31. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 356/31 
territory of which they were entered for free circulation. 
The criteria applied to establish whether the goods 
infringe the rights of the trade-mark owner shall be 
the same as those used to determine whether goods 
produced in that Member State infringe these same 
rights. Decisions taken by the competent authority shall 
set out the grounds on which they are based. 
3. Release of the goods shall be suspended until it 
is conclusively established whether or not they are 
counterfeit. The applicant or the relevant authority 
shall initiate proceedings before the competent authori­
ty so seek a final decision, preceded where necessary by 
an interim decision as to whether or not the suspension 
should be confirmed. If within 10 working days of the 
suspension of the release neither the applicant nor the 
relevant authority initiates such proceedings, the goods 
shall be released provided all the import formalities 
have been complied with. 
4. Provided that all other import formalities have 
been complied with, release shall also be granted as 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 235 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia­
ment, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Council Directive 68/312/EEC of 30 July 1968 
on harmonization of the provisions laid down by law, 
regulation or administrative action relating to: 
1. customs treatment of goods entering the customs 
territory of the Community, 
2. temporary storage of such goods (*), 
as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and 
Portugal, laid down certain principles to be complied 
with in this field; 
(J) OJ No L 194, 6. 8. 1968, p. 13. soon as sufficient evidence is presented to the customs 
office showing that it has been conclusively established 
that the goods are not counterfeit.' 
Article 5(1) — new recital: 
'1. Without prejudice to the other remedies to which 
the proprietor of a registered trade mark, whose trade 
mark has been found to be infringed is entitled, Member 
States shall adopt the measures necessary to allow the 
competent authorities to confiscate goods, the release 
of which has been suspended pursuant to Article 4, 
where it is established that they are counterfeit. 
Confiscated goods shall be destroyed or disposed of 
outside the channels of commerce in a manner which 
minimizes harm to the trade-mark owner.' 
Article 8 — new recital of paragraph 3: 
'3. Within three years of the entry into force of 
this Regulation, the Commission shall report to the 
European Parliament and the Council on the operation 
of the system instituted thereunder and such amend­
ments as need to be made thereto.' 
Whereas the rules to which goods brought into the 
customs territory of the Community are subject, until 
they are assigned a customs-approved treatment or use, 
are fundamental to the proper operation of the customs 
union; whereas it is therefore important to ensure that 
they are applied, to the greatest possible extent, uni­
formly throughout the Community; whereas to that 
end Directive 68/312/EEC should be replaced by a 
Regulation incorporating all the necessary clarifications 
and amendments; whereas this will afford individuals 
a greater degree of legal certainty; 
Whereas goods brought into the customs territory of 
the Community must be made subject to appropriate 
customs supervision so as to ensure that the customs 
rules, and any other rules applicable to them, are com­
plied with; 
Whereas to that end, the obligations incumbent on 
persons who bring goods into the customs territory 
of the Community and on persons who subsequently 
assume responsibility for those goods in order to move 
or store them until they are assigned a customs-
approved treatment or use, should be defined; whereas 
the substance of those obligations must Be specified in 
detail in respect of each of the stages reached by goods Proposal for a Council Regulation laying down the provisions applicable to 
goods brought into the customs territory of the Community 
COM (85) 766 final 
(85/C 356/08) 
No C 356/32 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 85 
from their physical entry into the customs territory of 
the Community, until they are assigned a customs-
approved treatment or use; 
Whereas each of those obligations must take account 
of the need for the customs authorities to exercise 
effective supervision of goods; whereas the substance 
of those obligations should be varied according to the 
manner in which goods enter the customs territory of 
the Community; whereas that must apply in particular 
as regards determining the periods within which goods 
brought into the customs territory of the Community 
may remain in that territory until they are assigned a 
customs-approved treatment or use; whereas it must 
also be made possible to determine those periods 
according to the traffic conditions peculiar to the cus­
toms office concerned and its physical capacity for 
handling that traffic; . 
Whereas measures for the supervision of goods brought 
into the customs territory must take account of the 
special legal status of free zones and of the particular 
features of passenger traffic and of consignments sent 
by letter or parcel post; 
Whereas in order to ensure the best possible conditions 
for the supervision of goods awaiting assignment to a 
particular customs-approved treatment or use, their 
storage in temporary storage facilities approved by the 
customs authorities, and placed under the responsibility 
of the operators of such facilities, should be authorized; 
Whereas the rules of a general nature laid down by this 
Regulation, with respect to the presentation of goods 
to customs, are without prejudice to the special rules 
in that regard applicable to goods which are brought 
into the customs territory of the Community or move 
inside that customs territory under the transit pro­
cedure; whereas on the other hand all the other pro­
visions of this Regulation must be applied to those 
goods once they have been presented to customs in 
accordance with the rules governing transit; 
Whereas where Community goods traded between 
Member States are subject, pursuant to Community 
rules, to measures requiring their presentation to cus­
toms, the provisions laid down with regard to goods 
brought into the customs territory of the European 
Community should, for the sake of simplification, apply 
mutatis mutandis; 
Whereas it is important to ensure uniform application 
of this Regulation and make provision for that purpose 
for a Community procedure which will allow the meas­
ures for its implementation to be adopted within appro­
priate periods; whereas recourse should be had to the 
Committee on General Customs Rules set up by Article 
24 of Council Directive 79/695/EEC of 24 July 1979 on 
the harmonization of procedures for the release of 
goods for free circulation (1), as last amended by Direc­
tive 81/853/EEC(2), in order to establish close and 
effective cooperation between the Member States and 
the Commission in this field; 
(») OJ No L 205, 13. 8. 1979, p. 19. 
(2) OJ No L 319, 7. 11. 1981, p. 1. Whereas this Regulation lays down the provisions 
applicable to goods brought into the customs territory 
of the Community; whereas this measure is necessary 
to attain, in the course of the operation of the common 
market, one of the objectives of the Community; where­
as the Treaty has not in its provisions on the customs 
union provided the necessary powers; whereas this 
Regulation must therefore be based on Article 235, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. This Regulation lays down the provisions appli­
cable to goods brought into the customs territory of 
the Community: 
(a) where the goods are not placed under the transit 
procedure upon entry, until they are assigned a 
customs-approved treatment or use; 
(b) where the goods are placed under the transit pro­
cedure upon entry, 
— where the transit operation terminates in the 
customs territory of the Community, until they 
are assigned a different customs-approved treat­
ment or use; 
— until they have left that customs territory in 
other cases. 
2. For the purposes of this Regulation: 
(a) 'customs authority' means any authority competent 
to apply customs rules, even if that authority is not 
part of the customs administration; 
(b) 'customs supervision' means action taken in general 
by the customs authority with a view to ensuring 
compliance with customs rules and, where appropri­
ate, with other rules applicable to goods brought 
into the customs territory of the Community; 
(c) 'control by the customs authority' means the per­
formance of sundry specific acts such as examining 
goods, verifying the existence and authenticity of 
documents, examining the accounts of undertakings 
and other records, inspecting means of transport, 
checking persons, conducting official inquiries, and 
other similar acts; 
(d) 'import duties' means 
— customs duties, 
— anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties 
introduced in accordance with Article VI of the 
General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade as well 
as other charges having an effect equivalent to 
customs duties, 
— agricultural levies and other import charges laid 
down under the common agricultural policy or 
under the specific arrangements applicable to 
certain goods resulting from the processing of 
agricultural products; 
31. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 356/33 
(e) 'Community goods' means goods: 
— wholly obtained or produced in the customs 
territory of the Community, and not incorporat­
ing goods from countries or territories not for­
ming part of the customs territory of the Com­
munity, 
— imported from countries or territories not for­
ming part of the customs territory of the Com­
munity, and in free circulation in a Member 
State, 
obtained or produced in the customs territory 
of the Community either from goods referred to 
exclusively in the second indent or from goods 
referred to in the first and second indents. 
TITLE I 
Entry of goods into the customs territory of the Com­
munity 
Article 2 
Goods brought into the customs territory of the Com­
munity shall, from the time of their entry, be subject 
to customs supervision. They may also be subject to 
control by the customs authority. 
Article 3 
1. Goods brought into the customs territory of the 
Community shall be conveyed by the person bringing 
them into the Community without delay, by the route 
specified by the customs authority and in accordance 
with its instructions, if any: 
(a) either to the customs office designated by the cus­
toms authority or to any other place designated or 
approved by that authority; 
(b) or to a free zone, if the goods are to be brought 
into that free zone directly: 
— either by sea or air, 
— or by land without passing through another part 
of Community territory, where the free zone 
adjoins the land frontier between a Member 
State and a third country. 
The provisions of paragraph 1 (a) shall also apply to 
goods coming from a free zone situated in the customs 
territory of the Community, unless the goods leave the 
zone by sea or air without being placed under the transit 
procedure or another customs procedure. 2. Any person who assumes responsibility for the 
carriage of goods after they have been brought into the 
customs territory of the Community, inter alia as 
a result of transhipment, shall become responsible for 
compliance with the obligation laid down in para­
graph 1. 
3. Goods brought into the customs territory of the 
Community shall be deemed to include goods which, 
although still outside that territory, may be subjected 
to control by the customs authority of a Member State 
by virtue of provisions in force, notably as a result of 
an agreement concluded between that Member State 
and a third country. 
4. Paragraph 1 (a) shall not preclude implementation 
of any autonomous or conventional provisions in force 
in the Member States with respect to tourist traffic or 
frontier traffic, on condition that customs supervision 
is not thereby jeopardized. 
5. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to goods on board 
ships or aircraft crossing the territorial waters or air­
space of the Member States without calling at a port 
or airport situated in the customs territory of the Com­
munity. 
Article 4 
1. Where, by reason of unforeseeable circumstances 
or force majeure, the obligation laid down in Article 
3 (*) cannot be complied with, the person bound by that 
obligation or any other person acting in his place shall 
inform the customs authority of the situation without 
delay. Where the unforeseeable circumstances or force 
majeure do not result in total loss of the goods, the 
customs authority shall also be informed of their precise 
location. The customs authority shall determine the 
measures to be taken in order to permit customs super­
vision of the goods and to ensure that they are subse­
quently conveyed to a customs office or to any other 
place designated by it. 
2. Where, by reason of unforeseeable circumstances 
or force majeure, a ship or aircraft covered by Article 
3 (5) is forced to put into port or land temporarily 
in the customs territory of the Community and the 
obligation laid down in Article 3 (*) cannot be complied 
with, the person bringing the ship or aircraft into the 
customs territory of the Community or any other per­
son acting in his place shall inform the customs authori­
ty of the situation without delay. 
The customs authority shall determine the measures to 
be taken in order to permit customs supervision of the 
goods on board and to ensure, where appropriate, that 
they are subsequently conveyed to a customs office or 
other place designated by the authority. 
No G 356/34 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 85 
TITLE II TITLE III 
Presentation to customs of goods brought into the 
customs territory of the Community Summary declaration and unloading of goods presented 
to customs 
Article 5 
1. Goods which, pursuant to Article 3 (1) (a), arrive 
at the customs office or other place designated or 
approved by the customs authority shall be presented 
to customs by the person who brought the goods into 
the customs territory of the Community or, if appropri­
ate, by the person who assumes responsibility for car­
riage of the goods following such entry. 
Presentation of goods to customs shall consist in 
informing the competent customs authority, in the 
requisite manner, that the goods have arrived. 
2. Goods may be presented to customs and the sum­
mary declaration referred to in Article 9 be lodged at 
the same time. 
Article 6 
Goods which, pursuant to Article 3 (1) are brought 
directly into a free zone on their arrival in the customs 
territory of the Community need not be presented to 
customs. 
Article 7 
Articles 5 and 6 shall not preclude implementation of: 
(a) specific rules relating to goods carried by travellers; 
(b) measures taken to implement Article 20 (3) of Direc­
tive 79/695/EEC; 
(c) special provisions applicable to goods moving under 
the transit procedure when they enter the customs 
territory of the Community or when they leave a 
free zone. Article 9 
1. Subject to Article 11, goods presented to customs 
within the meaning of Article 5(1) shall be covered by 
a summary declaration. 
The period within which the summary declaration must 
be lodged shall be fixed by the customs authority. It 
shall not extend beyond the first working day following 
the day on which the goods are presented to customs. 
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the lodging of a 
summary declaration shall be required in respect of 
goods covered by Article 7 (c) only where they are 
carried by sea, by air or by inland waterway and form 
part of a cargo which includes goods not placed under 
the transit procedure. 
Article 10 
1. The summary declaration shall be made on a form 
corresponding to the model prescribed by the customs 
authority. However, the customs authority may permit 
the use, as a summary declaration, of any commercial 
or official document which contains the particulars 
necessary for identification of the goods. 
2. The summary declaration shall be lodged: 
(a) by the person who brought the goods into the 
customs territory of the Community or by any 
person who assumes responsibility for carriage of 
the goods following such entry; or 
(b) by the person in whose name the persons referred 
to in subparagraph (a) acted; or 
(c) by the representative of any of the persons referred 
to in subparagraph (a) and (b). 
3. The summary declaration shall be signed by the 
person lodging it. The customs authority shall stamp 
and retain it for the purpose of verifying that the goods 
to which it relates are assigned a customs-approved 
treatment or use within the periods laid down in 
Article 16. 
Article 8 
Goods may, once they have been presented to customs, 
and with the permission of the customs authority, be 
examined or samples thereof may be taken, in order that 
they may be assigned a customs-approved treatment or 
use. Such permission shall be granted, on request, to the 
person authorized to assign the goods such treatment or 
use or to his representative. 4. The summary declaration may be drawn up in 
computerized form. In that case, the rules laid down in 
paragraph 3 shall be adapted accordingly. 
Article 11 
Without prejudice to the provisions applicable to goods 
imported by travellers and consignments by letter and 
31. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 356/35 
parcel post, the customs authority may waive the lodg­
ing of a summary declaration, on condition that this 
does not jeopardize customs supervision of the goods, 
where, prior to the expiry of the period referred to in 
Article 9, the said goods are: 
(a) entered for a customs procedure; or 
(b) re-exported, where appropriate after transhipment, 
or placed in a free zone; or 
(c) destroyed with the permission of the customs autho­
rity. 
Article 12 
1. Goods shall, with the permission of the customs 
authority, be unloaded from the means of transport 
carrying them in places designated or approved by that 
authority. 
However, such permission shall not be required in the 
event of imminent danger necessitating the immediate 
unloading of all or part of the goods. In that case, 
the customs authority shall be informed accordingly 
forthwith. 
2. Goods shall not be unloaded until they are covered 
by a summary declaration or have been entered for a 
customs procedure. 
However, in order to expedite the turn-round of means 
of transport and on condition that appropriate meas­
ures have been taken to enable it to supervise the goods 
in question, the customs authority may, at the request 
of the person concerned, allow goods to be unloaded 
before the summary declaration is lodged. 
3. For the purpose of inspecting goods and the means 
of transport carrying them, the customs authority may 
at any time require goods to be unloaded. 
Article 13 
1. Without prejudice to Article 8, goods covered by 
a summary declaration which have not been unloaded 
from the means of transport carrying them shall be 
represented intact by the person referred to in Article 
10 (2) whenever the custom authority so requires. 
2. Any person who, in order to move or store them, 
holds goods after they have been unloaded, shall 
become responsible for compliance with the obligation 
laid down in paragraph 1. 
Article 14 
After they have been unloaded, goods shall not be 
moved from their original position without the per­
mission of the customs authority, unless the exercise of 
customs supervision is not thereby affected. TITLE IV 
Customs-approved treatment or use of goods 
presented to customs 
Article 15 
1. Goods presented to customs shall be assigned a 
customs-approved treatment or use which may be: 
(a) their placement under a customs procedure; 
(b) their entry into a free zone; 
(c) their reconsighment from the customs territory of 
the Community; 
(d) their destruction with the permission of the customs 
authority under the conditions laid down by that 
authority; or, 
(e) their abandonment to the Revenue, where provision 
is made therefor under national law. 
2. Any waste or scrap resulting from destruction, as 
referred to in paragraph 1 (d), shall be assigned any 
other customs-approved treatment or use referred to in 
paragraph 1. 
Article 16 
1. Where goods are covered by a summary declar­
ation, they shall be entered for a customs procedure or 
be covered by an application for assignment of another 
customs-approved treatment or use referred to in 
Article 15 within the periods determined by the customs 
authority in the light of the requirements of customs 
supervision and the need to maintain the traffic flow. 
The said periods shall not exceed: 
(a) 45 days from the date on which the summary declar­
ation is lodged in the case of goods carried by sea; 
(b) 15 days from the date on which the summary declar­
ation is lodged in the case of goods carried otherwise 
than by sea. 
2. Where circumstances so warrant, the customs 
authority may authorize an extension of the periods 
referred to in paragraph 1. Such extension shall not 
however exceed genuine needs which are justified by 
the circumstances. 
TITLE V 
Temporary storage of goods 
Article 17 
Until such time as they are assigned a customs-approved 
treatment or use referred to in Article 15, goods pre­
sented to customs shall, following such presentation, 
No C 356/36 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 85 
have the status of goods in temporary storage. Such 
goods shall hereinafter be described as 'goods in tem­
porary storage'. 
Article 18 
1. Goods in temporary storage shall be stored only 
in places approved by the customs authority under the 
conditions laid down by that authority. 
2. The customs authority may require the person 
holding the goods to provide a security with a view to 
ensuring payment of any customs debt which may arise 
under the provisions implementing Article 2 (c) and (d) 
of Council Directive 79/623/EEC (*). 
Article 19 
Without prejudice to Article 8, goods in temporary 
storage shall be subject only to such forms of handling 
as are designed to ensure their preservation in an 
unaltered state without modifying their appearance or 
technical characteristics. 
Article 20 
1. The customs authority shall immediately take all 
measures necessary, including the sale of goods, to 
regularize the situation of goods in respect of which the 
formalities necessary for them to be assigned a customs-
approved treatment or use referred to in Article 15 are 
not initiated within the periods determined in accord­
ance with Article 16. 
2. The customs authority may, at the risk and 
expense of the person holding them, have the goods in 
question transferred to a special place, which is under 
its supervision, until their situation is regularized. 
TITLE VI 
Temporary storage facilities 
Article 21 
1. Where the places referred to in Article 18 (1) have 
been approved on a permanent basis for the storage 
of goods in temporary storage, such places shall be 
described as 'temporary storage facilities'. Temporary 
storage facilities managed by the customs authority 
shall be public. In other cases they may be public or 
private. 
2. In order to ensure implementation of the customs 
rules, the customs authority may, where it does not 
itself manage the temporary storage facility, require 
that: 
(!) OJ No L 179, 17. 7. 1979, p. 31. (a) temporary storage facilities be double-locked, one 
key being held by the said customs authority; 
(b) the person operating the temporary storage facility 
keep accounts which enable the movements of goods 
to be traced. 
Article 22 
Goods shall be placed in a temporary storage facility 
on-the basis of the summary declaration. However, the 
customs authority may require the lodging of a specific 
declaration made on a form corresponding to a model 
which it prescribes. 
TITLE VII 
Provisions applicable to non-Community goods which 
have moved under the transit procedure 
Article 23 
Once non-Community goods which have moved under 
the transit procedure reach their destination in the 
customs territory of the Community and have been 
presented to customs in accordance with the rules 
governing transit, Articles 9 to 22 shall apply. 
TITLE VIII 
Provisions applicable to Community goods 
Article 24 
Where Community goods brought into the territory of 
a Member State are subject to measures requiring their 
presentation to customs pursuant to Community rules, 
this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis. 
TITLE IX 
Final provisions 
Article 25 
Where the circumstances so require the customs autho­
rity may have goods presented to customs destroyed. 
The customs authority shall inform the holder of the 
goods accordingly. Costs incurred as a result of the 
destruction of the goods shall be borne by the holder. 
Article 26 
Where goods enter the customs territory of the Com­
munity otherwise than by deliberate human agency and 
are retained therein by such agency, the manner in 
which this Regulation shall apply to those goods shall 
be determined by the customs authority. 
31. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 356/37 
Article 27 References to that Directive shall be construed as refer­
ences to this Regulation. 
The provisions necessary for implementing this Regu­
lation shall be adopted in accordance with the pro­
cedure laid down in Article 26 (2) and (3) of Directive Article 29 
79/695/EEC. 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 March 1987. 
Article 28 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
Directive 68/312/EEC is hereby repealed. directly applicable in all Member States. 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directives 66/440/EEC, 66/401/EEC, 66/402/ 
EEC, 66/403/EEC, 69/208/EEQ 70/458/EEC and 70/457/EEC on the marketing of beet seed, 
fodder plant seed, cereal seed, seed potatoes, seed of oil and fibre plants and vegetable seed 
and on the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species 
COM (85) 782 
(85/C 356/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in 
particular Article 43 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament, 
Whereas, for the reasons given below, the following Directives on the marketing of seeds 
and propagating material should be amended: 
— Council Directive 66/400/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of beet seed(1), as last 
amended by Directive 78/692/EEC (2) and by the Act of Accession of Greece, 
— Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of fodder plant seed(3), 
as last amended by Commission Directive 85/38/EEC(4), 
— Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of cereal seed(5), as last 
amended by Directive 81/561/EEC (6), 
— Council Directive 66/403/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of seed potatoes (7), as 
last amended by Directive 84/218/EEC (8), 
— Council Directive 69/208/EEC of 30 June 1969 on the marketing of seed of oil and fibre 
plants (9), as last amended by Commission Directive 82/859/EEC(10), 
(») OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2290/66. 
(2) OJ No L 236, 26. 8. 1978, p. 13. 
(3) OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2298/66. 
(4) OJ No L 16, 19. 1.1985, p. 41. 
(5) OJ No 125, 11.7. 1966, p. 2309/66. 
(6) OJ No L 203, 23. 7. 1981, p. 52. 
(7) OJ No 125, 11. 7. 1966, p. 2320/66. 
(8) OJ No L 104, 17. 4. 1984, p. 19. 
(9) OJ No L 169, 10. 7. 1969, p. 3. 
(10) OJ No L 357, 18. 12. 1982, p. 31.