COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 27 June 1974 concerning measures to be taken with a view to simplifying the task of the customs administrations

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the draft from the Commission;

Conscious of the difficulties confronting national customs administrations in view of the wide range and complexity of the tasks which they are called upon to fulfil in connection with trade both within the Community and between the latter and third countries;

Desirous of improving this situation so as to ensure the correct application of Community provisions, the implementation of which is entrusted to customs administrations, and at the same time of safeguarding the interests of the economic and commercial circles concerned,

HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION:

I

The Council emphasizes the need for ensuring that provisions of Community law which the customs authorities are required to implement can be applied without excessive difficulties and recognizes the need to make the authorities concerned party to the drafting of such rules.

II

The Council attaches the greatest importance to the timely adoption of tariff provisions so as to enable the customs administrations to take the administrative measures necessary to ensure that they are properly applied. To that end: (a) Except in exceptional cases justified by compelling economic reasons it will ensure that all provisions on tariff matters, whether of an autonomous or conventional kind (in particular, changes in Common Customs Tariff duties, changes in tariff nomenclature and provisions governing their application and interpretation, duty suspensions and tariff quotas) are adopted, so that: - they are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities at least six weeks before the date fixed for their implementation;

- they take effect every year on 1 January and, where appropriate, on 1 July;

- none of these provisions has retro-active effect.

If necessary, the President should determine priorities so that an examination of the relevant Commission drafts or proposals by the Permanent Representatives Committee and the other competent committees and working parties can be undertaken, on the basis of a programme which will ensure that the above principles are respected.

To enable it to attain the abovementioned objectives, the Council requests the Commission to submit in good time those proposals or drafts on which it is required to act. It invites Member States to take the necessary steps to communicate to the Commission within the required period all information which the latter needs to prepare those proposals or drafts.

(b) In the case of tariff preferences resulting from agreements between the Community and one or more third countries, the principles in (a) shall apply and all steps must also be taken to ensure that the actual implementation of such tariff preferences does not take place before the first day of the second month following the exchange of the instruments notifying the completion of the procedures necessary for the entry into force of the agreement concerned.

(c) The principles in (a) shall, where appropriate, apply in respect of customs legislation.

(d) It is important that Community measures involving changes in tariff nomenclature be accompanied by corresponding changes in the field of NIMEXE statistical nomenclature, so that the two nomenclatures remain harmonized.

III

(a) The Council considers it necessary to simplify as far as possible the Common Customs Tariff nomenclature, which has undergone considerable development in recent years, particularly as a result of the implementation of the common agricultural policy and of the common commercial policy.

With a view to eliminating all sources of difficulty and delay in the customs clearance of goods and the increasing occurrence of situations particularly conducive to fraud, the Council considers it necessary to avoid, as far as possible, any further breakdown of the existing subheadings of the Common Customs Tariff and calls upon the Commission to submit as soon as possible proposals designed to reduce the present number of subheadings of the Common Customs Tariff.

(b) The Council also considers it desirable to avoid, as far as possible, the adoption of autonomous or conventional tariff measures which concern only some of the products falling within a heading or subheadings of the Common Customs Tariff or a heading of the (NIMEXE) statistical nomenclature.