CELEX: 51993PC0350
Language: en
Date: 1993-09-01
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and co-operation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs or agricultural matters

No C 262/8                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28 . 9. 93
                                                                 ii
                                                         (Preparatory Acts)
                                                   COMMISSION
               Amended proposal for a Council Regulation on mutual assistance between the administrative
               authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Co mission to
                           ensure the correct application of the law on customs or agricultural natters
                                                          (93/C 262 /09)
                                                 COM(93) 350 final — SYN 450
               (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 1 September
                                                               1993)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                             Whereas rules should therefore be drawn up whereby the
                                                                     Member States' administrative authorities assist each
                                                                     other and cooperate with the Commission in order to
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                guarantee the proper application of customs or agri­
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 43 and                cultural regulations, in particular by preventing and
 100a thereof,                                                       investigating breaches of these regulations and by investi­
                                                                     gating actions which are or appear contrary to those
                                                                     regulations ; whereas in order to ensure the effectiveness
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70                  and uniform application of such a system, the rules
of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agri­                should be laid down at Community level ;
cultural policy ('), as last amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 2048 /88 (2), and in particular Article 8 (3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (3),               Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of
                                                                     19 May 1981 on mutual assistance between the adminis­
                                                                     trative authorities of the Member States and cooperation
                                                                     between the latter and the Commission to ensure the
In cooperation with the European Parliament,
                                                                     correct application of the law on customs or agriculture
                                                                     matters (s) established close cooperation between the said
Having regard to the opinion of the economic and social              authorities and the Commission ; whereas that system has
committee (4),
                                                                     proved effective ;
Whereas the effectiveness of the customs union and the
common agricultural policy, particularly in the light of             Whereas, in the light of the changes brought about in
the completion of the internal market, calls for close               the context of the internal market and in particular the
cooperation between the administrative authorities                   abolition of customs controls at internal Community
responsible in each Member State for the application of              borders, it is nevertheless necessary, in the light of the
provisions adopted in those fields ; whereas it also calls           experience gained, to amend the provisions of Regu­
for appropriate cooperation between these national auth­             lation (EEC) No 1468 / 81 in order to strengthen the
orities and the Commission, which is responsible for                 cooperation between the administrative authorities of the
ensuring the application of the Treaty and the provisions            Member States responsible for the application of the
adopted by virtue thereof; whereas effective cooperation             provisions adopted in the field of customs union and the
in this field would strengthen the protection of financial           common agricultural policy; whereas in view of the scale
interests of the Community;                                          of these changes, Regulation (EEC) 1468 /81 should be
                                                                     replaced ;
O   OJ No   L 94, 28 . 4 . 1970, p. 13 .
O   OJ No   L 185, 15. 7. 1988 , p. 1 .
O   OJ No   C 56, 26 . 2 . 1993 , p. 1 .
O   OJ No   C 161 , 14. 6. 1993 , p. 15                              O OJ No L 144, 2 . 6 . 1981 , p. 1 .
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 9 . 93                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 262 / 9
 Whereas the introduction of Community provisions on                necessary, with national enquiries, and their powers
 mutual assistance between Member States'           adminis­        defined ;
 trations and their cooperation with the Commission in
 order to guarantee the proper application of customs or
 agricultural regulations is without prejudice to the              Whereas in order to ensure the effectiveness of the
 application of the 1967 Convention for mutual assistance           system, findings established and information obtained in
 between customs administrations in fields which remain             other Member States or in third countries in the course
 the sole province of the Member States ; whereas these             of an investigation carried out under the mutual adminis­
 common provisions are not such as to affect the                   trative assistance arrangements must not be accorded
 application in the Member States of rules on judicial              lesser weight simply because they do not come from the
 cooperation in criminal cases ;                                    Member State concerned ;
 Whereas furthermore the general Community rules                   Whereas it is necessary for the successful functioning of
 establishing a system of mutual assistance and                     administrative cooperation that the Commission be
 cooperation among the administrative authorities of the           informed of information exchanged between Member
 Member States and between them and the Commission                 States and third countries in cases of particular interest ;
 do not apply where they overlap with those laid down by
 specific regulations, save where the general rules
 reinforce or improve administrative cooperation ; whereas         Whereas, with a view to securing the rapid and
 in particular, the implementation of the customs infor­           systematic exchange of information forwarded to the
 mation system in no way affects the Member States' obli­          Commission, there is a need for a special computer
gations to provide information to the Commission, inter            network ; whereas sensitive data concerning frauds and
 alia under Regulations (EEC) No 1552 / 89 and (EEC)               irregularities in the customs and agricultural domains
 No 595 /9, or the established use of fraud information            should be stored in a central database and accessible to
sheets to circulate information of Community interest;             the Member States, while ensuring that the confidential
                                                                   nature of the information exchanged, in particular data
                                                                   of a personal nature, is respected ; whereas, given the
Whereas greater cooperation between the Member States              justifiable sensitivity of the issue, there should be clear
requires the coordination of enquiries and other activities        and transparent rules to protect the freedom of the indi­
carried out by the bodies concerned ; whereas it is                vidual ;
therefore essential that the Commission should be given
 more detailed information concerning such activities by
the Member States ;                                                Whereas the exchanged information may concern
                                                                   physical persons and the present regulation must,
                                                                   therefore, implement, in its field of application, the prin­
Whereas the Commission must ensure that all economic               ciples of the protection of persons with regard to the
operators are treated equally and that the application by          processing, by automatic means or otherwise, of personal
the      Member   States   of   the  mutual    administrative      data ; whereas, until the adoption of Community legis­
assistance system does not lead to discrimination                  lation in this field, these principles should themselves be
between economic operators in different Member States ;           provided for in the Regulation ;
Whereas it is appropriate to define the Member States'            Whereas, in order to take part in the Customs Infor­
obligations under the mutual administrative assistance            mation System, the Member States and the Commission
system in respect of cases in which representatives of the        must adopt legislation on the rights and freedoms of
Member       States'   national    administrations   conduct       individuals with regard to the processing of personal
enquiries concerning the application of customs or agri­          data ; whereas, until there is harmonization of national
cultural legislation with a mandate from, or under the            legislation, the Member States and the Commission must
authority of the legal authorities ;                              guarantee a high level of protection at least complying
                                                                  with the principles of Convention No 108 of the Council
                                                                  of Europe for the protection of individuals with regard
Whereas national rules concerning criminal proceedings            to automatic processing of personal data, of 28 January
are not affected by this Regulation ; whereas the                  1981 ;
implementation of such national rules should not have
the effect of delaying or hindering the application of
mutual administrative assistance ; whereas measures must          Whereas the Commission, in close cooperation with the
therefore be taken to the secure the latter;                      Member States, should facilitate the installation and
                                                                  management of computer systems in the Member States ;
Whereas the powers of national representatives
conducting enquiries in other Member States should be             Whereas the Commission should be notified of legal or
defined ; whereas provision should also be made for               administrative proceedings brought for infringements of
Commission representatives to be associated, where                the law on customs or agricultural matters ;
 ---pagebreak---  No C 262 / 10                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                28 . 9 . 93
Whereas customs authorities have daily to apply both                 policy and the special rules adopted with regard to
 Community and non-Community provisions ; whereas it                 goods resulting from the processing of agricultural
is therefore clearly necessary to ensure that the                    products ;
provisions relating to mutual assistance, administrative
cooperation and the common automated information
system for customs purposes (for non-Community and              — 'applicant authority' shall mean the competent
for Community provisions) develop as far as possible in              authority of a Member State which makes a request
step in both sectors ;                                               for assistance,
                                                                — 'requested authority' shall mean the competent
Whereas, with the aim of implementing certain                        authority of a Member State to which a request for
provisions of the present Regulation, enabling the instal­           assistance is made,
lation and functioning of the customs information system
and examining possible problems in connection with the          — 'administrative enquiry' shall mean all controls,
developments of the administrative cooperation as                    checks and other action taken by the administrative
provided for in the present Regulation, it is necessary to           authorities specified in Article 1 ( 1 ) in the
establish a consultative committee ;                                 performance of their duties with a view to ensuring
                                                                     proper application of customs and agricultural legis­
                                                                     lation and, where necessary, checking the irregular
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                                                     nature of operations which appear to breach that
                                                                     legislation, except action taken at the request of or
                                                                     under a direct mandate from a judicial authority;
                          Article 1                             — 'personal data' shall mean all information relating to
                                                                     an identified or identifiable individual .
1 . This Regulation lays down the ways in which the
administrative authorities responsible for implementation
of the law on customs and agricultural matters in the           2.     Each Member State shall communicate to the other
Member States shall cooperate with each other and with          Member States and the Commission a list of the
the Commission in order to ensure compliance with that          competent authorities it has appointed for the purposes
law.                                                            of applying this Regulation.
                                                                For the purposes of this Regulation 'competent auth­
2. The provisions of this Regulation shall not apply            orities' shall mean the authorities appointed in
where they overlap with the specific provisions of other        accordance with the preceding subparagraph.
legislation on mutual assistance between Member States'
administrative authorities and cooperation between the
latter and the Commission for the application of customs                                   Article 3
and agricultural legislation .
                                                                Where national authorities decide, in response to a
                                                                request for administrative assistance or a communication
                                                                based on this Regulation, to take action involving
                          Article 2                             measures which may be implemented only with the auth­
                                                                orization or at the demand of a judicial authority :
1.    For the purposes of this Regulation :
                                                                — any information thus obtained concerning the
— 'customs legislation' shall mean the body of                      application of customs and agricultural legislation, or
                                                                    at least
    Community provisions and the associated
    implementing provisions governing the import,
    export, transit and presence of goods traded between        — that part of the file required to put a stop to a
    Member States and third countries, and between
                                                                    fraudulent practice ,
    Member States in the case of goods that do not have
    Community status within the meaning of Article 9 (2)
    of the Treaty or goods subject to additional controls       shall be communicated as part of the administrative
    or investigations for the purposes of establishing their    cooperation provided for by this Regulation .
    Community status,
                                                                However, any such communication must have the prior
— 'agricultural legislation' shall mean the body of             authorization of the judicial authority consulted for this
    provisions adopted under the common agricultural            purpose on a case-by-case basis .
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 9 . 93                             Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 262 / 11
                            TITLE I                                                            Article 7
                 ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST                             At the request of the applicant authority, the requested
                                                                    authority shall as far as possible keep a special watch or
                            Article 4                               arrange for a special watch to be kept within its opera­
                                                                    tional area :
 1 . At the request of the applicant authority, the
requested authority shall transmit to it any information
which may enable it to enforce the provisions of customs            (a) on persons, and more particularly their movements,
or agricultural legislation, and in particular those                    where there are reasonable grounds for believing that
concerning :                                                            they are breaching customs or agricultural legis­
                                                                        lation ;
      the application of customs duties and charges having          (b) on places where goods are stored in a way that gives
      equivalent effect together with agricultural levies and           grounds to suspect that they are intended to supply
      other charges provided for under the common agri­                 operations contrary to customs or agricultural legis­
      cultural policy or the special arrangements applicable            lation ;
      to certain goods resulting from the processing of
      agricultural products,                                        (c) on the movements of goods indicated as being the
                                                                        object of potential breaches of customs or agri­
                                                                        cultural legislation ;
      operations forming part of the system of financing by
      the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee              (d) on means of transport, where there are reasonable
      Fund .                                                            grounds for believing that they are being used to
                                                                        carry out operations in breach of customs or agri­
                                                                        cultural legislation .
2 . In order to obtain the information sought, the
requested authority or the administrative authority which                                      Article 8
it has in turn addressed shall proceed as though acting
on its own account or at the request of another authority          At the request of the applicant authority, the requested
in its own country.                                                authority shall make available any information in its
                                                                   possession or obtained in the circumstances described in
                                                                   Article 4 (2), and particularly reports and other
                                                                   documents or certified true copies or extracts thereof,
                            Article 3                              concerning operations detected or planned which
                                                                   constitute, or appear to the applicant authority to
At the request of the applicant authority, the requested           constitute, breaches of customs or agricultural legis­
authority shall supply it with any attestation, document           lation .
or certified true copy of a document in its possession or
obtained in the manner referred to in Article 4 (2) which
relates to operations covered by customs or agricultural           However, original documents and items shall be
legislation .                                                      provided only where this is not contrary to the legis­
                                                                   lation in force in the Member State in which the
                                                                   requested authority is based.
                           A rticle 6
                                                                                               Article 9
 1 . At the request of the applicant authority, the                1 . The requested authority shall at the request of the
requested authority shall, while observing the rules in            applicant authority carry out, or arrange to have carried
force in the Member State in which it is based, notify the         out, the appropriate administrative enquiries concerning
addressee or have it notified of all instruments or
decisions which emanate from the administrative auth­
                                                                   operations which constitute, or appear to the applicant
                                                                   authority to constitute, breaches of customs or agri­
orities and concern the application of customs or agri­            cultural legislation.
cultural legislation.
                                                                   The requested authority, or the administrative authority
                                                                   to which it has recourse, shall conduct administrative
2.      Requests for notification, mentioning the subject of       enquiries as though acting on its own account or on
the act or decision to be communicated, shall be accom­            behalf of another authority in its own country.
panied by a translation in the official language or an
official language of the Member State in which the
requested authority is based, without prejudice to the             The requested authority shall communicate the results of
latter's right to waive such a translation.                        such administrative enquiries to the applicant authority.
 ---pagebreak---   No C 262 / 12                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 9 . 93
  2. By agreement between the applicant authority and                                         TITLE II
  the requested authority, officials appointed by the                            SPONTANEOUS ASSISTANCE
  applicant authority may be present at the administrative
  enquiries referred to in paragraph 1 .                                                     Article 13
                                                                   The competent authorities of each Member State shall,
 Administrative enquiries shall at all times be carried out        as laid down in Articles 14 and 15 of this Regulation,
 by staff of the requested authority. The applicant                provide assistance to the competent authorities of the
 authority's staff may not, of their own initiative, assume        other Member States without prior request.
 powers of inspection conferred on officials of the
 requested authority. They shall, however, have access to
 the same premises and the same documents as the latter,
 through their intermediary and for the sole purpose of
 the administrative enquiry being carried out.                                               Article 14
                                                                   Where they consider it serves the enforcement of
                                                                   customs or agricultural legislation, each Member State's
 Insofar as national provisions on criminal proceedings            competent authorities shall :
 reserve certain acts to officials specifically designated by
 national law, the applicant authority's staff shall not take
 part in such acts. In any event, they shall not participate
 in particular in searches of premises or the formal ques­
 tioning of persons under national criminal law. They              (a) as far as is possible keep, or have kept, the special
 shall, however, have access to the information thus                   watch described in Article 7 of this Regulation ;
 obtained subject to the conditions laid down in Article 3 .
                          Article 10
                                                                   (b) communicate to the competent authorities of the
                                                                       other Member States concerned all information in
 By agreement between the applicant authority and the
 requested authority and in accordance with the                        their possession, and in particular reports and other
 arrangements laid down by the latter, officials duly auth­            documents or certified true copies or extracts
 orized by the applicant authority may obtain, from the                thereof, concerning operations which constitute, or
 offices where the      administrative   authorities   of the          appear to them to constitute, breaches of customs or
 Member State in which the requested authority is                      agricultural legislation .
 situated exercise their functions, information concerning
 the application of the law on customs and agricultural
 matters which is needed by the applicant authority and
 which is derived from documentation to which the staff
 of those offices have access . These officials shall be auth­                               Article 15
 orized to take copies of the said documentation.
                                                                  The competent authorities of each Member State shall
                                                                  immediately send to the competent authorities of the
                                                                  other member States all relevant information concerning
                          Article 11                              operations which constitute, or appear to them to
                                                                  constitute, breaches of customs or agricultural legis­
Staff of the applicant authority present in another               lation, and in particular information concerning the
Member State in accordance with Articles 9 and 10 must
                                                                  goods involved and new ways and means of carrying out
at all times be able to produce written authority stating         such operations .
their identity and their official functions.
                          Article 12
                                                                                             Article 16
Findings, certificates, information, documents, certified
true copies and any intelligence obtained by the staff of         Information obtained by staff of one Member State and
the requested authority and communicated to the                   communicated to another Member State in the course of
applicant authority in the course of the assistance               the spontaneous assistance provided for in articles 13 to
provided for in Articles 4 to 10 of this Regulation may           15 of this Regulation may be invoked as evidence by the
be invoked as evidence by the competent body of the               competent bodies of the member State receiving the
applicant authority. In that event they shall not be              information . In that event it shall not be accorded lesser
accorded lesser weight by virtue solely of the fact that         weight by virtue solely of the fact theat it does not come
they do not come from staff of the applicant authority.           from staff of the recipient Member State .
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 9 . 93                             Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 262 / 13
                            TITLE III                             The Commission shall convey this information to the
            RELATIONS WITH THE COMMISSION                         competent authorities of the other Member States .
                           Article 17                             2 . Where a Member State's competent authorities
                                                                  invoke paragraph 1 , they need not communicate infor­
 1.     The competent authorities of each Member State            mation as provided in Article 14 (b) and Article 17 of
shall communicate to the Commission as soon as it is
available to them :
                                                                  this Regulation to their counterparts in the other
                                                                  Member States concerned .
(a) any information they consider relevant concerning :           3 . In response to a reasoned request from the
                                                                  Commission, the Member States' competent authorities
                                                                  shall act in the laid down in Articles 4 to 8 of this Regu­
     — goods which have been or are suspected of                  lation .
          having been the object of breaches of customs or
          agricultural legislation ;
                                                                  4 . Where the Commission considers that irregularities
                                                                  have taken place in one or more Member States, it shall
     — methods or practices used or suspected of having           inform the Member State or States concerned thereof
          been used to breach customs or agricultural legis­      and that State or those States shall at the earliest oppor­
          lation ;
                                                                  tunity carry out an enquiry, at which Commission
                                                                  officials may be present under the conditions laid down
     — requests for assistance, action taken and infor­           in Articles 9 (2) and 11 of this Regulation .
          mation exchanged in application of Articles 4 to
           16 of this Regulation which are capable of             The Member State concerned shall, as soon as possible,
          revealing fraudulent tendencies in the field of         communicate to the Commission the findings of the
          customs and agriculture .                               enquiry.
(b) any information on flaws or gaps in customs or agri­          5 . Representatives of the Commission may collect the
      cultural legislation that become apparent or may be         information specified in Article 10 of this Regulation
      deduced from the application of that legislation .          under the conditions laid down in that Article .
2.      The    Commission      shall  communicate    to   the     6 . This Article is without prejudice to the
competent authorities in each Member State, as soon as            Commission's right to information and scrutiny by virtue
it becomes available, any information that would help             of other legislation in force .
them to enforce customs or agricultural legislation.
                                                                                           TITLE IV
                           Article 18
                                                                           RELATIONS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES
 1 . Where a Member State's competent authorities
become aware of operations which constitute, or appear                                     Article 19
to constitute, breaches of customs or agricultural legis­
lation that are of particular relevance at Community              Provided the third country concerned has given a legal
level, and especially :                                           undertaking to provide the assistance required to gather
                                                                  proof of the irregular nature of operations which appear
                                                                  to be contrary to customs or agricultural legislation or to
— where they have, or might have, ramifications in                determine the scope of operations which have been
     other Member States, or                                      found to be contrary to that legislation, information
                                                                  obtained under this Regulation may be communicated to
                                                                  that third country as part of a concerted action, subject
— where it appears likely to the above authorities that           to the agreement of the competent authorities supplying
     similar operations have also been carried out in other       the information, in accordance with their internal
     Member States,                                               provisions concerning the communication of personal
                                                                  data to third countries and, if necessary subject to the
                                                                  agreement of the person concerned, in so far as this does
they shall communicate to the Commission as soon as               not jeopardize the successful outcome of the enquiry.
possible, either on their own initiative or in response to a
reasoned request from the Commission, any relevant
information, be it in the form of documents or copies or          The information shall be communicated either by the
extracts thereof, needed to determine the facts in order          Commission or by the Member States as part of the
that the Commission might coordinate the steps taken by           concerted action referred to in the previous paragraph ;
the Member States .                                               in either case appropriate steps shall be taken to ensure a
 ---pagebreak---  No C 262 / 14                         Official Journal of the European Communities                                     28 . 9 . 93
 degree of protection eqiuvalent to that laid down by                                      Article 22
Article 45 ( 1 ) and (2) of this Regulation.
                                                                  Member States shall notify the Commission of infor­
                                                                  mation exchanged with third countries wherever, within
                          Article 20                              the meaning of Article 18 ( 1 ), it is particularly relevant at
                                                                  Community level to the implementation of this Regu­
 1 . In pursuit of the objectives of this Regulation, the         lation or the effectiveness of customs or agricultural
Commission may, on the conditions laid down in Article            legislation.
 19 of this Regulation, conduct Community adminis­
trative and investigative cooperation missions in third
countries in coordination and close cooperation with the                                    TITLE V
competent authorities of the Member States.                                   CUSTOMS INFORMATION SYSTEM
                                                                        Establishment of a customs information system
2 . The Community missions to third countries shall be
governed by the following conditions :                                                     Article 23
  a) they may be undertaken at the Commission's
                                                                  1 . An automated information system, the Customs
     initative or at the request of one or more Member            Information System, hereinafter referred to as 'the CIS',
     States ;                                                     is hereby established to meet the requirements of the
                                                                  administrative authorities responsible for applying the
                                                                  law on customs or agricultural matters, as well as those
(b) they shall be carried out by Commission represen­            of the Commission .
     tatives appointed for that purpose and by officials
     appointed for that purpose by the Member State or           2.     The aim of the CIS, in accordance with the
     Member States concerned ;
                                                                 provisions of this Regulation, shall be to assist in
                                                                 preventing, investigating and prosecuting operations
(c) the may also, by agreement with the Commission               which are in breach of customs or agricultural legis­
     and the other Member States concerned, be carried           lation, by increasing, through the rapid dissemination of
     out on behalf of the Community by officials of a            information, the effectiveness of the cooperation and
     Member State, in particular under a bilateral               control procedures of the competent authorities referred
     assistance agreement ; in that event the Commission         to in this Regulation .
     shall be informed of the results of the mission :
                                                                 3. The CIS could also be used by the Customs auth­
(d) mission expenses shall be paid by the Commission .           orities of the Member States in carrying out functions
                                                                 which are not covered by Community legislation.
3.     The Commission shall inform the Member States of
the results of missions carried out pursuant to this             4 . Operations in connection with the application of
Article .                                                        agricultural regulations which require the introduction of
                                                                 information into the CIS shall be determined by the
                                                                 Commission in conformity with the procedure set out in
                         Article 21                              Article 43 (2).
 1 . The findings and information obtained in the                5. The exchange of information provided for pursuant
course of the Community missions referred to in Article          to Articles 17 and 18 is not covered by the provisions of
20 of this Regulation, and in particular documents               this Title .
passed on by the competent authorities of the third
countries concerned, shall be handled in accordance with
Article 45 of this Regulation .                                  6.     The Member States and the Commission, here­
                                                                 inafter referred to as 'the CIS partners', shall take part in
                                                                 the CIS under the conditions laid down in this Title .
2. Such findings and information may not be
accorded lesser weight by virtue solely of the fact that
they do not come from staff of the Member State using                           Operation and use of the CIS
them in the course of administrative or legal action or
proceedings brought for breaches of customs or agri­                                       Article 24
cultural legislation, or because they have been obtained
outside the Community.                                           The CIS shall consist of a central database facility and it
                                                                 shall be accessible via terminals in each Member State
                                                                 and at the Commission . It shall comprise exclusively data
3 . For such purposes, original documents obtained, or           necessary to fulfil its aim as stated in Article 23 (2),
certified true copies thereof, shall be forwarded by the         including personal data, in the following categories :
Commission to the competent authorities of the Member
States if they so request.                                         (i) commodities ;
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 9. 93                              Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 262/ 15
  (ii) means of transport ;                                         (iii) data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in
                                                                            relation to the purposes for which they are
 (iii) businesses ;                                                         processed ;
 (iv) persons ;                                                     (iv) data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up
                                                                            to date ;
  (v) fraud trends ;
                                                                      (v) data must be kept in a form which permits identifi­
 (vi) availability of expertise.                                            cation of data subjects for no longer than is
                                                                            necessary for the purposes in view.
                            Article 25
                                                                                               Article 27
The items to be included in the CIS relating to each of
 the categories (i) to (vi) in Article 24 shall be determined        1 . Data in categories (i) to (iv) of Article 24 shall be
 in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article           included in the CIS only for the purpose of sighting and
 43 (2) to the extent that this is necessary to fulfil the aim      reporting, discreet surveillance or specific checks.
 of the System. No items of personal data shall be
 included in categories (v) and (vi) of Article 24 . In
categories (i) to (iv) of Article 24 the items to be                2 . For the purpose of the suggested actions referred to
 included in respect of personal data shall comprise no             in paragraph 1 , personal data within any of categories (i)
 more than :                                                        to (iv) of Article 24 may be included in the CIS only if,
                                                                    especially on the basis of prior illegal activities , there are
                                                                    real indications to suggest that the person concerned has
     (i) name, maiden name, forenames and aliases ;                 committed, is committing, or will commit actions which
                                                                    are in breach of customs or agricultural legislation.
    (ii) date and place of birth ;
   (iii) nationality;                                                                          Article 28
                                                                    1 . If the suggested actions referred to in Article 27 ( 1 )
   (iv) sex ;                                                       are carried out, the following information may, in whole
                                                                    or in part, be collected and transmitted to the CIS
    (v) any particular physical characteristics ;                  partner suggesting the actions :
   (vi) reason for inclusion of data ;                                  (i) the fact that the commodity, means of transport,
                                                                            business or person reported has been found ;
  (vii) suggested action ;
                                                                      (ii) the place, time or reason for the check ;
(viii) a warning code indicating any history of being
          armed, violent or escaping.                              (iii) the route and destination of the journey;
In all cases, personal data revealing racial or ethnic             (iv) persons accompanying the person concerned or
origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, philosophical                occupants of the means of transport ;
or ethical persuasion or trade-union membership, and
data concerning the health or sex life of an individual
shall not be included . The same shall apply to personal              (v) the means of transport used ;
data concerning criminal records.
                                                                     (vi) objects carried ;
                            Article 26
                                                                   (vii) the circumstances under which the commodity,
The following principles must be observed in the                            means of transport, business or person was found.
implementation of the CIS where personal data are
concerned :
                                                                   When such information is collected in the course of
   (i) personal data must be obtained and processed fairly         discreet surveillance, steps must be taken to ensure that
        and lawfully;                                              the discreet nature of the surveillance is not jeopardized.
 (ii) data must be collected for specified, legitimate             2 . In the context of the specific checks referred to in
        purposes and used in a way compatible with the             Article 27 ( 1 ) persons, means of transport and objects
        aims defined in Article 23 (2);                            may be searched to the extent permissible and in
 ---pagebreak---   No C 262 / 16                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                  28 . 9 . 93
  accordance with the laws, regulations and procedures of             sponding provisions applicable to the Commission in this
 the Member State in which the search takes place . If the            connection and should take into account the principles
 specific check is not permitted by the law of a Member              set out in the Annex to this Regulation .
 State, it shall automatically be converted by that Member
 State into sighting and reporting or discreet surveillance .
                                                                      2.   Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 4 of this
                                                                     Article and Article 29 (3), data obtained from the CIS
                            Article 29                               shall be used only by designated authorities or
                                                                     departments in each Member State and at the
  1.   Direct access to data included in the CIS shall be            Commission, which are competent, in accordance with
 reserved exclusively for the national authorities                   the laws, regulations and procedures applicable to them,
 designated by each Member State and the departments                 to act in order to achieve the aim stated in Article 23 (2).
 designated by the Commission . These national auth­
 orities shall be customs administrations, but may include
 other authorities also competent, according to the laws,            3.    Each Member State shall send the Commission a
 regulations and procedures of the Member State in                   list of the authorities or departments designated in
 question, to act in order to achieve the aim stated in              accordance with paragraph 2 .
 Article 23 (2).
                                                                     The Commission shall inform the other Member States
 2.    Each Member State shall send the Commission a
                                                                     accordingly. It shall also inform all the Member States of
 list of its designated competent authorities which have             the corresponding details concerning the Commission
 direct access to the CIS stating, for each authority,               departments authorized to have access to the CIS .
 which data it may have access to and for what purposes .
 The Commission shall inform the other Member States                 The list of the authorities or departments thus designated
 accordingly. It shall also inform all the Member States of          shall be published by the Commission for information in
 the corresponding details concerning the Commission                 the Official Journal of the European Communities.
 departments authorized to have access to the CIS.
                                                                     4. Data obtained from the CIS may, with the prior
The     list  of   national   authorities  and     Commission        authorization of, and subject to any conditions imposed
 departments thus designated shall be published by the               by, the Member State which included them in the
 Commission for information in the Official Journal of the           System, be communicated for use by national authorities
 European Communities.                                               other than those designated under paragraph 2,
                                                                     non-member States and international or regional organ­
                                                                     izations wishing to make use of them. Each Member
                                                                     State shall take special measures to ensure the security of
 3 . Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and              such data when they are being transmitted or supplied to
 2, a decision may be taken, in accordance with the                  departments located outside its territory.
 procedure referred to in Article 43 (2), to permit access
 to the CIS by international or regional organizations,
provided that, where relevant, a protocol is at the same
 time concluded with those organizations, in conformity             The provisions referred to in the previous paragraph
with Article 7 (3) of the Convention between Member                 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Commission where it
States of the Community on the use of information tech­             has entered the data in the System .
nology for customs purposes. In reaching the decision
account shall be taken in particular of any existing
bilateral or Community arrangements and of the                                                Article 31
adequacy of data-protection measures.
                                                                     1 . The inclusion of data in the CIS shall be governed
                                                                    by the laws, regulations and procedures of the supplying
                           Article 30
                                                                    Member State and, where appropriate, the corre­
                                                                    sponding provisions applicable to the Commission in this
1 . CIS partners may use data obtained from the CIS                 connection, unless this Regulation lays down more
only in order to achieve the aim stated in Article 23 (2),          stringent provisions .
except that they may use it for administrative or other
purposes with the prior authorization of and subject to
any conditions imposed by the Member State or, where                2 . The processing of data obtained from the CIS,
applicable, the Commission, which included it in the                including their use or performance of any action under
System. Such other use shall be in accordance with the              Article 27 suggested by the supplying CIS partner, shall
laws, regulations and procedures of the Member State                be governed by the laws, regulations and procedures of
which seeks to use it and, where appropriate, the corre­            the Member State processing or using such data and the
 ---pagebreak---  28 . 9 . 93                            Official Journal of the European Communities                            No C 262/ 17
 corresponding provisions applicable to the Commission                                 Retention of data
 in this connection, unless this Regulation lays down
 more stringent provisions.                                                                Article 33
                                                                   1 . Data included in the CIS shall be kept only for the
                                                                   time necessary to achieve the purpose for which they
                     Amendment of data                            were included . The need for their retention shall be
                                                                   reviewed at least annually by the supplying CIS partner.
                          Article 32
  1 . Only the supplying CIS partner shall have the right          2. The supplying CIS partner may, within the review
 to amend, supplement, correct or delete data which it            period, decide to retain data until the next review if their
 has included in the CIS .
                                                                  retention is necessary for the purposes for which they
                                                                  were included . Without prejudice to Article 36, if there is
                                                                   no decision to retain data they shall automatically be
 2.      Should a supplying CIS partner note, or have             transferred to that part of the CIS to which access shall
 drawn to its attention, that the data it included are            be limited in accordance with paragraph 4.
 factually inaccurate or were included, or are stored
 contrary to this Regulation, it shall amend, supplement,
 correct or delete the data, as appropriate, and shall
 advise the other CIS partners accordingly.                       3 . The CIS shall automatically inform the supplying
                                                                  CIS partner of a scheduled transfer of data from the CIS
                                                                  under paragraph 2, giving one month's notice.
 3 . If as CIS partner has evidence to suggest that an
 item of data is factually inaccurate, or was included or is
 stored in the CIS, contrary to this Regulation, it shall         4. Data transferred under paragraph 2 shall continue
 advise the supplying CIS partner as soon as possible. The        to be retained for one year within the CIS but, without
 latter shall check the data concerned and, if necessary,         prejudice to Article 36, shall be accessible only to a
 correct or delete the item without delay. The supplying          representative of the Committee referred to in Article 43
 CIS partner shall advise the other partners of any               in connection with the application of the sixth, seventh,
 correction or deletion effected .                                eighth and ninth indents of paragraph 4 thereof or to the
                                                                  supervisory authorities referred to in Article 38 . During
                                                                  that period the data may be consulted only for the
                                                                  purposes of checking their accuracy and lawfulness, after
 4. If, when including data in the CIS, a CIS partner             which they must be deleted.
 notes that its report conflicts with a previous report with
 regard to content or suggested action, it shall
 immediately advise the partner which made the previous
 report. The two partners shall then attempt to resolve the                        Personal data protection
 matter. In the event of disagreement, the first report shall
 stand but those parts of the new report which do not                                     Article 34
 conflict shall be included in the System.
                                                                  1.    Each CIS partner intending to receive personal data
                                                                  from, or include them in, the CIS shall, no later than the
 5 . Subject to the other provisions of this Regulation,          time of entry into force of this Regulation, adopt
where in any Member State a court, or other authority             national legislation, or internal rules applicable to the
designated for the purpose within that Member State,              Commission, guaranteeing the protection of the rights
makes a final decision as to amendment, supplemen­                and freedoms of individuals with regard to the
tation, correction or deletion of data in the CIS, the CIS        processing of personal data.
partners shall align their action thereon.
                                                                  2.    A CIS partner shall only receive personal data
In the event of conflict between such decisions of courts         from,   or include    them     in,  the  CIS where      the
or other authorities, designated for the purpose including        arrangements for the protection of such data provided
those referred to in Article 36 concerning correction or          for in paragraph 1 have entered into force. Each
deletion, the CIS partner which included the data in              Member State shall also have previously designated a
question shall delete them from the System.                       national supervisory authority or authorities in
                                                                  accordance with Article 38 .
The provisions in the first subparagraph shall apply
mutatis mutandis where a Commission decision on data              3 . In order to ensure the proper application of the
contained in the CIS is declared void by the Court of             data-protection provisions in this Regulation, the CIS
Justice.                                                          shall be regarded in every Member State as a data file
 ---pagebreak---  No C 262 / 18                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                   28 . 9 . 93
 containing personal data subject to the provisions                Access shall be refused in any event during the period
 referred to in paragraph 1 and any more stringent                 when action specified in article 27 ( 1 ) are undertaken.
 provisions contained in this Regulation.
                                                                   3 . If the personal data for which an application for
                          Article 35                               access has been made have been supplied by another CIS
                                                                   partner and if the concerned partners disagree as to
 1.    Subject to Article 30 ( 1 ), each Member State and          whether access should be permitted, with reference to
 the Commission shall ensure that it shall be unlawful             the grounds for refusal set out in paragraph 2 , the CIS
 under the laws, regulations and procedures applicable to          partner to which application has been made shall refuse
 it for personal data from the CIS to be used other than           access, unless a different decision is made by a court or
 for the purpose stated in Article 23 (2).                         other authority designated for the purpose in the
                                                                   territory where the application is made, or a decision
                                                                   taken by the Commission to refuse access has been
 2. Data may be duplicated only for technical                      declared void by the Court of Justice.
 purposes, provided that such duplication is necessary for
 direct searching by the authorities referred to in Article
 29. Subject to Article 30 ( 1 ), personal data included by        4. Any person may, in accordance with the laws,
 other Member States or the Commission may not be                  regulations and procedures of each Member State or
 copied from the CIS into other national or Community              with the internal rules applicable to the Commission,
 data files .                                                      have personal data relating to himself corrected or
                                                                   deleted by each CIS partner if those data are factually
                                                                   inaccurate, or were included or are stored in the CIS
                          Article 36                               contrary to the aim stated in Article 23 (2) of this Regu­
                                                                   lation or if the principles of Article 26 have not been
 1 . The rights of persons with regard to the personal             observed .
data in the CIS, in particular their right of access, shall
be put into effect :
                                                                   5 . In the territory of each Member State, any person
                                                                   may, in accordance with the laws, regulations and
— in accordance with the laws, regulations and                     procedures of the Member State in question, bring an
     procedures of the Member State in which such rights           action or, if appropriate, a complaint before the courts
     are invoked,                                                  or the authority designated for the purpose under the
                                                                   laws, regulations and procedures of that Member State
                                                                   concerning data relating to himself on the CIS, in order
— in accordance with the internal rules applicable to the         to :
     Commission referred to in Article 34 ( 1 ).
                                                                     (i) correct or delete factually inaccurate personal data ;
If laid down in the laws, regulations and procedures of
the Member State concerned the national supervisory
authority provided for in Article 38 shall decide whether           (ii) correct or delete personal data included or stored in
information is to be communicated and the procedure                      the CIS contrary to this Regulation ;
for doing so.
                                                                  (iii) obtain access to personal data ;
A CIS partner which has not supplied the data
concerned may only communicate data if it has first                 (IV) obtain compensation pursuant to Article 40 (2).
given the supplying CIS partner an opportunity to take
its position.                                                     With regard to data included by the Commission, an
                                                                  action may be brought before the Court of Justice in
                                                                  accordance with Article 173 of the Treaty.
2 . A CIS partner, to which an application for access
to personal data is made, shall refuse access when this is
necessary for the prevention, investigation and pros­             The Member States and the Commission shall align their
ecution of operations which are in breach of customs or           action on the final decisions taken by a court, the Court
agricultural legislation. A Member State may also refuse          of Justice or another authority designated for the
access, as provided for in its laws, regulations and              purpose on the subject of (i), (ii) and (iii).
procedures, in relation to cases where such refusal
constitutes a measure necessary to safeguard national
security, defence, public safety, the safety of the data          6 . The references in this Article and in Article 32 (5)
subject or the rights and freedoms of others. The                 to a 'final decision' do not imply any obligation on the
Commission may refuse access where such refusal                   part of any Member State or the Commission to appeal
constitutes a measure necessary to safeguard the safety           against a decision taken by a court or other authority
of the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others .        designated for the purpose.
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 9 . 93                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 262 / 19
                Personal-data protection supervision                    (iv) to prevent data in the CIS from being accessed by
                                                                             unauthorized persons by means of data-trasmission
                             A rticle 3 7                                    equipment ;
 1 . Each Member State shall designate a national
supervisory authority or authorities responsible for                     (v) to guarantee that, with respect to the use of the
personal-data protection to carry out independent super­                     CIS, authorized persons have right of access only
vision of such data included in the CIS .                                    to data for which they have competence ;
The supervisory authorities, in conformity with their                   (vi) to guarantee that it is possible to check and
respective national legislations, are independently to                       establish to which authorities data may be trans­
supervise and carry out checks, to ensure that the                           mitted by data-transmission equipment;
processing and use of data held in the CIS do not violate
the rights of the person concerned. For this purpose the              (vii) to guarantee that it is possible to check and
supervisory authorities shall have access to the CIS.                        establish ex post facto what data have been
                                                                             introduced into the CIS, when and by whom, and
                                                                             to monitor interrogation ;
2. Any person may, in particular when access has been
refused in application of Article 36, ask any national
supervisory authority to check personal data relating to            (viii) to prevent the unauthorized reading, copying,
himself on the CIS and the use which has been or is                          modification or deletion of data during the trans­
being made of those data. That right shall be governed                       mission of data and the transport of data media.
by the laws, regulations and procedures of the Member
State in which the request is made. If the data have been
included by another Member State or the Commission,                 3 . In conformity with Article 43 (4), the Committee
the check shall be carried out in close coordination with           shall examine all questions concerning interrogation of
that Member State's national supervisory authority or               the CIS . At least 1 % of all searches made shall be
with the Commission .                                               examined . A record of such examinations shall be main­
                                                                    tained in the system and shall be deleted after six
                                                                    months .
                       Security of the CIS
                                                                                               Article 39
                             Article 38
                                                                     1 . Each of the Member States shall designate a
1 . All necessary administrative measures to maintain
                                                                    department which shall be responsible for the security
security shall be taken :                                           measures set out in Article 38 , in relation to the
                                                                    terminals located in its territory, the review functions set
  (i) by the Member States and the Commission, each in              out in Article 33 ( 1 ) and (2), and otherwise for the
       so far as it concerns them, in respect of the terminals      proper implementation of this Regulation in so far as is
       of the CIS located in their respective States and in         necessary under its laws, regulations and procedures .
       the Commission's offices ;
(ii) by the Commission in application of the procedure              2 . The Commission, for its part, shall designate those
       laid down in Article 43 (2), in respect of the CIS and       of its departments which are to be responsible for the
       the terminals located on the same premises as the            security measures referred to in paragraph 1 .
       CIS and used for technical purposes as well as the
       checks required by paragraph 3 .
                                                                                      Responsibilities and liabilities
2 . The measures in paragraph 1 have the aim, in                                               Article 40
particular :
                                                                    1 . Each CIS partner that has included data in the
    (i) to prevent any unauthorized person from having              System shall be responsible for the accuracy, currency
         access to installations used for the processing of         and lawfulness of those data . Each Member State or,
         data ;                                                     where applicable, the Commission shall also be
                                                                    responsible for complying with the provisions of Article
                                                                    26 of this Regulation.
   (ii) to prevent data and data media from being read,
         copied, modified or deleted by unauthorized
         persons ;                                                  2 . Each CIS partner shall be liable, in accordance with
                                                                    national laws, regulations and procedures or the equi­
  (iii) to prevent the unauthorized entry of data and any           valent Community provisions, for injury caused to a
         unauthorized consultation,        modification     or      person through the use of the CIS in the Member State
         deletion of data ;                                         concerned or at the Commission .
 ---pagebreak---                                                         \
No C 262/20                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 28 . 9. 93
This shall also be the case where the injury was caused          (a) decisions on items to be included in the CIS as
by the supplying CIS partner entering inaccurate data or             provided for in Article 25 ;
entering data contrary to this Regulation.
                                                                 (b) decisions on allowing international or regional
3 . If the CIS partner against which an action in                    organizations access to the CIS under the conditions
                                                                     laid down in Article 29 .
respect of inaccurate data is brought did not supply
them, the partners concerned shall seek agreement as to
what proportion, if any, of the sums paid out in compen­         (c) determination of operations concerning agricultural
sation shall be reimbursed by the supplying partner to the           legislation in respect of which information may be
other partner. Any such sums agreed shall be reimbursed              entered in the CIS, as provided for in Article 23 (3).
on request.
                                                                4. The Committee shall examine all matters relating to
                          Article 41                            the application of this Regulation which may be raised
The Commission shall publish a communication in the             by its Chairman, either on his own initiative or at the
 Official Journal of the European Communities concerning        request of the representative of a Member State.
the implementation of the CIS.
                                                                5 . For the purposes of this Article, the Committee
                                                                shall have direct access to, and may make direct use of,
                          TITLE VI                              data from the CIS .
          PROTECTION OF DATA DURING THE
        NON-AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE OF DATA
                                                                                         Article 44
                          Article 42
                                                                Without prejudice to the provisions in Title V on the
The provisions applying to the automatic exchange and           CIS, the documents provided for in this Regulation may
processing of data shall apply mutatis mutandis to              be replaced by computerized information produced in
non-automatic exchange and processing of data.                  any form for the same purpose.
                                                                                         Article 45
                         TITLE VII
                    FINAL PROVISIONS                             1 . Regardless of the form, any information trans­
                                                                mitted pursuant to this Regulation shall be of a
                          Article 43                            confidential nature, including the data stored in the CIS
                                                                referred to in Article 23. It shall be covered by the obli­
 1 . The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee            gation of professional secrecy and shall enjoy the
on Mutual Assistance in the Customs and Agricultural            protection extended to like information under both the
Field, of an advisory nature, hereinafter referred to as        national law of the Member States receiving it and the
the 'Committee'. The Committee shall be composed of             corresponding provisions applicable to the Community
representatives of the Member States and shall be               authorities .
chaired by a representative of the Commission.
                                                       t
                                                                In particular, the information referred to in the first
2.    The representative of the Commission shall submit         subparagraph may not be sent to persons other than
to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken .          those in the Member States or within the Community
The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft,           institutions whose functions require them to know or use
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down             it. Nor may it be used purposes other than those
according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by         provided for in this Regulation, unless the Member
taking a vote. The opinion shall be recorded in the             State, or the Commission, which supplied it or entered it
minutes ; in addition ; each Member State shall have the        in the customs information system referred to in Article
right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.      23 has expressly agreed and subject to the conditions laid
                                                                down by that Member State or by the Commission and
                                                                in so far as such communication or use is not prohibited
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the             by the provisions in force in the Member State in which
opinion delivered by the Committee. It shall inform the         the recipient authority is based.
committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
taken into account.
                                                                2 . Without prejudice to the provisions in Title V on
                                                                the CIS, information about natural and legal persons
3 . The procedure laid down in paragraph 2 shall apply          shall be transmitted under this Regulation only where
in particular to :                                              strictly necessary to prevent, detect or take proceedings
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 9 . 93                            Official Journal of the European Communities                           No C 262 /21
in respect of operations in breach of customs and agri­          where that would be likely to be injurious to public order
cultural legislation .                                           or other fundamental interests of the Member State in
                                                                 which they are based .
3 . Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not preclude the use of
information obtained under this Regulation in any legal          2.    Reasons shall be stated for any refusal to grant
                                                                 assistance .
action or proceedings subsequently initiated in respect of
failure to comply with customs or agricultural legislation.
                                                                 The Commission shall be informed as early as possible of
                                                                 any refusal to grant assistance and the reasons given for
The competent authority of the Member State supplying            refusal .
that information shall be notified of such use forthwith .
                                                                                           Article 49
4 . Where the Commission is notified by a Member
State that further enquiries have exonerated of invol­           Without prejudice to the Commission's right to be
vement in irregularities a natural or legal person whose         notified under other regulations in force, the Member
                                                                 States shall transmit to the Commission administrative all
name was transmitted under this Regulation, the
Commission shall forthwith notify all parties to whom            legal decisions or the main elements thereof relating to
                                                                 the application of penalties for breaches of customs or
these personal data have been transmitted on the basis of        agricultural legislation in cases which have been the
this Regulation . The person concerned shall then cease          subject of communications under Articles 17 or 18 of this
to be regarded as being involved in the irregularity that
gave rise to the initial notice .                                Regulation .
                                                                                           Article 50
Where the identifying data relating to the person
concerned are in the CIS referred to in Article 23 , they        Without prejudice to the expenses associated with the
shall be removed from it.                                        implementation of the CIS referred to in Title V or
            «
                                                                 damages under Article 38 , Member States and the
                                                                 Commission shall waive all claims for the reimbursement
                         Article 46                              of expenses incurred under this Regulation save, where
                                                                 appropriate, in respect of fees paid to experts.
For the purposes of applying this Regulation, Member
States shall take all necessary steps to :
                                                                                          Article 51
(a) ensure effective internal coordination between the           Without prejudice to the fourth indent of Article 2 ( 1 ) or
     administrative authorities referred to in Article 1 ( 1 );  to Article 3 , this Regulation shall not affect the
                                                                 application in the Member States of rules on criminal
                                                                 procedure and mutual assistance in criminal matters,
(b) establish in their mutual relations all necessary direct     including those on secrecy of judicial enquiries .
     cooperation between the authorities empowered for
     that purpose .
                                                                                          Article 52
                         Article 47                              1.    Regulation (EEC) No 1468 / 81 is hereby repealed.
Member States may decide jointly whether procedures              2 . References made to Regulation (EEC) No 1468 / 81
are needed to ensure the smooth operation of the                 shall be understood as referring to the present Regu­
mutual-assistance arrangements provided for in this              lation .
Regulation, in particular in order to avoid any inter­
ruption of surveillance of persons or goods where this
                                                                                          Article 53
might be prejudicial to the detection of operations in
breach of customs and agricultural legislation.                  This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
                                                                 following its publication in the Official Journal of the
                                                                 European Communities.
                         Article 48
1 . This Regulation shall not bind the Member States5            This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
administrative authorities to grant each other assistance        directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 262 / 22                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                     28 . 9 . 93
                                                                 ANNEX
             1 . Storage of data
             1.1 . As far as possible, the storage for personal data of police purposes should be limited to accurate
             data and to such data as are necessary to allow police bodies to perform lawful tasks within the framework
             of national law and their obligations arising from international law.
             1.2 . As far as possible, the different categories of data stored should be distinguished in accordance with
             their degree of accuracy or reliability and, in particular, data based on facts should be distinguished from
             data based on opinions or personal assessments.
             1.3 . Where data which have been collected for administrative purposes are to be stored permanently,
             they should be stored in a separate file and, in any case, measures should be taken so that administrative
             data are not subject to rules applicable to police data.
             2 . Use of data by the police
            2 . Subject to point 3 personal data collected and stored by the police for police purposes should be used
            exclusively for these purposes.
            3 . Communication of data
             3.1 . Communication within the police sector
            The communication of data between police bodies to be used for police purposes should only be
            permissible if there exists a legitimate interest for such communication within the framework of the legal
            powers of these bodies .
            3.2.1 . Communication to other public bodies
            Communication of data to other public bodies should only be permissible if, in a particular case :
             (a) there exists a clear legal obligation or authorization, or with the authorization of the supervisory
                  authority; or if
             (b) these data are indispensable to the recipient to enable him to fulfil his own lawful task and provided
                  that the aim of the collection or processing to be carried out by the recipient.
            3.2.2.     Furthermore, communication to other public bodies is exceptionally permissible if, in a particular
            case :
            (a) the communication is undoubtedly in the interest of the data subject and either the data subject has
                  consented or circumstances are such as to allow a clear presumption of such consent; or if
            (b) the communication is necessary so as to prevent a serious and imminent danger.
            3.3.1 . Communication to private parties
            The communication of data to private parties should only be permissible if, in a particular case, there exists
            legal obligation or authorization, or with the authorization of the supervisory authority.
            3.3.2.     Communication to private parties is exceptionally permissible if, in a particular case :
            (a) the communication is undoubtedly in the interest of the data subject and either the data subject has
                  consented or circumstances are such as to allow a clear presumption of such consent; or if
            (b) the communication is necessary so as to prevent a serious and imminent danger.
            3.4 . International communication
            Communication of data to foreign authorities should be restricted to police bodies . If should be
            permissible :
            (a) if there exists a clear legal provision under national or international law ;
            (b) in the absence of such a provision, if the communication is necessary for the prevention of a serious
                  and imminent danger or is necessary for the suppression of a serious criminal offence under ordinary
                  law,
            and provided that domestic regulations for the protection of the person are not prejudiced.
            3.5.1 . Requests for communication
            Subject tot specific provisions contained in national legislation or in international agreements, requests for
            communication of data should provide indications as to the body or person requesting them as well as the
            reason for the request and its objective.
                                                                                     4
 ---pagebreak--- 28 . 9 . 93                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 262 / 23
            3.5.2 . Conditions for communication
            As far as possible, the quality of data should be verified at the latest at the time of their communication. As
            far as possible, in all communications of data, judicial decisions, as well as decisions not to prosecute,
            should be indicated and data based on opinions or personal assessments checked at source before being
            communicated and their degree of accuracy or reliability indicated.
            If it is discovered that the data are no longer accurate and up to date, their should not be communicated. If
            data which are no longer accurate or up to date have been communicated, the communicating body should
            inform as far as possible all the recipients of the data of their non-conformity.
            3.5.3 . Safeguards for communication
            The data communicated to other public bodies, private parties and foreign authorities should not be used
            for purposes other than these specified in the request for communication.
            Use of the data for other purposes should, without prejudice to paragraphs 3.2 to 3.4 of this principle, be
            made subject to the agreement of the communicating body.
            3.6. Interconnection offiles and on-line access to files
            The interconnection of files with files held for different purposes is subject to either of the following
            conditions :
            (a) the grant of an authorization by the supervisory body for the purposes of an inquiry into a particular
                  offence ; or
            (b) in compliance with a clear legal provision.
            Direct access/on-line access to a file should only be allowed if it is in accordance with domestic legislation
            which should take account of points 1 to 4.
            4. Publicity, right of access to police files, right of rectification and right of appeal
            4.1 . The supervisory authority should take measures so as to satisfy itself that the public is informed of
            the existence of files which are the subject of notification as well as of its rights in regard to these files.
            Implementation of this principle should take account of the specific nature of ad hoc files, in particular the
            need to avoid serious prejudice to the performance of a legal task of the police bodies.
            4.2. The data subject should be able to obtain access to a police file at reasonable interval and without
            excessive delay in accordance with the arrangements provided for by domestic law.
            4.3 .    The data subject should be able to obtain, where appropriate, rectification of his data which are
            contained in a file.
            Personal data which the exercise of the right of access reveals to be inaccurate or which are found to be
            excessive, inaccurate or irrelevant in application of any of the other principles contained in this recommen­
            dation should be erased or corrected or else be the subject of a corrective statement added to the file.
            Such erasure or corrective measures should extend as far as possible to all documents accompanying the
            police file and, if not done immediately, should be carried out, at the latest, at the time of subsequent
            processing of the data or of their next communication.
            4.4. Exercise of the rights of access, rectification and erasure should only be restricted in so far as a
            restriction is indispensable for the performance of a legal task of the police or is necessary for the
            protection of the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others.
            In the interests of the data subject, a written statement can be excluded by law for specific cases.
            4.5. A refusal or a restriction of these rights should be reasoned in writing, it should only be possible to
            refuse to communicate the reasons in so far as this is indispensable for the performance of a legal task of
            the police or is necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
            4.6. Where access is refused, the data subject should be able to appeal to the supervisory authority or the
            another independent body which shall satisfy itself that the refusal is well-founded .