WRITTEN QUESTION No. 667/98 by Sir Jack STEWART-CLARK to the Commission. EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the post customs clearance recovery of customs duty from importers
Date: 1998-03-10
Institutions: European Parliament, STEWART-CLARK
Subjects: Bangladesh, EU control, application of EU law, customs duties, fraud, generalised preferences, import, import licence, least-developed country, tariff preference

21. 10. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 323/63

(98/C 323/82)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0667/98

by Sir Jack Stewart-Clark (PPE) to the Commission

(10 March 1998)

Subject: EU(cid:146)s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the post customs clearance recovery of customs

duty from importers

The  GSP  is  a  broad  trade  policy  regime  designed  to  assist  poorer,  less  developed  countries  by  permitting
products from certain countries to enter the EU at a preferential rate of customs duty.

Importers, in order to claim this preferential rate from the respective Member States(cid:146)s customs authority, must
include  a  duly  authenticated  GSP  Certification  of  Origin  (Form  A).  This  Form  A  is  issued  by  a  government
authorized authority in the beneficiary countries and supplied to the EU importer by the foreign exporter.

However,  it  appears  that  a  large  number  of  these  certificates  have  been  issued  fraudulently  or  incorrectly  in
respect  of  textile  products  from  Bangladesh,  thus  rendering  them  invalid.  Consequently,  a  company  in  my
constituency  is  now  faced  with  the  prospect  of  having  to  pay  a  significant  amount  of  customs  duty.  These
companies/importers  cannot  be  liable  for  the  ineffective  implementation  and  administration  of  agreements
negotiated by the Commission.

Has the Commission undertaken an investigation to establish how these unauthentic certificates were issued in
the first place?

If so, what conclusion has this investigation come to?

What  provisions  has  the  Commission  made  for  companies,  such  as  in  my  constituency,  who  accepted  these
unauthentic certificates in good faith?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(2 June 1998)

A Community fact-finding mission to Bangladesh, in November and December 1996 conducted joint enquiries,
with the Bangladeshi authorities, on the authenticity and regularity of certificates of origin Form A which were
presented in the Community, between 1994 and 1996, for consignments of textile goods, imported under cover of
the generalised system of preferences.

As a result of the Community findings, the Bangladeshi authorities withdrew some 15 000 certificates of origin
Form A. The preferential status of a further 10 000 certificates issued in the period mentioned above has yet to be
established.

The obligations of all of the parties involved are clearly defined by the Community customs code, and they have
been  confirmed  regularly  by  the  Court  of  justice.  Recent  judgments  by  the  Court  of  justice  have  upheld  the
principle that, for the importers, reliance on the validity of a certificate of origin is part of the normal (cid:145)commercial
risk(cid:146) which they have to assume.

Such  problems  in  the  past  prompted  the  Council  to  ask  the  Commission  to  propose  a  solution  for  the
post-clearance recovery of customs debts. To put this idea into its global setting, the Commission prepared a
communication on the management of preferential tariff arrangements (1). This issue is being discussed in the
Economic and social committee, in the Council and in the Parliament, so that appropriate measures can be taken
to ensure the sound management and control of these arrangements by all of the parties concerned.

(1)  COM(97) 402 final.

(98/C 323/83)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0690/98

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) and Salvatore Tatarella (NI) to the Commission

(10 March 1998)

Subject: Altener II

With reference to the proposal for a Council Decision concerning a multiannual programme for the promotion of
renewable energy sources in the Community › Altener II (COM(97)87 final › 97/0106(SYN)) (1), would it not