29.3.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 87/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 754/76 on the 
customs treatment applicable to goods returned to the customs territory of the 
Community 
COM(84) 127 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 15 March 1984) 
(84/C 87/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Articles 28, 43 and 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 2 (1) (a) of Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 754/76 of 25 March 1976 on the customs 
treatment applicable to goods returned to the customs 
territory of the Community (*) stipulates that goods 
previously exported from the customs territory of the 
Community under outward processing arrangements 
shall not be considered to be returned goods; 
whereas, nevertheless, the customs treatment to be 
applied to such goods on re-importation in the 
unaltered state is determined in the same manner as 
prescribed in that Regulation, pursuant to 
Commission Directive 78/206/EEC of 7 February 
1978 on the customs treatment of goods re-imported 
in the unaltered state under outward processing 
arrangements (2); whereas this matter should be dealt 
with in a single instrument and Article 2 (1) (a) of 
Regulation (EEC) No 754/76 amended accordingly; 
Whereas, under Article 2 (1) (b) of Regulation (EEC) 
No 754/76 in conjunction with Article 2 (2) thereof, 
goods on which, at their exportation from the 
customs territory of the Community, refunds or other amounts granted within the framework of the 
common agricultural policy are payable qualify upon 
re-importation for the tariff treatment provided for in 
that Regulation only where certain conditions are 
met; whereas the same does not apply to goods on 
which, in consequence of their exportation, a 
financial advantage other than the granting of refunds 
or other amounts has been obtained even though 
their re-importation into the customs territory of the 
Community may have the same repercussions where 
financial advantages paid without justification are 
concerned; whereas Article 2 (1) (b) and (2) of Regu­
lation (EEC) No 754/76 should be supplemented 
accordingly; 
Whereas Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 754/76 
stipulates that the said Regulation is to apply to 
returned goods only where they are returned by or at 
the instance of the previous exporter but that, where 
circumstances so warrant, the competent authorities 
may permit derogations from this rule; whereas the 
charging of import duties on goods which, upon 
exportation, satisfied the conditions of Article 9 (2) of 
the Treaty, for the sole reason that the 
aforementioned test is not met, is not economically 
justified; whereas derogations granted by Member 
States may produce distortions of treatment as 
between traders; whereas dispensing with the test laid 
down in Article 9 ought not to create any particular 
difficulties; whereas that Article can, therefore, be 
deleted, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 754/76 is hereby amended as 
follows: 
O OJNoL89, 2. 4. 1976, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 62, 4. 3. 1978, p. 40. 1. Article 2 (1) is replaced by the following: 
No C 87/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 29.3.84 
'1. The following shall not be considered to be 
returned goods: 
(a) goods exported from the customs territory of 
the Community under outward processing 
arrangements unless such goods are still in the 
state in which they were exported; 
(b) goods: 
— for which, on their exportation from the 
customs territory of the Community, the 
customs export formalities for the grant of 
refunds or other amounts on export 
provided for within the framework of the 
common agricultural policy have been 
completed, or 
— for which a financial advantage other than 
such refunds or other amounts has been 
granted within the framework of the 
common agricultural policy, with the 
requirement that the said goods be 
exported.' 
2. The introductory phrase of Article 2 (2) is 
replaced by the following': '2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 (b), 
provided it is established, as the case may be, that 
the refunds or other amounts paid have been 
repaid or that all measures have been taken by the 
competent authorities for such refunds or other 
amounts to be withheld, or that any other financial 
advantages granted have been cancelled, goods 
referred to in the said paragraph shall be 
considered to be returned goods if they:'. 
3. Article 9 is deleted. 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the, 
European Communities. It shall apply to goods 
entered for free circulation in the customs territory of 
the Community from the date of its entry into force. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States.