WRITTEN QUESTION P-1577/96 by Eva Kjer Hansen (ELDR) to the Commission (12 June 1996)

Subject: Commission Regulation No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 and provisions for implementing Council Regulation No 2913/92 (EU Customs Code)

Article 356(2) of Regulation 2454/93 ((OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p.1. )) specifies that on the arrival of goods details of controls carried out must be recorded in the T1 document, a copy of which must be sent without delay to the office of departure.

The Danish Association of Forwarding Agents has carried out a survey involving 600 consignments which revealed that on average some 300 days elapsed before the T1 document was returned to the place of departure.

Does the Commission find it acceptable that without delay in practice means 300 days?

How does the Commission define without delay?

How will the Commission ensure that customs authorities in the Member States adhere to its interpretation of without delay?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (19 July 1996)

Article 356(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993, laying down provisions for the implementation of the Community customs code, which the Honourable Member cites in his question, states that the office of destination shall, without delay, send a copy of the T document to the office of departure.

For material reasons, such as postage costs or the resources allocated to this exercise by the Member States, the relevant customs offices in the Member States usually wait until they have a batch of the forms to return to the office of departure.

To prevent excessive delays, the Commission suggested to the Member States that even if irregularities were found, the office of destination should be required to dispatch the document within 10 working days of the goods being presented; this administrative arrangement was adopted in the early 1980s. ((Compendium of the administrative arrangements, conclusions and interpretations relating to transit and the Single Administrative Document (doc. XXI/175/94) of 22 July 1994, Part 1, Title III, Chapter 1, Section 4, F, 1. )) Assuming the office adheres to the time limit, one must add on the time taken for the document to reach the office of departure, possibly via a national clearing office.

In addition, following the introduction of temporary measures banning the use of comprehensive guarantees for goods involving a high risk of fraud, the Commission proposed that a new Article 362a be inserted into Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93, stating that return copies of T documents must be sent back 'no later than the working day following the day that the consignment and the T1 form were presented at the office of destination', so as to improve surveillance of such goods and reduce the costs to operators. This amendment was included in Commission Regulation (EC) No 482/96 of 19 March 1996. ((OJ L 70, 20 March 1996. ))

However, we should point out that procedures for returning T document copies are the sole responsibility of the Member States, and that, in any case, problems or hitches in the procedure should be solved with the introduction of computerized transit procedures.

With regard to the specific cases referred to in the question, the Commission will contact the Danish authorities with a view to obtaining further particulars.

Should these cases prove to involve obligations on the part of one or more Member States, the Commission may initiate infringement proceedings under Article 169 of the Treaty.