COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMVIUNITIES 
COM(91)490 final 
Brussels, 5 December 1991 
Proposal for a, 
COUNCIL DECISION 
concerning the conclusion of an Agreement 
In the form of an Exchange of Letters 
relating to the amendment of the Convention 
of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure 
(presented by the Commission) 
-a 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
Subject : " proposal for a Council Decision concerning the conclusion 
of an agreement in the form of an exchange of letters in respect 
of recommandation No 1/91 of the EEC-EFTA Joint Committee on 
common transit relating to the amendment of the Convention of the 
20th May 1987 on a common transit procedure. 
1. The Convention of the 20th May 1987 put into effect most of the rules 
of the Community Transit System which relate to trade between the 
Community and the EFTA countries and between those countries 
themselves. 
2. In Regulation (EEC) No 2726/90 of 17.9.90 (OJ No L 262 of 26.9.1990), 
the Council introduced to these rules the amendments necessary for 
the realisation of the internal market on 1.1.1993. 
3. It is now, therefore, considered appropriate to amend the Convention 
in order to take account of these reforms. 
4. Such is the objective of Recommendation No 1/91 which the EEC-EFTA-
Joint Committee adopted formally at its forth meeting which was held 
in Helsinki on 19.9.1991. 
5. It is essential that this Recommendation 1/91 be accepted by means of 
an agreement concluded in the form of an exchange of letters between 
the contracting parties to the Convention. 
6. This agreement must be approved on behalf of the Community by a 
Council decision, the proposal for which is attached. 
-* -
Proposal for a Council Decision 
concerning the conclusion of an Agreement 
In the form of an Exchange of Letters 
relating to the amendment of the Convention 
of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Whereas Article 15(2) of the Convention between the European Economic 
Community, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland, the 
Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and 
the Swiss Confederation on a common transit procedure1 empowers the 
Joint Committee set up by that Convention to make recommendations for 
amendments to the Convention; 
Whereas the Convention has been amended to take account of recent 
changes to Community transit rules forming part of the reforms to that 
procedure in the light of the completion of the internal market by 
1 January 1993; 
Whereas the amendments to the Convention are set out in the Joint 
Committee's Recommendation No 1/91; whereas the Agreement in the form 
of an Exchange of Letters relating to that recommendation should be 
approved; 
1 0J No L 226, 13.8.1987, p. 1. 
-A 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters relating to the 
amendment of the Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit 
procedure is hereby approved on behalf of the Community. 
The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 
Article 2 
The President of the Council is hereby authorized to designate the 
person empowered to sign the Agreement in order to bind the Community 
Done at Brussels, 
For the CounciI 
The President 
- r-
AGREEMENT 
in the form of an Exchange of Letters relating to the amendment of the 
Convention between the European Economic Community, the Republic of 
Austria, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom 
of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and the Swiss Confederation on a 
common transit procedure 
Sir, 
In its Recommendation No 1/91 of 19 September 1991, the EEC-EFTA Joint 
Committee on common transit proposed a number of amendments to the 
EEC-EFTA Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure. The 
proposed amendments are set out in the Annex. 
I have the honour to confirm that the Community is in agreement with 
those amendments and I propose that, subject to any change which may be 
made, they come into force on 1 January 1993. I should be obliged if 
you would confirm that the Government of ... is in agreement with the 
amendments and the proposed date on which they are to enter into force. 
Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration. 
On behalf of the Council 
of the European Communities 
-6-
Brussels, 
Sir, 
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter which reads as 
fo11ows: 
"In its Recommendation No 1/91 of 19 September 1991, the EEC-EFTA Joint 
Committee on common transit proposed a number of amendments to the 
EEC-EFTA Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit procedure. The 
proposed amendments are set out in the Annex. 
I have the honour to confirm that the Community is in agreement with 
those amendments and I propose that, subject to any change which may be 
made, they come into force on 1 January 1993. I should be obliged if 
you would confirm that the Government of ... is in agreement with the 
amendments and the proposed date on which they are to enter into 
force." 
I have the honour to confirm that the Government of ... is in agreement 
with the contents of your letter and on the proposed date on which the 
amendments are to enter into force. 
Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my highest consideration. 
For the Government 
-f-
Recommendation No 1/91 
of the EEC-EFTA Joint Committee on Common Transit 
of 
for the amendment of the Convention 
of 20 May 1987 
on a common transit procedure 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Convention of 20 May 1987 on a common transit 
procedure, and in particular Article 15(2)(a) thereof, 
Whereas the Convention of the 20 May 1987 gave effect to the Commun icty 
Transit rules on trade between the Community and the EFTA countries and 
between those countries themselves; 
Whereas substantial changes have recently been made to the basic provisions 
of the Commmunity Transit system in operation within the European Economic 
Community with a view to the achievement of the internal market on 
1.1.1993; whereas steps should accordingly be taken to modify the 
Convent ion; 
Whereas it is considered necessary to arrange for the simultaneous entry 
into force of these modifications and of the changes in the Community 
Transit system; 
HEREBY RECOMMENDS that the Contracting Parties to the Convention: 
amend it, with effect from 1.1.1993 along the lines set out in the 
proposal annexed to this Recommendation, 
review, before 1 November 1992, this Recommendation on the basis of 
a report from the Commission of the European Communities on the 
harmonization of provisions on the achievement of the internal 
market. 
-»-
inform each other, by means of an exchange of letters, of their 
acceptance of this Recommendation. 
Done at Helsinki, 19 September 1991. For the Joint Committee 
The Chairman 
-y-
Proposed amendment to the Convention 
between the European Economic Community, 
the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, 
the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and the Swiss Confederation 
on a common transit procedure 
The Convention between the European Economic Community, the Republic of 
Austria, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of 
Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and the Swiss Confederation is amended as 
fol lows: 
A. Article 2 is replaced by the following text: -
"Article 2 
1. The common transit procedure shall hereinafter be described as the T1 
procedure or the T2 procedure, as the case may be. 
2. The T1 procedure may be applied to any goods carried in accordance 
with Article 1, paragraph 1. 
3. The T2 procedure shall apply to goods carried in accordance with 
Article 1, paragraph 1: 
(a) in the Community: 
only when the goods are Community goods. By "Community goods" 
is meant goods: 
entirely obtained in the customs territory of the Community 
without the addition of goods from third countries or 
territories which are not part of the customs territory of 
the Community. 
-40-
from countries or territories not forming part of the customs 
territory of the Community which have been released for free 
circulation in a Member State. 
obtained in the customs territory of the Community from goods 
referred to either exclusively in the second indent or in the 
first and second indents. 
However, without prejudice to this Convention, or to other 
Agreements concluded by the Community, goods which, although 
fulfilling the conditions laid down in one of the preceding 
three indents, are reintroduced into the customs territory of 
the Community after being exported outside that territory 
shall be deemed not to be Community goods. 
(b) in an EFTA country: 
only when the goods have arrived in that EFTA country under the 
T2 procedure and are reconsigned under the special conditions 
laid down in Article 9 be Iow. 
4. The special conditions laid down in this Convention in respect of 
placing goods under the T2 procedure shall apply also to the issue of 
documents certifying the Community status of goods and goods covered 
by such a document shall be treated in the same way as goods carried 
under the T2 procedure, except that the document certifying the 
Community status of the goods need not accompany them." 
-41-
B. Article 3 is replaced by the following text:-
"ArticlQ 3 
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term: 
(a) "transit" shall mean a procedure under which goods are carried 
under the control of the competent authorities from one office of 
a Contracting Party to another office of the same Contracting 
Party or that of another Contracting Party over at least one 
frontier; 
(b) "country", shall mean any EFTA country and any Member State of 
the Community; 
(c) "third country" shall mean any State which is neither an EFTA 
country nor a Member State of the Community. 
2. In the application of the rules laid down in this Convention for the 
T1 or T2 procedure, the EFTA countries and the Community and its 
Member States shall have the same rights and obligations." 
C. Article 4 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 4 
1. This Convention shall be without prejudice to the application of any 
other international agreement concerning a transit procedure, subject 
to any limitations to such application in respect of the carriage of 
goods from one point in the Community to another point in the 
Community and to any limitations on the issue of documents certifying 
the Community status of goods. 
-41-
2. This Convention shall be without prejudice also to: 
(a) movements of goods under a temporary admission procedure; 
and 
(b) agreements concerning frontier traffic." 
D. Article 6 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 6 
Provided that the implementation of any measures applicable to the goods is 
ensured, countries may, within the T1 or T2 procedure, introduce among 
themselves simplified procedures, by means of bilateral or multilateral 
agreements, which shall conform to criteria to be laid down , where 
necessary, in Appendix II and which shall be applicable to certain types of 
traffic or to designated undertakings. 
Such agreements shall be communicated to the Commission of the European 
Communities and to the other countries." 
Implementation of the transit procedure 
E. Article 7 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 7 
1. Subject to any special provisions of this Convention, the competent 
offices of the EFTA countries are empowered to assume the functions 
of offices of departure, offices of transit, offices of destination 
and offices of guarantee. 
2. The competent offices of the Member States of the Community shall be 
empowered to issue T1 or T2 documents for transit to an office of 
destination situated in an EFTA country. Subject to any special 
provisions of this Convention, they shall also be empowered to issue, 
for goods consigned to an EFTA country, documents certifying the 
Community status of those goods. 
-43-
3. Where several consignments of goods are grouped together and loaded 
on a single means of transport, within the meaning of Article 12, 
paragraph 2, of Appendix I, and are dispatched as a consolidated load 
by one principal in a single T1 or T2 operation, from one office of 
departure to one office of destination for delivery to one consignee, 
a Contracting Party may require that those consignments shall, save 
in exceptional, duly Justified cases, be included in one single T1 or 
T2 declaration with the corresponding loading lists. 
4. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Community status of goods to 
be certified where applicable, a person completing export formalities 
at the frontier customs office of a Contracting Party shall not be 
required to place the goods consigned under the T1 or the T2 
procedure, irrespective of the customs procedure under which the 
goods will be placed at the neighbouring frontier customs office. 
5. Notwithstanding the requirement for the Community status of goods to 
be certified where applicable, the frontier customs office of the 
Contracting Party where export formalities are completed may refuse 
to place the goods under the T1 or T2 procedure if that procedure is 
to end at the neighbouring frontier customs office." 
F. Article 9 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 9 
1. Goods which are brought into an EFTA country under the T2 procedure 
and may be reconsigned under that procedure shall remain at all times 
under the control of the customs authorities of that country to 
ensure that there is no change in their identity or state. 
-4h-
2. Where such goods are reconsigned from an EFTA country after having 
been placed, in that EFTA country, under a customs procedure other 
than a transit or a warehousing procedure, no T2 procedure may be 
applled. 
This provision shall, however, not apply to goods which are admitted 
temporarily to be shown at an exhibition, fair or similar public 
display and which have received no treatment other than that needed 
for their preservation in their original state or for splitting up 
consignments. 
3. Where goods are reconsigned from an EFTA country after storage under 
a warehousing procedure, the T2 procedure may be applied only on the 
following conditions: 
that the goods have not been warehoused over a period exceeding 
five years; however, as regards goods falling within Chapters 1 
to 24 of the Nomenclature for the Classification of Goods in 
Customs Tariffs (International Convention on the Harmonized 
Commodity Description and Coding System of 14 June 1983), that 
period shall be limited to six months, 
that the goods have been stored in special spaces and have 
received no treatment other than that needed for. their 
preservation in their original state, or for splitting up 
consignments without replacing the packaging; 
that any treatment has taken place under customs supervision. 
-49-
Any T2 document or any document certifying the Community status of 
goods issued by a competent office of an EFTA country shall bear a 
reference to the corresponding T2 document or document certifying the 
Community status of goods under which the goods arrived in that EFTA 
country and shall include all special endorsements appearing 
thereon." 
Article 10 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 10 
Except where otherwise provided for in paragraph 2 below or in the 
Appendices, any T1 or T2 operation shall be covered by a guarantee 
valid for all Contracting Parties involved in that operation. 
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not prejudice the right: 
(a) of Contracting Parties to agree among themselves that the 
guarantee shall be waived for T1 or T2 operations involving only 
their territories; 
(b) of a Contracting Party not to require a guarantee for the part of 
a T1 or T2 operation between the office of departure and the 
first office of transit. 
-u-
For the purposes of the flat rate guarantee as provided for in 
Appendices I and II, the "ecu" means the total of the following 
amounts: 
0,6242 
0,08784 
1,332 
151,8 
0,2198 
3,301 
0,130 
0,1976 
0,008552 
1,440 
6,885 
1,393 German mark 
Pound sterIing 
French francs 
Italian lira 
Dutch guiIder 
Belgian francs 
Luxembourg franc 
Danish krone 
Irish pound 
Greek drachmas 
Spanish pesetas 
Portuguese escudos 
The value of the ecu in a given currency shall be equal to the sum of 
the exchange values in that currency of the amounts set out in the 
first sub-paragraph." 
Article 11 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 11 
As a general rule, identification of the goods shall be ensured by 
sealing. 
The following shall be sealed: 
(a) the space containing the goods, when the means of transport has 
already been approved under other regulations or recognized by 
the office of departure as suitable for sealing; 
(b) each individual package in other cases. 
-4> 
3. Means of transport may be recognized as suitable for sealing on 
condition that: 
(a) seals can be simply and effectively affixed to them; 
(b) they are so constructed that no goods can be removed or 
introduced without leaving visible traces of tampering or without 
breaking the seals; 
(c) they contain no concealed spaces where goods may be hidden; 
(d) the spaces reserved for the load are readily accessible for 
inspection by the competent authorities. 
4. The office of departure may dispense with sealing if, having regard 
to other possible measures for identification, the description of the 
goods in the T1 or T2 declaration or in the supplementary documents 
makes them readily identifiable." 
I. In the German version, at Article 12/1 (a) and (b) the word 
"GrenzUbergangsstelle" is replaced by the word 
"DurchgangszolIstelle". 
J. Article 13 is replaced by the following text:-
"Article 13 
1. The competent authorities of the countries concerned shall furnish 
each other with any information at their disposal which is of 
importance in order to verify the proper application of this 
Convent ion. 
2. Where necessary, the competent authorities of the countries concerned 
shall communicate to one another all findings, documents, reports, 
records of proceedings and information relating to transport 
operations carried out under the T1 or T2 procedure as well as to 
irregularities or infringements in connection with such operations. 
-4e-
Furthermore, where necessary, they shall communicate to one another 
all findings relating to goods in respect of which mutual assistance 
is provided for and which have been subject to a customs warehousing 
procedure. 
Where irregularities or infringements are suspected in connection 
with goods which have been brought into one country from another 
country or have passed through a country or have been stored under a 
warehousing procedure, the competent authorities of the countries 
concerned shall on request communicate to one another all information 
concerning: 
(a) the conditions under which those goods were carried: 
whatever the way in which they were reconsigned, where they 
arrived in the country to which the request is addressed 
under cover of a T1 or T2 document or a document certifying 
the Community status of the goods, or 
whatever the way in which they arrived, where they were 
reconsigned from the country to which the request is 
addressed under cover of a T1 or T2 document or a document 
certifying the Community status of the goods; 
(b) the conditions of any warehousing of those goods where they 
arrived in the country to which the request is addressed under 
cover of a T2 document or a document certifying the Community 
status of the goods or where they were reconsigned from that 
country under cover of a T2 document or a document certifying the 
Community status of the goods. 
4. Any request made under paragraphs 1 to 3 shall specify the case or 
cases to which it refers. 
--ff-
5. If the competent authority of a country requests assistance which it 
would not be able to give if requested, it will draw attention to 
that fact in the request. Compliance with such a request will be 
within the discretion of the competent authority to whom the request 
is made. 
6. Information obtained in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be 
used solely for the purpose of this Convention and shall be accorded 
the same protection by a receiving country as is afforded to 
information of like nature under the national law of that country. 
Such information may be used for other purposes only with the written 
consent of the competent authority which furnished it and subject to 
any restrictions laid down by that authority." 
lo-
COMMISSION STATEMENT CONCERNING 
IMPACT ON ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 
Subject: proposal for a Council decision concerning the conclusion 
of an agreement by an exchange of letters relating to an 
amendment to the Convention of 20 May 1987 on Common transit. 
The agreement by exchange of letters which is the subject of this 
proposed Council decision relates to the acceptance of Recommendation 
1/91 adopted by the Joint EEC/EFTA Committee on Common transit on 
19.9.91. This Recommendation amends the EEC/EFTA Convention on Common 
transit in such a way as to make the necessary amendments following 
the recently introduced modifications to the Community Transit regime 
in the light of the completion of the internal market on 1.1.93, 
which involves an area without internal borders and within which in 
particular the free circulation of goods is guaranteed. 
It should be noted that the said Convention does constitute in itself 
a measure of harmonisation and simplification in trade between the 
Community and the EFTA countries and is intended to promote economic 
activity between the Parties. 
This agreement on Recommendation 1/91 follows the same line in 
improving EEC/EFTA trade procedures and will have therefore a 
positive economic impact. 
BSN 0254-1475 
COM(91) 490 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 07 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-545-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-78116-5 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg