Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2380/89 of 2 August 1989 laying down provisions for the implementation of article 5 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 on the post-clearance recovery of import duties or export duties which have not been required of the person liable for payment on goods entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties

COMMISSION  REGULATION (EEC) No 2380/89
of 2 August 1989
laying down provisions for the implementation of Article 5 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 on the post-clearance recovery of import duties or export duties which have not been required of the person liable for payment on goods entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 of 24 July 1979 on the post-clearance recovery of import duties or export duties which have not been required of the person liable for payment on goods entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties (1), and in particular Article 10 (2) thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1573/80 (2), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 946/83 (3), laid down provisions for the implementation of Article 5 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79; whereas those provisions consist mainly or procedural rules specifying the circumstances in which the competent authorities of the Member States may decide for themselves whether or not to take action for post-clearance recovery and the circumstances in which such decision must be taken by the Commission; whereas a Commission decision is always required where the duties in question total ECU 2 000 or more;
Whereas experience has shown that in certain cases in which preferential tariff treatment has been granted when the limits within which such treatment could be granted have already been reached, failure by the competent authorities to require of the person liable for payment all or part of the amount of the import duties legally due on goods generally constitutes an error on their part which could not reasonably have been detected by the said liable person;
Whereas in such cases responsibility for taking a decision according to Article 5 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 may be transferred to the competent authorities of the Member States;
Whereas where the Commission has adopted a decision establishing that Article 5 (2) is applicable and where exceptional issues of fact or of law are involved which may arise again, it is advisable to provide for authorizing one or more Member States by that same decision to refrain from recovering the amount of duties in question in comparable cases without referring such cases to the Commission;
Whereas the Commission's decision-making procedure should be brought into line with that laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3799/86 of 12 December 1986 laying down provisions for the implementation of Articles 4a, 6a, 11a and 13 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1430/79 on the repayment or remission of import or export duties (4);
Whereas it is desirable, for the sake of clarity, to set out in a new Commission Regulation all the provisions henceforth applicable for the practical implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 1697/79 and, consequently, to repeal Regulation (EEC) No 1573/80;
Whereas it is appropriate to restrict the validity of the present Regulation to a period of two years in order to examine it in the light of experience;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Duty Free Arrangements,