Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (repealed)Show full title

Article 444

1. Where, in accordance with Article 443, the Community transit procedure is compulsory for goods transported by air from a Community airport, the manifest, provided it contains the information specified in Appendix 3 of Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, shall be equivalent to a Community transit declaration.

2. Where the transport operation relates both to goods which must move under the external Community transit procedure and to goods which must move under the internal Community transit procedure, such goods shall be listed on separate manifests.

3. The manifest or manifests referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall bear an endorsement dated and signed by the airline identifying them as a Community transit declaration and specifying the customs status of the goods to which they relate. Thus completed and signed, the manifest or manifests shall be treated as a T1 declaration or a T2 declaration, as the case may be.

The manifest or manifests referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall contain the following:

• the name of the airline transporting the goods,

• the flight number,

• the date of the flight,

• the name of the airport of loading (airport of departure) and unloading (airport of destination);

and for each consignment on the manifest:

• the number of the air waybill,

• the number of packages,

• a summary description of the goods or, where appropriate, the indication ‘consolidated’, if necessary in an abbreviated form, (equivalent to groupage),

• the gross mass.

4. An airline which transports goods accompanied by the manifests referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be the principal for the transport operation in question.

5. Except where the airline has the status of an authorized consignor within the meaning of Article 398, the manifests referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be presented for authentication in two or more copies to the customs authorities at the airport of departure, who shall retain a copy.

The said authorities may, for control purposes, require production of all the air waybills relating to the consignments listed on the manifest.

6. The airline transporting the goods shall inform the customs authorities at the airport of destination of the name of the airport or airports of departure.

The customs authorities at the airport of destination may waive this requirement in respect of airlines for which, inter alia because of the nature of the routes flown or regions served by the airlines concerned, there is no doubt as to the airport or airports of departure.

7. A copy of the manifests provided for in paragraphs 1 to 5 shall be presented to the customs authorities at the airport of destination. The said authorities shall retain a copy of such manifests.

8. Without prejudice to paragraph 7, the customs authorities at the airport of destination may, for control purposes, require production of the manifests relating to all the goods unloaded at the airport.

The said authorities may also, for control purposes, require production of the air waybills relating to the consignments listed on the manifest.

9. The customs authorities at the airport of destination shall transmit monthly to the customs authorities at each airport of departure a list drawn up by the airlines of the manifests referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 which were presented to them during the previous month. The list shall be authenticated by the customs authorities at the airport of destination.

The description of each manifest in the said list shall comprise the following information:

• the reference number of the manifest,

• the name (which may be abbreviated) of the airline which transported the goods,

• the flight number,

• the date of the flight.

On conditions which they shall determine the customs authorities may by bilateral or multilateral arrangement authorize the airlines themselves, in accordance with the first subparagraph, to transmit the information to the customs authorities of each airport of departure. Customs authorities granting such authorizations shall advise the customs authorities of the other Member States accordingly.

In the event of irregularities being found in connection with the information on the manifests appearing on the said list, the office of destination shall inform the office of departure, referring in particular to the air waybills which relate to the goods in question.

10. The customs authorities in the Member States, at the request of the airlines concerned, may by bilateral or multilateral arrangement allow the use of simplified Community transit procedures, using data exchange technology in operation between the airlines concerned, instead of the manifest specified in paragraph 1.

11. (a) In the case of international airlines which are either established or have a regional office in the customs territory of the Community and:

• (a) use data exchange systems to transmit information between airports of departure and destination in the said territory, and

• fulfil the conditions of subparagraph (b),

the Community transit procedure described in paragraphs 1 to 9 shall be simplified on request.

On receipt of a request, the customs authorities of the Member State where the airline is established shall notify the customs authorities of the other Member States in whose territories the airports of departure and destination connected by data exchange technology are situated.

Provided no objection is received within sixty days of the date of notification the customs authorities shall allow the simplified procedure described in subparagraph (c), subject to Article 97 (2) (a) of the Code.

This authorization shall be valid in all the Member States concerned and shall apply only to transit operations between the airports referred to in it.

(b) The simplified procedure provided for in subparagraph (c) shall be granted only to airlines:

• (b) which operate a significant number of intra-Community flights,

• which frequently consign and receive goods,

• whose written or computer records enable the customs authorities to verify their operations at departure and destination,

• which have not committed serious or repeated offences against customs or tax legislation,

• which make all records available to the customs authorities,

• which agree to be fully accountable to the customs authorities in meeting their obligations and collaborating to resolve all offences and irregularities.

(c) The simplified procedure shall apply as follows:

• (c) the airline shall keep evidence of the status of all consignments in its commercial records,

• the manifest at the airport of departure which is transmitted by data exchange technology shall become the manifest at the airport of destination,

• the airline shall indicate the appropriate status T1, T2, TE (equivalent to T2 ES), TP (equivalent to T2 PT), and C (equivalent to T2L) against each item on the manifest,

• the Community transit procedure shall be considered discharged when the data exchange manifest is made available to the customs authorities of the airport of destination and the goods have been presented to them,

• a printout of the data exchange manifest shall be presented on request to the customs authorities at the airports of departure and destination,

• the customs authorities at the airport of departure shall carry out retrospective systems audit checks based on a level of perceived risk analysis,

• the customs authorities at the airport of destination shall carry out systems audit checks based on a level of perceived risk analysis and if necessary send details of data-exchange manifests to the customs authorities at the airport of departure for verification,

• the airline shall be responsible for identifying and notifying to the customs authorities all offences and irregularities found at the airport of destination,

• the customs authorities at the airport of destination shall, after a reasonable time, notify all offences and irregularities to the customs authorities at the airport of departure,

• these offences and irregularities may be resolved under procedures to be agreed between the airlines and the customs authorities at destination and departure.