ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)417
Vol.1974/0073

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COMMISSION OrÏH3BfTROPTiÀNCOMMI^IÏIidS
COM(74)417final
Brussels,4April1974
Proposaifora
CouncilRégulation
onthecustomstreatmentapplicabletogoodsreturned
tothecustomsterritoryoftheCommunity
(submittedtotheCouncil "bytheCommission)
COM(74)417final

EXPLANATORY IIEi-iORANDUii
Common Customs Tariff duties areapplicable inprinciple toall
goods coming from third countries which areimported forfree circulation
inthecustoms territory oftheCommunity .Thesame istrue ofcharges
having onequivalent effect which mayberaised oncertain goods ,aswell
asagricultural levies andother import charges laid dovm within the
framework ofthecommon agricultural policy ,orunder trade systems defined
either inRegulation N°I70/67/EEC (ovalbumin andlactalbumin ),orin
Regulation (ESC)N®1059/69(goods resulting from theprocessing ofagri­
cultural products ).
Forthere tobeanyderogation from this principle itisessential
foraCommunity act tobemade inconformity with theprovisions ofthe
Treaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community .Should such derogation
berequired tobelaid down autonomously ,theappropriate provisions ,
depending onthenature ofthegoods ,areArticles 28,43or435 "the
aforesaid Treaty .
Derogation from theapplication ofCommon Customs Tariff duties
andother import charges referred toabove ,appears tobecompletely
justified when goods coming from third countries ,which areentered for
free circulation ,areCommunity goods which ware originally exported from
thecustoms territory oftheCommunity butwhich ,forvarious reasons ,
arereturned tobelatter .Insuch cases ,there isastraight forward
reintegration into theeconomy oftheCommunity ofgoods which ,complying
with theconditions ofArticles 9 10of "theTreaty ,moved freely
there prior totheir exportation .

Itisalso thecase that goods which were originally exported
from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity under inward processing
arrangements ,which generally contain ahigh proportion ofCommunity
products ,(andwhich donotinconsequence comply with theconditions
ofArticles 9and10oftheTreaty ),mayequally "beaccorded oneloment
ofexemption toavoid charges ontheCommunity products which they contain .
Forthis purpose ,bearing inmind thesimilarity ofthetwosituations ,
reference must bemade totheprovisions oftheCouncil Directive of
4Karch 1969 ontheharmonisation ofprovisions laid down bylaw ,regulation
oradministrative action inrespect ofinward processing ,which laydown
theconditions under which compensating products which result from an
inward processing operation maybeentered forfree circulation inthe
■1
Community .Thus ,there isnorisk oftheprovisions ofthis arrangement
being misapplied inanyway .
Over andabove this case ,goods which donot ,ornolonger ,
fulfill therequisite conditions forfree movement within theCommunity ,
atthetime oftheir exportation from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity ,
must normally beexcluded from anymeasures ofexemption .This isparticu~
larly thecase with agricultural products orgoods which result from their
being processed ,which ,,when exported ,aresubject torefunds orother
amounts being granted within theframework ofthecommon agricultural
policy .
However ,inorder toreduce thestriotness oftheapplication
ofsuch aprinciple incertain circumstances ,itshould also bepossible ,

-3-
while excluding anyattempts atspeculation ,toallow duty free admission
inasimilar waywhen these goods arereturned totheeconomy ofthe
Community ,subject tothecondition that amounts granted atthetime of
exportation arerepaid .Such afacility must berestricted tocases where
itcanbeestablished that thereturns ofgoods totheCommunity isduo
tocircumstances beyond thecontrol oftheexporter .
Inall instances where total orpartial exemption maybeaccorded
togoods returned totheCommunity ,itisobvious that ,since thecustoms
territory oftheCommunity isasingle unit ,this exemption must begranted
even where thesaid goods areentered forfree circulation inaMember
State other than that from which they were exported .Itisthus desireable
that provision should bemade formeasures necessary toallow theperson
concerned toproduce evidence tothecompetent authorities oftheMember
State where thereturned goods aredeclared forfree circulation ,to
show that thegoods aretheself-same which were originally exported
from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity tandthat they fulfill the
conditions toenjoy exemption .
These conditions arelaid down inthis proposal foraRegulation .
However falthough they arethemselves quite precise ,theprovisions of
this proposal foraRegulation nevertheless require acertain number of
supplementary measures inorder toensure their uniform application
throughout theCommunity ,Inparticular ,aCommunity document must be
drawn uptofacilitate theidentification ofgoods should they bebrought
back into akember State other than that drom which they were originally
exported .
•••I••*

Forthis purpose ,provision hasbeen made ,asfarasmaybe
necessary ,-"toresort totheCustoms General Procedures Committee ,
thesetting upofwhich wasproposed bytheCommission initsproposal
foraCouncil Regulation ontheimportation free ofCommon Customs
Tariff duties ofeducational ,scientific orcultural materials (l).
Incommon with Community provisions which have abearing on
thelevying ofcustoms duties andagricultural levies within themeaning
ofArticle 2(a)and (b)oftheCouncil Decision of21April 1970 on
theReplacement ofFinancial Contributions from Member States bythe
Communities ownResources (2),theintroduction ofrules which are
applicable uniformly throughout thewhole oftheCommunity togoods
which arereturned thereto ,hashelped tofacilitate thecontrol of
the own resources raised .
This proposal ,based inparticular onArticles 43and235
theEECTreaty ,requires theOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament *It
would also bedesirable toobtain theOpinion oftheEconomic andSocial
Committee .
(1)O.J. N°C14of15.2.74 ,P.35
(2)O.J. N°L94of28.4.1970 ,p.19

Proposal foraCouncil Regulation onthe
customs treatment applicable togoods returned ,
tothecustoms territory oftheCommunity
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community ,
andinparticular Articles 28,43and235thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ;
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament ;
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEconomic andSocial Committee ;
Whereas ,sa*ewhere special derogations aredecided inaccordance with
theprovisions oftheTreaty ,theduties intheCommon Customs Tariff are
applicable toallgoods imported into thecustoms territory oftheCommunity ;
;hereas thesame applies with regs.rd toanycharges having equivalent effect
which maybechargeable oncertain goods ,aswell asagricultural levies
andother import charges provided foreither under thecommon agricultural
policy ,orunder Regulation N°170/67/2ECoftheCouncil of27June 1967 »
onthecommon system oftrade for ovalbumin and lactalbumin' andrepealing
Regulation N°48/67/3EC (l),amended byRegulation (EEC)N°108l/71(2),
orfurther ,under Regulation (EEC)K°1059/69oftheCouncil of28Kay
1969 laying down thetrade arrangements applicable tocertain goods
(1)O.J. IT°130of28.6.1967 ,p.2596
(2)O.J. N8L116of28.5.1971 ,p.9

resulting from theprocessing ofagricultural products (l),aslast
amended byRegulation (EEC)N°1491/73(2)j
Whereas certain goods which areimported into thecustoms territory ofthe
Community to "beentered forfree circulation therein have previously teen
exported from such territory j
Whereas where ,atthetime oftheir exportation ,such goods were covered
byoneofthesituations defined inArticles 9and .10(l)oftheTreaty ,
andwhere such exportation wasnotoarried outunder outward processing
arrangements ,they maybereintroduced into theCommunity economy free
ofcustoms duties ,charges having equivalent effect ,agricultural levies or
other charges applicable tothem ;
Whereas ,inview ofthegenerally high proportion ofCommunity products
contained ingoods produced under inward processing arrangements ,provision
canbemade forasimilar exemption inrespect ofgoods which ,after being
exported from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity under such arrangements ,
arereturned toittobeentered forfree circulation ;whereas provision
must however bemade insuch cases toensure compliance with theprovisions
oftheCouncil Directive of4March 1969 ontheharmonisation ofprovision
laid bylaw ,regulation oradministrative action inrespect ofinward proces­
sing(3),which lays down theconditions under which compensating products
resulting from aninward processing operation maybeentered forfree cij>-
culation intheCommunity ;whereas ,therefore ,partial exemption isnormally
accorded inrespect ofthegoods inquestion ;
(1)O.J. N°L141of12.6.1969 ,p.1
(2)O.J. N°L151of7.6.1973 ,p.1
(3)O.J. N°L58of8.3.1969 ,P.1

Whereas ,inorder toprevent anyspeculation ,exemption must berefused
whore goods returned tothecustoms territory oftheCommunity aregoods
which have teen the subject ofcustoms formalities atexportation inorder
togrant refunds orother amounts dueatexportation within theframework
oftheCommon Agricultural Policy ;whereas derogation from this principle
mayhowever beallowed ,subject toallmeasures having been taken inorder
toavoid incorrect payment ,where evidence isfurnished tothecompetent
authorities that itisonaccount ofcircumstances beyond thecontrol
oftheexporter that thegoods arereturned tothecustoms territory of
oftheCommunity j
Whereas ,inasmuch asthereturned goods have been thesubject ,atthe
time oftheir exportation from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity ,of
alevy oranyother amount imposed atexportation within theframework of
theCommon Agricultural Policy orunder thesystems oftrade defined in
Regulation N°170/67/ESCandinRegulation (SEC)N°1055/69tadmission of
these goods under return arrangements must entail repayment ofamounts
collected under those termsf
Whereas returned goods should boadmitted tothecustoms territory ofthe
Community wholly orpartly free ofduty only oncondition that they are
theactual goods which were originally exported and ,have notundergone
anytreatment while outside theCommunity other than that necessary to
maintain them ingood condition ,subject toanyexceptions duly substan –
tiated :

Whereas thegranting oftotal orpartial exemption must "besubject tothe
production ofproof that thegoods declared forfree circulation satisfy
theconditions therefor ;whereas such proof could bemade easier forthe
person concerned byenabling himtoobtain ,atthetime when thegoods
areexported ,adocument containing thenecessary information toenable
thegoods tobeidentified intheevent oftheir being returned tothe
customs territory oftheCommunity ;whereas ,intheabsence ofsuch docu­
ment ,thecustoms office where theexport formalities inrespect ofthe
goods arecompleted should berequired tocommunicate allinformation in
their possession tothecustoms office where thegoods arereturned and
entered forfree circulation ^
Whereas ,toavoid abuses ofthearrangements forreturned goods ,itshould
berequired that ,save inexceptional circumstances ,thegoods should be
returned tothecustoms territory oftheCommunity byorattheinstance
oftheperson whoexported them ,andthat thegoods should bereturned
within aperiod ofthree years from thedate oftheir exportation ;
Whereas itshould bepossible forgoods returned tothecustoms territory
oftheCommunity tobesoreturned toaMember State other than that from
which they were exported inaccordance with theconditions laid down above ;
whereas forthis tobepossible ,however ,itwould benecessary that ,as
between theMember States concerned ,there were nocustoms duties orcharges
having equivalent effect oramounts tobecharged under thecommon agri­
cultural policy orunder thetrade systems defined inRegulation N°170/67/'.iEG
andinRegulation (j£EC)N°1059/59;whereas ,therefore ,inallcases
where such charges areapplicable intrade between l.ember States ,the

provisionsof-thisRegulationshouldbeappliedonlyxnrespectofgoods
whicharereturnedforfreecirculation intheMemberStatefromwhich
theywereoriginallyexportedj
WhereasitmustbeensuredthattheprovisionsofthisRegulationare
appliedinauniformmannerandforthispurposeprovisionshouldbemade
foraCommunityprocedureunderwhichdetailedrulesforitsapplication
canbeadoptedwithinareasonabletime:whereastheCustomsGeneralProcedur
CommitteesetupbyCouncilRégulation(EEC;N°«...of
ontheimportationfreeofCommonCustomsTariffdutiesofgoodsofan
educational,scientificorculturalnature(l)shouldbeusedasameans
oforganizingcloseandefficientcooperation betweentheMemberStates
andtheCommissioninthisfield,
HASADOPTUDTHISREGULATION :
Article1
1.ThisRegulationlaysdownthetarifftreatmenttobeappliedto
goodsreturnedtotheterritoryoftheCommunity.
2.Forthepurposesofparagraph 1:
a)Returnedft-oodsmeans,saveasotherwiseprovidedinArticle2,
goodswhich,havingbeenexportedoutsidethecustomsterritory
oftheCommunity,arereturnedtosuchterritorytobeentered
forfreecirculation,providedthat,whentheywereexported,
suchgoods:
(l)OoJ.N°L

-satisfiedtheconditionslaiddowninArticles9
and10oftheTreaty;
or
~werecompensating productsresultingfrominwardproces­
singoperations ;
t>)Tarifftreatmentmeansthetreatmentapplicablewithregard
tocustomsdutiesandchargeshavingequivalenteffectand
thetreatmentapplicablewithregardtoagricultural levies
andotherimportchargeswhich,byvirtueofprovisions
adoptedunderthecommonagricultural policyorunderthe
tradesystemsdefinedinRegulationN°170/67/lECandin
Regulation(SEC)N°1059/69*arechargeableonagricultural
productsandcertaingoodsprocessedtherefrom#
»
Article2
Thefollowingshallnotbeconsideredtobereturnedgoods:
a)goodsoriginallyexportedfromthecustomsterritoryofthe
Communityunderoutwardprocessing ,arrangements j
b)goodswhich,atthetimeoftheirexportationfromthe
customsterritoryoftheCommunity,havebeenthesubject
ofcustomsejqportformalitiesinordertograntrefundsor
otheramountsdueatexportationwithintheframeworkof
thecommonagricultural policy.

•7-
2. Bywayofderogation from theprovisions ofparagraph 1(b),
subject toitbeing establirhed that theamounts granted have been repaid .,
orthat allmeasures have been taken bydepartments concerned forsuch
sums tobewithheld ,goods referred tointhesaid provisions maystill
beconsidered asreturned goods which :
a)areunable tobeentered forhome useinthecountry to
which they were sent onaccount ofregulations inforce
inthat country j,
b)arereturned bytheconsignee asbeing defective ornotin
accordance with theprovisions ofthecontract relating to
them ;
c)arereimported into thecustoms territory oftheCommunity
byreason ofanyother circumstances beyond thecontrol of
theexporter ,coming within .theprocedure referred toin
Article 13.
Itmust beproved tothe satisfaction ofthe competent authori­
ties asreferred toinArticle 10that thegoods come within oneofthe
cases provided forinthis paragraph .
3» Theprovisions ofthis Regulation shall only apply togoods which
satisfy theconditions laid down byparagraph 2ifthey areentered for
free circulation inaKember State inwhich ,ifthey hadbeen directly
imported from theKember State inwhich thecustoms formalities inrespect
oftheir exportation outofthecustoms territory oftheCommunity were
completed ,nocompensatory amount ofanykind would have been levied or
granted inrespect ofsuch importation .

Article 3
1. Whore ,atthetime when they were exported from thecustoms
territory oftheCommunity ,thereturned goods satisfied thecondition
laid down byArticles 9and10oftheTreaty establishing theEEC ,they
may "beentered forfree circulation free ofthecustoms duties ,charges having
equivalent effect ,agricultural levies orother charges referred toin
Article 1(2)(b)chargeable thereon .
2. Where ,prior totheir exportation from thecustoms territory
oftheCommunity ,thereturned goods hadbeen imported forfree circulation
under preferential tariff treatment accorded onthebasis that thegoods
were tobeused foraspecific purpose ,exemption from duty under paragraph 1
shall apply only ifthey are tobere-imported forthe same purpose .
Where thepurpose ofthe .goods inquestion isnolonger thesame ,
theamount ofcustoms duties ,charges having equivalent effect ,agricultural
levies orother charges referred toinArticle 1(2)(b)chargeable thereon
shall bereduced bytheamount levied onthegoods when they wore first
imported forfree circulation ,unless such latter amount isgreater .
Article 4
Where returned goods were first exported from thecustoms territory
oftheCommunity after completion ofinward processing arrangements ,they
shall beentered forfree circulation inaccordance with theprovisions of
theCouncil Directive of4Karch 1969 ontheharmonisation ofprovisions
laid down bylaw ,regulation oradministrative action inrespept ofinward
processing .Thecustoms duties ,charges having equivalent effect ,agricultural

levies orother charges referred ,toinArticle 1(2)(b)tobelevied ,
onsuch goods shall bethose which would have been chargeable ifthesaid
goods hadbeen entered forfree circulation ,inaccordance with theprovision
ofthosaid Directive ,atthetime when theformalities in.resped :-oftheir
exportation outofthecustoms territory oftheCommunity were completed , •
Article "5
Uhere ,atthetime oftheir exportation from thecustoms
territory oftheComnunityj returned goods have been thesubject ofa
levy oranyother amount applicable atexportation within theframework
ofthecommon agricultural policy orunder trade systems defined in
Regulation N°170/67/EECandinRegulation (SFC)N°1059/69*entry for
free circulation ofthese goods gives theright torepayment ofamounts
levied under these terms .
Article 6
Theprovisiors ofArticle 3,4and5shall apply even where
thereturned goods areonly part ofthegoods previously exported from
thecustoms territory oftheCommunity .
Thoprovisions ofArticle 3shall also apply where thereturned
goods consist ofcomponents orspare parts recognisable asbelonging to
amachine ,instrument orapparatus previously exported outofthecustoms
territory oftheCommunity ,otherwise than under completion ofinward
processingarrangement s.

10-
Article 7
Articles 3»4a^d5shall notapply inrespect ofgoods which
have received treatment other than that necessary tomaintain them ingood
condition .
Those Articles shall nevertheless apply toreturned goods
having received treatment other than that necessary tomaintain them
ingood condition ,where such goods ,after teing exported from thecustoms
territory oftheCommunity ,proved tobedefective orunsuitable for
their intended use,provided that either :
-thegoods have undergone such treatment solely with aview
tobeing repaired orrestored togood condition ,
–ortheir unsuitability fortheir intended usebecame apparent
only after such treatment hadcommenced .
Where returned goods have undergone treatment permitted under
theprevious sub–paragraph ,andsuch treatment would have rendered them liable
tocustoms duties jcharges having equivalent effect ,agricultural levies
orother charges referred toinArticle 1(2)(b)ifthey hadbeen placed
under outward processing arrangements ,therules inforce forcharging
duty under thesaid arrangements shall apply .
•• •••

-11~
Article 8
Toqualify asreturned gooas within themeaning ofthis Regulation t
goods concerned must beentered forfree circulation inthecustoms terri­
tory oftheCommunity within three years from thedate oftheir exportation .
However ,this time limit maybeexceeded ifitisdeemed necessary in
order totake account ofexceptional circumstances .
Article 9 .
Theprovisions ofthis Regulation shall apply toreturned
goods only where they arereturned tothecustoms territory oftheCommu­
nity byorattheinstance oftheoriginal exporter .However ,where the
circumstances warrant it,thecompetent authorities maypermit derogations
from this rule .
Article 10
1. Thecompetent authorities oftheMember State where thereturned
goods areentered forfree circulation shall beresponsible foraccording
tosuch goods thetreatment provided forinthis Regulation .
2. Persons whoapply forsuch treatment tobeaccorded shall
supply evidence tothecompetent authorities ofallmatters offact on
which theeligibility ofthegoods forsuch treatment depends .Proof
must begiven ,inparticular ,that thegoods entered forfree circulation
arethose which were exported .

12-
Article 11
Onapplication bytheperson concerned thecompetent authorities
shall roncompletion ofthecustoms formalities onexportation ,issue a
document containing such information asshall benecessary toidentify
thegoods intheevent oftheir being returned tothecustoms territory
oftheCommunity ,
Provision maybemade forthis document toreplace allother
customs documents required forthecompletion ofexport formalities for
thegoods inquestion .
Article 12
Thecompetent authorities atthecustoms office atwhich the
goods areexported from thecustoms territory oftheCommunity shall ,on
request ,communicate tothecustoms authorities ofthecustoms office
where they areentered forfree circulation ,allinformation necesary to
enable thelatter todetermine whether thegoods satisfy theconditions
required inorder tobring them within theprovisions ofthis Regulation .
Article 13
4,5»7,
with theTheprovisions necessary fortheapplication ofArticles 2(2),
9,10,11and12ofthis Regulation shall beadopted inaccordance
procedure laid down inArticle 8ofRegulation (EEC)N0

~13~
Article 14
This Regulation shall enter into force on
However ,until 1July 1977 »itsapplication shall besubject
tothefollowing conditions :
a)asregards theCommunity asoriginally constituted ,returned
goods must have been originally exported from oneoftheoriginal
Member States ;
b)asregards each ofthenewMember States ,thereturned goods
must have been originally exported from theMember State in
question .
This Regulation shall bebinding initsentirety anddirectly
applicable inallMember States .
Done atBrussels ,
FortheCouncil ,
The Président