Agreement on the European Economic Area - Protocol 11 on mutual assistance in Customs Matters
Date: 1992-05-02
Institutions: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, European Coal and Steel Community, European Economic Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Subjects: European Economic Area, administrative cooperation, customs cooperation, customs regulations, multilateral agreement, protocol to an agreement













EUR-Lex - 21994A0103(12) - EN






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21994A0103(12)

Agreement on the European Economic Area - Protocol 11 on mutual assistance in Customs Matters  


Official Journal L 001 , 03/01/1994 P. 0171 - 0174 





PROTOCOL 11on mutual  assistance in Customs MattersArticle 1 DefinitionsFor the purposes of this  Protocol: (a)  'customs legislation` shall mean provisions applicable in the territories of the Contracting  Parties governing the import, export, transit of goods and their placing under any other customs  procedure, including measures of prohibition, restriction and control adopted by the said Parties; (b)  'customs duties` shall mean all duties, taxes, fees or other charges which are levied and  collected in the territories of the Contracting Parties, in application of customs legislation, but  not including fees and charges which are limited in amount to the approximate costs of services  rendered; (c)  'applicant authority` shall mean a competent administrative authority which has been appointed  by a Contracting Party for this purpose and which makes a request for assistance in customs  matters; (d)  'requested authority` shall mean a competent administrative authority which has been appointed  by a Contracting Party for this purpose and which receives a request for assistance in customs  matters; (e)  'contravention` shall mean any violation of the customs legislation as well as any attempted  violation of such legislation. Article 2 Scope1.  The Contracting Parties shall assist each other, in the manner and under the  conditions laid down in this Protocol, in ensuring that customs legislation is correctly applied,  in particular by the prevention, detection and investigation of contraventions of this  legislation. 2.  Assistance in customs matters, as provided for in this Protocol, applies to any administrative  authority of the Contracting Parties which is competent for the application of this Protocol. It  shall not prejudice the rules governing mutual assistance in criminal matters. Article 3 Assistance on request1.  At the request of the applicant authority, the requested  authority shall furnish it with all relevant information to enable it to ensure that customs  legislation is correctly applied, including information regarding operations noted or planned which  contravene or would contravene such legislation. 2.  At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall inform it whether  goods exported from the territory of one of the Contracting Parties have been properly imported  into the territory of the other Party, specifying, where appropriate, the customs procedure applied  to the goods. 3.  At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall take the necessary  steps to ensure that a surveillance is kept on: (a)  natural or legal persons of whom there are reasonable grounds for believing that they are  contravening or have contravened customs legislation; (b)  movement of goods notified as possibly giving rise to substantial contraventions of customs  legislation; (c)  means of transport for which there are reasonable grounds for believing that they have been,  are or may be used in the contravening of customs legislation. Article 4 Spontaneous assistanceThe Contracting Parties shall within their competences provide  each other with assistance if they consider that to be necessary for the correct application of  customs legislation, particularly when they obtain information pertaining to: -  operations which have contravened, contravene or would contravene such legislation and which may  be of interest to other Contracting Parties; -  new means or methods employed in realizing such operations; -  goods known to be subject to substantial contravention of customs legislation on import, export,  transit or any other customs procedure. Article 5 Delivery/NotificationAt the request of the applicant authority, the requested  authority shall in accordance with its legislation take all necessary measures in order to: -  deliver all documents; -  notify all decisions; falling within the scope of this Protocol to an addressee, residing or established in its  territory. Article 6 Form and substance of requests for assistance1.  Requests pursuant to the present  Protocol shall be made in writing. Documents necessary for the execution of such requests shall  accompany the request. When required because of the urgency of the situation, oral requests may be  accepted, but must be confirmed in writing immediately. 2.  Requests pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include the following information: (a)  the applicant authority; (b)  the measure requested; (c)  the object of and the reason for the request; (d)  laws, rules and other legal instruments involved; (e)  indications as exact and comprehensive as possible on the natural or legal persons being the  target of the investigations; (f)  a summary of the relevant facts, except in cases provided for in Article 5. 3.  Requests shall be submitted in an official language of the requested authority or in a language  acceptable to such authority. 4.  If a request does not meet the formal requirements, its correction or completion may be  demanded; the ordering of precautionary measures may, however, take place. Article 7 Execution of requests1.  In order to comply with a request for assistance, the  requested authority or, when the latter cannot act on its own, the administrative department to  which the request has been addressed by this authority, shall proceed, within its competence and  resources available, as though it were acting on its own account or at the request of other  authorities of that same Contracting Party, by supplying information already possessed, by carrying  out appropriate enquiries or by arranging for them to be carried out. 2.  Requests for assistance will be executed in accordance with the laws, rules and other legal  instruments of the requested Contracting Party. 3.  Duly authorized officials of a Contracting Party may, with the agreement of the other  Contracting Party involved and within the conditions laid down by the latter, obtain from the  offices of the requested authority or other authority for which the requested authority is  responsible, information relating to the contravention of customs legislation which the applicant  authority needs for the purposes of this Protocol. 4.  Officials of a Contracting Party may, with the agreement of the other Contracting Party, be  present at enquiries carried out in the latter's territory. Article 8 Form in which information is to be communicated1.  The requested authority shall  communicate results of enquiries to the applicant authority in the form of documents, certified  copies of documents, reports and the like. 2.  The documents provided for in paragraph 1 may be replaced by computerized information produced  in any form for the same purpose. Article 9 Exceptions to the obligation to provide assistance1.  The Contracting Parties may  refuse to give assistance as provided for in this Protocol, where to do so would: (a)  be likely to prejudice sovereignty, public policy (l'ordre publique), security or other  essential interests; or(b)  involve currency or tax regulations other than regulations concerning  customs duties; or(c)  violate an industrial, commercial or professional secret. 2.  Where the applicant authority asks for assistance which it would itself be unable to provide if  so asked, it shall draw attention to that fact in its request. It shall then be left to the  requested authority to decide how to respond to such a request. 3.  If assistance is withheld or denied, the decision and the reasons therefor must be notified to  the applicant authority without delay. Article 10 Obligation to observe confidentialityAny information communicated in whatever form  pursuant to this Protocol shall be of a confidential nature. It shall be covered by the obligation  of official secrecy and shall enjoy the protection extended to like information under the relevant  laws applicable in the Contracting Party which received it and the corresponding provisions  applying to the Community authorities. Article 11 Use of information1.  Information obtained shall be used solely for the purposes of  this Protocol and may be used within each Contracting Party for other purposes only with the prior  written consent of the administrative authority which furnished the information and shall be  subject to any restrictions laid down by that authority. These provisions are not applicable to  information concerning offences relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Such  information may be communicated to other authorities directly involved in the combat of illicit  drug traffic. 2.  Paragraph 1 shall not impede the use of information in any judicial or administrative  proceedings subsequently instituted for failure to comply with customs legislation. 3.  The Contracting Parties may, in their records of evidence, reports and testimonies and in  proceedings and charges brought before the courts, use as evidence information obtained and  documents consulted in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol. Article 12 Experts and witnessesAn official of a requested authority may be authorized to  appear, within the limitations of the authorization granted, as expert or witness in judicial or  administrative proceedings regarding the matters covered by this Protocol in the jurisdiction of  another Contracting Party, and produce such objects, documents or authenticated copies thereof, as  may be needed for the proceedings. The request for an appearance must indicate specifically on what  matter and by virtue of what title or qualification the official will be questioned. Article 13 Assistance expensesThe Contracting Parties shall waive all claims on each other for  the reimbursement of expenses incurred pursuant to this Protocol, except, as appropriate, for  expenses to experts and witnesses and to interpreters and translators who are not dependent upon  public services. Article 14 Implementation1.  The management of this Protocol shall be entrusted to the central  customs authorities of the EFTA States, on the one hand, and the competent services of the EC  Commission and, where appropriate, the customs authorities of the EC Member States, on the other.  They shall decide on all practical measures and arrangements necessary for its application, taking  into consideration rules in the field of data protection. They may recommend to the competent  bodies amendments which they consider should be made to this Protocol. 2.  The Contracting Parties shall transmit to each other lists of the competent authorities  appointed to act as correspondents for the purpose of the operational implementation of this  Protocol. As regards cases covered by Community competence, due account shall be taken in this respect of  specific situations which, because of the urgency or the fact that only two countries are involved  in a request or communication, may require direct contacts between the competent services of the  EFTA States and of the EC Member States for the handling of requests or exchange of information.  This information shall be supplemented by lists, to be revised when necessary, of officials of  those services responsible for preventing, investigating and combating contravention of customs  legislation. Moreover, in order to ensure the maximum efficiency of operation of this Protocol, the Contracting  Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the departments responsible for combating  customs fraud establish direct personal contacts, including when applicable at the level of local  customs authorities, in order to facilitate exchange of information and handling of requests. 3.  The Contracting Parties shall consult each other and subsequently keep each other informed of  the detailed rules of implementation which are adopted in accordance with the provisions of this  Article. Article 15 Complementarity1.  This Protocol shall complement and not impede application of any  agreements on mutual assistance which have been concluded or may be concluded between EC Member  States and EFTA States as well as between the EFTA States. Nor shall it preclude more extensive  mutual assistance granted under such agreements. 2.  Without prejudice to Article 11, these agreements do not prejudice Community provisions  governing the communication between the competent services of the EC Commission and the customs  authorities of the Member States of any information obtained in customs matters which could be of  Community interest.