WRITTEN QUESTION No. 804/98 by Florus WIJSENBEEK to the Commission. Delays and fraud in the customs clearance of T- forms
Date: 1998-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, WIJSENBEEK
Subjects: EU Member State, administrative formalities, administrative structures, customs document, customs formalities, customs profession, customs transit, fraud, information technology applications













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91998E0804

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 804/98 by Florus WIJSENBEEK to the Commission. Delays and fraud in the customs clearance of T- forms  


Official Journal C 354 , 19/11/1998 P. 0025 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0804/98 by Florus Wijsenbeek (ELDR) to the Commission (26 March 1998)Subject: Delays and fraud in the customs clearance of T-formsIs the European Commission aware that, in the case of transport of goods under customs seal from one EU country to another, the procedure for the customs clearance of T-forms gives rise to enormous delays and goes hand-in-hand with widespread fraud involving copies of these forms? Is the European Commission aware that the delays usually occur at the place of destination, since the customs officials in the recipient country do not return the relevant copy to the country of origin where it should be processed by the administration?Is the European Commission aware that, according to an article which was published on 10 February 1998 in 'Nieuwsblad Transport' (Transport News), the worst offenders are to be found in the British customs services which consign the forms to the wastepaper basket instead of returning them to the country of origin (with the result that the shipper must himself then prove that his goods duly arrived)?Does not the European Commission feel that it would be better if such processing were computerized?Does the Commission intend to take measures with a view to putting a stop to this situation? If so, what measures? If not, why not?Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (2 June 1998)The Commission is aware that the procedure for the customs clearance of T-forms gives rise to delays.The return copy of the transit documents is sent back to the office of departure either directly or through centralised offices in the Member State of destination, in the Member State of departure or in both. According to the Commission's information, delays are incurred at all customs offices involved in this chain for the return of the transit documents.No, the Commission is not aware of the article mentioned.The Commission agrees that computerised processing would be better.On 30 April 1997, the Commission adopted an 'Action plan for transit in Europe * A new customs policy' ((COM(97) 188 final. )). In this action plan, the Commission describes the computerisation of the transit procedures as the key to transit reform. Under the New computerised transit system (NCTS), the return copy of the transit documents will be replaced by an electronic message, allowing a faster discharge of the transit operations and increasing the operational security. Pending the introduction of the computerised system, the Commission has launched a series of operational measures to speed up the return of the transit documents to the offices of departure. A network of national transit coordinators and local contact points was established and Member States were required to adopt national transit management plans following a commonly agreed structure. On the legislative side, the Commission proposed to clarify the deadlines for sending back the return copy of the transit documents and to reorganise the centralised offices.