Council Regulation (EEC) No 1031/88 of 18 April 1988 determining the persons liable for payment of a customs debt

COUNCIL  REGULATION (EEC) No 1031/88
of 18 April 1988
determining the persons liable for payment of a customs debt
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 2144/87 of 13 July 1987 on customs debt (4) defined, inter alia, the various situations whereby a customs debt on importation or exportation is incurred;
Whereas the rules governing the persons liable for payment of a customs debt are particularly important for the smooth functioning of the customs union in order to ensure that the abovementioned Regulation has identical legal and economic effects throughout the Community;
Whereas simple rules must be laid down in this field which enable the authorities responsible for assessing and recovering customs debts to act with maximum efficiency; whereas the same principles should be adopted both for customs debts on importation and for customs debts on exportation;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from acceptance by the competent authority of a customs declaration for release for free circulation or temporary importation with partial relief from import duties or a declaration for export, the person liable for payment of such debt should be the person in whose name the declaration was made; whereas this principle makes it possible to take account of the various types of representation available for completing customs formalities; whereas, where the person making the declaration has stated that he was acting in his own name but on behalf of another person under Article 3 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3632/85 of 12 December 1985 defining the conditions under which a person may be permitted to make a customs declaration (5), it is nevertheless justifiable to hold the latter also liable for payment of the customs debt insofar as the person who made the declaration had been granted the necessary authority;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from the unlawful introduction of goods into the customs territory of the Community, the removal of goods from customs supervision of the unlawful export of goods from the customs territory of the Community, the person who committed the act which gave rise to the customs debt and any other persons who are also liable, under the provisions in force in the Member States, by reason of such an act having been committed should be held liable for payment of such debt;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from the non-fulfilment of a special obligation stemming from the application of the provisions concerning a special customs procedure or arrangements, the person who, through the operation of the provisions governing the customs procedure or arrangements in question, was personally responsible for performing the obligation which was not complied with should be liable for payment of such customs debt;
Whereas in all cases in which the same legal situation gives rise to a customs debt payable by several persons, the latter should be liable jointly and severally for payment of such debt in order to enable the competent authorities to ensure the recovery of customs debts under the most favourable conditions;
Whereas it is necessary to safeguard the uniform application of this Regulation and to provide to that end for a Community procedure enabling the rules for its application to be adopted within an appropriate period; whereas the Committee on General Customs Rules set up by Article 24 of Council Directive 79/695/EEC of 24 July 1979 on the harmonization of procedures for the release of goods for free circulation (6) as last amended by Directive 81/853/EEC (7) is the appropriate body to organize close and effective collaboration between the Member States and the Commission in this field,