15. 8. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 204/15 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 83/643/EEC of 1 December 1983 on the 
facilitation of physical inspections and administrative formalities in respect of the carriage of 
goods between Member States 
COM(90) 356 final — SYN 284 
(Submitted by the Commission on 1 August 1990) 
(90/C 204/05) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100A 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Directive 83/643/EEC (') contains a set of 
measures designed to reduce waiting time for carriers of 
goods crossing internal Community frontiers; 
Whereas Article 8A of the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community provides for the 
progressive establishment, over a period expiring on 31 
December 1992, of an internal market comprising an 
area without internal frontiers in which the free 
movement of goods, inter alia, is ensured; 
Whereas pending the removal of internal frontiers it is 
both possible and desirable to make further early 
progress in speeding up and simplifying intra-
Community movement of goods; 
Whereas the principle stated in Directive 83/643/EEC 
that inspections should be carried out by means of spot 
checks except in 'duly justified circumstances' applies 
only to physical inspections; whereas in the light of 
experience it is desirable to cut waiting time at frontiers 
to a minimum by defining the terms 'inspection', 
'administrative formality' and 'spot check'; 
Whereas under the Community transit arrangements 
traders may initiate the transit procedure inside the 
Member State of departure and/or opt for the release of 
the goods for home use or their entry for another 
procedure at a point inside the Member State of desti­
nation; whereas in this context the centralization of 
different controls in a single place pursuant to Directive 
83/643/EEC will improve the situation at frontiers only 
if it takes place preferably at the point of departure or 
destination of the goods, without prejudice to the 
trader's freedom of choice; Whereas the minimum business hours of major 
inspection offices inside Member States should be 
extended in order to facilitate the completion of controls 
and formalities at the place of departure or destination 
of goods, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Directive 83/643/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
1. The following paragraph shall be added to Article 1: 
'3. For the purposes of this Directive: 
— inspection means the carrying out by customs or 
any other supervisory department of an operation 
which consists of the physical examination or 
visual inspection of the means of transport or the 
goods themselves with the aim of checking that 
their nature, origin, state, quantity or value 
conform to the particulars given in the documents 
which have been presented, 
— formality means any formality imposed on traders 
by the administration, consisting in the presen­
tation or examination of documents, certificates 
accompanying goods or other particulars, irres­
pective of form or medium, relating to the goods 
or means of transport.' 
2. Article 2 shall be replaced by the following: 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary 
to ensure that in the course of any carriage operation 
the various inspections and formalities are carried out 
with the minimum of delay necessary and: 
— as far as possible, in one place, preferably the 
place of departure and/or destination of the 
goods, 
— with the inspections being carried out by means of 
spot checks, except in duly justified circumstances. 
(') OJ No L 359, 22. 12. 1983. 2. For the purposes of the second indent of 
paragraph 1, the sample base for spot checks shall be 
No C 204/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 8.90 
the totality of consignments passing through a frontier 
post or presented at a customs office or supervisory 
department in a given period, not the totality of 
goods in each consignment. 
3. In circumstances which they consider appro­
priate, Member States shall facilitate the use, at the 
place of departure or destination of the goods, of the 
simplified procedures laid down in the rules for 
dispatch and movement of goods or their release for 
home use. 
4. Member States shall endeavour to ensure that 
the location of their customs offices, including inland 
offices, takes the fullest possible account of the 
requirements of business operators.' 
3. Article 5 shall be replaced by the following: 
'Article 5 
Where the volume of traffice so warrants, Member 
States shall see to it that: 
(a) frontier posts are open, except when traffic is 
prohibited, in such a way that: 
— frontiers can be crossed 24 hours a day, with 
corresponding provision for the inspections 
and formalities relating to goods placed under 
a customs transit procedure and their means 
of transport, and to vehicles travelling 
unladen, save where frontier inspection is 
necessary to prevent the spread of disease, 
— inspections and formalities relating to the 
movement of means of transport and goods 
which have not been placed under a customs 
transit procedure may be performed from 
Monday to Friday during an uninterrupted period of at least ten hours, and on Saturday 
during an uninterrupted period of at least six 
hours, unless the day is a public holiday; 
(b) customs offices and other services carrying out 
inspections and formalities in respect of the 
import or export of goods, which are situated 
inside the country, are open to enable inspections 
and formalities relating to goods presented to 
them to be performed daily from Monday to 
Friday during a period of at least ten hours and 
on Saturday during a period of at least six hours, 
unless the day is a public holiday; 
(c) in the case of vehicles and goods transported by 
air, the hours referred to in the second indent of 
subparagraph (a) are adjusted to meet actual 
needs, and for that purpose may be split in 
accordance with the flow of traffic; 
(d) transshipments which, under existing rules, 
customs services allow to be carried out without 
their immediate supervision can be carried out at 
any time in such a way as to meet actual needs.' 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive by 1 September 1991 at the 
latest. 
2. Each Member State shall communicate to the 
Commission the text of the provisions it adopts to 
comply with this Directive. 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.