5. CUSTOMS UNION

Treaty establishing the European Community, Part Three, Title I Free Movement of Goods, Chapter 1 The Customs Union

31992 R 2913: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1), as last amended by:

- 32000 R 2700: Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16.11.2000 (OJ L 311, 12.12.2000, p. 17);

31993 R 2454: Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1), as last amended by:

- 32002 R 0444: Commission Regulation (EC) No 444/2002 of 11.3.2002 (OJ L 68, 12.3.2002, p. 11).

Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

1. Notwithstanding Article 20 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, goods which on the date of accession are in temporary storage or under one of the customs treatments and procedures referred to in Article 4(15)(b) and (16)(b) to (g) of that Regulation in the enlarged Community, or which are in transport within the enlarged Community after having been the subject of export formalities, shall be free of customs duties and other customs measures when entered for free circulation on condition that one of the following is presented:

(a) proof of preferential origin properly issued prior to the date of accession under one of the Europe Agreements (listed below) or the equivalent preferential agreements concluded between the new Member States themselves, and which contains a prohibition of drawback of, or exemption from, customs duties on non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the products for which a proof of origin is issued or made out ("no-drawback" rule);

(b) any of the proofs of Community status referred to in Articles 314c and 315 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

2. For the purpose of issuing the proofs referred to in paragraph 1(b) above with reference to the situation at the date of accession and in addition to the provisions of Article 4(7) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, "Community goods" shall mean goods:

- wholly obtained in the territory of any of the new Member States under conditions identical to those of Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and not incorporating goods imported from other countries or territories;

- imported from countries or territories other than the country concerned, and released for free circulation in that country;

- obtained or produced in the country concerned, either from goods referred to in the second indent of this paragraph alone or from goods referred to in the first and second indents of this paragraph.

The Europe Agreements:

- 21994 A 1231 (34): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Czech Republic, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [5];

- 21998 A 0309 (01): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Estonia, of the other part — Protocol 3 concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [6];

- 21998 A 0202 (01): Europe Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Latvia, of the other part — Protocol 3 concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [7];

- 21998 A 0220 (01): Europe Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lithuania, of the other part — Protocol 3 concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [8];

- 21993 A 1231 (13): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Hungary, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [9];

- 21993 A 1231 (18): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Poland, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation [10];

- 21999 A 0226 (01): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, acting within the framework of the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Slovenia, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of "originating products" and methods of administrative cooperation [11];

- 21994 A 1231 (30): Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Slovak Republic, of the other part — Protocol 4 concerning the definition of the concept of "originating products" and methods of administrative cooperation [12].

3. Without prejudice to the application of any measure deriving from the common commercial policy, proof of origin properly issued by third countries in the framework of preferential agreements concluded by the new Member States with those countries or in the framework of unilateral national legislation of the new Member States shall be accepted in the respective new Member States, provided that:

(a) the acquisition of such origin confers preferential tariff treatment on the basis of the preferential tariff measures contained in agreements or arrangements which the Community has concluded with, or adopted in respect of third countries or groups of countries, as referred to in Article 20(3)(d) and (e) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92;

(b) the proof of origin and the transport documents were issued no later than the day before the date of accession;

(c) the proof of origin is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession.

Where goods were declared for importation in a new Member State prior to the date of accession, under preferential arrangements in force in that new Member State at that time, proof of origin issued retrospectively under those arrangements may also be accepted in the new Member States provided that it is submitted to the customs authorities within the period of four months from the date of accession.

4. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia are authorised to retain the authorisations with which the status of "approved exporters" has been granted in the framework of agreements concluded with third countries, provided that:

(a) such a provision is also provided for in the agreements concluded prior to the date of accession by those third countries with the Union; and

(b) the approved exporters apply the Community rules of origin.

These authorisations shall be replaced by the new Member States, no later than one year after the date of accession, by new authorisations issued under the conditions of Community legislation.

5. Requests for subsequent verification of proof of origin issued under the preferential agreements and arrangements referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall be accepted by the competent customs authorities of the present Member States and of the new Member States for a period of three years after the issue of the proof of origin concerned and may be made by those authorities for a period of three years after acceptance of the proof of origin in support of a declaration of free circulation.

6. Where the proof of origin and/or the transport documents were issued prior to the date of accession, and where customs formalities are necessary in respect of trade of goods between the new Member States and the present Member States or between the new Member States themselves, the provisions of the Protocols concerning the definition of the concept of "originating products" and methods of administrative cooperation of the relevant Agreements shall apply.

7. The procedures governing customs warehousing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 98 to 113 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 535 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- the procedure shall be discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community. Where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the nature of the import goods, the value for customs purposes and the quantity of the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of their placing under customs warehousing and that declaration was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned.

8. The procedures governing inward processing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 114 to 129 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 536 to 550 of Regulation No (EEC) 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- the procedure shall be discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community. Where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the tariff classification, the quantity, the value for customs purposes and the origin of the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of their placing under inward processing and that declaration was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned;

- where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, in order to maintain the equity between the holders of authorisations established in the present Member States and those in the new Member States, compensatory interest shall be paid on the import duties due under the conditions of Community legislation from the date of accession;

- if the declaration for inward processing was accepted under a drawback system, the drawback shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation, by and at the expense of the new Member State, where the customs debt in respect of which the drawback is requested was incurred before the date of accession.

9. The procedures governing processing under customs control laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 130 to 136 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 551 to 552 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- the procedure shall be discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community.

10. The procedures governing temporary importation laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 137 to 144 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 553 to 584 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- the procedure shall be discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community. Where the amount of a customs debt is determined on the basis of the tariff classification, the quantity, the value for customs purposes and the origin of the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of their placing under temporary importation and that declaration was accepted prior to the date of accession, these elements shall result from the legislation applicable before the date of accession in the new Member State concerned;

- where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, in order to maintain equity between the holders of authorisations established in the present Member States and those in the new Member States, compensatory interest shall be paid on the import duties due under the conditions of Community legislation from the date of accession.

11. The procedures governing outward processing laid down in Articles 84 to 90 and 145 to 160 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 496 to 523 and 585 to 592 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- the procedure shall be discharged under the conditions of Community legislation. Where the discharge gives rise to a customs debt, the amount paid shall be considered as own resources of the Community. Article 591, second subparagraph, of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply mutatis mutandis to temporary export goods which have been exported temporarily before the date of accession from the new Member States.

12. Authorisations which have been granted before the date of accession for the use of the customs procedures referred to in paragraphs 8, 9 and 11 above shall be valid until the end of their validity or one year after the date of accession, whichever is the earlier.

13. The procedures governing incurrence of a customs debt, entry in the accounts and post-clearance recovery laid down in Articles 201 to 232 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 859 to 876a of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- recovery shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation. However, where the customs debt was incurred before the date of accession, recovery shall be effected under the conditions in force in the new Member State concerned, by it and in its own favour.

14. The procedures governing repayment and remission of duty laid down in Articles 235 to 242 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 and Articles 877 to 912 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply to the new Member States subject to the following specific provisions:

- repayment and remission of duties shall be effected under the conditions of Community legislation. However, where the duties of which repayment or remission is requested relate to a customs debt which was incurred before the date of accession, the repayment and remission of duties shall be effected under the conditions in force in the new Member State concerned, by it and at its own expense.

[5] OJ L 360, 31.12.1994, p. 2. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 2/2001 of the EU-Czech Republic Association Council of 23.1.2001 (OJ L 64, 6.3.2001, p. 36).

[6] OJ L 68, 9.3.1998, p. 3. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 3/2001 of the EU-Estonia Association Council of 19.2.2001 (OJ L 79, 17.3.2001, p. 26).

[7] OJ L 26, 2.2.1998, p. 3). Agreement as last amended by Decision No 1/2001 of the EU-Latvia Association Council of 23.1.2001 (OJ L 60, 1.3.2001, p. 54).

[8] OJ L 51, 20.2.1998, p. 3. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 1/2001 of the EU-Lithuania Association Council of 25.1.2001 (OJ L 85, 24.3.2001, p. 24).

[9] OJ L 347, 31.12.1993, p. 2. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 4/2000 of the EU-Hungary Association Council of 22.12.2000 (OJ L 19, 20.1.2001, p. 26).

[10] OJ L 348, 31.12.1993, p. 2. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 4/2000 of the EU-Poland Association Council of 29.12.2000 (OJ L 19, 20.1.2001, p. 29).

[11] OJ L 51, 26.2.1999, p. 3. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 5/2000 of the EU-Slovenia Association Council of 22.12.2000 (OJ L 48, 17.2.2001, p. 23).

[12] OJ L 359, 31.12.1994, p. 2. Agreement as last amended by Decision No 2/2001 of the EU-Slovakia Association Council of 22.2.2001 (OJ L 85, 24.3.2001, p. 27).

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