TITLE I

This Regulation establishes the Community Customs Code, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’, laying down the general rules and procedures applicable to goods brought into or out of the customs territory of the Community. Without prejudice to international law and conventions and Community legislation in other fields, the Code shall apply uniformly throughout the customs territory of the Community. Certain provisions of the customs legislation may apply outside the customs territory of the Community within the framework of legislation governing specific fields or of international conventions. Certain provisions of the customs legislation, including the simplifications for which it provides, shall apply to the trade in goods between parts of the customs territory of the Community to which the provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC apply and parts of that territory where those provisions do not apply, or to trade between parts of that territory where those provisions do not apply. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the provisions referred to in the first subparagraph and simplified formalities for their implementation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Those measures shall also take account of particular circumstances pertaining to the trade in goods involving only one Member State. Customs authorities shall be primarily responsible for the supervision of the Community’s international trade, thereby contributing to fair and open trade, to the implementation of the external aspects of the internal market, of the common trade policy and of the other common Community policies having a bearing on trade, and to overall supply chain security. Customs authorities shall put in place measures aimed, in particular, at the following: protecting the financial interests of the Community and its Member States; protecting the Community from unfair and illegal trade while supporting legitimate business activity; ensuring the security and safety of the Community and its residents, and the protection of the environment, where appropriate in close cooperation with other authorities; maintaining a proper balance between customs controls and facilitation of legitimate trade. The customs territory of the Community shall comprise the following territories, including their territorial waters, internal waters and airspace: the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, the territory of the Czech Republic, the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, except the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, except the Island of Heligoland and the territory of Buesingen (Treaty of 23 November 1964 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Swiss Confederation), the territory of the Republic of Estonia, the territory of Ireland, the territory of the Hellenic Republic, the territory of the Kingdom of Spain, except Ceuta and Melilla, the territory of the French Republic, except New Caledonia, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna Islands, French Polynesia and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, the territory of the Italian Republic, except the municipalities of Livigno and Campione d’Italia and the national waters of Lake Lugano which are between the bank and the political frontier of the area between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresio, the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, in accordance with the provisions of the 2003 Act of Accession, the territory of the Republic of Latvia, the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the territory of the Republic of Hungary, the territory of Malta, the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe, the territory of the Republic of Austria, the territory of the Republic of Poland, the territory of the Portuguese Republic, the territory of Romania, the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, the territory of the Slovak Republic, the territory of the Republic of Finland, the territory of the Kingdom of Sweden, the territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The following territories, including their territorial waters, internal waters and airspace, situated outside the territory of the Member States shall, taking into account the conventions and treaties applicable to them, be considered to be part of the customs territory of the Community: FRANCE The territory of Monaco as defined in the Customs Convention signed in Paris on 18 May 1963 (Journal officiel de la République française (Official Journal of the French Republic) of 27 September 1963, p. 8679); CYPRUS The territory of the United Kingdom Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia as defined in the Treaty concerning the Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, signed in Nicosia on 16 August 1960 (United Kingdom Treaty Series No 4 (1961) Cmnd. 1252). For the purposes of the Code, the following definitions shall apply: ‘customs authorities’ means the customs administrations of the Member States responsible for applying the customs legislation and any other authorities empowered under national law to apply certain customs legislation; ‘customs legislation’ means the body of legislation made up of the following: the Code and the provisions adopted at Community level and, where appropriate, at national level, to implement it; the Common Customs Tariff; the legislation setting up a Community system of reliefs from customs duties; international agreements containing customs provisions, insofar as they are applicable in the Community; ‘customs controls’ means specific acts performed by the customs authorities in order to ensure the correct application of customs legislation and other legislation governing the entry, exit, transit, transfer, storage and end-use of goods moved between the customs territory of the Community and other territories, and the presence and movement within the customs territory of non-Community goods and goods placed under the end-use procedure; ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Community or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts; ‘economic operator’ means a person who, in the course of his business, is involved in activities covered by customs legislation; ‘customs representative’ means any person appointed by another person to carry out the acts and formalities required under the customs legislation in his dealings with customs authorities; ‘risk’ means the likelihood of an event that may occur, with regard to the entry, exit, transit, transfer or end-use of goods moved between the customs territory of the Community and countries or territories outside that territory and to the presence of goods which do not have Community status, which would have any of the following results: it would prevent the correct application of Community or national measures; it would compromise the financial interests of the Community and its Member States; it would pose a threat to the security and safety of the Community and its residents, to human, animal or plant health, to the environment or to consumers; ‘customs formalities’ means all the operations which must be carried out by the persons concerned and by the customs authorities in order to comply with the customs legislation; ‘summary declaration’ (entry summary declaration and exit summary declaration) means the act whereby, before or at the time of the event, a person informs the customs authorities, in the prescribed form and manner, that goods are to be brought into or out of the customs territory of the Community; ‘customs declaration’ means the act whereby a person indicates in the prescribed form and manner a wish to place goods under a given customs procedure, with an indication, where appropriate, of any specific arrangements to be applied; ‘declarant’ means the person lodging a summary declaration or a re-export notification or making a customs declaration in his own name or the person in whose name such a declaration is made; ‘customs procedure’ means any of the following procedures under which goods may be placed in accordance with this Code: release for free circulation; special procedures; export; ‘customs debt’ means the obligation on a person to pay the amount of import or export duty which applies to specific goods under the customs legislation in force; ‘debtor’ means any person liable for a customs debt; ‘import duties’ means customs duties payable on the importation of goods; ‘export duties’ means customs duties payable on the exportation of goods; ‘customs status’ means the status of goods as Community or non-Community goods; ‘Community goods’ means goods which fall into any of the following categories: goods wholly obtained in the customs territory of the Community and not incorporating goods imported from countries or territories outside the customs territory of the Community. Goods wholly obtained in the customs territory of the Community shall not have the customs status of Community goods if they are obtained from goods placed under the external transit procedure, a storage procedure, the temporary admission procedure or the inward-processing procedure in cases determined in accordance with Article 101(2)(c); goods brought into the customs territory of the Community from countries or territories outside that territory and released for free circulation; goods obtained or produced in the customs territory of the Community, either solely from goods referred to in point (b) or from goods referred to in points (a) and (b); ‘non-Community goods’ means goods other than those referred to in point (18) or which have lost their customs status as Community goods; ‘risk management’ means the systematic identification of risk and the implementation of all measures necessary for limiting exposure to risk. This includes activities such as collecting data and information, analysing and assessing risk, prescribing and taking action and regular monitoring and review of that process and its outcomes, based on international, Community and national sources and strategies; ‘release of goods’ means the act whereby the customs authorities make goods available for the purposes specified for the customs procedure under which they are placed; ‘customs supervision’ means action taken in general by the customs authorities with a view to ensuring that customs legislation and, where appropriate, other provisions applicable to goods subject to such action are observed; ‘repayment’ means the refunding of any import or export duty that has been paid; ‘remission’ means the waiving of the obligation to pay import or export duties which have not been paid; ‘processed products’ means goods placed under a processing procedure which have undergone processing operations; ‘person established in the customs territory of the Community’ means: in the case of a natural person, any person who has his habitual residence in the customs territory of the Community; in the case of a legal person or an association of persons, any person who has his registered office, central headquarters or a permanent business establishment in the customs territory of the Community; ‘presentation of goods to customs’ means the notification to the customs authorities of the arrival of goods at the customs office or at any other place designated or approved by the customs authorities and the availability of those goods for customs controls; ‘holder of the goods’ means the person who is the owner of the goods or who has a similar right of disposal over them or who has physical control of them; ‘holder of the procedure’ means the person who makes the customs declaration, or on whose behalf the customs declaration is made, or the person to whom the rights and obligations of that person in respect of a customs procedure have been transferred; ‘commercial policy measures’ means non-tariff measures established, as part of the common commercial policy, in the form of Community provisions governing international trade in goods; ‘processing operations’ means any of the following: the working of goods, including erecting or assembling them or fitting them to other goods; the processing of goods; the destruction of goods; the repair of goods, including restoring them and putting them in order; the use of goods which are not to be found in the processed products, but which allow or facilitate the production of those products, even if they are entirely or partially used up in the process (production accessories); ‘rate of yield’ means the quantity or percentage of processed products obtained from the processing of a given quantity of goods placed under a processing procedure; ‘message’ means a communication in a prescribed format containing data transmitted from one person, office or authority to another using information technology and computer networks. All exchanges of data, accompanying documents, decisions and notifications between customs authorities and between economic operators and customs authorities required under the customs legislation, and the storage of such data as required under the customs legislation, shall be made using electronic data-processing techniques. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down exceptions to the first subparagraph, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Those measures shall define the cases in which and the conditions under which paper or other transactions may be used in place of electronic exchanges of data, taking the following, in particular, into account: the possibility of temporary failure of the customs authorities’ computerised systems; the possibility of temporary failure of the economic operator’s computerised systems; international conventions and agreements which provide for the use of paper documents; travellers without direct access to the computerised systems and with no means of providing electronic information; practical requirements for declarations to be made orally or by any other act. Except where these are otherwise specifically provided for in the customs legislation, the Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures laying down the following: the messages to be exchanged between customs offices, as required for the application of the customs legislation; a common data set and format of the messages to be exchanged under the customs legislation. The data referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall contain the particulars necessary for risk analysis and the proper application of customs controls, using, where appropriate, international standards and commercial practices. All information acquired by the customs authorities in the course of performing their duties which is by its nature confidential or which is provided on a confidential basis shall be covered by the obligation of professional secrecy. Except as provided for under Article 26(2), such information shall not be disclosed by the competent authorities without the express permission of the person or authority that provided it. Such information may, however, be disclosed without permission where the customs authorities are obliged or authorised to do so pursuant to the provisions in force, particularly in respect of data protection, or in connection with legal proceedings. Communication of confidential data to the customs authorities and other competent authorities of countries or territories outside the customs territory of the Community shall be permitted only in the framework of an international agreement ensuring an adequate level of data protection. The disclosure or communication of information shall take place in full compliance with data-protection provisions in force. Customs authorities and economic operators may exchange any information not specifically required under the customs legislation, in particular for the purpose of mutual cooperation in the identification and counteraction of risk. That exchange may take place under a written agreement and may include access to the computer systems of economic operators by the customs authorities. Any information provided by one party to the other in the course of the cooperation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be confidential unless both parties agree otherwise. Any person may request information concerning the application of customs legislation from the customs authorities. Such a request may be refused where it does not relate to an activity pertaining to international trade in goods that is actually envisaged. Customs authorities shall maintain a regular dialogue with economic operators and other authorities involved in international trade in goods. They shall promote transparency by making the customs legislation, general administrative rulings and application forms freely available, wherever practical without charge, and through the Internet. Any person directly or indirectly involved in the accomplishment of customs formalities or in customs controls shall, at the request of the customs authorities and within any time limit specified, provide those authorities with all the requisite documents and information, in an appropriate form, and all the assistance necessary for the completion of those formalities or controls. The lodging of a summary declaration or customs declaration, or notification, or the submission of an application for an authorisation or any other decision, shall render the person concerned responsible for the following: the accuracy and completeness of the information given in the declaration, notification or application; the authenticity of any documents lodged or made available; where applicable, compliance with all of the obligations relating to the placing of the goods in question under the customs procedure concerned, or to the conduct of the authorised operations. The first subparagraph shall apply also to the provision of any information in any other form required by or given to the customs authorities. Where the declaration or notification is lodged, the application is submitted or information is provided by a customs representative of the person concerned, the customs representative shall also be bound by the obligations set out in the first subparagraph. Member States shall cooperate with the Commission with a view to developing, maintaining and employing electronic systems for the exchange of information between customs offices and for the common registration and maintenance of records relating, in particular, to the following: economic operators directly or indirectly involved in the accomplishment of customs formalities; applications and authorisations concerning a customs procedure or the status of authorised economic operator; applications and special decisions granted in accordance with Article 20; common risk management, as referred to in Article 25. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the following: the standard form and content of the data to be registered; maintenance of those data, by the customs authorities of Members States; the rules for access to those data by: economic operators, other competent authorities, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Any person may appoint a customs representative. Such representation may be either direct, in which case the customs representative shall act in the name of and on behalf of another person, or indirect, in which case the customs representative shall act in his own name but on behalf of another person. A customs representative shall be established within the customs territory of the Community. Member States may define, in accordance with Community law, the conditions under which a customs representative may provide services in the Member State where he is established. However, without prejudice to the application of less stringent criteria by the Member State concerned, a customs representative who complies with the criteria laid down in Article 14(a) to (d) shall be entitled to provide such services in a Member State other than the one where he is established. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down in particular, the following: the conditions under which the requirement referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 1 may be waived; the conditions under which the entitlement referred to in paragraph 2 may be conferred and proved; any further measures for the implementation of this Article, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). When dealing with the customs authorities, a customs representative shall state that he is acting on behalf of the person represented and specify whether the representation is direct or indirect. A person who fails to state that he is acting as a customs representative or who states that he is acting as a customs representative without being empowered to do so shall be deemed to be acting in his own name and on his own behalf. The customs authorities may require any person stating that he is acting as a customs representative to produce evidence of his empowerment by the person represented. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down derogations from the first subparagraph, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). An economic operator who is established in the customs territory of the Community and who meets the conditions set out in Articles 14 and 15 may request the status of authorised economic operator. The customs authorities shall, if necessary following consultation with other competent authorities, grant that status, which shall be subject to monitoring. The status of authorised economic operator shall consist in two types of authorisations: that of a ‘customs simplification’ authorised economic operator and that of a ‘security and safety’ authorised economic operator. The first type of authorisation shall enable economic operators to benefit from certain simplifications in accordance with the customs legislation. Under the second type of authorisation the holder thereof shall be entitled to facilitations relating to security and safety. Both types of authorisations may be held at the same time. The status of authorised economic operator shall, subject to Articles 14 and 15, be recognised by the customs authorities in all Member States, without prejudice to customs controls. Customs authorities shall, on the basis of the recognition of the status of authorised economic operator and provided that the requirements related to a specific type of simplification provided for in the customs legislation are fulfilled, authorise the operator to benefit from that simplification. The status of authorised economic operator may be suspended or revoked in accordance with the conditions laid down pursuant to Article 15(1)(g). The authorised economic operator shall notify the customs authorities of all factors arising after that status was granted which may influence its continuation or content. The criteria for the granting of the status of authorised economic operator shall be the following: a record of compliance with customs and tax requirements; a satisfactory system of managing commercial and, where appropriate, transport records, which allows appropriate customs controls; proven solvency; pursuant to Article 13(2), in cases where an authorised economic operator wishes to take advantage of the simplifications provided for in accordance with the customs legislation, practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the activity carried out; pursuant to Article 13(2), in cases where an authorised economic operator wishes to take advantage of facilitations with regard to customs controls relating to security and safety, appropriate security and safety standards. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down rules in respect of the following: the granting of the status of authorised economic operator; the cases in which review of the status of authorised economic operator is to be carried out; the granting of authorisations for the use of simplifications by authorised economic operators; identification of the customs authority competent for the granting of such status and authorisations; the type and extent of facilitations that may be granted to authorised economic operators in respect of customs controls relating to security and safety; consultation with and provision of information to other customs authorities; the conditions under which the status of authorised economic operator may be suspended or revoked; the conditions under which the requirement of being established in the customs territory of the Community may be waived for specific categories of authorised economic operators, taking into account, in particular, international agreements, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Those measures shall take account of the following: the rules adopted pursuant to Article 25(3); professional involvement in activities covered by customs legislation; practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the activity carried out; the economic operator as the holder of any internationally recognised certificate issued on the basis of relevant international conventions. Where a person requests that the customs authorities take a decision relating to the application of customs legislation, that person shall supply all the information required by those authorities in order for them to be able to take that decision. A decision may also be requested by, and taken with regard to, several persons, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the customs legislation. Except where otherwise provided for in the customs legislation, a decision as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be taken, and the applicant notified, without delay, and at the latest within four months of the date on which all the information required by the customs authorities in order for them to be able to take that decision is received by those authorities. However, where the customs authorities are unable to comply with those time limits, they shall inform the applicant of that fact before the expiry of those time limits, stating the reasons and indicating the further period of time which they consider necessary in order to give a decision on the request. Except where otherwise specified in the decision or in the customs legislation, the decision shall take effect from the date on which the applicant receives the decision, or is deemed to have received it. Except in the cases provided for in Article 24(2), decisions adopted shall be enforceable by the customs authorities from that date. Before taking a decision which would adversely affect the person or persons to whom it is addressed, the customs authorities shall communicate the grounds on which they intend to base their decision to the person or persons concerned, who shall be given the opportunity to express their point of view within a period prescribed from the date on which the communication was made. Following the expiry of that period, the person concerned shall be notified, in the appropriate form, of the decision, which shall set out the grounds on which it is based. The decision shall refer to the right of appeal provided for in Article 23. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the following: the cases in which and conditions under which the first subparagraph of paragraph 4 shall not apply; the period referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 4, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Without prejudice to provisions laid down in other fields which specify the cases in which, and the conditions under which, decisions are invalid or become null and void, the customs authorities who issued a decision may at any time annul, amend or revoke it where it does not conform with the customs legislation. Except when a customs authority acts as a judicial authority, the provisions of paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 of this Article and of Articles 17, 18 and 19 shall also apply to decisions taken by the customs authorities without prior request from the person concerned and, in particular, to the notification of a customs debt as provided for in Article 67(3). Except where otherwise requested or specified, decisions taken by the customs authorities which are based upon or related to the application of customs legislation shall be valid throughout the customs territory of the Community. The customs authorities shall annul a decision favourable to the person to whom it is addressed if all the following conditions are satisfied: the decision was issued on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information; the applicant knew or ought reasonably to have known that the information was incorrect or incomplete; if the information had been correct and complete, the decision would have been different. The person to whom the decision was addressed shall be notified of its annulment. Annulment shall take effect from the date on which the initial decision took effect, unless otherwise specified in the decision in accordance with the customs legislation. The Commission may, in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 184(3), adopt measures for the implementation of this Article, in particular in respect of decisions addressed to several persons. A favourable decision shall be revoked or amended where, in cases other than those referred to in Article 18, one or more of the conditions laid down for its issue were not or are no longer fulfilled. Except where otherwise specified in the customs legislation, a favourable decision addressed to several persons may be revoked only in respect of a person who fails to fulfil an obligation imposed under that decision. The person to whom the decision was addressed shall be notified of its revocation or amendment. Article 16(3) shall apply to the revocation or amendment of the decision. However, in exceptional cases where the legitimate interests of the person to whom the decision was addressed so require, the customs authorities may defer the date on which revocation or amendment takes effect. The Commission may, in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 184(3), adopt measures for the implementation of this Article, in particular in respect of decisions addressed to several persons. The customs authorities shall, on formal request, issue decisions relating to binding tariff information, hereinafter referred to as ‘BTI decisions’, or decisions relating to binding origin information, hereinafter referred to as ‘BOI decisions’. Such a request shall be refused in any of the following circumstances: where the application is made, or has already been made, at the same or another customs office, by or on behalf of the holder of a decision in respect of the same goods and, for BOI decisions, under the same circumstances determining the acquisition of origin; where the application does not relate to any intended use of the BTI or BOI decision or any intended use of a customs procedure. BTI or BOI decisions shall be binding only in respect of the tariff classification or determination of the origin of goods. Those decisions shall be binding on the customs authorities, as against the holder of the decision, only in respect of goods for which customs formalities are completed after the date on which the decision takes effect. The decisions shall be binding on the holder of the decision, as against the customs authorities, only with effect from the date on which he receives, or is deemed to have received, notification of the decision. BTI or BOI decisions shall be valid for a period of three years from the date on which the decision takes effect. For the application of a BTI or BOI decision in the context of a particular customs procedure, the holder of the decision must be able to prove that: in the case of a BTI decision, the goods declared correspond in every respect to those described in the decision; in the case of a BOI decision, the goods in question and the circumstances determining the acquisition of origin correspond in every respect to the goods and the circumstances described in the decision. By way of derogation from Article 16(6) and Article 18, BTI or BOI decisions shall be annulled where they are based on inaccurate or incomplete information from the applicants. BTI or BOI decisions shall be revoked in accordance with Article 16(6) and Article 19. They may not be amended. The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of paragraphs 1 to 5 of this Article. Without prejudice to Article 19, the measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the conditions under which, and the moment when, the BTI or BOI decision ceases to be valid; the conditions under which, and the period of time for which, a decision as referred to in point (a) may still be used in respect of binding contracts based upon the decision and concluded before the expiry of its validity; the conditions under which the Commission may issue decisions requesting Member States to revoke or amend a decision relating to binding information and giving different binding information compared with other decisions on the same subject, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the conditions under which other decisions relating to binding information are to be issued shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). Each Member State shall provide for penalties for failure to comply with Community customs legislation. Such penalties shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Where administrative penalties are applied, they may take, inter alia, one of the following forms, or both: a pecuniary charge by the customs authorities, including, where appropriate, a settlement applied in place of and in lieu of a criminal penalty; the revocation, suspension or amendment of any authorisation held by the person concerned. Member States shall notify the Commission, within six months from the date of application of this Article, as determined in accordance with Article 188(2), of the national provisions in force as envisaged in paragraph 1 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them. Articles 23 and 24 shall not apply to appeals lodged with a view to the annulment, revocation or amendment of a decision relating to the application of customs legislation taken by a judicial authority, or by customs authorities acting as judicial authorities. Any person shall have the right to appeal against any decision taken by the customs authorities relating to the application of customs legislation which concerns him directly and individually. Any person who has applied to the customs authorities for a decision and has not obtained a decision on that request within the time limits referred to in Article 16(2) shall also be entitled to exercise the right of appeal. The right of appeal may be exercised in at least two steps: initially, before the customs authorities or a judicial authority or other body designated for that purpose by the Member States; subsequently, before a higher independent body, which may be a judicial authority or an equivalent specialised body, according to the provisions in force in the Member States. The appeal must be lodged in the Member State where the decision has been taken or applied for. Member States shall ensure that the appeals procedure enables the prompt confirmation or correction of decisions taken by the customs authorities. The submission of an appeal shall not cause implementation of the disputed decision to be suspended. The customs authorities shall, however, suspend implementation of such a decision in whole or in part where they have good reason to believe that the disputed decision is inconsistent with customs legislation or that irreparable damage is to be feared for the person concerned. In the cases referred to in paragraph 2, where the disputed decision has the effect of causing import duties or export duties to be payable, suspension of that decision shall be conditional upon the provision of a guarantee, unless it is established, on the basis of a documented assessment, that such a guarantee would be likely to cause the debtor serious economic or social difficulties. The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The customs authorities may carry out all the customs controls they deem necessary. Customs controls may in particular consist of examining goods, taking samples, verifying declaration data and the existence and authenticity of documents, examining the accounts of economic operators and other records, inspecting means of transport, inspecting luggage and other goods carried by or on persons and carrying out official enquiries and other similar acts. Customs controls, other than random checks, shall primarily be based on risk analysis using electronic data-processing techniques, with the purpose of identifying and evaluating the risks and developing the necessary counter-measures, on the basis of criteria developed at national, Community and, where available, international level. Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, shall develop, maintain and employ a common risk management framework, based upon the exchange of risk information and analysis between customs administrations and establishing, inter alia, common risk evaluation criteria, control measures and priority control areas. Controls based upon such information and criteria shall be carried out without prejudice to other controls carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 or with other provisions in force. The Commission, without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt implementing measures laying down the following: common risk management framework; common criteria and priority control areas; the risk information and analysis to be exchanged between customs administrations. Where, in respect of the same goods, controls other than customs controls are to be performed by competent authorities other than the customs authorities, customs authorities shall, in close cooperation with those other authorities, endeavour to have those controls performed, wherever possible, at the same time and place as customs controls (one-stop-shop), with customs authorities having the coordinating role in achieving this. In the framework of the controls referred to in this Section, customs and other competent authorities may, where necessary for the purposes of minimising risk and combating fraud, exchange with each other and with the Commission data received in the context of the entry, exit, transit, transfer, storage and end-use of goods, including postal traffic, moved between the customs territory of the Community and other territories, the presence and movement within the customs territory of non-Community goods and goods placed under the end-use procedure, and the results of any control. Customs authorities and the Commission may also exchange such data with each other for the purpose of ensuring a uniform application of Community customs legislation. The customs authorities may, after releasing the goods and in order to ascertain the accuracy of the particulars contained in the summary or customs declaration, inspect any documents and data relating to the operations in respect of the goods in question or to prior or subsequent commercial operations involving those goods. Those authorities may also examine such goods and/or take samples where it is still possible for them to do so. Such inspections may be carried out at the premises of the holder of the goods or his representative, of any other person directly or indirectly involved in those operations in a business capacity or of any other person in possession of those documents and data for business purposes. Customs controls or formalities shall be carried out in respect of the cabin and hold baggage of persons either taking an intra-Community flight, or making an intra-Community sea crossing, only where the customs legislation provides for such controls or formalities. Paragraph 1 shall apply without prejudice to either of the following: security and safety checks; checks linked to prohibitions or restrictions. The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of this Article, laying down the cases in which and the conditions under which customs controls and formalities may be applied to the following: the cabin and hold baggage of the following: persons taking a flight in an aircraft which comes from a non-Community airport and which, after a stopover at a Community airport, continues to another Community airport; persons taking a flight in an aircraft which stops over at a Community airport before continuing to a non-Community airport; persons using a maritime service provided by the same vessel and comprising successive legs departing from, calling at or terminating in a non-Community port; persons on board pleasure craft and tourist or business aircraft; cabin and hold baggage: arriving at a Community airport on board an aircraft coming from a non-Community airport and transferred at that Community airport to another aircraft proceeding on an intra-Community flight; loaded at a Community airport onto an aircraft proceeding on an intra-Community flight for transfer at another Community airport to an aircraft whose destination is a non-Community airport. The person concerned shall, for the purposes of customs controls, keep the documents and information referred to in Article 9(1) for at least three calendar years, by any means accessible by and acceptable to the customs authorities. In the case of goods released for free circulation in circumstances other than those referred to in the third subparagraph, or goods declared for export, that period shall run from the end of the year in which the customs declarations for release for free circulation or export are accepted. In the case of goods released for free circulation duty-free or at a reduced rate of import duty on account of their end-use, that period shall run from the end of the year in which they cease to be subject to customs supervision. In the case of goods placed under another customs procedure, that period shall run from the end of the year in which the customs procedure concerned has ended. Without prejudice to Article 68(4), where a customs control in respect of a customs debt shows that the relevant entry in the accounts has to be corrected and the person concerned has been notified of this, the documents and information shall be kept for three years beyond the time limit provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article. Where an appeal has been lodged or where court proceedings have begun, the documents and information must be kept for the period provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article or until the appeals procedure or court proceedings are terminated, whichever is the later. Customs authorities shall not impose charges for the performance of customs controls or any other application of the customs legislation during the official opening hours of their competent customs offices. However, the customs authorities may impose charges or recover costs where specific services are rendered, in particular the following: attendance, where requested, by customs staff outside official office hours or at premises other than customs premises; analyses or expert reports on goods and postal fees for the return of goods to an applicant, particularly in respect of decisions taken pursuant to Article 20 or the provision of information in accordance with Article 8(1); the examination or sampling of goods for verification purposes, or the destruction of goods, where costs other than the cost of using customs staff are involved; exceptional control measures, where these are necessary due to the nature of the goods or to potential risk. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down measures for the implementation of the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4). The competent authorities shall publish, and/or make available on the Internet, the rate of exchange applicable where the conversion of currency is necessary for one of the following reasons: because factors used to determine the customs value of goods are expressed in a currency other than that of the Member State where the customs value is determined; because the value of the euro is required in national currencies for the purposes of determining the tariff classification of goods and the amount of import and export duty, including value thresholds in the Community Customs Tariff. Where the conversion of currency is necessary for reasons other than those referred to in paragraph 1, the value of the euro in national currencies to be applied within the framework of the customs legislation shall be fixed at least once a year. The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of this Article. Where a period, date or time limit is laid down in the customs legislation, such period shall not be extended or reduced and such date or time limit shall not be deferred or brought forward unless specific provision is made in the provisions concerned. The rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits set out in Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 of the Council of 3 June 1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits OJ L 124, 8.6.1971, p. 1. shall apply, except where otherwise specifically provided for in Community customs legislation.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-07 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.