1.In Articles 85 to 90:
(a)where the term ‘procedure’ is used, it is understood as applying, in the case of non-Community goods, to the following arrangements:
(a)external transit;
customs warehousing;
inward processing in the form of a system of suspension;
processing under customs control;
temporary importation;
(b)where the term ‘customs procedure with economic impact’ is used, it is understood as applying to the following arrangements:
(b)customs warehousing;
inward processing;
processing under customs control;
temporary importation;
outward processing.
2.‘Import goods’ means goods placed under a suspensive procedure and goods which, under the inward processing procedure in the form of the drawback system, have undergone the formalities for release for free circulation and the formalities provided for in Article 125.
3.‘Goods in the unaltered state’ means import goods which, under the inward processing procedure or the procedures for processing under customs control, have undergone no form of processing.
The use of any customs procedure with economic impact shall be conditional upon authorization being issued by the customs authorities.
Without prejudice to the additional special conditions governing the procedure in question, the authorization referred to in Article 85 and that referred to in Article 100 (1) shall be granted only:
to persons who offer every guarantee necessary for the proper conduct of the operations;
where the customs authorities can supervise and monitor the procedure without having to introduce administrative arrangements disproportionate to the economic needs involved.
1.The conditions under which the procedure in question is used shall be set out in the authorization.
2.The holder of the authorization shall notify the customs authorities of all factors arising after the authorization was granted which may influence its continuation or content.
In the cases referred to in the second sentence of the first indent of Article 4 (7), any products or goods obtained from goods placed under a suspensive arrangement shall be considered as being placed under the same arrangement.]
Textual Amendments
The customs authorities may make the placing of goods under a suspensive arrangement conditional upon the provision of security in order to ensure that any customs debt which may be incurred in respect of those goods will be paid.
Special provisions concerning the provision of security may be laid down in the context of a specific suspensive arrangement.
1.A suspensive arrangement with economic impact shall be discharged when a new customs-approved treatment or use is assigned either to the goods placed under that arrangement or to compensating or processed products placed under it.
2.The customs authorities shall take all the measures necessary to regularize the position of goods in respect of which a procedure has not been discharged under the conditions prescribed.
The rights and obligations of the holder of a customs procedure with economic impact may, on the conditions laid down by the customs authorities, be transferred successively to other persons who fulfil any conditions laid down in order to benefit from the procedure in question.
1.The external transit procedure shall allow the movement from one point to another within the customs territory of the Community of:
(a)non-Community goods, without such goods being subject to import duties and other charges or to commercial policy measures;
[F2(b) Community goods, in cases and on conditions determined in accordance with the committee procedure, in order to prevent products covered by or benefiting from export measures from either evading or benefiting unjustifiably from such measures.]
2.Movement as referred to in paragraph 1 shall take place:
(a)under the external Community transit procedure; or
(b)under cover of a TIR carnet (TIR Convention) provided that such movement:
began or is to end outside the Community; or
relates to consignments of goods which must be unloaded in the customs territory of the Community and which are conveyed with goods to be unloaded in a third country; or
is effected between two points in the Community through the territory of a third country;
(c)under cover of an ATA carnet [F3] used as a transit document; or
(d)under cover of the Rhine Manifest (Article 9 of the revised Convention for the Navigation of the Rhine); or
(e)under cover of the form 302 provided for in the Convention between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the Status of their Forces, signed in London on 19 June 1951; or
(f)by post (including parcel post).
3.The external transit procedure shall apply without prejudice to the specific provisions applicable to the movement of goods placed under a customs procedure with economic impact.
Textual Amendments
1. The external transit procedure shall end and the obligations of the holder shall be met when the goods placed under the procedure and the required documents are produced at the customs office of destination in accordance with the provisions of the procedure in question.
2. The customs authorities shall discharge the procedure when they are in a position to establish, on the basis of a comparison of the data available to the office of departure and those available to the customs office of destination, that the procedure has ended correctly.]
Textual Amendments
The external Community transit procedure shall apply to goods passing through the territory of a third country only if:
provision is made to that effect under an international agreement; or
carriage through that country is effected under cover of a single transport document drawn up in the customs territory of the Community; in such case the operation of that procedure shall be suspended in the territory of the third country.
1. The principal shall provide a guarantee in order to ensure payment of any customs debt or other charges which may be incurred in respect of the goods.
2. The guarantee shall be either:
(a) an individual guarantee covering a single transit operation; or
(b) a comprehensive guarantee covering a number of transit operations where the principal has been authorised to use such a guarantee by the customs authorities of the Member State where he is established.
3. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall be granted only to persons who:
(a) are established in the Community;
(b) are regular users of Community transit procedures or who are known to the customs authorities to have the capacity to fulfil their obligations in relation to these procedures, and
(c) have not committed serious or repeated offences against customs or tax laws.
4. Persons who satisfy the customs authorities that they meet higher standards of reliability may be authorised to use a comprehensive guarantee for a reduced amount or to have a guarantee waiver. The additional criteria for this authorisation shall include:
(a) the correct use of the Community transit procedures during a given period;
(b) cooperation with the customs authorities, and
(c) in respect of the guarantee waiver, a good financial standing which is sufficient to fulfil the commitments of the said persons.
The detailed rules for authorisations granted under this paragraph shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
5. The guarantee waiver authorised in accordance with paragraph 4 shall not apply to external Community transit operations involving goods which, as determined in accordance with the committee procedure, are considered to present increased risks.
6. In line with the principles underlying paragraph 4, recourse to the comprehensive guarantee for a reduced amount may, in the case of external Community transit, be temporarily prohibited by the committee procedure as an exceptional measure in special circumstances.
7. In line with the principles underlying paragraph 4, recourse to the comprehensive guarantee may, in the case of external Community transit, be temporarily prohibited by the committee procedure in respect of goods which, under the comprehensive guarantee, have been identified as being subject to large-scale fraud.]
Textual Amendments
1. Except in cases to be determined where necessary in accordance with the committee procedure, no guarantee need be furnished for:
(a) journeys by air;
(b) the carriage of goods on the Rhine and the Rhine waterways;
(c) carriage by pipeline;
(d) operations carried out by the railway companies of the Member States.
2. The cases in which the furnishing of a guarantee in respect of the carriage of goods on waterways other than those referred to in paragraph (b) may be waived shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
1.The principal shall be the of under the external Community transit procedure. He shall be responsible for:
(a)production of the goods intact at the customs office of destination by the prescribed time limit and with due observance of the measures adopted by the customs authorities to ensure identification;
(b)observance of the provisions relating to the Community transit procedure.
2.Notwithstanding the principal's obligations under paragraph 1, a carrier or recipient of goods who accepts goods knowing that they are moving under Community transit shall also be responsible for production of the goods intact at the customs office of destination by the prescribed time limit and with due observance of the measures adopted by the customs authorities to ensure identification.
1. The detailed rules for the operation of the procedure and the exemptions shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
2. Provided that the implementation of Community measures applying to goods is guaranteed:
(a) Member States have the right, by bilateral or multilateral arrangement, to establish between themselves simplified procedures consistent with criteria to be set according to the circumstances and applying to certain types of goods traffic or specific undertakings;
(b) each Member State shall have the right to establish simplified procedures in certain circumstances for goods not required to move in the territory of another Member State.
3. Simplified procedures established under paragraph 2 shall be communicated to the Commission.]
Textual Amendments
1.The customs warehousing procedure shall allow the storage in a customs warehouse of:
(a)non-Community goods, without such goods being subject to import duties or commercial policy measures;
(b)Community goods, where Community legislation governing specific fields provides that their being placed in a customs warehouse shall attract the application of measures normally attaching to the export of such goods.
2.Customs warehouse means any place approved by and under the supervision of the customs authorities where goods may be stored under the conditions laid down.
3.Cases in which the goods referred to in paragraph 1 may be placed under the customs warehousing procedure without being stored in a customs warehouse shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
A customs warehouse may be either a public warehouse or a private warehouse.
‘Public warehouse’ means a customs warehouse available for use by any person for the warehousing of goods;
‘private warehouse’ means a customs warehouse reserved for the warehousing of goods by the warehousekeeper.
The warehousekeeper is the person authorized to operate the customs warehouse.
The depositer shall be the person bound by the declaration placing the goods under the customs warehousing procedure or to whom the rights and obligations of such a person have been transferred.
1.Operation of a customs warehouse shall be subject to the issue of an authorization by the customs authorities, unless the said authorities operate the customs warehouse themselves.
2.Any person wishing to operate a customs warehouse must make a request in writing containing the information required for granting the authorization, in particular demonstrating that an economic need for warehousing exists. The authorization shall lay down the conditions for operating the customs warehouse.
3.The authorization shall be issued only to persons established in the Community.
The warehousekeeper shall be responsible for:
ensuring that while the goods are in the customs warehouse they are not removed from customs supervision;
fulfilling the obligations that arise from the storage of goods covered by the customs warehousing procedure; and
complying with the particular conditions specified in the authorization.
1.By way of derogation from Article 101, where the authorization concerns a public warehouse, it may provide that the responsibilities referred to in Article 101 (a) and/or (b) devolve exclusively upon the depositor.
2.The depositor shall at all times be responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from the placing of goods under the customs warehousing procedure.
The rights and obligations of a warehousekeeper may, with the agreement of the customs authorities, be transferred to another person.
Without prejudice to Article 88, the customs authorities may demand that the warehousekeeper provide a guarantee in connection with the responsibilities specified in Article 101.
The person designated by the customs authorities shall keep stock records of all the goods placed under the customs warehousing procedure in a form approved by those authorities. Stock records are not necessary where a public warehouse is operated by the customs authorities.
Subject to the application of Article 86 the customs authorities may dispense with stock records where the responsibilities referred to in Article 101 (a) and/or (b) lie exclusively with the depositor and the goods are placed under that procedure on the basis of a written declaration forming part of the normal procedure or an administrative document in accordance with Article 76 (1) (b).
1.Where an economic need exists and customs supervision is not adversely affected thereby, the customs authorities may allow:
(a)Community goods other than those referred to in Article 98 (1) (b) to be stored on the premises of a customs warehouse;
(b)non-Community goods to be processed on the premises of a customs warehouse under the inward processing procedure, subject to the conditions provided for by that procedure. The formalities which may be dispensed with in a customs warehouse shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure;
(c)non-Community goods to be processed on the premises of a customs warehouse under the procedure for processing under customs control, subject to the conditions provided for by that procedure. The formalities which may be dispensed with in a customs warehouse shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
2.In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, the goods shall not be subject to the customs warehousing procedure.
3.The customs authorities may require the goods referred to in paragraph 1 to be entered in the stock records provided for in Article 105.
Goods placed under the customs warehousing procedure shall be entered in the stock records provided for in Article 105 as soon as they are brought into the customs warehouse.
1.There shall be no limit to the length of time goods may remain under the customs warehousing procedure.
However, in exceptional cases, the customs authorities may set a time limit by which the depositor must assign the goods a new customs-approved treatment or use.
2.Specific time limits for certain goods referred to in Article 98 (1) (b) covered by the common agricultural policy may be laid down in accordance with the committee procedure.
1.Import goods may undergo the usual forms of handling intended to preserve them, improve their appearance or marketable quality or prepare them for distribution or resale.
A list of cases in which those forms of handling shall be prohibited for goods covered by the common agricultural policy may be drawn up if this is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of the common organization of markets.
2.Community goods referred to in Article 98 (1) (b) which are placed under the customs warehousing procedure and are covered by the common agricultural policy may undergo only the forms of handling expressly stipulated for such goods.
3.The forms of handling provided for in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and in paragraph 2 must be authorized in advance by the customs authorities, which shall lay down the conditions under which they may take place.
4.The lists of the forms of handling referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be established in accordance with the committee procedure.
Where circumstances so warrant, goods placed under the customs warehousing procedure may be temporarily removed from the customs warehouse. Such removal must be authorized in advance by the customs authorities, who shall stipulate the conditions on which it may take place.
While they are outside the customs warehouse the goods may undergo the forms of handling referred to in Article 109 on the conditions set out therein.
The customs authorities may allow goods placed under the customs warehousing procedure to be transferred from one customs warehouse to another.
1.Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of import goods and the customs value of such goods is based on a price actually paid or payable which includes the cost of warehousing and of preserving goods while they remain in the warehouse, such costs need not be included in the customs value if they are shown separately from the price actually paid or payable for the goods.
2.Where the said goods have undergone the usual forms of handling within the meaning of Article 109, the nature of the goods, the customs value and the quantity to be taken into account in determining the amount of import duties shall, at the request of the declarant, be those which would be taken into account for the goods, at the time referred to in Article 214, if they had not undergone such handling. However, derogations from this provision may be adopted under the committee procedure.
[F13. Where import goods are released for free circulation in accordance with Article 76 (1) (c), the nature of the goods, the customs value and the quantity to be taken into account for the purposes of Article 214 shall be those applicable to the goods at the time when they were placed under the customs-warehousing procedure.
The first subparagraph shall apply provided that the rules of assessment relating to those goods were ascertained or accepted at the time when the goods were placed under the customs-warehousing procedure, unless the declarant requests their application at the time when the customs debt is incurred.
The first subparagraph shall apply without prejudice to a post-clearance examination within the meaning of Article 78.]
Textual Amendments
Community goods referred to in Article 98 (1) (b) which are covered by the common agricultural policy and are placed under the customs warehousing procedure must be exported or be assigned a treatment or use provided for by the Community legislation governing specific fields referred to in that Article.
1.Without prejudice to Article 115, the inward processing procedure shall allow the following goods to be used in the customs territory of the Community in one or more processing operations:
(a)non-Community goods intended for re-export from the customs territory of the Community in the form of compensating products, without such goods being subject to import duties or commercial policy measures;
(b)goods released for free circulation with repayment or remission of the import duties chargeable on such goods if they are exported from the customs territory of the Community in the form of compensating products.
2.The following expressions shall have the following meanings:
(a)suspension system: the inward processing relief arrangements as provided for in paragraph 1 (a);
(b)drawback system: the inward processing relief arrangements as provided for in paragraph 1 (b);
(c)processing operations:
(c)the working of goods, including erecting or assembling them or fitting them to other goods;
the processing of goods;
and
the repair of goods, including restoring them and putting them in order;
the use of certain goods defined in accordance with the committee procedure which are not to be found in the compensating products, but which allow or facilitate the production of those products, even if they are entirely or partially used up in the process.
(d)compensating products: all products resulting from processing operations;
(e)equivalent goods: Community goods which are used instead of the import goods for the manufacture of compensating products;
(f)rate of yield: the quantity or percentage of compensating products obtained from the processing of a given quantity of import goods.
1.Where the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 are fulfilled, and subject to paragraph 4, the customs authorities shall allow:
(a)compensating products to be obtained from equivalent goods;
(b)compensating products obtained from equivalent goods to be exported from the Community before importation of the import goods.
2.Equivalent goods must be of the same quality and have the same characteristics as the import goods. However, in specific cases determined in accordance with the committee procedure, equivalent goods may be allowed to be at a more advanced stage of manufacture than the import goods.
3.Where paragraph 1 applies, the import goods shall be regarded for customs purposes as equivalent goods and the latter as import goods.
[F44. Measures aimed at prohibiting, imposing certain conditions for or facilitating recourse to paragraph 1 may be adopted in accordance with the committee procedure.]
5.Where paragraph 1 (b) is applied and the compensating products would be liable to export duties if they were not being exported or re-exported under an inward processing operation, the holder of the authorization shall provide a security to ensure payment of the duties should the import goods not be imported within the period prescribed.
Textual Amendments
The authorization shall be issued at the request of the person who carries out processing operations or who arranges for them to be carried out.
The authorization shall be granted only:
to persons established in the Community. However, the authorization may be granted to persons established outside the Community in respect of imports of a non-commercial nature;
where, without prejudice to the use of the goods referred to in the last indent of Article 114 (2) (c) final indent, the import goods can be identified in the compensating products or, in the case referred to in Article 115, where compliance with the conditions laid down in respect of equivalent goods can be verified;
where the inward processing procedure can help create the most favo rable conditions for the export or re-export of compensating products, provided that the essential interests of Community producers are not adversely affected (economic conditions).[F5The cases in which the economic conditions are deemed to have been fulfilled may be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
1.The customs authorities shall specify the period within which the compensating products must have been exported or re-exported or assigned another customs-approved treatment or use. That period shall take account of the time required to carry out the processing operations and dispose of the compensating products.
2.The period shall run from the date on which the non-Community goods are placed under the inward processing procedure. The customs authorities may grant an extension on submission of a duly substantiated request by the holder of the authorization.
For reasons of simplification, it may be decided that a period which commences in the course of a calendar month or quarter shall end on the last day of a subsequent calendar month or quarter respectively.
3.Where Article 115 (1) (b) applies, the customs authorities shall specify the period within which the non-Community goods must be declared for the procedure. That period shall run from the date of acceptance of the export declaration, relating to the compensating products obtained from the corresponding equivalent goods.
4.Specific time limits may be laid down in accordance with the committee procedure for certain processing operations or for certain import goods.
1.The customs authorities shall set either the rate of yield of the operation or where appropriate, the method of determining such rate. The rate of yield shall be determined on the basis of the actual circumstances in which the processing operation is, or is to be, carried out.
2.Where circumstances so warrant and, in particular, in the case of processing operation customarily carried out under clearly defined technical conditions involving goods of substantially uniform characteristics and resulting in the production of compensating products of uniform quality, standard rates of yield may be set in accordance with the committee procedure on the basis of actual data previously ascertained.
The cases in which and the conditions under which goods in the unaltered state or compensating products shall be considered to have been released for free circulation may be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
1.Subject to Article 122, where a customs debt is incurred, the amount of such debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation elements appropriate to the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of placing of these goods under the inward processing procedure.
2.If at the time referred to in paragraph 1 the import goods fulfilled the conditions to quality for preferential tariff treatment within tariff quotas or ceilings, they shall be eligible for any preferential tariff treatment existing in respect of identical goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of release for free circulation.
By way of derogation from Article 121, compensating products:
shall be subject to the import duties appropriate to them where:
they are released for free circulation and appear on the list adopted in accordance with the committee procedure, to the extent that they are in proportion to the exported part of the compensating products not included in that list. However, the holder of the authorization may ask for the duty on those products to be assessed in the manual referred to in Article 121;
they are subject to charges established under the common agricultural policy, and provisions adopted in accordance with the committee procedure so provide;
shall be subject to import duties calculated in accordance with the rules applicable to the customs procedure in question or to free zones or free warehouses where they have been placed under a suspensive arrangement or in a free zone or free warehouse;
However,
the person concerned may request that duty be assessed in accordance with Article 121;
in cases where the compensating products have been assigned a customs-approved treatment or use referred to above other than processing under customs control, the amount of the import duty levied shall be at least equal to the amount calculated in accordance with Article 121;
may be made subject to the rules governing assessment of duty laid down under the procedure for processing under customs control where the import goods could have been placed under that procedure;
shall enjoy favourable tariff treatment owing to the special use for which they are intended, where provision is made for such treatment in the case of identical imported goods;
shall be admitted free of import duty where such duty-free provision is made in the case of identical goods imported in accordance with Article 184.
1.Some or all of the compensating products or goods in the unaltered state may be temporarily exported for the purpose of further processing outside the customs territory of the Community if the customs authority so authorizes, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the outward processing provisions.
2.Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of reimported products, the following shall be charged:
(a)import duties on the compensating products or goods in the unaltered state referred to in paragraph 1, calculated in accordance with Articles 121 and 122; and
(b)import duties on products reimported after processing outside the customs territory of the Community, the amount of which shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions relating to the outward processing procedure, on the same conditions as would have applied had the products exported under the latter procedure been released for free circulation before such export took place.
1. The drawback system may be used for all goods. It shall not, however, be usable where, at the time the declaration of release for free circulation is accepted:
the import goods are subject to quantitative import restrictions,
a tariff measure within quotas is applied to the import goods,
the import goods are subject to presentation of an import or export licence or certificate in the framework of the common agricultural policy, or
an export refund or tax has been set for the compensating products.
2. Moreover, no reimbursement of import duties under the drawback system shall be possible if, at the time the export declaration for the compensating products is accepted, these products are subject to presentation of an import or export licence or certificate in the framework of the common agricultural policy or an export refund or tax has been set for them.
3. Derogations from paragraphs 1 and 2 may be laid down in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
1.The declaration of release for free circulation shall indicate that the drawback system is being used and shall provide particulars of the authorization.
2.At the request of the customs authorities, the said authorization shall be attached to the declaration of release for free circulation.
Under the drawback system, Article 115 (1) (b), (3) and (5), Article 118 (3), Articles 120 and 121, Article 122 (a), second indent, and (c), and Article 129 shall not apply.
Temporary exportation of compensating products carried out as provided for in Article 123 (1) shall not be considered to be exportation within the meaning of Article 128 except where such products are not reimported into the Community within the period prescribed.
[F11. The holder of the authorization may ask for the import duty to be repaid or remitted where he can establish to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that import goods released for free circulation under the drawback system in the form of compensating products or goods in the unaltered state have been either:
exported, or]
placed, with a view to being subsequently re-exported, under the transit procedure, the customs-warehousing procedure, the temporary importation procedure or the inward-processing procedure (suspensive arrangement), or in a free zone or free warehouse,
provided that all conditions for use of the procedure have also been fulfilled.
2.For the purposes of being assigned a customs-approved treatment or use referred to in the second indent of paragraph 1, compensating products or goods in the unaltered state shall be considered to be non-Community goods.
3.The period within which the application for repayment must be made shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
[F14. Without prejudice to point (b) of Article 122, where compensating products or goods in the unaltered state placed under a customs procedure or in a free zone or free warehouse in accordance with paragraph 1 are released for free circulation, the amount of import duties repaid or remitted shall be considered to constitute the amount of the customs debt.]
5.For the purpose of determining the amount of import duties to be repaid or remitted, the first indent of Article 122 (a) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Textual Amendments
The inward processing procedure, applying the suspension system shall also apply in order that the compensating products may qualify for exemption from the export duties to which identical products obtained from Community goods instead of import goods would be liable.
The procedure for processing under customs control shall allow non-Community goods to be used in the customs territory of the Community in operations which alter their nature or state, without their being subject to import duties or commercial policy measures, and shall allow the products resulting from such operations to be released for free circulation at the rate of import duty appropriate to them. Such products shall be termed processed products.
The cases in and specific conditions under which the procedure for processing under customs control may be used shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
Authorization for processing under customs control shall be granted at the request of the person who carries out the processing or arranges for it to be carried out.
Authorization shall be granted only:
to persons established in the Community;
where the import goods can be identified in the processed products;
where the goods cannot be economically restored after processing to their description or state as it was when they were placed under the procedure;
where use of the procedure cannot result in circumvention of the effect of the rules concerning origin and quantitative restrictions applicable to the imported goods;
where the necessary conditions for the procedure to help create or maintain a processing activity in the Community without adversely affecting the essential interests of Community producers of similar goods (economic conditions) are fulfilled.[F5The cases in which the economic conditions are deemed to have been fulfilled may be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
Article 118 (1), (2) and (4) and Article 119 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of goods in the unaltered state or of products that are at an intermediate stage of processing as compared with that provided for in the authorization, the amount of that debt shall be determined on the basis of the items of charge elements appropriate to the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration relating to the placing of the goods under the procedure for processing under customs control.
1.Where the import goods qualified for preferential tariff treatment when they were placed under the procedure for processing under customs control, and such preferential tariff treatment is applicable to products identical to the processed products released for free circulation, the import duties to which the processed products are subject shall be calculated by applying the rate of duty applicable under that treatment.
2.If the preferential tariff treatment referred to in paragraph 1 in respect of the import goods is subject to tariff quotas or tariff ceilings, the application of the rate of duty referred to in paragraph 1 in respect of the processed products shall also be subject to the condition that the said preferential tariff treatment is applicable to the import goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of release for free circulation. In this case, the quantity of import goods actually used in the manufacture of the processed products released for free circulation shall be charged against the tariff quotas or ceilings in force at the time of acceptance of the declaration of release for free circulation and no quantities shall be counted against tariff quotas or ceilings opened in respect of products identical to the processed products.
The temporary importation procedure shall allow the use in the customs territory of the Community, with total or partial relief from import duties and without their being subject to commercial policy measures, of non-Community goods intended for re-export without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to the use made of them.
Authorization for temporary importation shall be granted at the request of the person who uses the goods or arranges for them to be used.
The customs authorities shall refuse to authorize use of the temporary importation procedure where it is impossible to ensure that the import goods can be identified.
However, the customs authorities may authorize use of the temporary importation procedure without ensuring that the goods can be identified where, in view of the nature of the goods or of the operations to be carried out, the absence of identification measures is not liable to give rise to any abuse of the procedure.
1.The customs authorities shall determine the period within which import goods must have been re-exported or assigned a new customs-approved treatment or use. Such period must be long enough for the objective of authorized use to be achieved.
2.Without prejudice to the special periods laid down in accordance with Article 141, the maximum period during which goods may remain under the temporary importation procedure shall be 24 months. The customs authorities may, however, determine shorter periods with the agreement of the person concerned.
3.However, where exceptional circumstances so warrant, the customs authorities may, at the request of the person concerned and within reasonable limits, extend the periods referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in order to permit the authorized use.
The case and the special conditions under which the temporary importation procedure may be used with total relief from import duties shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
1. Use of the temporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties shall be granted in respect of goods which are not covered by the provisions adopted in accordance with Article 141 or which are covered by such provisions but do not fulfil all the conditions laid down therein for the grant of temporary importation with total relief.
2. The list of goods in respect of which the temporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties may not be used and the conditions subject to which the procedure may be used shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.]
Textual Amendments
1.The amount of import duties payable in respect of goods placed under the temporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties shall be set at 3 %, for every month or fraction of a month during which the goods have been placed under the temporary importation procedure with partial relief, of the amount of duties which would have been payable on the said goods had they been released for free circulation on the date on which they were placed under the temporary importation procedure.
2.The amount of import duties to be charged shall not exceed that which would have been charged if the goods concerned had been released for free circulation on the date on which they were placed under the temporary importation procedure, leaving out of account any interest which may be applicable.
3.Transfer of the rights and obligations deriving from the temporary importation procedure pursuant to Article 90 shall not mean that the same relief arrangements must be applied to each of the periods of use to be taken into consideration.
4.Where the transfer referred to in paragraph 3 is made with partial relief for both persons authorized to use the procedure during the same month, the holder of the initial authorization shall be liable to pay the amount of import duties due for the whole of that month.
1.Where a customs debt is incurred in respect of import goods, the amount of such debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation elements appropriate to those goods at the time of acceptance of the declaration of their placing under the temporary importation procedure. However, where the provisions of Article 141 so provide, the amount of the debt shall be determined on the basis of the taxation elements appropriate to the goods in question at the time referred to in Article 214.
2.Where, for a reason other than the placing of goods under the temporary importation procedure with partial relief from import duties, a customs debt is incurred in respect of goods placed under the said procedure, the amount of that debt shall be equal to the difference between the amount of duties calculated pursuant to paragraph 1 and that payable pursuant to Article 143.
1.The outward processing procedure shall, without prejudice to the provisions governing specific fields relating to the standard exchange system laid down in Articles 154 to 159 or to Article 123, allow Community goods to be exported temporarily from the customs territory of the Community in order to undergo processing operations and the products resulting from those operations to be released for free circulation with total or partial relief from import duties.
2.Temporary exportation of Community goods shall entail the application of export duties, commercial policy measures and other formalities for the exit of Community goods from the customs territory of the Community.
3.The following definitions shall apply:
(a)‘temporary export goods’ means goods placed under the outward processing procedure;
(b)‘processing operations’ means the operations referred to in Article 114 (2) (c), first, second and third indents;
(c)‘compensating products’ means all products resulting from processing operations;
(d)‘rate of yield’ means the quantity or percentage of compensating products obtained from the processing of a given quantity of temporary export goods.
1.The outward processing procedure shall not be open to Community goods:
whose export gives rise to repayment or remission of import duties,
which, prior to export, were released for free circulation with total relief from import duties by virtue of end use, for as long as the conditions for granting such relief continue to apply,
whose export gives rise to the granting of export refunds or in respect of which a financial advantage other than such refunds is granted under the common agricultural policy by virtue of the export of the said goods.
2.However, derogations from the second indent of paragraph 1 may be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
1.Authorization to use the outward processing procedure shall be issued at the request of the person who arranges for the processing operations to be carried out.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, authorization to use the outward processing procedure may be granted to another person in respect of goods of Community origin within the meaning of Title II, Chapter 2, Section 1, where the processing operation consists in incorporating those goods into goods obtained outside the Community and imported as compensating products, provided that use of the procedure helps to promote the sale of export goods without adversely affecting the essential interests of Community producers of products identical or similar to the imported compensating products.
The cases in which and the arrangements under which the preceding subparagraph shall apply shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure.
Authorization shall be granted only:
to persons established in the Community;
where it is considered that it will be possible to establish that the compensating products have resulted from processing of the temporary export goods.
The cases in which derogations from this subparagraph may apply and the conditions under which such derogations shall apply shall be determined in accordance with the committee procedure;
where authorization to use the outward processing procedure is not liable seriously to harm the essential interests of Community processors (economic conditions).
1.The customs authorities shall specify the period within which the compensating products must be reimported into the customs territory of the Community. They may extend that period on submission of a duly substantiated request by the holder of the authorization.
2.The customs authorities shall set either the rate of yield of the operation or, where necessary, the method of determining that rate.
1.The total or partial relief from import duties provided for in Article 151 (1) shall be granted only where the compensating products are declared for release for free circulation in the name of or on behalf of:
(a)the holder of the authorization, or
(b)any other person established in the Community provided that that person has obtained the consent of the holder of the authorization and the conditions of the authorization are fulfilled.
2.The total or partial relief from import duties provided for in Article 151 shall not be granted where one of the conditions or obligations relating to the outward processing procedure is not fulfilled, unless it is established that the failures have no significant effect on the correct operation of the said procedure.
1.The total or partial relief from import duties provided for in Article 145 shall be effected by deducting from the amount of the import duties applicable to the compensating products released for free circulation the amount of the import duties that would be applicable on the same date to the temporary export goods if they were imported into the customs territory of the Community from the country in which they underwent the processing operation or last processing operation.
2.The amount to be deducted pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be calculated on the basis of the quantity and nature of the goods in question on the date of acceptance of the declaration placing them under the outward processing procedure and on the basis of the other items of charge applicable to them on the date of acceptance of the declaration relating to the release for free circulation of the compensating products.
The value of the temporary export goods shall be that taken into account for those goods in determining the customs value of the compensating products in accordance with Article 32 (1) (b) (i) or, if the value cannot be determined in that way, the difference between the customs value of the compensating products and the processing costs determined by reasonable means.
However,
certain charges determined in accordance with the committee procedure shall not be taken into account in calculating the amount to be deducted;
where, prior to being placed under the outward processing procedure, the temporary export goods were released for free circulation at a reduced rate by virtue of their end use, and for as long as the conditions for granting the reduced rate continue to apply, the amount to be deducted shall be the amount of import duties actually levied when the goods were released for free circulation.
3.Where temporary export goods could qualify on their release for free circulation for a reduced or zero rate of duty by virtue of their end use, that rate shall be taken into account provided that the goods underwent operations consistent with such an end-use in the country where the processing operation or last such operation took place.
4.Where compensating products qualify for a preferential tariff measure within the meaning of Article 20 (3) (d) or (e) and the measure exists for goods falling within the same tariff classification as the temporary export goods, the rate of import duty to be taken into account in establishing the amount to be deducted pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be that which would apply if the temporary export goods fulfilled the conditions under which that preferential measure may be applied.
5.This Article shall be without prejudice to the application of provisions, adopted or liable to be adopted in the context of trade between the Community and third countries, which provide for relief from import duties in respect of certain compensating products.
1.Where the purpose of the processing operation is the repair of the temporary export goods, they shall be released for free circulation with total relief from import duties where it is established to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that the goods were repaired free of charge, either because of a contractual or statutory obligation arising from a guarantee or because of a manufacturing defect.
2.Paragraph 1 shall not apply where account was taken of the defect at the time when the goods in question were first released for free circulation.
Where the purpose of the processing operation is the repair of temporary export goods and such repair is carried out in return for payment, the partial relief from import duties provided for in Article 145 shall be granted by establishing the amount of the duties applicable on the basis of the taxation elements pertaining to the compensating products on the date of acceptance of the declaration of release for free circulation of those products and taking into account as the customs value an amount equal to the repair costs, provided that those costs represent the only consideration provided by the holder of the authorization and are not influenced by any links between that holder and the operator.
[F5By way of derogation from Article 151, the committee procedure may be used to determine the cases in and specific conditions under which goods may be released for free circulation following an outward-processing operation, with the cost of the processing operation being taken as the basis for assessment for the purpose of applying the Customs Tariff of the European Communities.]
Textual Amendments
1.Under the conditions laid down in this Section IV which are applicable in addition to the preceding provisions, the standard exchange system shall permit an imported product, hereinafter referred to as a ‘replacement product’, to replace a compensating product.
2.The customs authorities shall allow the standard exchange system to be used where the processing operation involves the repair of Community goods other than those subject to the common agricultural policy or to the specific arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products.
3.Without prejudice to Article 159, the provisions applicable to compensating products shall also apply to replacement products.
4.The customs authorities shall, under the conditions they lay down, permit replacement products to be imported before the temporary export goods are exported (prior importation).
In the event of prior importation of a replacement, security shall be provided to cover the amount of the import duties.
1.Replacement products shall have the same tariff classification, be of the same commercial quality and possess the same technical characteristics as the temporary export goods had the latter undergone the repair in question.
2.Where the temporary export goods have been used before export, the replacement products must also have been used and may not be new products.
The customs authorities may, however, grant derogations from this rule if the replacement product has been supplied free of charge either because of a contractual or statutory obligation arising from a guarantee or because of a manufacturing defect.
Standard exchange shall be authorized only where it is possible to verify that the conditions laid down in Article 155 are fulfilled.
1.In the case of prior importation, the export goods shall be temporarily exported within a period of two months from the date of acceptance by the customs authorities of the declaration relating to the release of the replacement products for free circulation.
2.However, where exceptional circumstances so warrant, the customs authorities may, at the request of the person concerned, extend within reasonable limits the period referred to in paragraph 1.
In the case of prior importation and where Article 151 is applied, the amount to be deducted shall be determined on the basis of the items of charge applicable to the temporary export goods on the date of acceptance of the declaration placing them under the procedure.
Article 147 (2) and Article 148 (b) shall not apply in the context of standard exchange.
The procedures provided for within the framework of out-ward processing shall also be applicable for the purposes of implementing non-tariff common commercial policy measures.