1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No515/97
of13March1997
on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and coopera-
tion between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on
customsandagricultural matters
(OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 288, 27.10.1998, p. 55 (515/97)
▼B
COUNCILREGULATION(EC)No515/97
of13March1997
on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the
Member States and cooperation between the latter and theCommissiontoensurethecorrectapplicationofthelawoncustoms
andagricultural matters
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, andin particular Articles43 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of the Council
of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agriculturalpolicy (
1), and in particular Article 8 (3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (4),
Whereascombating fraud in the context of the cus tomsunion and the
common agricultural policy callsfor clos e cooperation between theadministrative authorities responsible in each Member State for theapplication of provisions adopted in those fields; whereas it also calls
for appropriate cooperation between these national authorities and the
Commission, which is responsible for ensuring the application of theTreaty and the provisions adopted by virtue thereof; whereas effectivecooperation in thisfield s trengthensthe protection of the financialinterests of the Community;
Whereasruless hould therefore be drawn up whereby the Member
States' administrative authorities assist each other and cooperate with
the Commission in order to guarantee the proper application of customsand agricultural regulationsand legal protection for the Community'sfinancial interests, in particular by preventing and investigatingbreaches of those regulations and by investigating operations whichare or appear contrary to those regulations;
WhereasCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 on
mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the MemberStates and cooperation between the latter and the Commission toensure the correct application of the law on customs or agriculturalmatters(
5) established close cooperation between the said authorities
and the Commission; whereas that system has proved effective;
Whereas it is nevertheless necessary, in the light of the experience
gained, to replace Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 in itsentirety withthe aim of strengthening cooperation both among the administrativeauthorities of the Member States responsible for the application of theprovisions adopted in the field of customs union and the common agri-cultural policy and between those authorities and the Commission;
whereas, to that end, new rules should be laid down at Community
level;
Whereas the introduction of Community provisions on mutual assis-
tance between Member States' administrations and their cooperationwith the Commission in order to guarantee the proper application ofcustoms or agricultural regulations is without prejudice to the applica-1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13. Regulation aslas t amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 2048/88 (OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 1).
(2) OJ No C 56, 26. 2. 1993, p. 1; OJ No C 262, 28. 9. 1993, p. 8, and OJ No C
80, 17. 3. 1994, p. 12.
(3) OJ No C 20, 24. 1. 1994, p. 85, and Opinion of 16 January 1997 (OJ No C
33, 3. 2. 1997).
(4) OJ No C 161, 14. 6. 1993, p. 15.
(5) OJ No L 144, 2. 6. 1981, p. 1. Regulation asamended by Regulation (EEC)
No 945/87 (OJ No L 90, 2. 4. 1987, p. 3).
▼B
tion of the 1967 Convention for mutual assistance between customs
administrations in fields which remain the sole province of the MemberStates; whereas these Community provisions are not such as to affect
the application in the Member Statesof ruleson judicial cooperation
in criminal cases;
Whereas, furthermore, the general Community rules establishing a
system of mutual assistance and cooperation among the administrative
authoritiesof the Member Statesand between them and the Commis -
sion do not apply where they overlap with those laid down by specificregulations, save where the general rules improve or reinforce adminis-trative cooperation; whereas, in particular, the implementation of thecustoms information system does not in any way affect the MemberStates' obligations to provide information to the Commission, laid
downinter alia under Regulations(EEC, Euratom) No 1552/89 (
1) and
(EEC) No 595/91 (2), or the established use of fraud information sheets
to circulate information of Community interest;
Whereasgreater cooperation between the Member Statesrequiresthe
coordination of enquiriesand other activitiescarried out by the bodies
concerned; whereas it is therefore essential that the Commission should
be given more detailed information concerning such activities by theMember States;
Whereas the Commission must ensure that economic operators are
treated equally and that the application by the Member Statesof the
mutual administrative assistance system does not lead to discrimination
between economic operatorsin different Member States ;
Whereasit isappropriate to define the Member States ' obligations
under the mutual administrative assistance system in respect of casesin which representatives of the Member States' national administrations
conduct enquiriesconcerning the application of cus tomsor agricultural
legislation with a mandate from, or under the authority of, the legalauthorities;
Whereasthe powersof national repres entativesconducting enquiriesin
other Member States should be defined; whereas provision should also
be made for Commission representatives to be present, where justified,at national enquiries concerning mutual administrative assistance, andfor their powersto be defined;
Whereas it is necessary for the successful functioning of administrative
cooperation that the Commission be informed of information
exchanged between Member Statesand third countriesin cas esofparticular interest for the Community;
Whereas, with a view to securing the rapid and systematic exchange of
information forwarded to the Commission, there is a need to set up a
computerized customs information system at Community level;
whereas in that context sensitive data concerning frauds and irregulari-ties in the customs and agricultural domains should be stored in acentral database accessible to the Member States, while ensuring thatthe confidential nature of the information exchanged, in particulardata of a personal nature, is respected; whereas, given the justifiable
sensitivity of the issue, there should be clear and transparent rules to
protect the freedom of the individual;
Whereascus tomsauthoritieshave daily to apply both Community and
non-Community provisions; whereas it is therefore desirable to haveavailable a single infrastructure for applying these provisions;1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 3
(1) Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1552/89 of 29 May 1989 imple-
menting Decision 88/376/EEC, Euratom on the system of the Communities'
own resources (OJ No L 155, 7. 6. 1989, p. 1). Regulation last amended by
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2729/94 (OJ No L 293, 12. 11. 1994, p. 5).
(2) Council Regulation (EEC) No 595/91 of 4 March 1991 concerning irregula-
ritiesand the recovery of money wrongly paid in connection with the
financing of the common agricultural policy and the organization of an
information system in this field and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 283/72
(OJ No L 67, 14. 3. 1991, p. 11).
▼B
Whereas the information exchanged may concern physical persons and
this Regulation must therefore implement, in its scope, the principles ofprotection of persons with regard to processing, by automatic means or
otherwise, of personal data; whereas these principles, as set out in
Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of24 October 1995 on the protection of individualswith regard to theprocessing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (
1)
should themselves, in compliance with the terms and conditions of this
Directive, be specified and supplemented in this Regulation; whereas
pending implementation of the national measures transposing thatDirective certain Member Stateswhich have no protection rulesforpersonal data exchanged by non-automatic means should be exemptedfrom applying the provisions of this Regulation concerning the non-automatic exchange of data;
Whereas, in order to take part in the Customs Information System, the
Member States and the Commission must adopt legislation on the
rights and freedoms of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data; whereas, pending implementation of the nationalmeasures transposing Directive 95/46/EC, it is important that theMember States and the Commission guarantee a level of protectionbased on the principles contained in that Directive;
Whereas, in order to ensure that the rights of the persons concerned are
sufficiently protected, there needs to be a guarantee of independent
supervision of the processing of the personal data in the Customs Infor-
mation System both a Member State level and in respect of theCommission;
Whereas the Commission, in close cooperation with the Member
States, should facilitate the installation and management of computersystems in the Member States;
Whereas the Commission should be notified of legal and administrative
proceedingsbrought for infringementsof the law on cus tomsor agri-cultural matters;
Whereas, with the aim of implementing certain provisions of this
Regulation, enabling the installation and functioning of the Customs
Information System and examining possible problems in connection
with the development of administrative cooperation as provided for inthis Regulation, it is necessary to establish a Committee;
Whereasthe provis ionsof thisRegulation refer both to the application
of the rulesof the common agricultural policy and to the application ofcustoms legislation; whereas the system set up under this Regulationconstitutes an integral Community entity; whereas, since the provisionsof the Treaty specifically covering customs matters do not empower the
Community to set up such a system, it is necessary to invoke Article
235,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. ThisRegulation laysdown the waysin which the adminis trative
authorities responsible for implementation of the legislation on customsand agricultural mattersin the Member Statess hall cooperate with each
other and with the Commission in order to ensure compliance with that
legislation within the framework of a Community system.
2. The provisions of this Regulation shall not apply where they
overlap with the specific provisions of other legislation on mutualassistance between Member States' administrative authorities and coop-eration between the latter and the Commission for the application ofcustoms or agricultural legislation.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 281, 23. 11. 1995, p. 31.
▼B
Article 2
1. For the purposes of this Regulation:
—‘customs legislation’ meansthe body of Community provis ionsand
the associated implementing provisions governing the import,export, transit and presence of goods traded between Member Statesand third countries, and between Member States in the case of
goodsthat do not have Community s tatuswithin the meaning of
Article 9 (2) of the Treaty or goodss ubject to additional controlsor investigations for the purposes of establishing their Communitystatus,
—‘agricultural legislation’ meansthe body of provis ionsadopted
under the common agricultural policy and the special rules adoptedwith regard to goods resulting from the processing of agricultural
products,
—‘applicant authority’ meansthe competent authority of a Member
State which makes a request for assistance,
—‘requested authority’ meansthe competent authority of a Member
State to which a request for assistance is made,
—‘administrative enquiry’ meansall controls , checksand other action
taken by the staff of the administrative authorities specified inArticle 1 (1) in the performance of their dutieswith a view toensuring proper application of customs and agricultural legislation
and, where necessary, checking the irregular nature of operations
which appear to breach that legislation, except action taken at therequest of or under a direct mandate from a judicial authority; theexpression ‘administrative enquiry’ also covers the Communitymissions referred to in Article 20,
—‘personal data’ meansall information relating to an identified or
identifiable individual; an identifiable person is one who can be
identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to anidentification number or to one or more factorss pecific to hisphysical, psychological, mental, economic, cultural or social iden-tity.
2. Each Member State shall communicate to the other Member
States and the Commission a list of the competent authorities it has
appointed for the purposes of applying this Regulation.
For the purposes of this Regulation ‘competent authorities’ means the
authoritiesappointed in accordance with the preceding s ubparagraph.
Article 3
Where national authorities decide, in response to a request for adminis-
trative assistance or a communication based on this Regulation, to take
action involving measures which may be implemented only with theauthorization or at the demand of a judicial authority:
— any information thusobtained concerning the application of
customs and agricultural legislation, or at least
— that part of the file required to put a stop to a fraudulent practice,
shall be communicated as part of the administrative cooperation
provided for by thisRegulation.
However, any such communication must have the prior authorization of
the judicial authority if the necessity of such authorization derives from
national law.
TITLE I
ASSISTANCEONREQUEST
Article 4
1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority
shall transmit to it any information which may enable it to ensure1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 5
▼B
compliance with the provisions of customs or agricultural legislation,
and in particular those concerning:
— the application of customs duties and charges having equivalent
effect together with agricultural leviesand other chargesprovided
for under the common agricultural policy or the special arrange-
ments applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing ofagricultural products,
— operations forming part of the system of financing by the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund.
2. In order to obtain the information sought, the requested authority
or the administrative authority to which it has recourse shall proceed asthough acting on itsown account or at the reques t of another authorityin itsown country.
Article 5
At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall
supply it with any attestation, document or certified true copy of a
document in its possession or obtained in the manner referred to in
Article 4 (2) which relatesto operationscovered by cus tomsor agricul-tural legislation.
Article 6
1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority
shall, while observing the rules in force in the Member State in whichit is based, notify the addressee or have it notified of all instruments ordecisions which emanate from the administrative authorities and
concern the application of customs or agricultural legislation.
2. Requests for notification, mentioning the subject of the instrument
or decision to be communicated, shall be accompanied by a translationin the official language or an official language of the Member State in
which the requested authority is based, without prejudice to the latter's
right to waive such a translation.
Article 7
At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall
as far as possible keep a special watch or arrange for a special watch tobe kept within itsoperational area:
(a) on persons, and more particularly their movements, where there are
reasonable grounds for believing that they are breaching customs oragricultural legislation;
(b) on placeswhere goodsare s tored in a way that givesgroundsto
suspect that they are intended to supply operations contrary tocustoms or agricultural legislation;
(c) on the movementsof goodsindicated asbeing the object of poten-
tial breaches of customs or agricultural legislation;
(d) on means of transport, where there are reasonable grounds for
believing that they are being used to carry out operations in breachof customs or agricultural legislation.
Article 8
At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall
make available any information in its possession or obtained in the
manner referred to in Article 4 (2), and particularly reportsand other
documentsor certified true copiesor extractsthereof, concerningoperationsdetected or planned which cons titute, or appear to the appli-cant authority to constitute, breaches of customs or agriculturallegislation or, where applicable, concerning the findings of the special
watch carried out pursuant to Article 7.
However, original documentsand itemss hall be provided only where
thisisnot contrary to the legis lation in force in the Member State inwhich the requested authority is based.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 6
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Article 9
1. The requested authority shall at the request of the applicant
authority carry out, or arrange to have carried out, the appropriateadministrative enquiries concerning operations which constitute, orappear to the applicant authority to constitute, breaches of customs oragricultural legislation.
The requested authority or the administrative authority to which it has
recourse shall conduct administrative enquiries as though acting on itsown account or at the request of another authority in its own country.
The requested authority shall communicate the results of such adminis-
trative enquiriesto the applicant authority.
2. By agreement between the applicant authority and the requested
authority, officialsappointed by the applicant authority may be pres entat the administrative enquiries referred to in paragraph 1.
Administrative enquiries shall at all times be carried out by staff of the
requested authority. The applicant authority's staff may not, of theirown initiative, assume powers of inspection conferred on officials ofthe requested authority. They shall, however, have access to the same
premises and the same documents as the latter, through their inter-
mediary and for the sole purpose of the administrative enquiry beingcarried out.
In so far as national provisions on criminal proceedings reserve certain
acts to officials specifically designated by national law, the applicantauthority's staff shall not take part in such acts. In any event, they shallnot participate in particular in searches of premises or the formal ques-tioning of persons under criminal law. They shall, however, haveaccess to the information thus obtained subject to the conditions laid
down in Article 3.
Article 10
By agreement between the applicant authority and the requested
authority and in accordance with the arrangementslaid down by thelatter, officialsduly authorized by the applicant authority may obtain,from the officeswhere the adminis trative authoritiesof the MemberState in which the requested authority is based exercise their functions,
information concerning the application of the law on customs and agri-
cultural matterswhich isneeded by the applicant authority and whichis derived from documentation to which the staff of those offices haveaccess. These officials shall be authorized to take copies of the saiddocumentation.
Article 11
Staff of the applicant authority present in another Member State in
accordance with Articles9 and 10 mus t at all timesbe able to produce
written authority stating their identity and their official functions.
Article 12
Findings, certificates, information, documents, certified true copies and
any intelligence obtained by the staff of the requested authority andcommunicated to the applicant authority in the course of the assistanceprovided for in Articles4 to 11 may be invoked asevidence by the
competent bodiesof the Member Statesof the applicant authority.
TITLE II
SPONTANEOUSASSISTANCE
Article 13
The competent authoritiesof each Member State s hall, aslaid down in
Articles 14 and 15, provide assistance to the competent authorities ofthe other Member Stateswithout prior reques t.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 7
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Article 14
Where they consider it useful for ensuring compliance with customs or
agricultural legislation, each Member State's competent authorities
shall:
(a) as far as is possible keep, or have kept, the special watch described
in Article 7;
(b) communicate to the competent authoritiesof the other Member
States concerned all information in their possession, and in parti-
cular reportsand other documentsor certified true copiesor
extractsthereof, concerning operationswhich cons titute, or appearto them to constitute, breaches of customs or agricultural legisla-tion.
Article 15
The competent authoritiesof each Member State s hall immediately
send to the competent authorities of the other Member States concernedall relevant information concerning operationswhich cons titute, or
appear to them to constitute, breaches of customs or agricultural legis-
lation, and in particular concerning the goodsinvolved and new waysand means of carrying out such operations.
Article 16
Information obtained by staff of one Member State and communicated
to another Member State in the course of the assistance provided for inArticles13 to 15 may be invoked asevidence by the competent bodiesof the Member State receiving the information.
TITLE III
RELATIONSWITHTHECOMMISSION
Article 17
1. The competent authoritiesof each Member State s hall communi-
cate to the Commission as soon as it is available to them:
(a) any information they consider relevant concerning:
— goods which have been or are suspected of having been the
object of breaches of customs or agricultural legislation,
— methods or practices used or suspected of having been used to
breach customs or agricultural legislation,
— requests for assistance, action taken and information exchanged
in application of Articles4 to 16 which are capable of revealing
fraudulent tendenciesin the field of cus tomsand agriculture;
(b) any information on shortcomings or gaps in customs and agricul-
tural legislation that become apparent or may be deduced from theapplication of that legislation.
2. The Commission shall communicate to the competent authorities
in each Member State, ass oon asit becomesavailable, any informationthat would help them to enforce customs or agricultural legislation.
Article 18
1. Where a Member State'scompetent authoritiesbecome aware of
operations which constitute, or appear to constitute, breaches ofcustoms or agricultural legislation that are of particular relevance atCommunity level, and especially:
— where they have, or might have, ramificationsin other Member
States, or
— where it appearslikely to the above authoritiesthat s imilar opera-
tions have also been carried out in other Member States,
they shall communicate to the Commission as soon as possible, either
on their own initiative or in response to a reasoned request from theCommission, any relevant information, be it in the form of documents1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 8
▼B
or copiesor extractsthereof, needed to determine the factss o that the
Commission may coordinate the steps taken by the Member States.
The Commission shall convey this information to the competent autho-
ritiesof the other Member States .
2. Where a Member State'scompetent authoritiesinvoke paragraph
1, they need not communicate information asprovided in Articles14(b) and 15 to the competent authoritiesof the other member States
concerned.
3. In response to a reasoned request from the Commission, the
Member State'scompetent authoritiess hall act in the manner laiddown in Articles4 to 8.
4. Where the Commission considers that irregularities have taken
place in one or more Member States, it shall inform the Member State
or Statesconcerned thereof and that State or thos e Statess hall at theearliest opportunity carry out an enquiry, at which Commission offi-cialsmay be pres ent under the conditionslaid down in Articles9 (2)and 11 of thisRegulation.
The Member State or States concerned shall, as soon as possible,
communicate to the Commission the findings of the enquiry.
5. Officials of the Commission may collect the information specified
in Article 10 under conditionslaid down in that Article by commonaccord.
6. This Article is without prejudice to the Commission's right to
information and scrutiny by virtue of other legislation in force.
TITLE IV
RELATIONSWITHTHIRDCOUNTRIES
Article 19
Provided the third country concerned hasgiven a legal undertaking to
provide the assistance required to gather proof of the irregular nature ofoperations which appear to constitute breaches of customs or agricul-tural legislation or to determine the scope of operations which havebeen found to constitute breaches of that legislation, information
obtained under thisRegulation may be communicated to that third
country aspart of a concerted action, s ubject to the agreement of thecompetent authoritiess upplying the information, in accordance withtheir internal provisions concerning the communication of personaldata to third countries.
The information shall be communicated either by the Commission or
by the Member Statesaspart of the concerted action referred to inthe first paragraph; in either case appropriate steps shall be taken inthe third country concerned to ensure a degree of protection equivalentto that laid down by Article 45 (1) and (2).
Article 20
1. In pursuit of the objectives of this Regulation, the Commission
may, under the conditionslaid down in Article 19, conduct Communityadministrative and investigative cooperation missions in third countriesin coordination and close cooperation with the competent authorities ofthe Member States.
2. The Community missions to third countries referred to in para-
graph 1 shall be governed by the following conditions:
(a) they may be undertaken at the Commission's initiative, where
appropriate on the basis of information supplied by the EuropeanParliament, or at the request of one or more Member States;
(b) they shall be carried out by Commission officials appointed for that
purpose and by officials appointed for that purpose by the MemberState(s) concerned;1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 9
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(c) they may also, by agreement with the Commission and the Member
Statesconcerned, be carried out on behalf of the Community byofficials of a Member State, in particular under a bilateral assis-
tance agreement with a third country; in that event the
Commission shall be informed of the results of the mission;
(d) mission expenses shall be paid by the Commission.
3. The Commission shall inform the Member States and the
European Parliament of the results of missions carried out pursuant to
thisArticle.
Article 21
1. The findingsand information obtained in the cours e of the
Community missions referred to in Article 20 of this Regulation, andin particular documents passed on by the competent authorities of thethird countriesconcerned, s hall be handled in accordance with Article
45 of thisRegulation.
2. Article 12 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the findingsand infor-
mation referred to in paragraph 1.
3. For the purposes of their use pursuant to Article 12, original
documentsobtained or certified true copiesthereof s hall be forwardedby the Commission to the competent authorities of the Member States
if they so request.
Article 22
Member States shall notify the Commission of information exchanged
within the framework of mutual administrative assistance with thirdcountrieswherever, within the meaning of Article 18 (1), it isparticu-larly relevant to the effectiveness of customs or agricultural legislationpursuant to this Regulation and the information falls within the scope
of thisRegulation.
TITLE V
CUSTOMSINFORMATIONSYSTEM
Chapter 1
EstablishmentofaCustomsInformationSystem
Article 23
1. An automated information system, the ‘Customs Information
System’, hereinafter referred to as the ‘CIS’, is hereby established tomeet the requirements of the administrative authorities responsible for
applying the legislation on customs or agricultural matters, as well as
those of the Commission.
2. The aim of the CIS, in accordance with the provisions of this
Regulation, shall be to assist in preventing, investigating and prose-cuting operationswhich are in breach of cus tomsor agriculturallegislation, by increasing, through more rapid dissemination of infor-
mation, the effectiveness of the cooperation and control procedures of
the competent authoritiesreferred to in thisRegulation.
3. The customs authorities of the Member States may use the tech-
nical infrastucture of the CIS in the performance of their duties in theframework of the customs cooperation referred to in Article K.1 (8) of
the Treaty on European Union.
In such a case, the Commission shall ensure the technical management
of the infrastructure.
4. Those operations in connection with the application of agricul-
tural regulationswhich require the introduction of information into theCIS shall be determined by the Commission in accordance with theprocedure set out in Article 43 (2).1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 10
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5. The exchange of information provided for under Articles17 and
18 isnot covered by the provis ionsof thisTitle.
6. The Member States and the Commission, hereinafter referred to
as the ‘CIS partners’, shall take part in the CIS under the conditions
laid down in thisTitle.
Chapter 2
OperationanduseoftheCIS
Article 24
The CIS shall consist of a central database facility and it shall be
accessible via terminals in each Member State and at the Commission.
It shall comprise exclusively data necessary to fulfil its aim as stated in
Article 23 (2), including personal data, in the following categories:
(a) commodities;
(b) meansof trans port;
(c) businesses;
(d) persons;
(e) fraud trends;
(f) availability of expertise.
Article 25
The itemsto be included in the CIS relating to each of categories(a) to
(f) in Article 24 shall be determined in accordance with the procedure
provided for in Article 43 (2) to the extent that this is necessary to
achieve the aim of the System. No items of personal data shall beincluded in any event in categories(e) and (f) of Article 24. In cate-gories(a) to (d) of Article 24 the itemsto be included in res pect ofpersonal data shall comprise no more than:
(a) name, maiden name, forenames and aliases;
(b) date and place of birth;
(c) nationality;
(d) sex;
(e) any particular objective and permanent physical characteristics;
(f) reason for inclusion of data;
(g) suggested action;
(h) a warning code indicating any history of being armed, violent or
escaping;
(i) registration number of the means of transport.
In all cases, personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political
opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membershipand data concerning the health or sex life of an individual shall not be
included.
Article 26
The following principles must be observed in the implementation of the
CIS where personal data are concerned:
(a) collection and any other operation for processing personal data
must be carried out fairly and lawfully;
(b) data must be collected for the purposes defined in Article 23 (2)
and not subsequently processed in a manner incompatible withthose purposes;
(c) data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the
purposes for which they are processed;
(d) data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date;1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 11
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(e) data must be kept in a form which permits identification of data
subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes in view.
Article 27
1. Data in categories(a) to (d) of Article 24 s hall be included in the
CIS only for the purpose of sighting and reporting, discreet surveillanceor specific checks.
2. For the purposes of the actions referred to in paragraph 1,
personal data within any of categories (a) to (d) of Article 24 may be
included in the CIS only if, especially on the basis of prior illegal
activities, there is evidence to suggest that the person concerned hascommitted, iscommitting or will commit actionswhich are in breachof customs or agricultural legislation and which are of particular rele-vance at Community level.
Article 28
1. If the actionsreferred to in Article 27 (1) are carried out, the
following information may, in whole or in part, be collected and trans-mitted to the CIS partner which suggested the actions:
(a) the fact that the commodity, means of transport, business or person
reported hasbeen found;
(b) the place, time and reason for the check;
(c) route and destination of the journey;
(d) persons accompanying the person concerned or occupants of the
meansof trans port;
(e) means of transport used;
(f) objectscarried;
(g) the circumstances under which the commodity, means of transport,
business or person was found.
When such information is collected in the course of discreet surveil-
lance, steps must be taken to ensure that the secret nature of thesurveillance is not jeopardized.
2. In the context of the specific checks referred to in Article 27 (1),
persons, means of transport and objects may be searched to the extentpermissible and in accordance with the laws, regulations and proce-duresof the Member State in which the s earch takesplace. If thespecific checks are not permitted by the law of a Member State, they
shall automatically be converted by that Member State into sighting
and reporting or discreet surveillance.
Article 29
1. Direct access to data included in the CIS shall be reserved exclu-
sively for the national authorities designated by each Member State andthe departments designated by the Commission. These national authori-
ties shall be customs administrations, but may also include other
authoritiescompetent, according to the laws , regulationsand proce-duresof the Member State in ques tion, to act in order to achieve theaim stated in Article 23 (2).
2. Each Member State shall send the Commission a list of its desig-
nated competent authorities which have direct access to the CIS stating,
for each authority, to which data it may have access and for whatpurposes.
The Commission shall inform the other Member States accordingly. It
shall also inform all the Member States of the corresponding details
concerning the Commission departments authorized to have access to
the CIS.
The list of national authorities and Commission departments thus
designated shall be published for information by the Commission intheOfficial Journal of the European Communities .1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 12
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3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, the
Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, may decide topermit access to the CIS by international or regional organizations,
provided that, where relevant, a protocol isat the s ame time concluded
with those organizations in conformity with Article 7 (3) of theConvention between Member Statesof the Community on the us e ofinformation technology for customs purposes. In reaching the decisionaccount shall be taken in particular of any existing bilateral or Commu-
nity arrangementsand of the adequacy of the level of data protection.
Article 30
1. CIS partnersmay us e data obtained from the CIS only in order to
achieve the aim stated in Article 23 (2); however, they may use it foradministrative or other purposes with the prior authorization of the CIS
partner which introduced the data into the system subject to conditions
imposed by it or, where applicable, the Commission, which included itin the System. Such other use shall be in accordance with the laws,regulations and procedures of the Member State which seeks to use itand, where appropriate, the corresponding provisions applicable to the
Commission in this connection and should take into account the princi-
pless et out in the Annex.
2. Without prejudice to paragraphs1 and 4 of thisArticle and
Article 29 (3), data obtained from the CIS shall be used only►
C1by national authoritiesdes ignated by each Member State ◄
and by departments designated by the Commission competent, inaccordance with the laws, regulations and procedures applicable tothem, to act in order to achieve the aim stated in Article 23 (2).
3. Each Member State shall send the Commission a list of the autho-
ritiesor departmentsreferred to in paragraph 2.
The Commission shall inform the other Member States accordingly. It
shall also inform all the Member States of the corresponding details
concerning the Commission departments authorized to have access tothe CIS.
The list of the authorities or departments thus designated shall be
published for information by the Commission in the Official Journal
of the European Communities .
4. Data obtained from the CIS may, with the prior authorization of,
and subject to any conditions imposed by, the Member State whichincluded them in the System, be communicated for use by national
authoritiesother than thos e referred to in paragraph 2, third countries
and international or regional organizations wishing to make use ofthem. Each Member State shall take special measures to ensure thesecurity of such data when they are being transmitted or supplied todepartmentslocated outs ide itsterritory.
The provisions referred to in the first subparagraph shall apply mutatis
mutandis to the Commission where it has entered the data in the
System.
Article 31
1. The inclusion of data in the CIS shall be governed by the laws,
regulationsand proceduresof the s upplying Member State and, whereappropriate, the corresponding provisions applicable to the Commission
in this connection, unless this Regulation lays down more stringent
provisions.
2. The processing of data obtained from the CIS, including their use
or performance of any action under Article 27 (1) suggested by thesupplying CIS partner, shall be governed by the laws, regulations andprocedures of the Member State processing or using such data and thecorresponding provisions applicable to the Commission in this connec-tion, unless this Regulation lays down more stringent provisions.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 13
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Chapter 3
Amendmentofdata
Article 32
1. Only the supplying CIS partner shall have the right to amend,
supplement, correct or delete data which it has included in the CIS.
2. Should a supplying CIS partner note, or have drawn to its atten-
tion, that the data it included are factually inaccurate or were includedor are stored contrary to this Regulation, it shall amend, supplement,correct or delete the data, as appropriate, and shall advise the other
CIS partnersaccordingly.
3. If a CIS partner has evidence to suggest that an item of data is
factually inaccurate, or wasincluded or iss tored in the CIS contraryto this Regulation, it shall advise the supplying CIS partner as soon aspossible. The latter shall check the data concerned and, if necessary,correct or delete the item without delay. The supplying CIS partner
shall advise the other partners of any correction or deletion affected.
4. If, when including data in the CIS, a CIS partner notesthat its
report conflictswith a previousreport with regard to content orsuggested action, it shall immediately advise the partner which madethe previous report. The two partners shall then attempt to resolve thematter. In the event of disagreement, the first report shall stand but
those parts of the new report which do not conflict shall be included
in the System.
5. Subject to the other provisions of this Regulation, where in any
Member State a court, or other authority designated for the purposewithin that Member State, makes a final decision to amend, supple-
ment, correct or delete data in the CIS, the CIS partnerss hall align
their action thereon.
In the event of conflict between such decisions of courts or other
authorities designated for the purpose including those referred to inArticle 36 concerning correction or deletion, the Member State whichincluded the data in question shall delete them from the System.
The provisions in the first subparagraph shall apply mutatis mutandis
where a Commission decision on data contained in the CIS is declaredvoid by the Court of Justice.
Chapter 4
Retentionofdata
Article 33
1. Data included in the CIS shall be kept only for the time necessary
to achieve the purpose for which they were included. The need for their
retention shall be reviewed at least annually by the supplying CIS
partner.
2. The supplying CIS partner may, within the review period, decide
to retain data until the next review if their retention is necessary for thepurposes for which they were included. Without prejudice to Article36, if there is no decision to retain data they shall automatically be
transferred to that part of the CIS to which access shall be limited in
accordance with paragraph 4.
3. The CIS shall automatically inform the supplying CIS partner of a
scheduled transfer of data from the CIS under paragraph 2, giving onemonth'snotice.
4. Data transferred under paragraph 2 shall continue to be retained
for one year within the CIS but, without prejudice to Article 36, shallbe accessible only to a representative of the Committee referred to inArticle 43 in connection with the application of the seventh, eighth andninth indentsof paragraph 4 thereof, and paragraph 5 thereof, or to thesupervisory authorities referred to in Article 37. During that period the1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 14
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data may be consulted only for the purposes of checking their accuracy
and lawfulness. They must thereafter be deleted.
Chapter 5
Personal-dataprotection
Article 34
1. Each CIS partner intending to receive personal data from, or
include them in, the CIS shall, no later than the date of application of
thisRegulation, adopt national legis lation, or internal rulesapplicableto the Commission, guaranteeing the protection of the rights and free-doms of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data.
2. A CIS partner may receive personal data from, or include them
in, the CIS only where the arrangementsfor the protection of s uchdata provided for in paragraph 1 have entered into force. Each Member
State shall also have previously designated a national supervisory
authority or authoritiesasprovided for in Article 37.
3. In order to ensure the proper application of the personal-data
protection provisions in this Regulation, each Member State and theCommission shall regard the CIS as a system for processing personaldata subject to the provisions referred to in paragraph 1 and the morestringent provisions contained in this Regulation.
The internal rules applicable to the Commission, as referred to in para-
graph 1, shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities .
Article 35
1. Subject to Article 30 (1), CIS partnerss hall be prohibited from
using personal data from the CIS other than for the purpose stated in
Article 23 (2).
2. Data may be duplicated only for technical purposes, provided that
such duplication is necessary for searching by the authorities referred
to in Article 29. Subject to Article 30 (1), personal data included byother Member States or the Commission may not be copied from theCIS into other data filesfor which the Member Statesor the Commis -sion have responsibility.
Article 36
1. The rights of persons with regard to the personal data in the CIS,
in particular their right of access, shall be put into effect:
— in accordance with the laws, regulations and procedures of the
Member State in which such rights are invoked,
— in accordance with the internal rules applicable to the Commission
referred to in Article 34 (1).
If laid down in the laws, regulations and procedures of the Member
State concerned, the national supervisory authority provided for in
Article 37 shall decide whether information is to be communicated
and the procedure for doing so.
2. A CIS partner to which an application for access to personal data
is made may refuse access if communication would be likely to preju-dice the prevention, investigation and prosecution of operations whichare in breach of customs or agricultural legislation. A Member Statemay also refuse access as provided for in its laws, regulations and
procedures in relation to cases where such refusal constitutes a measure
necessary to safeguard national security, defence, public safety and therights and freedoms of others. The Commission may refuse accesswhere such refusal constitutes a measure necessary to safeguard therightsand freedomsof others .
Access shall be refused in any event during the period in which action
is taken for the purposes of sighting and reporting or discreet surveil-lance.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 15
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3. If the personal data for which an application for access has been
made have been supplied by another CIS partner, access shall bepermitted only if the supplying partner has been given the opportunity
to state its position.
4. Any person may, in accordance with the laws, regulations and
proceduresof each Member State or with the internal rulesapplicableto the Commission, have personal data relating to himself corrected ordeleted by each CIS partner if those data are factually inaccurate, or
were included or are stored in the CIS contrary to the aim stated in
Article 23 (2) or if the principlesof Article 26 have not been obs erved.
5. In the territory of each Member State, any person may, in accor-
dance with the laws, regulations and procedures of the Member State inquestion, bring an action or, if appropriate, a complaint before thecourts or the authority designated for the purpose, in accordance with
those laws, regulations and procedures, in connection with personal
data relating to himself in the CIS, in order to:
(a) correct or delete factually inaccurate personal data;
(b) correct or delete personal data included or stored in the CIS
contrary to thisRegulation;
(c) obtain access to personal data;
(d) obtain compensation under Article 40 (2).
With regard to data included by the Commission, an action may be
brought before the Court of Justice in accordance with Article 173 of
the Treaty.
The Member States and the Commission undertake mutually to enforce
the final decisions taken by a court, the Court of Justice or anotherauthority designated to that end which concern points (a), (b) and (c)of the first subparagraph.
6. The referencesin thisArticle and in Article 32 (5) to a ‘final
decision’ do not imply any obligation on the part of any Member State
or the Commission to appeal against a decision taken by a court orother authority designated for the purpose.
Chapter 6
Personal-dataprotectionsupervision
Article 37
1. Each Member State shall designate a national supervisory
authority or authorities responsible for personal-data protection to carry
out independent supervision of such data included in the CIS.
The supervisory authorities, in conformity with their respective national
legislations, shall carry out independent supervision and checks toensure that the processing and use of data held in the CIS do notviolate the rights of data subjects. For this purpose the supervisory
authorities shall have access to the CIS.
2. Any person may ask any national supervisory authority to check
personal data relating to himself in the CIS and the use which has beenor is being made of those data. The right shall be governed by the laws,regulationsand proceduresof the Member State in which the reques t is
made. If the data have been included by another Member State or the
Commission, the check shall be carried out in close coordination withthat Member State's national supervisory authority or with the authorityprovided for in paragraph 4.
3. The Commission shall take every step within its departments to
ensure personal-data protection supervision which offers safeguards of
a level equivalent to that resulting from paragraph 1.
4. Pending the appointment of any authority or authoritiess et up for
the Community institutions and bodies, the Commission's activities asregardsthe data-protection ruleslaid down in Article 34 (1), Article36 (1) and Article 37 (3) shall be supervised by the Ombudsman1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 16
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provided for in Article 138e of the Treaty establishing the European
Community in the context of the task allotted to him by that Treaty.
Chapter 7
SecurityoftheCIS
Article 38
1. All appropriate technical and organizational measures necessary
to maintain security shall be taken:
(a) by the Member States and the Commission, each insofar as it
concernsthem, in res pect of the terminalsof the CIS located on
their respective territories and in the Commission's offices;
(b) by the Committee referred to in Article 43 in respect of the CIS
and the terminals located on the same premises as the CIS and
used for technical purposes and the checks required by paragraph 3.
2. In particular, the Member States, the Commission and the
Committee referred to in Article 43 shall take measures:
(a) to prevent any unauthorized person from having access to installa-
tions used for the processing of data;
(b) to prevent data and data media from being read, copied, modified
or deleted by unauthorized persons;
(c) to prevent the unauthorized entry of data and any unauthorized
consultation, modification or deletion of data;
(d) to prevent data in the CIS from being accessed by unauthorized
persons by means of data-transmission equipment;
(e) to guarantee that, with respect to the use of the CIS, authorized
persons have right of access only to data for which they have
competence;
(f) to guarantee that it is possible to check and establish to which
authorities data may be transmitted by data-transmission equip-
ment;
(g) to guarantee that it is possible to check and establish ex post facto
what data have been introduced into the CIS, when and by whom,
and to monitor interrogation;
(h) to prevent the unauthorized reading, copying, modification or dele-
tion of data during the transmission of data and the transport of
data media.
3. In accordance with Article 43, the Committee shall verify that the
searches carried out were authorized and were carried out by author-ized users. At least 1 % of all searches made shall be verified. Arecord of such searches and verifications shall be entered into the
system and shall be used only for the said verifications. It shall be
deleted after six months.
Article 39
1. Each of the Member States shall designate a department which
shall be responsible for the security measures set out in Article 38, inrelation to the terminalslocated in itsterritory, the review functionss etout in Article 33 (1) and (2), and, in general, for the proper implemen-
tation of this Regulation insofar as is necessary under its laws,
regulationsand procedures .
2. The Commission, for its part, shall designate those of its depart-
ments which are to be responsible for the measures referred to inparagaph 1.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 17
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Chapter 8
Responsibilitiesandpublication
Article 40
1. Each CIS partner that has included data in the System shall be
responsible for the accuracy, currency and lawfulness of those data.Each Member State or, where applicable, the Commission shall alsobe responsible for complying with the provisions of Article 26 of this
Regulation.
2. Each CIS partner shall be liable, in accordance with national
laws, regulations and procedures or the equivalent Community provi-
sions, for injury caused to a person through the use of the CIS in theMember State concerned or at the Commission.
This shall also be the case where the injury was caused by the
supplying CIS partner entering inaccurate data or entering data contraryto thisRegulation.
3. If the CIS partner against which an action in respect of inaccurate
data is brought did not supply them, the partners concerned shall seek
agreement asto what proportion, if any, of the s umspaid out in
compensation shall be reimbursed by the supplying partner to the otherpartner. Any such sums agreed shall be reimbursed on request.
Article 41
The Commission shall publish a communication in the Official Journal
of the European Communities concerning the implementation of the
CIS.
TITLE VI
PROTECTION OF DATA DURING THE NON-AUTOMATIC
EXCHANGEOFDATA
Article 42
The provisions applying to the automatic exchange and processing of
data shall apply mutatis mutandis to non-automatic exchange and
processing of data.
TITLE VII
FINALPROVISIONS
Article 43
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee made up of
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representativeof the Commission.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall
deliver itsopinion on the draft within a time limit which the Chairmanmay lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinionshall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of theTreaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopton a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of
the Member Stateswithin the Committee s hall be weighted in the
manner set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the
Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall,without delay, submit to the Council a proposal relating to the provi-sions to be adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 18
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If, on the expiry of a period of three monthsfrom the date of referral to
the Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall beadopted by the Commission, except in cases where the Council has
decided by a simple majority against such measures.
3. The procedure laid down in paragraph 2 shall apply in particular
to:
(a) decisions on items to be included in the CIS as provided for in
Article 25;
(b) determination of operationsconcerning the application of agricul-
tural legislation in respect of which information is to be entered inthe CIS, asprovided for in Article 23 (4).
4. The committee shall examine all matters relating to the applica-
tion of thisRegulation which may be rais ed by itschairman, either onhis own initiative or at the request of the representative of a MemberState, in particular concerning:
— the general working of the mutual assistance arrangements provided
for in thisRegulation,
— the adoption of practical arrangementsfor forwarding the informa-
tion referred to in Articles16 and 17,
— the information sent to the Commission pursuant to Articles 17 and
18 to see if anything can be learnt from it, decide on the measuresrequired to put an end to practicesfound to be in breach of cus tomsor agricultural legislation and, where appropriate, suggest amend-
ments to existing Community provisions or the drafting of
additional ones,
— the preparation of enquiriescarried out by the Member Statesand
coordinated by the Commission and Community missions as
provided for in Article 20,
— measures taken to safeguard the confidentiality of information, in
particular personal data, exchanged under this Regulation, other
than that provided for in Title V,
— the implementation and proper operation of the CIS and all the
technical and operational measures required to ensure the security
of the system,
— the necessity of storing information in the CIS,
— the measures taken to safeguard the confidentiality of information
entered in the CIS under thisRegulation, particularly pers onaldata, and to ensure compliance with the obligations of those respon-sible for processing,
— the measures adopted pursuant to Article 38 (2).
5. The committee shall examine all problems connected with the
operation of the CIS which are encountered by the supervisory autho-
rities referred to in Article 37. In such cases, the committee shall meetin anad hoc formation comprising representatives nominated by each
Member State from its national supervisory authority or authorities.The Ombudsman referred to in Article 37 (4) or his representative
may also participate, on his own initiative, insofar as he considers it
compatible with his duties, in the meetings of the committee in suchad hoc formation. The committee shall meet in its ad hoc formation
at least once a year.
6. For the purposes of this Article the committee shall have direct
access to, and may make direct use of, data from the CIS.
Article 44
Without prejudice to the provisions in Title V on the CIS, the docu-
mentsprovided for in thisRegulation may be replaced by
computerized information produced in any form for the same purpose.
Article 45
1. Regardless of the form, any information transmitted pursuant to
thisRegulation s hall be of a confidential nature, including the datastored in the CIS. It shall be covered by the obligation of professional1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 19
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secrecy and shall enjoy the protection extended to like information
under both the national law of the Member Statesreceiving it and thecorresponding provisions applicable to Community authorities.
In particular, the information referred to in the first subparagraph may
not be sent to persons other than those in the Member States or withinthe Community institutions whose functions require them to know oruse it. Nor may it be used for purposes other than those provided forin this Regulation, unless the Member State, or the Commission, which
supplied it or entered it in the CIS has expressly agreed, subject to the
conditionslaid down by that Member State or by the Commis s ion andinsofar as such communication or use is not prohibited by the provi-sions in force in the Member State in which the recipient authority isbased.
2. Without prejudicesto the provis ionsin Title V on the CIS, infor-
mation concerning natural and legal persons shall be transmitted under
this Regulation only where strictly necessary to prevent, investigate ortake proceedings in respect of operations in breach of customs or agri-cultural legislation.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not preclude the use of information
obtained under thisRegulation in any legal action or proceedings
subsequently initiated in respect of failure to comply with customs or
agricultural legislation.
The competent authority which supplied that information shall be noti-
fied of such use forthwith.
4. Where the Commission is notified by a Member State that further
enquirieshave exonerated from involvement in irregularitiesa natural
or legal person whose name was transmitted under this Regulation,
the Commission shall forthwith notify all parties to whom thesepersonal data have been transmitted on the basis of this Regulation.The person concerned shall then cease to be regarded as being involvedin the irregularity that gave rise to the initial notification.
Where the personal data relating to the person concerned are in the
CIS, they shall be removed from it.
Article 46
For the purposes of applying this Regulation, Member States shall take
all necessary steps to:
(a) ensure effective internal coordination between the administrative
authoritiesreferred to in Article 1 (1);
(b) establish in their mutual relations all necessary direct cooperation
between the authorities empowered specifically for that purpose.
Article 47
Member Statesmay decide by common accord whether proceduresare
needed to ensure the smooth operation of the mutual-assistance
arrangementsprovided for in thisRegulation, in particular in order to
avoid any interruption of surveillance of persons or goods where thismight be prejudicial to the detection of operationsin breach of cus tomsand agricultural legislation.
Article 48
1. This Regulation shall not bind Member States' administrative
authorities to grant each other assistance where that would be likely to
be injuriousto public policy (ordre public) or other fundamental inter-
ests, in particular with regard to data protection, of the Member Statein which they are based.
2. Reasons shall be stated for any refusal to grant assistance.The Commission shall be informed as early as possible of any refusal
to grant assistance and the reasons given for refusal.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 20
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Article 49
Without prejudice to the Commission's right to be notified under other
regulations in force, Member States shall transmit to the Commission
administrative or legal decisions or the main elements thereof relating
to the application of penaltiesfor breachesof cus tomsor agriculturallegislation in cases which have been the subject of communicationsunder Articles17 or 18.
Article 50
Without prejudice to the expenses associated with the implementation
of the CIS or damagesunder Article 40, Member Statesand theCommission shall waive all claims for the reimbursement of expensesincurred under this Regulation save, where appropriate, in respect of
feespaid to experts .
Article 51
ThisRegulation s hall not affect the application in the Member Statesof
rules on criminal procedure and mutual assistance in criminal matters,including those on secrecy of judicial inquiries.
Article 52
1. Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 ishereby repealed.2. References made to the repealed Regulation shall be understood
asreferring to the pres ent Regulation.
Article 53
1. ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following
itspublication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 13 March 1998.2. However, Article 42 will not apply to Denmark, Ireland, Sweden
or the United Kingdom until Community rulesexis t applicable to allthe data covered by thisRegulation.
As from the date when the rules referred to in the first subparagraph
apply in all the Member States, Article 42 will be repealed and the
derogation provided for in the first subparagraph will cease to haveeffect.
If after 5 yearsthe rulesin ques tion have not yet become applicable,
the Commission shall prepare a report, together with any proposals itdeems necessary.
For aslong asthe four Member Statesconcerned do not apply the
provisions of Article 42, the Member States and the Commission may
subject the non-automatic processing of personal data which they may
communicate to those four Member States to compliance with rules ondata protection equivalent to those which they apply themselves to thenon-automatic processing of such data.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 21
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ANNEX
COMMUNICATIONOFDATA
(Article 30 (1))
1.Communicationtootherpublicbodies
Communication of data to public bodies should be permissible only if, in a
particular case:
(a) there exists a clear legal obligation or authorization, or with the author-
ization of the supervisory authority; or
(b) these data are essential for the recipient to fulfil his own lawful task,
provided that the aim of the collection or processing to be carried out
by the recipient isnot incompatible with the original aim and that it is
not precluded by the legal obligationsof the communicating body.
Communication is exceptionally permissible if, in a particular case:
(a) communication is undoubtedly in the interest of the data subject and
the data subject has consented or if circumstances are such as to allow
a clear presumption of such consent; or
(b) communication is necessary so as to prevent a serious and imminent
danger.
2.Communicationtoprivateindividuals
The communication of data to private individuals should be permissible
only if, in a particular case, there is a clear legal obligation or authoriza-
tion, or with the authorization of the supervisory authority.
Communication to private individuals is exceptionally permissible if, in a
particular case:
(a) communication is undoubtedly in the interest of the data subject and
the data subject has consented or circumstances are such as to allow a
clear presumption of such consent; or
(b) communication is necessary so as to prevent a serious and imminent
danger.
3.Internationalcommunication
Communication of data to foreign authorities should be permissible only:
(a) if there exists a clear legal provision under national or international
law;
(b) in the absence of such a provision, if communication is necessary for
the prevention of a serious and imminent danger;
and provided that domestic regulations for the protection of the data subject
are not prejudiced.
4.1.Requestsforcommunication
Subject to specific provisions contained in national legislation or in interna-
tional agreements, requests for communication of data should provide
indicationsasto the body or pers on reques ting them aswell asthe reas on
for the request and its objective.
4.2.Conditionsgoverningcommunication
As far as possible, the quality of data should be verified at the latest before
their communication. As far as possible, in all communications of data,
judicial decisions, as well as decisions not to prosecute, should be indicated
and data based on opinions or personal assessments should be checked at
source beforce being communicated and their degree of accuracy or relia-
bility indicated.
If it isdis covered that the data are no longer accurate and up-to-date, they
should not be communicated; if outdated or inaccurate data have been
communicated, the communicating body should inform as far as possible
all the recipientsof the data of their non-conformity.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 22
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4.3.Safeguardsforcommunication
The data communicated to other bodies, private individuals and foreign
authorities should not be used for purposes other than those indicated in
the request for communication.
Use of the data for other purposes should, without prejudice to paragraphs
1 to 4.2, be made subject to the agreement of the communicating body.1997R0515 — EN — 25.03.1997 — 000.001 — 23