confer on non-Community goods the
customs status of Community goods.
It shall entail application of commercial policy measures, completion
of the other formalitieslaid down in res pect of the importation ofgoodsand the charging of any dutieslegally due.
Article 80
1. By way of derogation from Article 67, provided that the import
duty chargeable on the goodsisone of the dutiesreferred to in the firs tindent of Article 4 (10) and that the rate of duty isreduced after thedate of acceptance of the declaration for release for free circulationbut before the goods are released, the declarant may request applicationof the more favourable rate.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where it has not been possible to
release the goods for reasons attributable to the declarant alone.
Article 81
Where a consignment is made up of goods falling within different tariff
classifications, and dealing with each of those goods in accordance
with its tariff classification for the purpose of drawing up the declara-
tion would entail a burden of work and expense disproportionate to theimport duties chargeable, the customs authorities may, at the request ofthe declarant, agree that import dutiesbe charged on the wholeconsignment on the basis of the tariff classification of the goods whichare subject to the highest rate of import duty.
Article 82
1. Where goodsare releas ed for free circulation at a reduced or zero
rate of duty on account of their end-use, they shall remain undercustoms supervision. Customs supervision shall end when the condi-tions laid down for granting such a reduced or zero rate of duty cease
to apply, where the goods are exported or destroyed or where the use
of the goods for purposes other than those laid down for the applicationof the reduced or zero rate of duty ispermitted s ubject to payment ofthe dutiesdue.
2. Articles88 and 90 s hall apply mutatis mutandis to the goods
referred to in paragraph 1.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 28
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Article 83
Goods released for free circulation shall lose their customs status as
Community goodswhere:
(a) the declaration for release for free circulation is invalidated after
release►M1 ◄,o r
(b) the imported dutiespayable on thos e goodsare repaid or remitted:
— under the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) proce-
dure in the form of the drawback system;
or
— in res pect of defective goodsor goodswhich fail to comply
with the termsof the contract, purs uant to Article 238; or
— in situations of the type referred to in Article 239 where repay-
ment or remission is conditional upon the goods being exportedor re-exported or being assigned an equivalent customs-approved treatment or use.
Section 3
Suspensivearrangements andcustomsprocedureswitheconomic
impact
A.Provisionscommontoseveralprocedures
Article 84
1. In Articles85 to 90:
(a) where the term ‘procedure’ is used, it is understood as applying, in
the case of non-Community goods, to the following arrangements:
— external transit;
— customs warehousing;
— inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) in the form of a
system of suspension;
— processing under customs control;— temporary importation;
(b) where the term ‘customs procedure with economic impact’ is used,
it is understood as applying to the following arrangements:
— customs warehousing;
— inward processing (SIC! inward-processing);
— processing under customs control;
— temporary importation;— outward processing (SIC! outward-processing).
2. ‘Import goods’ means goods placed under a suspensive procedure
and goods which, under the inward processing (SIC! inward-proces-sing) procedure in the form of the drawback system, have undergonethe formalitiesfor releas e for free circulation and the formalitiesprovided for in Article 125.
3. ‘Goodsin the unaltered s tate’ meansimport goodswhich, under
the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) procedure or the proce-dures for processing under customs control, have undergone no form of
processing.
Article 85
The use of any customs procedure with economic impact shall be
conditional upon authorization being issued by the customs authorities.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 29
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Article 86
Without prejudice to the additional special conditions governing the
procedure in question, the authorization referred to in Article 85 andthat referred to in Article 100 (1) shall be granted only:
— to persons who offer every guarantee necessary for the proper
conduct of the operations;
— where the customs authorities can supervise and monitor the proce-
dure without having to introduce administrative arrangementsdisproportionate to the economic needs involved.
Article 87
1. The conditions under which the procedure in question is used
shall be set out in the authorization.
2. The holder of the authorization shall notify the customs authori-
tiesof all factorsaris ing after the authorization wasgranted whichmay influence itscontinuation or content.
Article 87a
In the cases referred to in the second sentence of the first indent of
Article 4 (7), any productsor goodsobtained from goodsplaced under
a suspensive arrangement shall be considered as being placed under the
same arrangement.
Article 88
The customs authorities may make the placing of goods under a
suspensive arrangement conditional upon the provision of security inorder to ensure that any customs debt which may be incurred in respect
of those goods will be paid.
Special provisions concerning the provision of security may be laid
down in the context of a specific suspensive arrangement.
Article 89
1. A suspensive arrangement with economic impact shall be
discharged when a new customs-approved treatment or use is assignedeither to the goodsplaced under that arrangement or to compens atingor processed products placed under it.
2. The customs authorities shall take all the measures necessary to
regularize the position of goods in respect of which a procedure hasnot been discharged under the conditions prescribed.
Article 90
The rightsand obligationsof the holder of a cus tomsprocedure with
economic impact may, on the conditionslaid down by the cus tomsauthorities, be transferred successively to other persons who fulfil anyconditionslaid down in order to benefit from the procedure in ques tion.
B.Externaltransit
I. General provisions
Article 91
1. The external transit procedure shall allow the movement from one
point to another within the customs territory of the Community of:
(a) non-Community goods, without such goods being subject to import
duties and other charges or to commercial policy measures;
(b) Community goods, in cases and on conditions determined in accor-
dance with the committee procedure, in order to prevent products1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 30
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▼M2
▼M2
covered by or benefiting from export measures from either evading
or benefiting unjustifiably from such measures.
2. Movement asreferred to in paragraph 1 s hall take place:
(a) under the external Community transit procedure; or
(b) under cover of a TIR carnet (TIR Convention) provided that such
movement:
(1) began or isto end outs ide the Community; or
(2) relates to consignments of goods which must be unloaded in
the customs territory of the Community and which are
conveyed with goodsto be unloaded in a third country; or
(3) iseffected between two pointsin the Community through the
territory of a third country;
(c) under cover of an ATA carnet ►M1 ◄used as a
transit document; or
(d) under cover of the Rhine Manifest (Article 9 of the revised
Convention for the Navigation of the Rhine); or
(e) under cover of the form 302 provided for in the Convention
between the Partiesto the North Atlantic Treaty regarding theStatus of their Forces, signed in London on 19 June 1951; or
(f) by post (including parcel post).
3. The external transit procedure shall apply without prejudice to the
specific provisions applicable to the movement of goods placed under acustoms procedure with economic impact.
Article 92
1. The external transit procedure shall end and the obligations of the
holder shall be met when the goods placed under the procedure and therequired documents are produced at the customs office of destination inaccordance with the provisions of the procedure in question.
2. The customs authorities shall discharge the procedure when they
are in a position to establish, on the basis of a comparison of the dataavailable to the office of departure and those available to the customs
office of destination, that the procedure has ended correctly.
II. Specific provisions relating to external Community transit
Article 93
The external Community transit procedure shall apply to goods passing
through the territory of a third country only if:
(a) provision is made to that effect under an international agreement;
or
(b) carriage through that country iseffected under cover of a s ingle
transport document drawn up in the customs territory of theCommunity; in such case the operation of that procedure shall besuspended in the territory of the third country.
Article 94
1. The principal shall provide a guarantee in order to ensure
payment of any customs debt or other charges which may be incurredin respect of the goods.
2. The guarantee shall be either:
(a) an individual guarantee covering a single transit operation; or
(b) a comprehensive guarantee covering a number of transit operations
where the principal has been authorised to use such a guarantee by1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 31
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▼M2
▼M2
the customs authorities of the Member State where he is estab-
lished.
3. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall be granted
only to persons who:
(a) are established in the Community;
(b) are regular users of Community transit procedures or who are
known to the customs authorities to have the capacity to fulfil theirobligations in relation to these procedures, and
(c) have not committed serious or repeated offences against customs or
tax laws.
4. Persons who satisfy the customs authorities that they meet higher
standards of reliability may be authorised to use a comprehensive guar-
antee for a reduced amount or to have a guarantee waiver. The
additional criteria for this authorisation shall include:
(a) the correct use of the Community transit procedures during a given
period;
(b) cooperation with the customs authorities, and
(c) in respect of the guarantee waiver, a good financial standing which
is sufficient to fulfil the commitments of the said persons.
The detailed rules for authorisations granted under this paragraph shall
be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
5. The guarantee waiver authorised in accordance with paragraph 4
shall not apply to external Community transit operations involving
goodswhich, asdetermined in accordance with the committee proce-dure, are considered to present increased risks.
6. In line with the principlesunderlying paragraph 4, recours e to the
comprehensive guarantee for a reduced amount may, in the case ofexternal Community transit, be temporarily prohibited by thecommittee procedure as an exceptional measure in special circum-
stances.
7. In line with the principlesunderlying paragraph 4, recours e to the
comprehensive guarantee may, in the case of external Community
transit, be temporarily prohibited by the committee procedure inrespect of goods which, under the comprehensive guarantee, havebeen identified as being subject to large-scale fraud.
Article 95
1. Except in cases to be determined where necessary in accordance
with the committee procedure, no guarantee need be furnished for:
(a) journeysby air;
(b) the carriage of goodson the Rhine and the Rhine waterways ;
(c) carriage by pipeline;
(d) operationscarried out by the railway companiesof the Member
States.
2. The cases in which the furnishing of a guarantee in respect of the
carriage of goodson waterwaysother than thos e referred to in para-graph (b) may be waived shall be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
Article 96
1. The principal shall be the of under (SIC!) the external Commu-
nity transit procedure. He shall be responsible for:
(a) production of the goods intact at the customs office of destination
by the prescribed time limit and with due observance of themeasures adopted by the customs authorities to ensure identifica-tion;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 32
▼B
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(b) observance of the provisions relating to the Community transit
procedure.
2. Notwithstanding the principal's obligations under paragraph 1, a
carrier or recipient of goodswho acceptsgoodsknowing that they aremoving under Community transit shall also be responsible for produc-tion of the goods intact at the customs office of destination by theprescribed time limit and with due observance of the measures adoptedby the customs authorities to ensure identification.
Article 97
1. The detailed rulesfor the operation of the procedure and the
exemptionss hall be determined in accordance with the committeeprocedure.
2. Provided that the implementation of Community measures
applying to goodsisguaranteed:
(a) Member Stateshave the right, by bilateral or multilateral arrange-
ment, to establish between themselves simplified proceduresconsistent with criteria to be set according to the circumstances
and applying to certain typesof goodstraffic or s pecific undertak-
ings;
(b) each Member State shall have the right to establish simplified
proceduresin certain circums tancesfor goodsnot required to
move in the territory of another Member State.
3. Simplified procedures established under paragraph 2 shall be
communicated to the Commission.
C.Customswarehouses
Article 98
1. The customs warehousing procedure shall allow the storage in a
customs warehouse of:
(a) non-Community goods, without such goods being subject to import
duties or commercial policy measures;
(b) Community goods, where Community legislation governing
specific fields provides that their being placed in a customs ware-
house shall attract the application of measures normally attachingto the export of such goods.
2. Customs warehouse means any place approved by and under the
supervision of the customs authorities where goods may be stored
under the conditionslaid down.
3. Cases in which the goods referred to in paragraph 1 may be
placed under the customs warehousing procedure without being storedin a customs warehouse shall be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
Article 99
A customs warehouse may be either a public warehouse or a private
warehouse.
‘Public warehouse’ means a customs warehouse available for use by
any person for the warehousing of goods;
‘private warehouse’ means a customs warehouse reserved for the ware-
housing of goods by the warehousekeeper.
The warehousekeeper is the person authorized to operate the customs
warehouse.
The depositer (SIC! depositor) shall be the person bound by the
declaration placing the goods under the customs warehousing proce-1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 33
▼M2
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dure or to whom the rights and obligations of such a person have been
transferred.
Article 100
1. Operation of a customs warehouse shall be subject to the issue of
an authorization by the customs authorities, unless the said authoritiesoperate the customs warehouse themselves.
2. Any person wishing to operate a customs warehouse must make a
request in writing containing the information required for granting the
authorization, in particular demonstrating that an economic need for
warehousing exists. The authorization shall lay down the conditionsfor operating the customs warehouse.
3. The authorization shall be issued only to persons established in
the Community.
Article 101
The warehousekeeper shall be responsible for:
(a) ensuring that while the goods are in the customs warehouse they
are not removed from customs supervision;
(b) fulfilling the obligations that arise from the storage of goods
covered by the customs warehousing procedure; and
(c) complying with the particular conditionss pecified in the authoriza-
tion.
Article 102
1. By way of derogation from Article 101, where the authorization
concerns a public warehouse, it may provide that the responsibilitiesreferred to in Article 101 (a) and/or (b) devolve exclusively upon thedepositor.
2. The depositor shall at all times be responsible for fulfilling the
obligations arising from the placing of goods under the customs ware-housing procedure.
Article 103
The rightsand obligationsof a warehous ekeeper may, with the agree-
ment of the customs authorities, be transferred to another person.
Article 104
Without prejudice to Article 88, the customs authorities may demand
that the warehousekeeper provide a guarantee in connection with theresponsibilities specified in Article 101.
Article 105
The person designated by the customs authorities shall keep stock
records of all the goods placed under the customs warehousing proce-dure in a form approved by those authorities. Stock records are notnecessary where a public warehouse is operated by the customs autho-
rities.
Subject to the application of Article 86 the customs authorities may
dispense with stock records where the responsibilities referred to inArticle 101 (a) and/or (b) lie exclusively with the depositor and thegoodsare placed under that procedure on the bas isof a written declara-tion forming part of the normal procedure or an administrativedocument in accordance with Article 76 (1) (b).1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 34
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Article 106
1. Where an economic need exists and customs supervision is not
adversely affected thereby, the customs authorities may allow:
(a) Community goodsother than thos e referred to in Article 98 (1) (b)
to be stored on the premises of a customs warehouse;
(b) non-Community goods to be processed on the premises of a
customs warehouse under the inward processing (SIC! inward-
processing) procedure, subject to the conditions provided for by
that procedure. The formalities which may be dispensed with in acustoms warehouse shall be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure;
(c) non-Community goods to be processed on the premises of a
customs warehouse under the procedure for processing undercustoms control, subject to the conditions provided for by thatprocedure. The formalities which may be dispensed with in acustoms warehouse shall be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, the goods shall not be
subject to the customs warehousing procedure.
3. The customs authorities may require the goods referred to in para-
graph 1 to be entered in the stock records provided for in Article 105.
Article 107
Goods placed under the customs warehousing procedure shall be
entered in the stock records provided for in Article 105 as soon asthey are brought into the customs warehouse.
Article 108
1. There shall be no limit to the length of time goods may remain
under the customs warehousing procedure.
However, in exceptional cases, the customs authorities may set a time
limit by which the depositor must assign the goods a new customs-approved treatment or use.
2. Specific time limitsfor certain goodsreferred to in Article 98 (1)
(b) covered by the common agricultural policy may be laid down in
accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 109
1. Import goodsmay undergo the us ual formsof handling intended
to preserve them, improve their appearance or marketable quality orprepare them for distribution or resale.
A list of cases in which those forms of handling shall be prohibited for
goodscovered by the common agricultural policy may be drawn up ifthis is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the common organi-
zation of markets.
2. Community goodsreferred to in Article 98 (1) (b) which are
placed under the customs warehousing procedure and are covered bythe common agricultural policy may undergo only the formsof hand-ling expressly stipulated for such goods.
3. The forms of handling provided for in the first subparagraph of
paragraph 1 and in paragraph 2 must be authorized in advance by the
customs authorities, which shall lay down the conditions under whichthey may take place.
4. The lists of the forms of handling referred to in paragraphs 1 and
2 shall be established in accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 110
Where circumstances so warrant, goods placed under the customs
warehousing procedure may be temporarily removed from the customs1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 35
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warehouse. Such removal must be authorized in advance by the
customs authorities, who shall stipulate the conditions on which itmay take place.
While they are outside the customs warehouse the goods may undergo
the formsof handling referred to in Article 109 on the conditionss et
out therein.
Article 111
The customs authorities may allow goods placed under the customs
warehousing procedure to be transferred from one customs warehouseto another.
Article 112
1. Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of import goods and
the customs value of such goods is based on a price actually paid orpayable which includes the cost of warehousing and of preservinggoods while they remain in the warehouse, such costs need not beincluded in the customs value if they are shown separately from the
price actually paid or payable for the goods.
2. Where the said goods have undergone the usual forms of handling
within the meaning of Article 109, the nature of the goods, the customs
value and the quantity to be taken into account in determining theamount of import duties shall, at the request of the declarant, be thosewhich would be taken into account for the goods, at the time referredto in Article 214, if they had not undergone such handling. However,derogationsfrom thisprovis ion may be adopted under the committee
procedure.
3. Where import goodsare releas ed for free circulation in accor-
dance with Article 76 (1) (c), the nature of the goods, the customs
value and the quantity to be taken into account for the purposes of
Article 214 shall be those applicable to the goods at the time whenthey were placed under the customs-warehousing procedure.
The first subparagraph shall apply provided that the rules of assessment
relating to those goods were ascertained or accepted at the time whenthe goods were placed under the customs-warehousing procedure,unless the declarant requests their application at the time when thecustoms debt is incurred.
The first subparagraph shall apply without prejudice to a post-clearance
examination within the meaning of Article 78.
Article 113
Community goodsreferred to in Article 98 (1) (b) which are covered
by the common agricultural policy and are placed under the customswarehousing procedure must be exported or be assigned a treatmentor use provided for by the Community legislation governing specificfieldsreferred to in that Article.
D.Inwardprocessing(SIC!inward-processing)
I. General
Article 114
1. Without prejudice to Article 115, the inward processing (SIC!
inward-processing) procedure shall allow the following goods to beused in the customs territory of the Community in one or more proces-sing operations:
(a) non-Community goodsintended for re-export from the cus toms
territory of the Community in the form of compensating products,without such goods being subject to import duties or commercialpolicy measures;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 36
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(b) goods released for free circulation with repayment or remission of
the import dutieschargeable on s uch goodsif they are exportedfrom the customs territory of the Community in the form of
compensating products.
2. The following expressions shall have the following meanings:
(a) suspension system: the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing)
relief arrangementsasprovided for in paragraph 1 (a);
(b) drawback system: the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing)
relief arrangementsasprovided for in paragraph 1 (b);
(c) processing operations:
— the working of goods, including erecting or assembling them or
fitting them to other goods;
— the processing of goods;
and
— the repair of goods, including restoring them and putting them
in order;
— the use of certain goods defined in accordance with the
committee procedure which are not to be found in the compen-sating products, but which allow or facilitate the production ofthose products, even if they are entirely or partially used up in
the process. (SIC! process;)
(d) compensating products: all products resulting from processing
operations;
(e) equivalent goods: Community goods which are used instead of the
import goods for the manufacture of compensating products;
(f) rate of yield: the quantity or percentage of compensating products
obtained from the processing of a given quantity of import goods.
Article 115
1. Where the conditionslaid down in paragraph 2 are fulfilled, and
subject to paragraph 4, the customs authorities shall allow:
(a) compensating products to be obtained from equivalent goods;
(b) compensating products obtained from equivalent goods to be
exported from the Community before importation of the import
goods.
2. Equivalent goods must be of the same quality and have the same
characteristics as the import goods. However, in specific cases deter-mined in accordance with the committee procedure, equivalent goods
may be allowed to be at a more advanced stage of manufacture than
the import goods.
3. Where paragraph 1 applies, the import goods shall be regarded
for customs purposes as equivalent goods and the latter as importgoods.
4. Measures aimed at prohibiting, imposing certain conditions for or
facilitating recourse to paragraph 1 may be adopted in accordance with
the committee procedure.
5. Where paragraph 1 (b) isapplied and the compens ating products
would be liable to export dutiesif they were not being exported or re-exported under an inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) opera-tion, the holder of the authorization shall provide a security to ensurepayment of the dutiess hould the import goodsnot be imported withinthe period prescribed.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 37
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II. Grant of the authorization
Article 116
The authorization shall be issued at the request of the person who
carries out processing operations or who arranges for them to becarried out.
Article 117
The authorization shall be granted only:
(a) to persons established in the Community. However, the authoriza-
tion may be granted to persons established outside the Community
in respect of imports of a non-commercial nature;
(b) where, without prejudice to the use of the goods referred to in the
last indent of Article 114 (2) (c) final indent, the import goods can
be identified in the compensating products or, in the case referredto in Article 115, where compliance with the conditionslaid downin respect of equivalent goods can be verified;
(c) where the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) procedure
can help create the most favo rable conditions for the export orre-export of compensating products, provided that the essentialinterests of Community producers are not adversely affected
(economic conditions). ►
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conditionsare deemed to have been fulfilled may be determinedin accordance with the committee procedure. ◄
III. Operation of the procedure
Article 118
1. The customs authorities shall specify the period within which the
compensating products must have been exported or re-exported orassigned another customs-approved treatment or use. That period shalltake account of the time required to carry out the processing operationsand dispose of the compensating products.
2. The period shall run from the date on which the non-Community
goods are placed under the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing)procedure. The customs authorities may grant an extension on submis-sion of a duly substantiated request by the holder of the authorization.
For reasons of simplification, it may be decided that a period which
commences in the course of a calendar month or quarter shall end on
the last day of a subsequent calendar month or quarter respectively.
3. Where Article 115 (1) (b) applies, the customs authorities shall
specify the period within which the non-Community goods must bedeclared for the procedure. That period shall run from the date ofacceptance of the export declaration, relating to the compensating
products obtained from the corresponding equivalent goods.
4. Specific time limitsmay be laid down in accordance with the
committee procedure for certain processing operations or for certainimport goods.
Article 119
1. The customs authorities shall set either the rate of yield of the
operation or where appropriate, the method of determining such rate.The rate of yield shall be determined on the basis of the actual circum-stances in which the processing operation is, or is to be, carried out.
2. Where circumstances so warrant and, in particular, in the case of
processing operation customarily carried out under clearly defined tech-
nical conditions involving goods of substantially uniformcharacteristics and resulting in the production of compensating productsof uniform quality, standard rates of yield may be set in accordancewith the committee procedure on the basis of actual data previouslyascertained.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 38
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Article 120
The cases in which and the conditions under which goods in the unal-
tered state or compensating products shall be considered to have beenreleased for free circulation may be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
Article 121
1. Subject to Article 122, where a customs debt is incurred, the
amount of such debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation
elementsappropriate to the import goodsat the time of acceptance of
the declaration of placing of these goods under the inward processing(SIC! inward-processing) procedure.
2. If at the time referred to in paragraph 1 the import goodsfulfilled
the conditionsto quality for preferential tariff treatment within tariffquotas or ceilings, they shall be eligible for any preferential tariff treat-ment existing in respect of identical goods at the time of acceptance ofthe declaration of release for free circulation.
Article 122
By way of derogation from Article 121, compensating products:
(a) shall be subject to the import duties appropriate to them where:
— they are released for free circulation and appear on the list
adopted in accordance with the committee procedure, to theextent that they are in proportion to the exported part of the
compensating products not included in that list. However, the
holder of the authorization may ask for the duty on thoseproducts to be assessed in the manual (SIC! manner) referredto in Article 121;
— they are subject to charges established under the common agri-
cultural policy, and provisions adopted in accordance with the
committee procedure so provide;
(b) shall be subject to import duties calculated in accordance with the
rules applicable to the customs procedure in question or to freezonesor free warehous eswhere they have been placed under asuspensive arrangement or in a free zone or free warehouse;
However,— the person concerned may request that duty be assessed in
accordance with Article 121;
— in cases where the compensating products have been assigned a
customs-approved treatment or use referred to above other thanprocessing under customs control, the amount of the importduty levied shall be at least equal to the amount calculated in
accordance with Article 121;
(c) may be made subject to the rules governing assessment of duty laid
down under the procedure for processing under customs controlwhere the import goodscould have been placed under that proce-dure;
(d) shall enjoy favourable tariff treatment owing to the special use for
which they are intended, where provision is made for such treat-ment in the case of identical imported goods;
(e) shall be admitted free of import duty where such duty-free provi-
sion is made in the case of identical goods imported in accordance
with Article 184.
IV. Processing operations outside the customs territory of the
Community
Article 123
1. Some or all of the compensating products or goods in the unal-
tered state may be temporarily exported for the purpose of furtherprocessing outside the customs territory of the Community if the1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 39
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customs authority so authorizes, in accordance with the conditions laid
down in the outward processing (SIC! outward-processing) provisions.
2. Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of reimported
products, the following shall be charged:
(a) import dutieson the compens ating productsor goodsin the unal-
tered state referred to in paragraph 1, calculated in accordancewith Articles121 and 122; and
(b) import duties on products reimported after processing outside the
customs territory of the Community, the amount of which shall becalculated in accordance with the provisions relating to the outwardprocessing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure, on the sameconditionsaswould have applied had the productsexported under
the latter procedure been released for free circulation before such
export took place.
V. Special provisions relating to the drawback system
Article 124
1. The drawback system may be used for all goods. It shall not,
however, be usable where, at the time the declaration of release forfree circulation isaccepted:
— the import goods are subject to quantitative import restrictions,
— a tariff measure within quotas is applied to the import goods,
— the import goods are subject to presentation of an import or export
licence or certificate in the framework of the common agriculturalpolicy, or
— an export refund or tax has been set for the compensating products.
2. Moreover, no reimbursement of import duties under the drawback
system shall be possible if, at the time the export declaration for thecompensating products is accepted, these products are subject to
presentation of an import or export licence or certificate in the frame-
work of the common agricultural policy or an export refund or tax hasbeen set for them.
3. Derogationsfrom paragraphs1 and 2 may be laid down in accor-
dance with the committee procedure.
Article 125
1. The declaration of release for free circulation shall indicate that
the drawback system is being used and shall provide particulars of theauthorization.
2. At the request of the customs authorities, the said authorization
shall be attached to the declaration of release for free circulation.
Article 126
Under the drawback system, Article 115 (1) (b), (3) and (5), Article
118 (3), Articles120 and 121, Article 122 (a), s econd indent, and (c),and Article 129 shall not apply.
Article 127
Temporary exportation of compensating products carried out as
provided for in Article 123 (1) shall not be considered to be exporta-
tion within the meaning of Article 128 except where such products
are not reimported into the Community within the period prescribed.
Article 128
1. The holder of the authorization may ask for the import duty to be
repaid or remitted where he can establish to the satisfaction of the1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 40
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customs authorities that import goods released for free circulation
under the drawback system in the form of compensating products orgoodsin the unaltered s tate have been either:
— exported, or
— placed, with a view to being subsequently re-exported, under the
transit procedure, the customs-warehousing procedure, thetemporary importation procedure or the inward-processing proce-dure (suspensive arrangement), or in a free zone or free warehouse,
provided that all conditions for use of the procedure have also been
fulfilled.
2. For the purposes of being assigned a customs-approved treatment
or use referred to in the second indent of paragraph 1, compensatingproducts or goods in the unaltered state shall be considered to be non-Community goods.
3. The period within which the application for repayment must be
made shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
4. Without prejudice to point (b) of Article 122, where compen-
sating products or goods in the unaltered state placed under a customs
procedure or in a free zone or free warehouse in accordance with para-graph 1 are released for free circulation, the amount of import dutiesrepaid or remitted shall be considered to constitute the amount of thecustoms debt.
5. For the purpose of determining the amount of import duties to be
repaid or remitted, the first indent of Article 122 (a) shall apply mutatis
mutandis .
VI. Other provisions
Article 129
The inward processing (SIC! inward-processing) procedure, applying
the suspension system shall also apply in order that the compensatingproductsmay qualify for exemption from the export dutiesto whichidentical productsobtained from Community goodsins tead of import
goodswould be liable.
E.Processingundercustomscontrol
Article 130
The procedure for processing under customs control shall allow non-
Community goods to be used in the customs territory of the Commu-nity in operationswhich alter their nature or s tate, without their beingsubject to import duties or commercial policy measures, and shallallow the products resulting from such operations to be released for
free circulation at the rate of import duty appropriate to them. Such
products shall be termed processed products.
Article 131
The cases in and specific conditions under which the procedure for
processing under customs control may be used shall be determined inaccordance with the committee procedure.
Article 132
Authorization for processing under customs control shall be granted at
the request of the person who carries out the processing or arranges forit to be carried out.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 41
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Article 133
Authorization shall be granted only:
(a) to persons established in the Community;
(b) where the import goods can be identified in the processed products;
(c) where the goods cannot be economically restored after processing
to their description or state as it was when they were placed under
the procedure;
(d) where use of the procedure cannot result in circumvention of the
effect of the rulesconcerning origin and quantitative res trictionsapplicable to the imported goods;
(e) where the necessary conditions for the procedure to help create or
maintain a processing activity in the Community without adverselyaffecting the essential interests of Community producers of similargoods(economic conditions ) are fulfilled. ►
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which the economic conditionsare deemed to have been fulfilled
may be determined in accordance with the committee
procedure. ◄
Article 134
Article 118 (1), (2) and (4) and Article 119 shall apply mutatis
mutandis .
Article 135
Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of goods in the unaltered
state or of products that are at an intermediate stage of processing as
compared with that provided for in the authorization, the amount of
that debt shall be determined on the basis of the items of chargeelementsappropriate to the import goodsat the time of acceptance ofthe declaration relating to the placing of the goodsunder the procedurefor processing under customs control.
Article 136
1. Where the import goodsqualified for preferential tariff treatment
when they were placed under the procedure for processing undercustoms control, and such preferential tariff treatment is applicable toproducts identical to the processed products released for free circula-
tion, the import duties to which the processed products are subject
shall be calculated by applying the rate of duty applicable under thattreatment.
2. If the preferential tariff treatment referred to in paragraph 1 in
respect of the import goods is subject to tariff quotas or tariff ceilings,
the application of the rate of duty referred to in paragraph 1 in respectof the processed products shall also be subject to the condition that thesaid preferential tariff treatment is applicable to the import goods at thetime of acceptance of the declaration of release for free circulation. Inthis case, the quantity of import goods actually used in the manufacture
of the processed products released for free circulation shall be charged
against the tariff quotas or ceilings in force at the time of acceptance ofthe declaration of release for free circulation and no quantities shall becounted against tariff quotas or ceilings opened in respect of productsidentical to the processed products.
F.Temporaryimportation
Article 137
The temporary importation procedure shall allow the use in the
customs territory of the Community, with total or partial relief fromimport dutiesand without their being s ubject to commercial policymeasures, of non-Community goods intended for re-export withouthaving undergone any change except normal depreciation due to theuse made of them.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 42
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Article 138
Authorization for temporary importation shall be granted at the request
of the person who uses the goods or arranges for them to be used.
Article 139
The customs authorities shall refuse to authorize use of the temporary
importation procedure where it is impossible to ensure that the import
goodscan be identified.
However, the customs authorities may authorize use of the temporary
importation procedure without ensuring that the goods can be identifiedwhere, in view of the nature of the goodsor of the operationsto becarried out, the absence of identification measures is not liable to give
rise to any abuse of the procedure.
Article 140
1. The customs authorities shall determine the period within which
import goods must have been re-exported or assigned a new customs-approved treatment or use. Such period must be long enough for theobjective of authorized use to be achieved.
2. Without prejudice to the special periods laid down in accordance
with Article 141, the maximum period during which goodsmay remainunder the temporary importation procedure shall be 24 months. The
customs authorities may, however, determine shorter periods with the
agreement of the person concerned.
3. However, where exceptional circumstances so warrant, the
customs authorities may, at the request of the person concerned andwithin reasonable limits, extend the periods referred to in paragraphs1 and 2 in order to permit the authorized use.
Article 141
The case and the special conditions under which the temporary impor-
tation procedure may be used with total relief from import duties shall
be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 142
1. Use of the temporary importation procedure with partial relief
from import duties shall be granted in respect of goods which are notcovered by the provisions adopted in accordance with Article 141 or
which are covered by such provisions but do not fulfil all the condi-
tionslaid down therein for the grant of temporary importation withtotal relief.
2. The list of goods in respect of which the temporary importation
procedure with partial relief from import dutiesmay not be us ed andthe conditions subject to which the procedure may be used shall be
determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 143
1. The amount of import dutiespayable in res pect of goodsplaced
under the temporary importation procedure with partial relief fromimport duties shall be set at 3 %, for every month or fraction of amonth during which the goodshave been placed under the temporaryimportation procedure with partial relief, of the amount of dutieswhich
would have been payable on the said goods had they been released for
free circulation on the date on which they were placed under thetemporary importation procedure.
2. The amount of import dutiesto be charged s hall not exceed that
which would have been charged if the goodsconcerned had beenreleased for free circulation on the date on which they were placed1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 43
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under the temporary importation procedure, leaving out of account any
interest which may be applicable.
3. Transfer of the rights and obligations deriving from the temporary
importation procedure pursuant to Article 90 shall not mean that thesame relief arrangements must be applied to each of the periods ofuse to be taken into consideration.
4. Where the transfer referred to in paragraph 3 is made with partial
relief for both persons authorized to use the procedure during the samemonth, the holder of the initial authorization shall be liable to pay theamount of import dutiesdue for the whole of that month.
Article 144
1. Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of import goods, the
amount of such debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation
elementsappropriate to thos e goodsat the time of acceptance of thedeclaration of their placing under the temporary importation procedure.However, where the provisions of Article 141 so provide, the amountof the debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation elementsappropriate to the goodsin ques tion at the time referred to in Article
214.
2. Where, for a reason other than the placing of goods under the
temporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties,
a customs debt is incurred in respect of goods placed under the said
procedure, the amount of that debt shall be equal to the differencebetween the amount of dutiescalculated purs uant to paragraph 1 andthat payable pursuant to Article 143.
G.Outwardprocessing(SIC!outward-processing)
I. General
Article 145
1. The outward processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure
shall, without prejudice to the provisions governing specific fields
relating to the standard exchange system laid down in Articles 154 to159 or to Article 123, allow Community goodsto be exported tempora-rily from the customs territory of the Community in order to undergoprocessing operations and the products resulting from those operationsto be released for free circulation with total or partial relief from
import duties.
2. Temporary exportation of Community goodss hall entail the
application of export duties, commercial policy measures and otherformalitiesfor the exit of Community goodsfrom the cus tomsterritory
of the Community.
3. The following definitionss hall apply:
(a) ‘temporary export goods’ means goods placed under the outward
processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure;
(b) ‘processing operations’ means the operations referred to in Article
114 (2) (c), first, second and third indents;
(c) ‘compensating products’ means all products resulting from proces-
sing operations;
(d) ‘rate of yield’ meansthe quantity or percentage of compens ating
products obtained from the processing of a given quantity oftemporary export goods.
Article 146
1. The outward processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure
shall not be open to Community goods:
— whose export gives rise to repayment or remission of import duties,1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 44
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— which, prior to export, were released for free circulation with total
relief from import dutiesby virtue of end us e, for aslong astheconditionsfor granting s uch relief continue to apply,
— whose export gives rise to the granting of export refunds or in
respect of which a financial advantage other than such refunds is
granted under the common agricultural policy by virtue of theexport of the said goods.
2. However, derogationsfrom the s econd indent of paragraph 1 may
be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
II. Grant of the authorization
Article 147
1. Authorization to use the outward processing (SIC! outward-
processing) procedure shall be issued at the request of the person whoarranges for the processing operations to be carried out.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, authorization to use the
outward processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure may be
granted to another person in respect of goods of Community origin
within the meaning of Title II, Chapter 2, Section 1, where the proces-sing operation consists in incorporating those goods into goodsobtained outside the Community and imported as compensatingproducts, provided that use of the procedure helps to promote the saleof export goods without adversely affecting the essential interests of
Community producersof productsidentical or s imilar to the imported
compensating products.
The cases in which and the arrangements under which the preceding
subparagraph shall apply shall be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
Article 148
Authorization shall be granted only:
(a) to persons established in the Community;
(b) where it is considered that it will be possible to establish that the
compensating products have resulted from processing of thetemporary export goods.
The cases in which derogations from this subparagraph may apply
and the conditions under which such derogations shall apply shallbe determined in accordance with the committee procedure;
(c) where authorization to use the outward processing (SIC! outward-
processing) procedure is not liable seriously to harm the essentialinterests of Community processors (economic conditions).
III. Operation of the procedure
Article 149
1. The customs authorities shall specify the period within which the
compensating products must be reimported into the customs territory ofthe Community. They may extend that period on submission of a dulysubstantiated request by the holder of the authorization.
2. The customs authorities shall set either the rate of yield of the
operation or, where necessary, the method of determining that rate.
Article 150
1. The total or partial relief from import dutiesprovided for in
Article 151 (1) shall be granted only where the compensating productsare declared for release for free circulation in the name of or on behalfof:
(a) the holder of the authorization, or1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 45
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(b) any other person established in the Community provided that that
person has obtained the consent of the holder of the authorizationand the conditionsof the authorization are fulfilled.
2. The total or partial relief from import dutiesprovided for in
Article 151 shall not be granted where one of the conditions or obliga-tions relating to the outward processing (SIC! outward-processing)procedure is not fulfilled, unless it is established that the failures have
no significant effect on the correct operation of the said procedure.
Article 151
1. The total or partial relief from import dutiesprovided for in
Article 145 shall be effected by deducting from the amount of the
import duties applicable to the compensating products released for
free circulation the amount of the import dutiesthat would be applic-able on the same date to the temporary export goods if they wereimported into the customs territory of the Community from the countryin which they underwent the processing operation or last processingoperation.
2. The amount to be deducted pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be
calculated on the basis of the quantity and nature of the goods in ques-tion on the date of acceptance of the declaration placing them under theoutward processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure and on thebasis of the other items of charge applicable to them on the date of
acceptance of the declaration relating to the release for free circulation
of the compensating products.
The value of the temporary export goodss hall be that taken into
account for those goods in determining the customs value of the
compensating products in accordance with Article 32 (1) (b) (i) or, if
the value cannot be determined in that way, the difference betweenthe customs value of the compensating products and the processingcosts determined by reasonable means.
However,
— certain chargesdetermined in accordance with the committee proce-
dure shall not be taken into account in calculating the amount to be
deducted;
— where, prior to being placed under the outward processing (SIC!
outward-processing) procedure, the temporary export goods werereleased for free circulation at a reduced rate by virtue of their endus e, and for aslong asthe conditionsfor granting the reduced ratecontinue to apply, the amount to be deducted shall be the amount of
import dutiesactually levied when the goodswere releas ed for free
circulation.
3. Where temporary export goodscould qualify on their releas e for
free circulation for a reduced or zero rate of duty by virtue of their end
use, that rate shall be taken into account provided that the goods under-
went operations consistent with such an end-use in the country wherethe processing operation or last such operation took place.
4. Where compensating products qualify for a preferential tariff
measure within the meaning of Article 20 (3) (d) or (e) and the
measure exists for goods falling within the same tariff classification as
the temporary export goods, the rate of import duty to be taken intoaccount in establishing the amount to be deducted pursuant to para-graph 1 shall be that which would apply if the temporary exportgoodsfulfilled the conditionsunder which that preferential meas ure
may be applied.
5. ThisArticle s hall be without prejudice to the application of provi-
sions, adopted or liable to be adopted in the context of trade betweenthe Community and third countries, which provide for relief fromimport duties in respect of certain compensating products.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 46
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Article 152
1. Where the purpose of the processing operation is the repair of the
temporary export goods, they shall be released for free circulation withtotal relief from import duties where it is established to the satisfactionof the customs authorities that the goods were repaired free of charge,
either because of a contractual or statutory obligation arising from a
guarantee or because of a manufacturing defect.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply where account was taken of the
defect at the time when the goods in question were first released for
free circulation.
Article 153
Where the purpose of the processing operation is the repair of
temporary export goodsand s uch repair iscarried out in return forpayment, the partial relief from import dutiesprovided for in Article145 shall be granted by establishing the amount of the duties applicable
on the basis of the taxation elements pertaining to the compensating
productson the date of acceptance of the declaration of releas e forfree circulation of those products and taking into account as thecustoms value an amount equal to the repair costs, provided that thosecosts represent the only consideration provided by the holder of the
authorization and are not influenced by any linksbetween that holder
and the operator.
By way of derogation from Article 151, the committee procedure may
be used to determine the cases in and specific conditions under which
goodsmay be releas ed for free circulation following an outward-
processing operation, with the cost of the processing operation beingtaken as the basis for assessment for the purpose of applying theCustoms Tariff of the European Communities.
IV. Outward-processing with use of the standard exchange system
Article 154
1. Under the conditionslaid down in thisSection IV which are
applicable in addition to the preceding provisions, the standardexchange system shall permit an imported product, hereinafter referred
to asa ‘replacement product’, to replace a compens ating product.
2. The customs authorities shall allow the standard exchange system
to be used where the processing operation involves the repair of
Community goods other than those subject to the common agricultural
policy or to the specific arrangements applicable to certain goodsresulting from the processing of agricultural products.
3. Without prejudice to Article 159, the provisions applicable to
compensating products shall also apply to replacement products.
4. The customs authorities shall, under the conditions they lay down,
permit replacement productsto be imported before the temporary
export goodsare exported (prior importation).
In the event of prior importation of a replacement, security shall be
provided to cover the amount of the import duties.
Article 155
1. Replacement products shall have the same tariff classification, be
of the same commercial quality and possess the same technical charac-teristics as the temporary export goods had the latter undergone therepair in question.
2. Where the temporary export goodshave been us ed before export,
the replacement products must also have been used and may not benew products.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 47
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The customs authorities may, however, grant derogations from this rule
if the replacement product hasbeen s upplied free of charge eitherbecause of a contractual or statutory obligation arising from a guar-
antee or because of a manufacturing defect.
Article 156
Standard exchange shall be authorized only where it is possible to
verify that the conditionslaid down in Article 155 are fulfilled.
Article 157
1. In the case of prior importation, the export goods shall be
temporarily exported within a period of two monthsfrom the date of
acceptance by the customs authorities of the declaration relating to therelease of the replacement products for free circulation.
2. However, where exceptional circumstances so warrant, the
customs authorities may, at the request of the person concerned, extendwithin reasonable limits the period referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 158
In the case of prior importation and where Article 151 is applied, the
amount to be deducted shall be determined on the basis of the items ofcharge applicable to the temporary export goodson the date of accep-tance of the declaration placing them under the procedure.
Article 159
Article 147 (2) and Article 148 (b) shall not apply in the context of
standard exchange.
V. Other provision
Article 160
The proceduresprovided for within the framework of out-ward proces -
sing (SIC! outward-processing) shall also be applicable for the
purposes of implementing non-tariff common commercial policy
measures.
Section 4
Export
Article 161
1. The export procedure shall allow Community goods to leave the
customs territory of the Community.
Exportation shall entail the application of exit formalities including
commercial policy measures and, where appropriate, export duties.
2. With the exception of goodsplaced under the out-ward proces -
sing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure or a transit procedurepursuant to Article 163, and without prejudice to Article 164, allCommunity goodsintended for export s hall be placed under the exportprocedure.
3. Goods dispatched to Helgoland shall not be considered to be
exportsfrom the cus tomsterritory of the Community.
4. The case in which and the conditions under which goods leaving
the customs territory of the Community are not subject to an export
declaration shall be determined in accordance with the committeeprocedure.
5. The export declaration must be lodged at the customs office
responsible for supervising the place where the exporter is establishedor where the goodsare packed or loaded for export s hipment. Deroga-tionss hall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 48
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Article 162
Release for export shall be granted on condition that the goods in ques-
tion leave the customs territory of the Community in the same
condition aswhen the export declaration wasaccepted.
Section 5
Internaltransit
Article 163
1. The internal transit procedure shall, under the conditions laid
down in paragraphs2 to 4, allow the movement of Community goods
from one point to another within the customs territory of the Commu-nity passing through the territory of a third country without any changein their customs status. This provision shall be without prejudice to theapplication of Article 91 (1) (b).
2. The movement referred to in paragraph 1 may take place either:
(a) under the internal Community transit procedure, provided that such
a possibility is provided for in an international agreement;
(b) under cover of a TIR carnet (TIR Convention);
(c) under cover of an ATA carnet ►
M1 ◄used as a
transit document;
(d) under cover of a Rhine Manifest (Article 9 of the Revised Conven-
tion for the Navigation of the Rhine);
(e) under cover of form 302 asprovided for in the agreement between
the Statesparty to the North Atlantic Treaty on the s tatus(SIC!Status) of their forces (SIC! Forces), signed in London on 19 June1951, or
(f) by post (including parcel post).
3. In the case referred to in paragraph 2 (a), Articles 92, 94, 95, 96
and 97 shall apply mutatis mutandis .
4. In the cases referred to in paragraph 2 (b) to (f) goods shall keep
their customs status only if that status is established under the condi-tions and in the form prescribed by the provisions adopted in
accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 164
The conditionsunder which Community goodsmay move, without
being subject to a customs procedure, from one point to another withinthe customs territory of the Community and temporarily out of thatterritory without alteration of their customs status shall be determinedin accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 165
The internal Community transit procedure shall also apply where a
Community provision makes express provision for its application.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 49
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CHAPTER 3
OTHERTYPESOFCUSTOMS-APPROVEDTREATMENTORUSE
Section 1
Free zonesandfree warehouses
A.General
Article 166
Free zones and free warehouses shall be parts of the customs territory
of the Community or premises situated in that territory and separatedfrom the rest of it in which:
(a) Community goods are considered, for the purpose of import duties
and commercial policy import measures, as not being on Commu-
nity customs territory, provided they are not released for free
circulation or placed under another customs procedure or used orconsumed under conditions other than those provided for incustoms regulations;
(b) Community goods for which such provision is made under
Community legislation governing specific fields qualify, by virtue
of being placed in a free zone or free warehouse, for measures
normally attaching to the export of goods.
Article 167
1. Member States may designate parts of the customs territory of the
Community as free zones or authorize the establishment of free ware-
houses.
2. Member Statess hall determine the area covered by each zone.
Premises which are to be designated as free warehouses must be
approved by Member States.
3. Free zones with the exception of those designated in accordance
with Article 168a, shall be enclosed. The Member States shall define
the entry and exit pointsof each free zone or free warehous e.
4. The construction of any building in a free zone shall require the
prior approval of the customs authorities.
Article 168
1. The perimeter and the entry and exit pointsof free zones , except
the free zonesdes ignated in accordance with Article 168a, and of free
warehouses shall be subject to supervision by the customs authorities.
2. Persons and means of transport entering or leaving a free zone or
free warehouse may be subjected to a customs check.
3. Access to a free zone or free warehouse may be denied to persons
who do not provide every guarantee necessary for compliance with the
rulesprovided for in thisCode.
4. The customs authorities may check goods entering, leaving or
remaining in a free zone or free warehouse. To enable such checks to
be carried out, a copy of the transport document, which shall accom-pany goodsentering or leaving, s hall be handed to, or kept at thedisposal of, the customs authority by any person designated for thispurpose by such authorities. Where such checks are required, the goodsshall be made available to the customs authorities.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 50
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Article 168a
1. The customs authorities may designate free zones in which
customs checks and formalities shall be carried out and the provisions
concerning customs debt applied in accordance with the requirements
of the customs warehousing procedure.
Articles 170, 176 and 180 shall not apply to the free zones thus desig-
nated.
2. Referencesto free zonesin Articles37, 38 and 205 s hall not
apply to free zonesreferred to in paragraph 1.
B.Placingofgoodsinfreezonesorfree warehouses
Article 169
Both Community and non-Community goodsmay be placed in a free
zone or free warehouse.
However, the customs authorities may require that goods which present
a danger or are likely to spoil other goods or which, for other reasons,require special facilities be placed in premises specially equipped toreceive them.
Article 170
1. Without prejudice to Article 168 (4), goodsentering a free zone
or free warehouse need not be presented to the customs authorities, nor
need a customs declaration be lodged.
2. Goods shall be presented to the customs authorities and undergo
the prescribed customs formalities only where:
(a) they have been placed under a customs procedure which is
discharged when they enter a free zone or free warehouse;
however, where the customs procedure in question permits exemp-
tion from the obligation to present goods, such presentation shallnot be required;
(b) they have been placed in a free zone or free warehouse on the
authority of a decision to grant repayment or remission of import
duties;
(c) the quality for the measures referred to in Article 166 (b).
3. Customs authorities may require goods subject to export duties or
to other export provisions to be notified to the customs department.
4. At the request of the party concerned, the customs authorities
shall certify the Community or non-Community status of goods placedin a free zone or free warehouse.
C.Operationoffree zonesandfree warehouses
Article 171
1. There shall be no limit to the length of time goods may remain in
free zones or free warehouses.
2. For certain goodsreferred to in Article 166 (b) which are covered
by the common agricultural policy, specific time limits may beimposed in accordance with the committee procedure.
Article 172
1. Any industrial, commercial or service activity shall, under the
conditionslaid down in thisCode, be authorized in a free zone or freewarehouse. The carrying on of such activities shall be notified inadvance to the customs authorities.
2. The customs authorities may impose certain prohibitions or
restrictions on the activities referred to in paragraph 1, having regard1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 51
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to the nature of the goodsconcerned or the requirementsof cus toms
supervision.
3. The customs authorities may prohibit persons who do not provide
the necessary guarantees of compliance with the provisions laid downin thisCode from carrying on an activity in a free zone or free ware-house.
Article 173
Non-Community goodsplaced in a free zone or free warehous e may,
while they remain in a free zone or free warehouse:
(a) be released for free circulation under the conditions laid down by
that procedure and by Article 178;
(b) undergo the usual forms of handling referred to in Article 109 (1)
without authorization;
(c) be placed under the inward processing (SIC! inward-processing)
procedure under the conditionslaid down by that procedure.
However, processing operations within the territory of the old free
port of Hamburg, in the free zones of the Canary Islands, Azores,Madeira and overseas departments shall not be subject to economicconditions.
However, with regard to the old free port of Hamburg, if conditions
of competition in a specific economic sector in the Community areaffected asa res ult of thisderogation, the Council, acting by aqualified majority on a proposal from the Commission, shall decide
that economic conditions shall apply to the corresponding
economic activity within the territory of the old free port ofHamburg;
(d) be placed under the procedure for processing under customs control
under the conditionslaid down by that procedure;
(e) be placed under the temporary importation procedure under the
conditionslaid down by that procedure;
(f) be abandoned in accordance with Article 182;
(g) be destroyed, provided that the person concerned supplies the
customs authorities with all the information they judge necessary.
Where goodsare placed under one of the proceduresreferred to in (c),
(d) or (e), the Member States may, in so far as is necessary to take
account of the operating and customs supervision conditions of the
free zones or free warehouses, adapt the control arrangements laiddown.
Article 174
The Community goodsreferred to in Article 166 (b) which are covered
by the common agricultural policy shall under-go only the forms ofhandling expressly prescribed for such goods in conformity withArticle 109 (2). Such handling may be undertaken without authoriza-tion.
Article 175
1. Where Articles173 and 174 are not applied, non-Community
goodsand the Community goodsreferred to in Article 166 (b) s hallnot be consumed or used in free zones or in free warehouses.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions applicable to supplies or
stores, where the procedure concerned so provides, paragraph 1 shallnot preclude the use or consumption of goods the release for free circu-lation or temporary importation of which would not entail applicationof import dutiesor meas uresunder the common agricultural policy or
commercial policy. In that event, no declaration of release for free
circulation or temporary importation shall be required.
Such declaration shall, however, be required if such goods are to be
charged against a quota or a ceiling.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 52
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Article 176
1. All persons carrying on an activity involving the storage, working
or processing, or sale or purchase, of goods in a free zone or free ware-
house shall keep stock records in a form approved by the customs
authorities. Goods shall be entered in the stock records as soon asthey are brought into the premises of such person. The stock recordsmust enable the customs authorities to identify the goods, and mustrecord their movements.
2. Where goodsare trans hipped within a free zone, the documents
relating to the operation shall be kept at the disposal of the customs
authorities. The short-term storage of goods in connection with suchtranshipment shall be considered to be an integral part of the operation.
D.Removalofgoodsfromfree zonesorfree warehouses
Article 177
Without prejudice to special provisions adopted under customs legisla-
tion governing specific fields, goods leaving a free zone or freewarehouse may be:
— exported or re-exported from the customs territory of the Commu-
nity, or
— brought into another part of the customs territory of the Commu-
nity.
The provisions of Title III, with the exception of Articles 48 to 53
where Community goodsare concerned, s hall apply to goodsbroughtinto other partsof that territory except in the cas e of goodswhich leave
that zone by sea or air without being placed under a transit or other
customs procedure.
Article 178
1. Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of non-Community
goods and the customs value of such goods is based on a price actuallypaid or payable which includes the cost of warehousing or of preser-ving goodswhile they remain in the free zone or free warehous e,such costs shall not be included in the customs value if they are shown
separately from the price actually paid or payable for the goods.
2. Where the said goods have undergone, in a free zone or free
warehouse, one of the usual forms of handling within the meaning ofArticle 109 (1), the nature of the goods, the customs value and thequantity to be taken into consideration in determining the amount ofimport duties shall, at the request of the declarant and provided that
such handling was covered by an authorization granted in accordance
with paragraph 3 of that Article, be those which would be taken intoaccount in respect of those goods, at the time referred to in Article214, had they not undergone such handling. Derogations from thisprovision may, however, be determined in accordance with thecommittee procedure.
Article 179
1. Community goodsreferred to in Article 166 (b) which are
covered by the common agricultural policy and are placed in a free
zone or free warehouse shall be assigned a treatment or use providedfor by the rulesunder which they are eligible, by virtue of their beingplaced in a free zone or free warehouse, for measures normallyattaching to the export of such goods.
2. Should such goods be returned to another part of the customs
territory of the Community, or if no application for their assignment
to a treatment or use referred to in paragraph 1 has been made by theexpiry of the period prescribed pursuant to Article 171 (2), the customsauthorities shall take the measures laid down by the relevant legislationgoverning specific fields relating to failure to comply with the specifiedtreatment or use.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 53
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Article 180
1. Where goodsare brought into or returned to another part of the
customs territory of the Community or placed under a customs proce-dure, the certificate referred to in Article 170 (4) may be used as proof
of the Community or non-Community status of such goods.
2. Where it isnot proved by the certificate or other meansthat the
goods have Community or non-Community status, the goods shall be
considered to be:
— Community goods, for the purposes of applying export duties and
export licencesor export meas ureslaid down under the commercialpolicy;
— non-Community goods in all other cases.
Article 181
The customs authorities shall satisfy themselves that the rules
governing exportation or re-exportation are respected where goods areexported or re-exported from a free zone or free warehouse.
Section 2
Re-exportation,destructionandabandonment
Article 182
1. Non-Community goodsmay be:
— re-exported from the customs territory of the Community;
— destroyed;— abandoned to the exchequer where national legislation makes provi-
sion to that effect.
2. Re-exportation shall, where appropriate, involve application of the
formalitieslaid down for goodsleaving, including commercial policymeasures.
Cases in which non-Community goods may be placed under a suspen-
sive arrangement with a view to non-application of commercial policymeasures on exportation may be determined in accordance with the
committee procedure.
3.►
M1Save in cases determined in accordance with the
committee procedure, re-exportation or destruction shall be the subjectof prior notification of the customs authorities. ◄The customs autho-
rities shall prohibit re-exportation should the formalities or measuresreferred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 so provide. Wheregoodsare placed under an economic cus tomsprocedure when on
Community customs territory are intended for re-exportation, a customs
declaration within the meaning of Articles59 to 78 s hall be lodged. Insuch cases, Article 161 (4) and (5) shall apply.
Abandonment shall be put into effect in accordance with national
provisions.
4. Destruction or abandonment shall not entail any expense for the
exchequer.
5. Any waste or scrap resulting from destruction shall be assigned a
customs-approved treatment or use prescribed for non-Communitygoods.
It shall remain under customs supervision until the time laid down in
Article 37 (2).1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 54
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TITLE V
GOODSLEAVINGTHECUSTOMSTERRITORYOFTHE
COMMUNITY
Article 183
Goods leaving the customs territory of the Community shall be subject
to customs supervision. They may be the subject of checks by the
customs authorities in accordance with the provisions in force. They
shall leave the said territory using, where appropriate, the route deter-mined by the customs authorities and in accordance with theprocedures laid down by those authorities.
TITLE VI
PRIVILEGEDOPERATIONS
CHAPTER 1
RELIEFSFROMCUSTOMSDUTY
Article 184
The Council shall, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from
the Commission, determine the cases in which, on account of special
circumstances, relief from import duties or export duties shall begranted where goodsare releas ed for free circulation or exported.
CHAPTER 2
RETURNEDGOODS
Article 185
1. Community goodswhich, having been exported from the cus toms
territory of the Community, are returned to that territory and releasedfor free circulation within a period of three years shall, at the request
of the person concerned, be granted relief from import duties.
However:
— the three-year period may be exceeded in order to take account of
special circumstances;
— where, prior to their exportation from the customs territory of the
Community, the returned goodshad been releas ed for free circula-tion at reduced or zero import duty because of their use for a
particular purpose exemption from duty under paragraph 1 shall be
granted only if they are to be re-imported for the same purpose.
Where the purpose for which the goods in question are to be
imported isno longer the s ame, the amount of import dutiescharge-
able upon them shall be reduced by any amount levied on the goods
when they were first released for free circulation. Should the latteramount exceed that levied on the entry for free circulation ofreturned goods, no refund shall be granted.
2. The relief from import dutiesprovided for in paragraph 1 s hall
not be granted in the case of:
(a) goodsexported from the cus tomsterritory of the Community under
the outward processing (SIC! outward-processing) procedure unlessthose goods remain in the state in which they were exported;
(b) goods which have been the subject of a Community measure invol-
ving their exportation to third countries. The circumstances in
which and the conditionsunder which thisrequirement may be
waived shall be determined in accordance with the procedure ofthe committee.
Article 186
The relief from import dutiesprovided for in Article 185 s hall be
granted only if goodsare reimported in the s tate in which they were1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 55
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exported. The circumstances in which and the conditions under which
thisrequirement may be waived s hall be determined in accordance withthe procedure of the committee.
Article 187
Articles185 and 186 s hall apply mutatis mutandis to compensating
products originally exported or re-exported subsequent to an inward
processing (SIC! inward-processing) procedure.
The amount of import duty legally owed shall be determined on the
basis of the rules applicable under the inward processing (SIC!
inward-processing) procedure, the date of re-export being regarded as
the date of release for free circulation.
CHAPTER 3
PRODUCTSOFSEA-FISHINGANDOTHERPRODUCTSTAKEN
FROMTHESEA
Article 188
Without prejudice to Article 23 (1) (f), the following shall be exempt
from import dutieswhen they are releas ed for free circulation:
(a) products of sea-fishing and other products taken from the territorial
sea of a third country by vessels registered or recorded in a
Member State and flying the flag of that state;
(b) productsobtained from productsreferred to in (a) on board factory-
ships fulfilling the conditions laid down in that subparagraph.
TITLE VII
CUSTOMSDEBT
CHAPTER 1
SECURITYTOCOVERCUSTOMSDEBT
Article 189
1. Where, in accordance with customs rules, the customs authorities
require security to be provided in order to ensure payment of a customsdebt, such security shall be provided by the person who is liable orwho may become liable for that debt.
2. The customs authorities shall require only one security to be
provided in respect of one customs debt.
Where security is provided under a customs procedure which may be
used for specific goods in several Member States, that security shall,aslaid down in the provis ionsadopted under the committee procedure,be valid in the Member Statesconcerned.
3. The customs authorities may authorize the security to be provided
by a person other than the person from whom it is required.
4. Where the person who has incurred or who may incur a customs
debt is a public authority, no security shall be required.
5. The customs authorities may waive the requirement for provision
of security where the amount to be secured does not exceed ECU 500.
Article 190
1. Where customs legislation provides that the provision of security
is optional, such security shall be required at the discretion of thecustoms authorities in so far as they consider that a customs debt which
hasbeen or may be incurred isnot certain to be paid within the
prescribed period.
Where the security referred to in the preceding subparagraph is not
required, the customs authorities may nevertheless require from the1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 56
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person referred to in Article 189 (1) an undertaking to comply with the
obligationswhich that pers on islegally obliged to fulfil.
2. The security referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1
shall be required:
— at the time of application of the rules requiring such security to be
provided, or
— at any subsequent time when the customs authorities find that the
customs debt which has been or may be incurred is not certain tobe paid within the prescribed period.
Article 191
At the request of the person referred to in Article 189 (1) or (3), the
customs authorities shall allow comprehensive security to be providedto cover two or more operations in respect of which a customs debt has
been or may be incurred.
Article 192
1. Where customs legislation makes it compulsory for security to be
provided, and subject to the specific provisions laid down for transit in
accordance with the committee procedure, the customs authorities shallfix the amount of such security at a level equal to:
— the precise amount of the customs debt or debts in question where
that amount can be established with certainty at the time when thesecurity is required,
— in other cases the maximum amount, as estimated by the customs
authorities, of the customs debt or debts which have been or maybe incurred.
Where comprehensive security is provided for customs debts which
vary in amount over time, the amount of such security shall be set ata level enabling the customs debts in question to be covered at alltimes.
2. Where customs legislation provides that the provision of security
is optional and the customs authorities require security to be provided,the amount of the security shall be fixed by those authorities so as notto exceed the level provided for in paragraph 1.
3. The circumstances in which and the conditions under which a
flat-rate security may be provided shall be determined in accordancewith the procedure of the committee.
Article 193
Security may be provided by either:
— a cash deposit, or
— a guarantor.
Article 194
1. A cash deposit shall be made in the currency of the Member State
in which the security is required.
The following shall be deemed equivalent to a cash deposit:
— submission of a cheque the payment of which is guaranteed by the
institution on which it is drawn in any manner acceptable to thecustoms authorities,
— submission of any other instrument recognized by those authorities
asa meansof payment.
2. Security in the form of a cash deposit or payment deemed equiva-
lent to a cash deposit shall be given in accordance with the provisionsin force in the Member State in which the security is required.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 57
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Article 195
The guarantor shall undertake in writing to pay jointly and severally
with the debtor the secured amount of a customs debt which falls to
be paid.
The guarantor must be a third person established in the Community and
approved by the customs authorities of the Member State.
The customs authorities may refuse to approve the guarantor or type of
security proposed where the latter do not appear certain to ensurepayment of the customs debt within the prescribed period.
Article 196
The person required to provide security shall be free to choose between
the typesof s ecurity laid down in Article 193.
However, the customs authorities may refuse to accept the type of
security proposed where it is incompatible with the proper functioning
of the customs procedure concerned. The same shall apply as regards
the security proposed. The customs authorities may require that thetype of security chosen be maintained for a specific period.
Article 197
1. Where the rulesadopted in accordance with the committee proce-
dure so provide, the customs authorities may accept types of securityother than those referred to in Article 193 where they provide equiva-lent assurance that the customs debt will be paid.
The customs authorities shall refuse the security proposed by the debtor
where they do not consider that such security is certain to ensure
payment of the customs debt.
2. Subject to the reservation referred to in the second subparagraph
of paragraph 1, the customs authorities may accept a cash depositwithout the conditionslaid down in Article 194 (1) being fulfilled.
Article 198
Where the customs authorities establish that the security provided does
not ensure, or is no longer certain or sufficient to ensure, payment ofthe customs debt within the prescribed period, they shall require the
person referred to in Article 189 (1), at his option, to provide additional
security or to replace the original security with a new security.
Article 199
1. The security shall not be released until such time as the customs
debt in respect of which it was given is extinguished or can no longerarise. Once the customs debt is extinguished or can no longer arise, thesecurity shall be released forthwith.
2. Once the customs debt has been extinguished in part or may arise
only in respect of part of the amount which has been secured, part of
the security shall be released accordingly at the request of the person
concerned, unless the amount involved does not justify such action.
Article 200
Provisions derogating from those contained in this chapter shall, where
necessary, be adopted in accordance with committee procedure in orderto take account of international conventions.
CHAPTER 2
INCURRENCEOFACUSTOMSDEBT
Article 201
1. A customs debt on importation shall be incurred through:
(a) the release for free circulation of goods liable to import duties, or1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 58
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(b) the placing of such goods under the temporary importation proce-
dure with partial relief from import duties.
2. A customs debt shall be incurred at the time of acceptance of the
customs declaration in question.
3. The debtor shall be the declarant. In the event of indirect repre-
sentation, the person on whose behalf the customs declaration is madeshall also be a debtor.
Where a customs declaration in respect of one of the procedures
referred to in paragraph 1 isdrawn up on the bas isof informationwhich leadsto all or part of the dutieslegally owed not being
collected, the persons who provided the information required to draw
up the declaration and who knew, or who ought reasonably to haveknown that such information was false, may also be considered debtorsin accordance with the national provisions in force.
Article 202
1. A customs debt on importation shall be incurred through:
(a) the unlawful introduction into the customs territory of the Commu-
nity of goodsliable to import duties , or
(b) the unlawful introduction into another part of that territory of such
goodslocated in a free zone or free warehous e.
For the purpose of this Article, unlawful introduction means any intro-
duction in violation of the provisions of Articles 38 to 41 and the
second indent of Article 177.
2. The customs debt shall be incurred at the moment when the
goodsare unlawfully introduced.
3. The debtorss hall be:
— the person who introduced such goods unlawfully,
— any persons who participated in the unlawful introduction of the
goods and who were aware or should reasonably have been awarethat such introduction was unlawful, and
— any persons who acquired or held the goods in question and who
were aware or should reasonably have been aware at the time ofacquiring or receiving the goodsthat they had been introducedunlawfully.
Article 203
1. A customs debt on importation shall be incurred through:
— the unlawful removal from customs supervision of goods liable to
import duties.
2. The customs debt shall be incurred at the moment when the
goods are removed from customs supervision.
3. The debtorss hall be:
— the person who removed the goods from customs supervision,
— any persons who participated in such removal and who were aware
or should reasonably have been aware that the goods were being
removed from customs supervision,
— any persons who acquired or held the goods in question and who
were aware or should reasonably have been aware at the time ofacquiring or receiving the goodsthat they had been removed from
customs supervision, and
— where appropriate, the person required to fulfil the obligations
arising from temporary storage of the goods or from the use of thecustoms procedure under which those goods are placed.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 59
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Article 204
1. A customs debt on importation shall be incurred through:
(a) non-fulfilment of one of the obligations arising, in respect of goods
liable to import duties, from their temporary storage or from the
use of the customs procedure under which they are placed, or
(b) non-compliance with a condition governing the placing of the
goodsunder that procedure or the granting of a reduced or zerorate of import duty by virtue of the end-use of the goods,
in cases other than those referred to in Article 203 unless it is estab-
lished that those failures have no significant effect on the correctoperation of the temporary storage or customs procedure in question.
2. The customs debt shall be incurred either at the moment when the
obligation whose non-fulfilment gives rise to the customs debt ceasesto be met or at the moment when the goodsare placed under thecustoms procedure concerned where it is established subsequently thata condition governing the placing of the goodsunder the s aid proce-dure or the granting of a reduced or zero rate of import duty by virtue
of the end-use of the goods was not in fact fulfilled.
3. The debtor shall be the person who is required, according to the
circumstances, either to fulfil the obligations arising, in respect of
goods liable to import duties, from their temporary storage or from
the use of the customs procedure under which they have been placed,or to comply with the conditionsgoverning the placing of the goodsunder that procedure.
Article 205
1. A customs debt on importation shall be incurred through:
— the consumption or use, in a free zone or a free warehouse, of
goods liable to import duties, under conditions other than thoselaid down by the legislation in force.
Where goods disappear and where their disappearance cannot be
explained to the satisfaction of the customs authorities, those authori-ties may regard the goods as having been consumed or used in the
free zone or the free warehouse.
2. The debt shall be incurred at the moment when the goods are
consumed or are first used under conditions other than those laiddown by the legislation in force.
3. The debtor shall be the person who consumed or used the goods
and any persons who participated in such consumption or use and whowere aware or should reasonably have been aware that the goods were
being consumed or used under conditions other than those laid down
by the legislation in force.
Where customs authorities regard goods which have disappeared as
having been consumed or used in the free zone or the free warehouse
and it is not possible to apply the preceding paragraph, the personliable for payment of the customs debt shall be the last person knownto these authorities to have been in possession of the goods.
Article 206
1. By way of derogation from Articles202 and 204 (1) (a), no
customs debt on importation shall be deemed to be incurred in respectof specific goods where the person concerned proves that the non-
fulfilment of the obligationswhich aris e from:
— the provisions of Articles 38 to 41 and the second indent of Article
177, or
— keeping the goods in question in temporary storage, or— the use of the customs procedure under which the goods have been
placed,
results from the total destruction or irretrievable loss of the said goods
as a result of the actual nature of the goods or unforeseeable circum-1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 60
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stances or force majeure , or asa cons equence of authorization by the
customs authorities.
For the purposes of this paragraph, goods shall be irretrievably lost
when they are rendered unusable by any person.
2. Nor shall a customs debt on importation be deemed to be incurred
in respect of goods released for free circulation at a reduced or zero
rate of import duty by virtue of their end-use, where such goods are
exported or re-exported with the permission of the customs authorities.
Article 207
Where, in accordance with Article 206 (1), no customs debt is deemed
to be incurred in respect of goods released for free circulation at a
reduced or zero rate of import duty on account of their end-use, anyscrap or waste resulting from such destruction shall be deemed to benon-Community goods.
Article 208
Where in accordance with Article 203 or 204 a customs debt is
incurred in respect of goods released for free circulation at a reducedrate of import duty on account of their end-use, the amount paid whenthe goods were released for free circulation shall be deducted from the
amount of the customs debt.
This provision shall apply mutatis mutandis where a customs debt is
incurred in respect of scrap and waste resulting from the destruction
of such goods.
Article 209
1. A customs debt on exportation shall be incurred through:
— the exportation from the customs territory of the Community, under
cover of a customs declaration, of goods liable to export duties.
2. The customs debt shall be incurred at the time when such
customs declaration is accepted.
3. The debtor shall be the declarant. In the event of indirect repre-
sentation, the person on whose behalf the declaration is made shallalso be a debtor.
Article 210
1. A customs debt on exportation shall be incurred through:
— the removal from the customs territory of the Community of goods
liable to export dutieswithout a cus tomsdeclaration.
2. The customs debt shall be incurred at the time when the said
goodsactually leave that territory.
3. The debtor shall be:
— the person who removed the goods, and
— any persons who participated in such removal and who were aware
or should reasonably have been aware that a customs declaration
had not been but should have been lodged.
Article 211
1. A customs debt on exportation shall be incurred through:
— failure to comply with the conditionsunder which the goodswere
allowed to leave the customs territory of the Community with totalor partial relief from export duties.
2. The debt shall be incurred at the time when the goods reach a
destination other than that for which they were allowed to leave thecustoms territory of the Community with total or partial relief fromexport duties or, should the customs authorities be unable to determine1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 61
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that time, the expiry of the time limit set for the production of evidence
that the conditionsentitling the goodsto s uch relief have been fulfilled.
3. The debtor shall be the declarant. In the event of indirect repre-
sentation, the person on whose behalf the declaration is made shallalso be a debtor.
Article 212
The customs debt referred to in Articles 201 to 205 and 209 to 211
shall be incurred even if it relates to goods subject to measures of
prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation of any kindwhatsoever. However, no customs debt shall be incurred on theunlawful introduction into the customs territory of the Community ofcounterfeit currency or of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substanceswhich do not enter into the economic circuit strictly supervised by the
competent authorities with a view to their use for medical and scien-
tific purposes. For the purposes of criminal law as applicable tocustoms offences, the customs debt shall nevertheless be deemed tohave been incurred where, under a Member State'scriminal law,customs duties provide the basis for determining penalties, or the exis-
tence of a customs debt is grounds for taking criminal proceedings.
Article 212a
Where customs legislation provides for favourable tariff treatment of
goods by reason of their nature or end-use or for relief or total or
partial exemption from import or export dutiespurs uant to Articles21, 82, 145 or 184 to 187, such favourable tariff treatment, relief orexemption shall also apply in cases where a customs debt is incurredpursuant to Articles 202 to 205, 210 or 211, on condition that the beha-
viour of the person concerned involves neither fraudulent dealing nor
obviousnegligence and he producesevidence that the other conditionsfor the application of favourable treatment, relief or exemption havebeen satisfied.
Article 213
Where several persons are liable for payment of one customs debt, they
shall be jointly and severally liable for such debt.
Article 214
1. Save as otherwise expressly provided by this Code and without
prejudice to paragraph 2, the amount of the import duty or export
duty applicable to goods shall be determined on the basis of the rules
of assessment appropriate to those goods at the time when the customsdebt in respect of them is incurred.
2. Where it is not possible to determine precisely when the customs
debt isincurred, the time to be taken into account in determining therules of assessment appropriate to the goods concerned shall be thetime when the customs authorities conclude that the goods are in asituation in which a customs debt is incurred.
However, where the information available to the customs authorities
enables them to establish that the customs debt was incurred prior tothe time when they reached that conclusion, the amount of the import
duty or export duty payable on the goods in question shall be deter-
mined on the basis of the rules of assessment appropriate to the goodsat the earliest time when existence of the customs debt arising from thesituation may be established from the information available.
3. Compensatory interest shall be applied, in the circumstances and
under the conditionsto be defined in the provis ionsadopted under thecommittee procedure, in order to prevent the wrongful acquisition of afinancial advantage through deferment of the date on which thecustoms debt was incurred or entered in the accounts.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 62
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Article 215
1. A customs debt shall be incurred:
— at the place where the eventsfrom which it aris esoccur,
— if it is not possible to determine that place, at the place where the
customs authorities conclude that the goods are in a situation in
which a customs debt is incurred,
— if the goodshave been entered for a cus tomsprocedure which has
not been discharged, and the place cannot be determined pursuantto the first or second indent within a period of time determined, ifappropriate, in accordance with the committee procedure, at theplace where the goodswere either placed under the procedure
concerned or were introduced into the Community customs territory
under that procedure.
2. Where the information available to the customs authorities
enables them to establish that the customs debt was already incurred
when the goodswere in another place at an earlier date, the cus toms
debt shall be deemed to have been incurred at the place which maybe established as the location of the goods at the earliest time whenexistence of the customs debt may be established.
3. The customs authorities referred to in Article 217(1) are those of
the Member State where the cus tomsdebt isincurred or isdeemed to
have been incurred in accordance with thisArticle.
4. If a customs authority finds that a customs debt has been incurred
under Article 202 in another Member State and the amount of that debtislower than EUR 5 000, the debt s hall be deemed to have beenincurred in the Member State where the finding wasmade.
Article 216
1. In so far as agreements concluded between the Community and
certain third countriesprovide for the granting on importation into
those countries of preferential tariff treatment for goods originating in
the Community within the meaning of such agreements, on conditionthat, where they have been obtained under the inward processing(SIC! inward-processing) procedure, non-Community goods incorpo-rated in the said originating goods are subject to payment of theimport dutiespayable thereon, the validation of the documentsneces -
sary to enable such preferential tariff treatment to be obtained in third
countries shall cause a customs debt on importation to be incurred.
2. The moment when such customs debt is incurred shall be deemed
to be the moment when the customs authorities accept the exportdeclaration relating to the goodsin ques tion.
3. The debtor shall be the declarant. In the event of indirect repre-
sentation, the person on whose behalf the declaration is made shallalso be a debtor.
4. The amount of the import duties corresponding to this customs
debt shall be determined under the same conditions as in the case of acustoms debt resulting from the acceptance, on the same date, of thedeclaration for release for free circulation of the goods concerned forthe purpose of terminating the inward processing (SIC! in-ward-proces-sing) procedure.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 63
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CHAPTER 3
RECOVERYOFTHEAMOUNTOFTHECUSTOMSDEBT
Section 1
Entryintheaccountsandcommunicationoftheamountofdutyto
thedebtor
Article 217
1. Each and every amount of import duty or export duty resulting
from a customs debt, hereinafter called ‘amount of duty’, shall becalculated by the customs authorities as soon as they have the neces-sary particulars, and entered by those authorities in the accountingrecordsor on any other equivalent medium (entry in the accounts ).
The first subparagraph shall not apply:
(a) where a provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duty has been
introduced;
(b) where the amount of duty legally due exceedsthat determined on
the basis of binding information;
(c) where the provisions adopted in accordance with the committee
procedure waive the requirement for the customs authorities to
enter in the accountsamountsof duty below a given level.
The customs authorities may discount amounts of duty which, under
Article 221 (3), could not be communicated to the debtor after theend of the time allowed.
2. The Member Statess hall determine the practical proceduresfor
the entry in the accountsof the amountsof duty. Thos e proceduresmay differ according to whether or not, in view of the circumstancesin which the customs debt was incurred, the customs authorities aresatisfied that the said amounts will be paid.
Article 218
1. Where a customs debt is incurred as a result of the acceptance of
the declaration of goodsfor a cus tomsprocedure other than temporaryimportation with partial relief from import dutiesor any other acthaving the same legal effect as such acceptance the amount corre-sponding to such customs debt shall be entered in the accounts as
soon as it has been calculated and, at the latest, on the second day
following that on which the goodswere releas ed.
However, provided that payment hasbeen s ecured, the total amount of
duty relating to all the goods released to one and the same personduring a period fixed by the customs authorities, which may not exceed
31 days, may be covered by a single entry in the accounts at the end of
the period. Such entry in the accountss hall take place within five daysof the expiry of the period in question.
2. Where it is provided that goods may be released subject to
meeting certain conditionslaid down by Community legis lation whichgovern either determination of the amount of the debt or itscollection,
entry in the accountss hall take place no later than two daysfollowing
the day on which the amount of the debt or the obligation to pay thedutiesres ulting from that debt isdetermined or fixed.
However, where the customs debt relates to a provisional anti-dumping
or countervailing duty, that duty shall be entered in the accounts no
later than two monthsfollowing publication in the Official Journal of
the European Communities of the Regulation establishing a definitive
anti-dumping or countervailing duty.
3. Where a customs debt is incurred under conditions other than
those referred to in paragraph 1, the relevant amount of duty shall be1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 64
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entered in the accountswithin two daysof the date on which the
customs authorities are in a position to:
(a) calculate the amount of duty in question, and
(b) determine the debtor.
Article 219
1. The time limitsfor entry in the accountslaid down in Article 218
may be extended:
(a) for reasons relating to the administrative organization of the
Member States, and in particular where accounts are centralized, or
(b) where special circumstances prevent the customs authorities from
complying with the said time limits.
Such extended time limit shall not exceed 14 days.
2. The time limitslaid down in paragraph 1 s hall not apply in unfor-
eseeable circumstances or in cases of force majeure .
Article 220
1. Where the amount of duty resulting from a customs debt has not
been entered in the accountsin accordance with Articles218 and 219or hasbeen entered in the accountsat a level lower than the amount
legally owed, the amount of duty to be recovered or which remainsto
be recovered shall be entered in the accounts within two days of thedate on which the customs authorities become aware of the situationand are in a position to calculate the amount legally owed and to deter-mine the debtor (subsequent entry in the accounts). That time limit may
be extended in accordance with Article 219.
2. Except in the cases referred to in the second and third subpara-
graphs of Article 217 (1), subsequent entry in the accounts shall not
occur where:
(a) the original decision not to enter duty in the accounts or to enter it
in the accountsat a figure les sthan the amount of duty legallyowed was taken on the basis of general provisions invalidated at alater date by a court decision;
(b) the amount of duty legally owed wasnot entered in the accountsas
a result of an error on the part of the customs authorities which
could not reasonably have been detected by the person liable forpayment, the latter for hispart having acted in good faith andcomplied with all the provisions laid down by the legislation inforce asregardsthe cus tomsdeclaration.
Where the preferential status of the goods is established on the
basis of a system of administrative cooperation involving theauthorities of a third country, the issue of a certificate by thoseauthorities, should it prove to be incorrect, shall constitute an errorwhich could not reasonably have been detected within the meaning
of the first subparagraph.
The issue of an incorrect certificate shall not, however, constitute
an error where the certificate isbas ed on an incorrect account ofthe factsprovided by the exporter, except where, in particular, itis evident that the issuing authorities were aware or should have
been aware that the goods did not satisfy the conditions laid down
for entitlement to the preferential treatment.
The person liable may plead good faith when he can demonstrate
that, during the period of the trading operationsconcerned, he hastaken due care to ensure that all the conditions for the preferentialtreatment have been fulfilled.
The person liable may not, however, plead good faith if the
European Commission has published a notice in the Official
Journal of the European Communities , stating that there are
groundsfor doubt concerning the proper application of the prefer-ential arrangementsby the beneficiary country;1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 65
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(c) the provisions adopted in accordance with the committee procedure
exempt the customs authority from the subsequent entry in theaccountsof amountsof duty les sthan a certain figure.
Article 221
1. As soon as it has been entered in the accounts, the amount of
duty shall be communicated to the debtor in accordance with appro-
priate procedures.
2. Where the amount of duty payable hasbeen entered, for
guidance, in the customs declaration, the customs authorities mayspecify that it shall not be communicated in accordance with paragraph1 unless the amount of duty indicated does not correspond to theamount determined by the authorities.
Without prejudice to the application of the second subparagraph of
Article 218 (1), where use is made of the possibility provided for in
the preceding subparagraph, release of the goods by the customs autho-ritiess hall be equivalent to communication to the debtor of the amountof duty entered in the accounts.
3. Communication to the debtor shall not take place after the expiry
of a period of three yearsfrom the date on which the cus tomsdebt was
incurred. This period shall be suspended from the time an appeal
within the meaning of Article 243 islodged, for the duration of theappeal proceedings.
4. Where the customs debt is the result of an act which, at the time
it was committed, was liable to give rise to criminal court proceedings,the amount may, under the conditions set out in the provisions in force,
be communicated to the debtor after the expiry of the three-year period
referred to in paragraph 3.
Section 2
Timelimitandproceduresforpaymentoftheamountofduty
Article 222
1. Amountsof duty communicated in accordance with Article 221
shall be paid by debtors within the following periods:
(a) if the person is not entitled to any of the payment facilities laid
down in Articles224 to 229, payment s hall be made within theperiod prescribed.
Without prejudice to the second paragraph of Article 244, that
period shall not exceed ten days following communication to the
debtor of the amount of duty owed and, in the case of aggregationof entriesin the accountsunder the conditionslaid down in thesecond subparagraph of Article 218 (1), it shall be so fixed as notto enable the debtor to obtain a longer period for payment than if
he had been granted deferred payment.
An extension shall be granted automatically where it is established
that the person concerned received the communication too late toenable him to make payment within the period prescribed.
Extension of the period may also be granted by the customs autho-
ritiesat the reques t of the debtor where the amount of duty to bepaid results from action for post-clearance recovery. Without preju-dice to Article 229 (a), such extensions shall not exceed the timenecessary for the debtor to take the appropriate steps to discharge
hisobligation;
(b) if the person is entitled to any of the payment facilities laid down
in Articles224 to 229, payment s hall be made no later than theexpiry of the period or periods specified in relation to those facil-ities.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 66
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2. The cases and conditions in which the debtor's obligation to pay
duty shall be suspended may also be provided for in accordance withthe committee procedure:
— where an application for remission of duty is made in accordance
with Article 236, 238 or 239, or
— where goods are seized with a view to subsequent confiscation in
accordance with the second indent of point (c) or with point (d) of
Article 233, or
— where the customs debt was incurred under Article 203 and there is
more than one debtor.
Article 223
Payment shall be made in cash or by any other means with similar
discharging effect in accordance with the provisions in force. It mayalso be made by adjustment of credit balance where the provisions inforce so allow.
Article 224
Provided the amount of duty payable by the person concerned relates to
goodsdeclared for a cus tomsprocedure which entailsthe obligation to
pay such duty, the customs authorities shall, at that person's request,grant deferment of payment of that amount under the conditionslaiddown in Articles225, 226 and 227.
Article 225
The granting of deferment of payment shall be conditional on the
provision of security by the applicant.
In addition, the granting of deferment of payment may give rise to the
charging of incidental expenses for the opening of files or for servicesrendered.
Article 226
The customs authorities shall decide which of the following procedures
must be used when granting deferment of payment:
(a) separately in respect of each amount of duty entered in the
accounts under the conditions laid down in the first subparagraphof Article 218 (1) or in Article 220 (1);
or
(b) globally in respect of all amounts of duty entered in the accounts
under the conditions laid down in the first subparagraph of Article218 (1) during a period fixed by the customs authorities notexceeding 31 days; or
(c) globally in respect of all amounts of duty forming a single entry in
accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 218 (1).
Article 227
1. The period for which payment is deferred shall be 30 days. It
shall be calculated as, follows:
(a) where payment isdeferred in accordance with Article 226 (a), the
period shall be calculated from the day following the date on whichthe amount of duty isentered in the accountsby the cus tomsautho-rities.
Where Article 219 isapplied, the period of 30 dayscalculated in
accordance with the first subparagraph shall be reduced by thenumber of days corresponding to the period in excess of two daysused to enter the amount in the accounts;
(b) where payment isdeferred in accordance with Article 226 (b), the
period shall be calculated from the day following the date on whichthe aggregation period expires. It shall be reduced by the number1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 67
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of dayscorres ponding to half the number of daysin the aggrega-
tion period;
(c) where payment isdeferred in accordance with Article 226 (c), the
period shall be calculated from the day following the expiry date ofthe period during which the goods in question were released. Itshall be reduced by the number of days corresponding to half thenumber of daysin the period concerned.
2. Where the number of daysin the periodsreferred to in paragraph
1 (b) and (c) isan odd number, the number of daysto be deducted
from the 30-day period pursuant to paragraph 1 (b) and (c) shall beequal to half the next lowest even number.
3. To simplify matters, where the periods referred to in paragraph 1
(b) and (c) are a calendar week or a calendar month, Member Statesmay provide that the amount of duty in respect of which payment hasbeen deferred shall be paid:
(a) if the period isa calendar week, on the Friday of the fourth week
following that calendar week;
(b) if the period isa calendar month, by the s ixteenth day of the month
following that calendar month.
Article 228
1. Deferment of payment shall not be granted in respect of amounts
of duty which, although relating to goodsentered for a cus tomsproce-dure which entailsthe obligation to pay s uch duty, are entered in the
accountsin accordance with the provis ionsin force concerning accep-
tance of incomplete declarations, because the declarant has not, by thetime of expiry of the period set, provided the information necessary forthe definitive valuation of the goods for customs purposes or has notsupplied the particulars or the document missing when the incompletedeclaration wasaccepted.
2. However, deferment of payment may be granted in the cases
referred to in paragraph 1 where the amount of duty to be recovered
isentered in the accountsbefore the expiry of a period of 30 daysfrom the date on which the amount originally charged wasentered inthe accountsor, if it wasnot entered in the accounts , from the date onwhich the declaration relating to the goodsin ques tion wasaccepted.
The duration of the deferment of payment granted in such circum-
stances shall not extend beyond the date of expiry of the periodwhich, pursuant to Article 227, was granted in respect of the amountof duty originally fixed, or which would have been granted had theamount of duty legally due been entered in the accountswhen thegoodsin ques tion were declared.
Article 229
The customs authorities may grant the debtor payment facilities other
than deferred payment.
The granting of such payment facilities shall:
(a) be conditional on the provision of security. However, such security
need not be required where to require it would, because of the
situation of the debtor, create serious economic or social difficul-ties;
(b) result in credit interest being charged over and above the amount of
duty. The amount of such interest shall be calculated in such a way
that it isequivalent to the amount which would be charged for thispurpose on the national money or financial market of the currencyin which the amount ispayable.
The customs authorities may refrain from claiming credit interest
where to claim it would, because of the situation of the debtor, createserious economic or social difficulties.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 68
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Article 230
Whatever the payment facilitiesgranted to the debtor, the latter may in
any case pay all or part of the amount of duty without awaiting expiry
of the period he hasbeen granted for payment.
Article 231
An amount of duty owed may be paid by a third person instead of the
debtor.
Article 232
1. Where the amount of duty due hasnot been paid within the
prescribed period:
(a) the customs authorities shall avail themselves of all options open to
them under the legislation in force, including enforcement, to
secure payment of that amount.
Special provisions may be adopted, in accordance with committee
procedure, in respect of guarantors within the framework of the
transit procedure;
(b) interest on arrears shall be charged over and above the amount of
duty. The rate of interest on arrears may be higher than the rate of
credit interest. It may not be lower than that rate.
2. The customs authorities may waive collection of interest on
arrears:
(a) where, because of the situation of the debtor, it would be likely to
create serious economic or social difficulties;
(b) where the amount doesnot exceed a level fixed in accordance with
the committee procedure, or
(c) if the duty ispaid within five daysof the expiry of the period
prescribed for payment.
3. The customs authorities may fix:
(a) minimum periodsfor calculation of interes t;
(b) minimum amounts payable as interest on arrears.
CHAPTER 4
EXTINCTIONOFCUSTOMSDEBT
Article 233
Without prejudice to the provisions in force relating to the time-barring
of a customs debt and non-recovery of such a debt in the event of thelegally established insolvency of the debtor, a customs debt shall beextinguished:
(a) by payment of the amount of duty;
(b) by remission of the amount of duty;
(c) where, in respect of goods declared for a customs procedure
entailing the obligation to pay duties:
— the customs declaration is invalidated ►
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— the goods, before their release, are either seized and simulta-
neously or subsequently confiscated, destroyed on theinstructions of the customs authorities, destroyed or abandoned
in accordance with Article 182, or destroyed or irretrievably
lost as a result of their actual nature or of unforeseeable circum-stances or force majeure;
(d) where goods in respect of which a customs debt is incurred in
accordance with Article 202 are seized upon their unlawful intro-duction and are simultaneously or subsequently confiscated.
In the event of seizure and confiscation, the customs debt shall, none-
theless for the purposes of the criminal law applicable to customs1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 69
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offences, be deemed not to have been extinguished where, under a
Member State'scriminal law, cus tomsdutiesprovide the bas isfordetermining penalties or the existence of a customs debt is grounds
for taking criminal proceedings.
Article 234
A customs debt, as referred to in Article 216, shall also be extinguished
where the formalitiescarried out in order to enable the preferential
tariff treatment referred to in Article 216 to be granted are cancelled.
CHAPTER 5
REPAYMENTANDREMISSIONOFDUTY
Article 235
The following definitionss hall apply:
(a) ‘repayment’ meansthe total or partial refund of import dutiesor
export dutieswhich have been paid;
(b) ‘remission’ means either a decision to waive all or part of the
amount of a customs debt or a decision to render void an entry in
the accountsof all or part of an amount of import or export dutywhich hasnot been paid.
Article 236
1. Import dutiesor export dutiess hall be repaid in s o far asit is
established that when they were paid the amount of such duties was
not legally owed or that the amount hasbeen entered in the accountscontrary to Article 220 (2).
Import duties or export duties shall be remitted in so far as it is estab-
lished that when they were entered in the accounts the amount of such
dutieswasnot legally owed or that the amount hasbeen entered in the
accountscontrary to Article 220 (2).
No repayment or remission shall be granted when the facts which led
to the payment or entry in the accountsof an amount which wasnotlegally owed are the result of deliberate action by the person
concerned.
2. Import dutiesor export dutiess hall be repaid or remitted upon
submission of an application to the appropriate customs office withina period of three yearsfrom the date on which the amount of thos e
dutieswascommunicated to the debtor.
That period shall be extended if the person concerned provides
evidence that he wasprevented from s ubmitting hisapplication withinthe said period as a result of unforeseeable circumstances or forcemajeure.
Where the customs authorities themselves discover within this period
that one or other of the situations described in the first and secondsubparagraphs of paragraph 1 exists, they shall repay or remit on theirown initiative.
Article 237
Import duties or export duties shall be repaid where a customs declara-
tion isinvalidated and the dutieshave been paid. Repayment s hall hegranted upon submission of an application by the person concernedwithin the periods laid down for submission of the application for inva-lidation of the customs declaration.
Article 238
1. Import duties shall be repaid or remitted in so far as it is estab-
lished that the amount of such duties entered in the accounts relates togoods placed under the customs procedure in question and rejected bythe importer because at the point in time referred to in Article 67 they1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 70
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are defective or do not comply with the termsof the contract on the
basis of which they were imported.
Defective goods, within the meaning of the first subparagraph, shall be
deemed to include goodsdamaged before their releas e.
2. Repayment or remission of import duties shall be granted on
condition that:
(a) the goods have not been used, except for such initial use as may
have been necessary to establish that they were defective or did
not comply with the termsof the contract;
(b) the goodsare exported from the cus tomsterritory of the Commu-
nity.
At the request of the person concerned, the customs authorities
shall permit the goods to be destroyed ►C1or to be placed, with
a view to re-export, under the ◄external transit procedure or the
customs warehousing procedure or in a free zone or free ware-
house, instead of being exported.
For the purposes of being assigned one of the customs-approved
treatments or uses provided for in the preceding subparagraph, the
goods shall be deemed to be non-Community goods.
3. Import duties shall not be repaid or remitted in respect of goods
which, before being declared to customs declaration, were importedtemporarily for testing, unless it is established that the fact that the
goodswere defective or did not comply with the termsof the contract
could not normally have been detected in the course of such tests.
4. Import duties shall be repaid or remitted for the reasons set out in
paragraph 1 upon submission of an application to the appropriatecustoms office within twelve months from the date on which theamount of those duties was communicated to the debtor.
However, the customs authorities may permit this period to be
exceeded in duly justified exceptional cases.
Article 239
1. Import dutiesor export dutiesmay be repaid or remitted in s itua-
tionsother than thos e referred to in Articles236, 237 and 238:
— to be determined in accordance with the procedure of the
committee;
— resulting from circumstances in which no deception or obvious
negligence may be attributed to the person concerned. The situa-tionsin which thisprovis ion may be applied and the proceduresto
be followed to that end shall be defined in accordance with the
committee procedure. Repayment or remission may be madesubject to special conditions.
2. Duties shall be repaid or remitted for the reasons set out in para-
graph 1 upon submission of an application to the appropriate customs
office within 12 monthsfrom the date on which the amount of the
dutieswascommunicated to the debtor.
However, the customs authorities may permit this period to be
exceeded in duly justified exceptional cases.
Article 240
Import or export dutiess hall be repaid or remitted under the conditions
laid down in thischapter only if the amount to be repaid or remitted
exceedsan amount fixed in accordance with the procedure of thecommittee.
However, the customs authorities may also grant an application for
repayment or remission in respect of a lower amount.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 71
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Article 241
Repayment by the competent authoritiesof amountsof import dutiesor
export duties or of credit interest or interest on arrears collected onpayment of such duties shall not give rise to the payment of interest
by those authorities. However, interest shall be paid:
— where a decision to grant a request for repayment is not imple-
mented within three monthsof the date of adoption of that decis ion,
— where national provisions so stipulate.
The amount of such interest shall be calculated in such a way that it is
equivalent to the amount which would be charged for thispurpos e onthe national money or financial market.
Article 242
Where a customs debt has been remitted or the corresponding amount
of duty repaid in error, the original debt shall again become payable.Any interest paid under Article 241 must be reimbursed.
TITLE VIII
APPEALS
Article 243
1. Any person shall have the right to appeal against decisions taken
by the customs authorities which relate to the application of customslegislation, and which concern him directly and individually.
Any person who has applied to the customs authorities for a decision
relating to the application of customs legislation and has not obtained
a ruling on that request within the period referred to in Article 6 (2)shall also be entitled to exercise the right of appeal.
The appeal must be lodged in the Member State where the decision has
been taken or applied for.
2. The right of appeal may be exercised:
(a) initially, before the customs authorities designated for that purpose
by the Member States;
(b) subsequently, before an independent body, which may be a judicial
authority or an equivalent specialized body, according to the provi-sions in force in the Member States.
Article 244
The lodging of an appeal shall not cause implementation of the
disputed decision to be suspended.
The customs authorities shall, however, suspend implementation of
such decision in whole or in part where they have good reason tobelieve that the disputed decision is inconsistent with customs legisla-
tion or that irreparable damage isto be feared for the pers on concerned.
Where the disputed decision has the effect of causing import duties or
export duties to be charged, suspension of implementation of that deci-sion shall be subject to the existence or lodging of a security. However,such security need not be required where such a requirement would belikely, owing to the debtor's circumstances, to cause serious economicor social difficulties.
Article 245
The provisions for the implementation of the appeals procedure shall
be determined by the Member States.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 72
▼B
Article 246
Thistitle s hall not apply to appealslodged with a view to the annul-
ment or revision of a decision taken by the customs authorities on thebasis of criminal law.
TITLE IX
FINALPROVISIONS
CHAPTER 1
CUSTOMSCODECOMMITTEE
Article 247
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation,
including implementation of the Regulation referred to in Article 184,except for Title VIII and subject to Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation(EEC) No 2658/87 (*) and to Article 248 of thisRegulation s hall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in
Article 247a(2) in compliance with the international commitmentsentered into by the Community.
Article 247a
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Customs Code Committee
(hereinafter referred to as‘the Committee’).
2. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 248
The measures necessary for implementing Articles 11, 12 and 21 shall
be adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to in
Article 248a(2).
Article 248a
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Customs Code Committee,
hereinafter referred to as‘the Committee’.
2. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles4 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.
The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 249
The Committee may examine any question concerning customs legisla-
tion which israis ed by itschairman, either on hisown initiative or atthe request of a Member State's representative.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 73
(*) OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1.▼M3
▼B
CHAPTER 2
LEGALEFFECTSINAMEMBERSTATEOFMEASURESTAKEN,
DOCUMENTSISSUEDANDFINDINGSMADEINANOTHER
MEMBERSTATE
Article 250
Where a customs procedure is used in several Member States,
— the decisions, identification measures taken or agreed on, and the
documents issued by the customs authorities of one Member State
shall have the same legal effects in other Member States as suchdecisions, measures taken and documents issued by the customsauthorities of each of those Member States;
— the findingsmade at the time controlsare carried out by the
customs authorities of a Member State shall have the same conclu-sive force in the other Member States as the findings made by thecustoms authorities of each of those Member States.
CHAPTER 3
OTHERFINALPROVISIONS
Article 251
1. The following Regulationsand Directivesare hereby repealed:
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 of 27 June 1968 on the
common definition of the concept of the origin of goods(1), aslas t
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 456/91 (2);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 754/76 of 25 March 1976 on the
customs treatment applicable to goods returned to the customs terri-
tory of the Community (3), aslas t amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 1147/86 (4);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2779/78 of 23 November 1978 on
the procedure for applying the European unit of account (EUA) tolegal acts adopted in the customs sphere (
5), asamended by Regula-
tion (EEC) No 289/84 (6);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1430/79 of 2 July 1979 on the repay-
ment or remission of import or export duties (7), aslas t amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 1854/89 (8);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 of 24 July 1979 on the post-
clearance recovery of import dutiesor export dutieswhich have notbeen required of the person liable for payment on goods entered for
a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties (
9),
aslas t amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1854/89 (10);
— Council Directive 79/695/EEC of 24 July 1979 on the harmoniza-
tion of proceduresfor the releas e of goodsfor free circulation (11),
aslas t amended by Directive 90/504/EEC (12);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1224/80 of 28 May 1980 on the
valuation of goods for customs purposes (13), aslas t amended by
the Regulation (EEC) No 4046/89 (14);1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 74
(1) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 54, 28. 2. 1991, p. 4.
(3) OJ No L 89, 2. 4. 1976, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 105, 22. 4. 1986, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 333, 30. 11. 1978, p. 5.
(6) OJ No L 33, 4. 2. 1984, p. 2.
(7) OJ No L 175, 12. 7. 1979, p. 1.
(8) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 1.
(9) OJ No L 197, 3. 8. 1979, p. 1.
(10) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 1.
(11) OJ No L 205, 13. 8. 1979, p. 19.
(12) OJ No L 281, 12. 10. 1990, p. 28.
(13) OJ No L 134, 31. 5. 1980, p. 1.
(14) OJ No L 388, 30. 12. 1989, p. 24
▼B
— Council Directive 81/177/EEC of 24 February 1981 on the harmo-
nization of proceduresfor the export of Community goods (1), as
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1854/89 (2);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 3599/82 of 21 December 1982 on
temporary importation arrangements(3), aslas t amended by Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1620/85 (4);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2763/83 of 26 September 1983 on
arrangements permitting goods to be processed under customscontrol before being put into free circulation (
5), aslas t amended
by Regulation (EEC) No 720/91 (6);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2151/84 of 23 July 1984 on the
customs territory of the Community (7), aslas t amended by the
Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal;
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 of 16 July 1985 on inward
processing (SIC! inward-processing) relief arrangements (8);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 3632/85 of 12 December 1985
defining the conditionsunder which a pers on may be permitted tomake a customs declaration (
9);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2473/86 of 24 July 1986 on outward
processing (SIC! outward-processing) relief arrangements and thestandard exchange system (
10);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2144/87 of 13 July 1987 on customs
debt (11), aslas t amended by Regulation (EEC) No 4108/88 (12);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1031/88 of 18 April 1988 deter-
mining the persons liable for payment of a customs debt (13), as
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1716/90 (14);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1970/88 of 30 June 1988 concerning
triangular traffic under the outward processing (SIC! outward-
processing) relief arrangements and the standard exchangesystem (
15);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2503/88 of 25 July 1988 on customs
warehouses (16), asamended by Regulation (EEC) No 2561/90 (17);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2504/88 of 25 July 1988 on free-
zones (SIC! free zones) and free ware-houses (18), asamended by
Regulation (EEC) No 1604/92 (19);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 4151/88 of 21 December 1988 laying
down the provisions applicable to goods brought into the customsterritory of the Community (
20);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1854/89 of 14 June 1989 on the
entry in the accountsand termsof payment of the amountsof the
import dutiesor export dutiesres ulting from a cus tomsdebt (21);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1855/89 of 14 June 1989 on the
temporary importation of meansof trans port (22);1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 75
(1) OJ No L 83, 30. 3. 1981, p. 40.
(2) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 376, 31. 12. 1982, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 155, 14. 6. 1985, p. 54.
(5) OJ No L 272, 5. 10. 1985, p. 1.
(6) OJ No L 78, 26. 3. 1991, p. 9.
(7) OJ No L 197, 27. 7. 1984, p. 1.
(8) OJ No L 188, 20. 7. 1985, p. 1.
(9) OJ No L 350, 27. 12. 1985, p. 1.
(10) OJ No L 212, 2. 8. 1986, p. 1.
(11) OJ No L 201, 22. 7. 1987, p. 15.
(12) OJ No L 361, 29. 12. 1988, p. 2.
(13) OJ No L 102, 21. 4. 1988, p. 5.
(14) OJ No L 160, 26. 6. 1990, p. 6.
(15) OJ No L 174, 6. 7. 1988, p. 1.
(16) OJ No L 225, 15. 8. 1988, p. 1.
(17) OJ No L 246, 10. 9. 1990, p. 1.
(18) OJ No L 225, 15. 8. 1988, p. 8.
(19) OJ No L 173, 26. 6. 1992, p. 30.
(20) OJ No L 367, 31. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(21) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 1.
(22) OJ No L 186, 30. 6. 1989, p. 8.
▼B
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 3312/89 of 30 October 1989 on the
temporary importation of containers(1);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 4046/89 of 21 December 1989 on the
security to be given to ensure payment of a customs debt (2);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 1715/90 of 20 June 1990 on the
information provided by the customs authorities of the Member
States concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomen-clature (
3);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 2726/90 of 17 September 1990 on
Community transit (4)►M1 ◄,
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 717/91 of 21 March 1991 concerning
the Single Administrative Document (5);
— Council Regulation (EEC) No 719/91 of 21 March 1991 on the use
in the Community of TIR carnetsand ATA carnetsastrans it docu-ments(
6).
2. In all Community actswhere reference ismade to the Regulations
or Directivesreferred to in paragraph 1, that reference s hall be deemedto refer to thisCode.
Article 252
1. Articles141, 142 and 143 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 918/
83 (
7) are hereby repealed.
2. Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (8), aslas t amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 3492/91 (9), ishereby amended asfollows :
‘(a) Article 8 is hereby amended as follows: The following words shall
be inserted after the word “committee”: “provided for in Article247 of the Community Customs Code”.
(b) The introductory sentence in Article 10 (1) is hereby amended as
follows: “The representative of the Commission shall submit to thecommittee provided for in Article 247 of the Community CustomsCode a draft…”.
(c) Articles7 and 11 are hereby repealed.’
Article 253
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following that of
itspublication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 January 1994.Title VIII shall not apply to the United Kingdom until 1 January 1995.
However, Article 161 and, in so far as they concern re-exportation,
Articles 182 and 183 shall apply from 1 January 1993. In so far asthe said Articles make reference to provisions in this Code and untilsuch time as such provisions enter into force, the references shall bedeemed to allude to the corresponding provisions in the Regulationsand Directiveslis ted in Article 251.
Before 1 October 1993, the Council shall, on the basis of a Commis-
sion progress report on discussions regarding the consequences to bedrawn from the monetary conversion rate used for the application ofcommon agricultural policy measures, review the problem of trade ingoodsbetween the Member Statesin the context of the internal market.This report shall be accompanied by Commission proposals if any, on1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 76
(1) OJ No L 321, 4. 11. 1989, p. 5.
(2) OJ No L 388, 30. 12. 1989, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 160, 26. 6. 1990, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 262, 26. 9. 1990, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 78, 26. 3. 1991, p. 1.
(6) OJ No L 78, 26. 3. 1991, p. 6.
(7) OJ No L 105, 23. 4. 1983, p. 1.
(8) OJ No L 256, 7. 9. 1987, p. 1.
(9) OJ No L 328, 30. 11. 1991, p. 80.
▼B
which the Council shall take a decision in accordance with the provi-
sions of the Treaty.
Before 1 January 1998, the Council shall, on the basis of a Commission
report, review thisCode with a view to making s uch adaptationsas
may appear necessary taking into account in particular the achievementof the internal market. This report shall be accompanied by proposals,if any, on which the Council shall take a decision in accordance withthe provisions of the Treaty.1992R2913 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 003.001 — 77