Regulation (EC) No 2700/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2000 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code
Date: 2000-11-16
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: CCT duties, common customs tariff, customs regulations, import (EU)

12.12.2000

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 311/17

REGULATION (EC) No 2700/2000 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code

of 16 November 2000

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Articles 26, 95 and 133 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty (3),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Article 253(4) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92
of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community
Customs Code (4), provides that, before 1 January 1998,
the Council
is, on the basis of a Commission report,
which may be accompanied by proposals, to review the
Code with a view to making such adaptations as may
appear necessary, taking into account in particular the
achievement of the internal market.

Every revision of the Code must, without instituting any
barriers to international trade, be regarded as an oppor-
tunity to introduce instruments and procedures
to
prevent fraud, the prevention of fraud being one of the
best ways of saving taxpayers' money as underlined in
the Council's conclusions of 19 May 1998.

Account should be taken of the Council resolution of 25
October 1996 on the simplification and rationalisation
of the Community's customs regulations and proced-
ures (5).

The powers of
the different authorities to establish
exchange rates following the introduction of the euro
have not yet been decided.

Provision should be made for the possibility of customs
declarations lodged by means of a data-processing tech-
nique not being accompanied by certain documents.

In order to make it easier to take advantage of the
arrangements for inward processing, processing under
customs control and temporary importation, the rules
should be made more flexible.

(1) OJ C 228, 21.7.1998, p. 8 and
OJ C 248E, 29.8.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 101, 12.4.1999, p. 6.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 12 March 1999 (OJ C 175,
21.6.1999, p. 420), Council Common Position of 25 May 2000 (OJ
C 208, 20.7.2000, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament
of 5 October 2000.

(4) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 955/99 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(OJ L 119, 7.5.1999, p. 1).
(5) OJ C 332, 17.11.1996, p. 1.

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

It is appropriate to make provision, in accordance with
the committee procedure, for additional cases in which
charges due under outward processing arrangements are
calculated taking the cost of processing operations as a
basis.

In some free zones it may be appropriate to permit
completion of the formalities attaching to the customs
warehousing procedure and the carrying out of customs
checks by the customs authorities according to that
procedure.

In certain circumstances, the benefit of favourable tariff
treatment granted by reason of the nature or end-use of
goods and of differential charges under the outward
processing procedure should also be available where a
customs debt is incurred for reasons other than the
release of goods into free circulation.

The provisions relating to the place where a customs
debt is incurred should include special rules for partic-
ular cases where the sum involved is below a given
threshold.

It is necessary, for the particular case of preferential
arrangements, to define the concepts of error by the
customs authorities and of the good faith of the person
liable for payment. The person liable for payment
should not be held responsible for a malfunction of the
system due to an error made by the authorities of a third
country. The issue of an incorrect certificate by such
authorities should not, however, be considered an error
if
the certificate is based on an application which
contains incorrect information. The incorrect nature of
the information provided by the exporter in his applica-
tion must be assessed on the basis of all the factual
elements which are contained in that application. The
person liable for payment can plead his good faith
where he can demonstrate that he has taken due care,
except when a notice stating that there are grounds for
doubt has been published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

The Community's financial interests and the rights of the
person liable for payment should be protected against
unduly lengthy legal proceedings.

Provision should be made for suspending the obligation
to pay a customs debt incurred where goods have been
removed from customs supervision and there is more
than one debtor, so as to allow customs authorities to
initiate recovery proceedings against one particular
debtor, taking priority over other debtors.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12.12.2000

(14)

The measures necessary for the implementation of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2913/92 should be adopted in accord-
ance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June
1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of
implementing powers conferred on the Commission (1).

(15)

Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 should therefore be
amended accordingly,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION

Article 1

— the import goods are subject to presentation of an
import or export licence or certificate in the frame-
work of the common agricultural policy, or

— an export refund or tax has been set for the compen-

sating products.

2. Moreover, no reimbursement of import duties under
the drawback system shall be possible if, at the time the
export declaration for
is
accepted, these products are subject to presentation of an
import or export licence or certificate in the framework of
the common agricultural policy or an export refund or tax
has been set for them.

the compensating products

Derogations from paragraphs 1 and 2 may be laid

3.
down in accordance with the committee procedure.’;

Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 is amended as follows:

7. Article 131 shall be replaced by the following:

1.

in Article 4, point 24 shall be replaced by the following:

‘24. Committee procedure means either the procedure
referred to in Articles 247 and 247a, or in Articles
248 and 248a.’;

2.

in Article 35, the first paragraph shall be replaced by the
following:

‘Where factors used to determine the customs value of
goods are expressed in a currency other than that of the
Member State where the valuation is made, the rate of
exchange to be used shall be that duly published by the
authorities competent in the matter.’;

3.

in Article 77, the current text becomes paragraph 1 and
the following paragraph shall be added:

‘2. Where the customs declaration is made by means of
a data-processing technique, the customs authorities may
allow accompanying documents referred to in Article
62(2) not to be lodged with the declaration. In this case
the documents shall be kept at the customs authorities'
disposal.’;

4. Article 115(4) shall be replaced by the following:

‘4. Measures aimed at prohibiting,
imposing certain
conditions for or facilitating recourse to paragraph 1 may
be adopted in accordance with the committee procedure.’;

5. the following sentence shall be added to Article 117(c):

‘The cases in which the economic conditions are deemed
to have been fulfilled may be determined in accordance
with the committee procedure.’;

6. Article 124 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 124

The drawback system may be used for all goods. It
the time the

1.
shall not, however, be usable where, at
declaration of release for free circulation is accepted:

— the import goods are subject to quantitative import

restrictions,

— a tariff measure within quotas is applied to the import

goods,

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

‘Article 131

The cases in and specific conditions under which the
procedure for processing under customs control may be
used shall be determined in accordance with the
committee procedure.’;

8.

in Article 133(e), the following sentence shall be added:

‘The cases in which the economic conditions are deemed
to have been fulfilled may be determined in accordance
with the committee procedure.’;

9. Article 142 shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 142

1.
Use of the temporary importation procedure with
partial relief from import duties shall be granted in respect
of goods which are not covered by the provisions adopted
in accordance with Article 141 or which are covered by
such provisions but do not fulfil all the conditions laid
down therein for the grant of temporary importation with
total relief.

The list of goods in respect of which the temporary
2.
importation procedure with partial relief
from import
duties may not be used and the conditions subject to
which the procedure may be used shall be determined in
accordance with the committee procedure.’;

10. the following paragraph shall be added to Article 153:

‘By way of derogation from Article 151, the committee
procedure may be used to determine the cases in and
specific conditions under which goods may be released for
free circulation following an outward-processing opera-
tion, with the cost of the processing operation being taken
as the basis for assessment for the purpose of applying the
Customs Tariff of the European Communities.’;

11. Article 167(3) shall be replaced by the following:

‘3.
Free zones with the exception of those designated in
accordance with Article 168a, shall be enclosed. The
Member States shall define the entry and exit points of
each free zone or free warehouse.’;

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12. Article 168(1) shall be replaced by the following:

‘1.
The perimeter and the entry and exit points of free
zones, except the free zones designated in accordance with
Article 168a, and of free warehouses shall be subject to
supervision by the customs authorities.’;

13. the following Article shall be inserted between Article 168
and heading B (‘Placing of goods in free zones or free
warehouses’):

‘Article 168a

The customs authorities may designate free zones in
1.
which customs checks and formalities shall be carried out
and the provisions concerning customs debt applied in
accordance with the requirements of the customs ware-
housing procedure.

Articles 170, 176 and 180 shall not apply to the free
zones thus designated.

References to free zones in Articles 37, 38 and 205
2.
shall not apply to free zones referred to in paragraph 1.’;

14. Article 212a shall be replaced by the following:

‘Article 212a

Where customs legislation provides for favourable tariff
treatment of goods by reason of their nature or end-use or
for relief or total or partial exemption from import or
export duties pursuant to Articles 21, 82, 145 or 184 to
187, such favourable tariff treatment, relief or exemption
shall also apply in cases where a customs debt is incurred
pursuant to Articles 202 to 205, 210 or 211, on condition
that
the person concerned involves
neither fraudulent dealing nor obvious negligence and he
produces evidence that
the
application of favourable treatment, relief or exemption
have been satisfied.’;

the other conditions

the behaviour of

for

15. the following paragraph shall be added to Article 215:

If a customs authority finds that a customs debt has
‘4.
been incurred under Article 202 in another Member State
and the amount of that debt is lower than EUR 5 000, the
debt shall be deemed to have been incurred in the Member
State where the finding was made.’;

16. Article 220(2)(b) shall be replaced by the following:

‘(b) the amount of duty legally owed was not entered in
the accounts as a result of an error on the part of the
customs authorities which could not reasonably have
been detected by the person liable for payment, the
latter for his part having acted in good faith and
complied with all the provisions laid down by the
legislation in force as regards the customs declaration.

Where the preferential status of the goods is estab-
lished on the basis of a system of administrative
cooperation involving the authorities of a third

country, the issue of a certificate by those authorities,
should it prove to be incorrect, shall constitute an
error which could not reasonably have been detected
within the meaning of the first subparagraph.

The issue of an incorrect certificate shall not, however,
constitute an error where the certificate is based on an
incorrect account of
the facts provided by the
exporter, except where, in particular, it is evident that
the issuing authorities were aware or should have been
aware that the goods did not satisfy the conditions laid
down for entitlement to the preferential treatment.

The person liable may plead good faith when he can
demonstrate that, during the period of the trading
operations concerned, he has taken due care to ensure
that all the conditions for the preferential treatment
have been fulfilled.

The person liable may not, however, plead good faith
if the European Commission has published a notice in
the Official Journal of the European Communities, stating
that
there are grounds for doubt concerning the
proper application of the preferential arrangements by
the beneficiary country;’

17. Article 221(3) shall be replaced by the following para-

graphs:

‘3.
Communication to the debtor shall not take place
after the expiry of a period of three years from the date on
which the customs debt was incurred. This period shall be
suspended from the time an appeal within the meaning of
Article 243 is lodged,
the appeal
proceedings.

for the duration of

4. Where the customs debt is the result of an act which,
at the time it was committed, was liable to give rise to
criminal court proceedings, the amount may, under the
conditions set out in the provisions in force, be communi-
cated to the debtor after the expiry of the three-year period
referred to in paragraph 3.’;

18. Article 222(2) shall be replaced by the following:

‘2.
The cases and conditions in which the debtor's obli-
gation to pay duty shall be suspended may also be
provided for in accordance with the committee procedure:

— where an application for remission of duty is made in

accordance with Article 236, 238 or 239, or

— where goods are seized with a view to subsequent
confiscation in accordance with the second indent of
point (c) or with point (d) of Article 233, or

— where the customs debt was incurred under Article

203 and there is more than one debtor.’;

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19. Articles 247, 248 and 249 shall be replaced by the

Article 248a

following:

‘Article 247

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
including implementation of the Regulation
Regulation,
referred to in Article 184, except for Title VIII and subject
to Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (*)
and to Article 248 of this Regulation shall be adopted in
accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in
in compliance with the international
Article 247a(2)
commitments entered into by the Community.

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by a Customs Code
Committee, hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/
468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 247a

Article 249

1.
The Commission shall be assisted by a Customs Code
Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”).

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5
and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard
to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/
468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.

The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 248

The Committee may examine any question concerning
customs legislation which is raised by its chairman, either
on his own initiative or at the request of a Member State's
representative.

(*) OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1.’

Article 2

The measures necessary for implementing Articles 11, 12
and 21 shall be adopted in accordance with the manage-
ment procedure referred to in Article 248a(2).

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 16 November 2000.

For the European Parliament

The President

N. FONTAINE

For the Council

The President

R. SCHWARTZENBERG