Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Council Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 of 13 May 2013 on the waiver from the requirement to submit entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods that are moved across the Neum corridor
Date: 2017-02-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, European Commission
Subjects: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, accession to the European Union, carriage of goods, customs, customs formalities, customs inspection, export (EU), re-import

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.2.2017  COM(2017) 79 final 2017/0030 (NLE)   Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Council Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 of 13 May 2013 on the waiver from the requirement to submit entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods that are moved across the Neum corridor  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Neum  corridor  is  where  the  territory  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  reaches  the  Adriatic 
coast, thus separating the area of Dubrovnik from the rest of Croatia. 

• 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Article 3 of the Neum Regulation waives, under certain conditions, the requirement to submit 
an  exit  or  an  entry  summary  declaration  in  respect  of  consignments  crossing  the  Neum 
corridor. The waiver may be invoked if the total value of each consignment does not exceed 
EUR 10 000 (Article 4(a)) and that other conditions laid down in Article 4 (b) are met. In so 
doing, the Neum Regulation derogates from certain provisions in Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 2913/92  establishing  the  Community  Customs  Code  and  in  Commission  Regulation 
(EEC)  No 2454/93  laying  down  provisions  for  the  implementation  of  the  Community 
Customs Code. 

On  1 May  2016,  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2913/92  was  replaced  by  Regulation  (EU) 
No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs 
Code (UCC).  

Commission  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93,  the  implementing  act  for  Regulation  (EEC) 
No 2913/92, was:  

 

 

 

 

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repealed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/481;  

subsequently replaced by:  

Commission  Delegated Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  of  28 July  2015  supplementing 
Regulation  (EU)  No 952/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on 
detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code; and 

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying 
down  detailed  rules  for  implementing  certain  provisions  of  Regulation  (EU) 
No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the UCC. 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The scope of the Article 3 of the Neum Regulation including the threshold of EUR 10 000 is 
now covered by Article 126 of the Commission Delegated Regulation in that it increases the 
threshold applicable to the waiver to EUR 15 000. 

The Commission considers that the Neum Regulation should be amended in order to align the 
scope  of  the  waiver  to  the  sum  provided  in  Article  126  of  the  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation  (EUR 15 000). In addition, both the legal references and the terminology used in 
the Neum Regulation should be aligned with the UCC legal framework. 

Pursuant to Article 6 of the Neum Regulation, the Republic of Croatia committed to monitor 
the  situation  and  to  inform  the  Commission  of  any  irregularities  found  and  of  the  measures 
subsequently taken to remedy them by 1 March 2014.  

In  accordance  with  Article  7  of  the  Neum  Regulation,  the  Commission  needed  to  submit, 
within two years of its entry into force, a report to the Council providing an assessment of the 
application of the Neum Regulation. On 11 November 2015, the Commission submitted that 

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report to the Council and concluded ‘that the level of application of the Neum Regulation is 
satisfactory and there is no reason to suspend or repeal the regulation.’ 

2. 

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LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

This Regulation amends Council Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 of 13 May 2013 (the ‘Neum 
Regulation’)  which  was  adopted  on  the  basis  of  Article  43  of  the  Act  on  the  conditions  of 
accession of the Republic of Croatia to the EU ("Act of Accession). The Act provides that the 
Council, on a proposal from the Commission, defines the terms under which the requirement 
for  an  entry  or  exit  summary  declaration  may  be  waived  for  Union  goods  that  are  moved 
across the Neum corridor. Therefore, Article 43 of the Act of Accession is the correct legal 
basis. 

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2017/0030 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Council Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 of 13 May 2013 on the waiver from the 
requirement to submit entry and exit summary declarations for Union goods that are 
moved across the Neum corridor 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, 

Having regard to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of Croatia, and in particular 
Article 43 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Article 4(a) of Council Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 provides for a waiver from the 
requirement to  submit entry and exit summary  declarations for Union goods that are 
moved across the Neum corridor where the consignments of Union goods have a total 
value  not  exceeding  EUR  10 000  and  where  the  Union  goods  are  accompanied  by 
invoices or transport documents fulfilling the conditions laid down in Article 4(b) of 
that Regulation.  

The  threshold  of  EUR  10 000  was  established  by  reference  to  the    threshold  of  an 
equivalent  value  which  is  laid  down  in  Article  317(4)  of  Commission  Regulation 
(EEC)  No 2454/931  and  is  the  limit  below  which  in  order  for  customs  authorities  to 
consider  that  the  customs  status  of  Union  goods  is  proven  it  is  sufficient  that  these 
goods  are  accompanied  by  an  invoice  or  transport  document.  If  these  conditions  are 
met an endorsement by the competent customs authorities shall not be required. 

(3)  With  effect  from  1 May  2016  the  Community  Customs  Code  laid  down  in  Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 2913/922 was replaced by the Union Customs Code laid down in 
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013  of the European Parliament and of the Council3. As a 
result,  the  provisions  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93  were  replaced  by  those  of 

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Commission  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93  of  2 July  1993  laying  down  provisions  for  the 
implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code 
(OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1). 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code 
(OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1). 
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying 
down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1). 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/24464  and  Commission  Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2015/24475. 

The  subject-matter  of  Article  317(4)  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93  is  now 
governed by Article 126 (1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446. It provides that 
for  goods  whose  value  is  below  the  threshold  of    EUR  15 000  the  status  of  Union 
goods  is  to  be  considered  proven  on  the  basis  of  an  invoice  or  transport  document 
without any endorsement by the competent customs authorities. 

In order to ensure a uniform application of the Union customs legislation it is therefore 
appropriate  to  align  the  scope  of  the  waiver  laid  down  in  Article  4(a)  of  Regulation 
(EU)  No 479/2013  to  that  provided  for  in  Article  126  (1)  of  Delegated  Regulation 
(EU) 2015/2446. 

In  addition,  for  reasons  of  legal  certainty  and  legal  clarity,  the  legal  references  in 
Article  4  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 479/2013  to  Regulation  (EEC)  No 2913/92  and  to 
Regulation  (EEC)  No 2454/93  should  be  replaced  by  the  relevant  references  to  the 
Union Customs Code and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446. 

(7) 

It is therefore appropriate to amend Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EU) No 479/2013 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

In Article 2, point (1) is replaced by the following: 

Article 1 

‘(1)  ‘Union  goods’  means  the  goods  defined  in  Article  5(23)  of  Regulation  (EU) 
No 952/2013‘; 

(2) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

 point (a) is replaced by the following: 

‘(a) 

the  total  value  of  each  consignment  of  Union  goods  moved  across  the 
Neum  Corridor  does  not  exceed  EUR  15 000  or  its  equivalent  in  local 
currency;’ 

(b) 

 in point (b), point (i) is replaced by the following: 

‘(i) 

include  at  least  proofs  by  any  of  the  means  listed  in  Article  126  of 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446,’. 

Article 2 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

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

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Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2446  of  28 July  2015  supplementing  Regulation  (EU) 
No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain 
provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1). 
Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2015/2447  of  24 November  2015  laying  down  detailed 
rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). 

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Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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