Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER 3 U.K. Specific provisions relating to the application of Article 239 of the Code

Section 1 U.K. Decisions to be taken by the customs authorities of the Member States

[F1 Article  899 U.K.

1. Where the decision-making customs authority establishes that an application for repayment or remission submitted to it under Article 239(2) of the Code:

• is based on grounds corresponding to one of the circumstances referred to in Articles 900 to 903, and that these do not result from deception or obvious negligence on the part of the person concerned, it shall repay or remit the amount of import or export duties concerned,

• is based on grounds corresponding to one of the circumstances referred to in Article 904, it shall not repay or remit the amount of import or export duties concerned.

2. In other cases, except those in which the dossier must be submitted to the Commission pursuant to Article 905, the decision-making customs authority shall itself decide to grant repayment or remission of the import or export duties where there is a special situation resulting from circumstances in which no deception or obvious negligence may be attributed to the person concerned.

Where Article 905(2), second indent, is applicable, the customs authorities may not decide to authorise repayment or remission of the duties in question until the end of a procedure initiated in accordance with Articles 906 to 909.

3. For the purposes of Article 239(1) of the Code and of this Article, ‘ the person concerned ’ shall mean the person or persons referred to in Article 878(1) or their representatives, and any other person who was involved with the completion of the customs formalities relating to the goods concerned or gave the instructions necessary for the completion of these formalities.

4. For the purposes of applying paragraphs 1 and 2 the Member States shall give each other mutual assistance, particularly where an error by the customs authorities of a Member State other than that responsible for taking the decision is concerned.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 900 U.K.

1. Import duties shall be repaid or remitted where:

(a) non-Community goods placed under a customs procedure involving total or partial relief from import duties or goods released for free circulation with favourable tariff treatment by reason of their end-use are stolen, provided that the goods are recovered promptly and placed again in their original customs situation in the state they were in when they were stolen;

(b) non-Community goods are inadvertently withdrawn from the customs procedure involving total or partial relief from the said duties under which they had been placed, provided that, as soon as the error is found, they are placed again in their original customs situation in the state they were in when they were withdrawn;

(c) it is impossible to operate the mechanism for opening the means of transport on which goods previously released for free circulation are located and accordingly to unload them on arrival at their destination, provided that they are immediately re-exported;

(d) goods originally released for free circulation are subsequently returned to their non-Community supplier, under the outward processing arrangements, to enable him — free of charge — to eliminate defects existing prior to the release of the goods (even if found after release of the goods) or to bring them into line with the provisions of the contract under which they were released for free circulation, and the said supplier decides to keep the goods permanently because he is unable to remedy the defects or because it would not be economic to do so;

(e) it is found, when the customs authorities decide on post-clearance entry in the accounts of import duties actually due on goods released for free circulation with full relief from such duties, that the goods in question have been re-exported from the customs territory of the Community without customs supervision, provided it is established that the substantive conditions laid down in the Code for the repayment or remission of such import duties would actually have been met at the time of re-exportation if the amount had been levied when the goods were released for free circulation;

(f) a judicial body has forbidden the marketing of an item previously entered for a customs procedure obliging the person concerned to pay import duties under normal conditions, and the said item is re-exported from the customs territory of the Community or destroyed under the control of the customs authorities, provided it is established that the item in question has not actually been used in the Community;

(g) the goods have been entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay such duties by a declarant empowered to do so on his own initiative and, through no fault of the declarant, it has not been possible to deliver them to the consignee;

(h) the goods have been addressed to the consignee in error by the consignor;

(i) the goods are found to be unsuitable for the use for which the consignee intended them because of an obvious factual error in his order;

(j) after having been released for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties, the goods are found not to have complied, at the time of their release, with the rules in force concerning their use or marketing and therefore cannot be used for the purpose intended by the consignee;

(k) the use of the goods by the consignee for the purpose intended is prevented or substantially restricted as a result of measures of general scope taken, after the date of release for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties, by an authority or other body having the appropriate power of decision;

(l) total or partial import duty relief applied for by the person concerned in accordance with existing provisions cannot, through no fault of the person concerned, be granted by the customs authorities, who shall accordingly enter in the accounts the import duties which have become due;

(m) the goods reached the consignee after the binding delivery dates stipulated in the contract under which they were entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties;

(n) it has not been possible to sell the goods in the customs territory of the Community and they are delivered free of charge to charities:

• (n) carrying out their activities in a third country, provided that they are represented in the Community,

  (n) or

• carrying out their activities in the customs territory of the Community, provided that they are eligible for relief in the case of importation for free circulation of similar goods from third countries.

[F2 (o) the customs debt has been incurred otherwise than under Article 201 of the Code and the person concerned is able to produce a certificate of origin, a movement certificate, an internal Community transit document or other appropriate document showing that if the imported goods had been entered for free circulation they would have been eligible for Community treatment or preferential tariff treatment, provided the other conditions referred to in Article 890 were satisfied.]

[F3 2. Repayment or remission of import duties in the cases referred to in paragraph 1(c) and (f) to (n) shall, except where the goods are destroyed by order of a public authority or delivered free of charge to charities carrying out their activities in the Community, be conditional upon their re-export from the customs territory of the Community under the supervision of the customs authorities.

If requested, the decision-making authority shall permit re-export of the goods to be replaced by their destruction or by placing them under the external Community transit procedure, under the customs warehousing arrangements, or in a free zone or free warehouse.

Goods to be assigned one of these treatments shall be considered to be non-Community goods.

In this case, the customs authorities shall take all requisite measures to ensure that the goods placed in a customs warehouse, in a free zone or in a free warehouse may later be recognised as non-Community goods.]

F4 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. In addition, the supervising customs office must be satisfied that the goods have been neither used nor sold before their re-exportation.

Textual Amendments

F2 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 3254/94 of 19 December 1994 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community customs code.

F3 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 881/2003 of 21 May 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

F4 Deleted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 881/2003 of 21 May 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F2 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 3254/94 of 19 December 1994 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community customs code.

F3 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 881/2003 of 21 May 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

F4 Deleted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 881/2003 of 21 May 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 901 U.K.

1. Import duties shall be repaid or remitted where:

(a) goods entered in error for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties have been re-exported from the customs territory of the Community without having been previously entered for the customs procedure under which they should have been placed, provided the other conditions laid down in Article 237 of the Code have been met;

(b) the goods have been re-exported or destroyed in accordance with Article 238 (2) (b) of the Code without customs supervision, provided the other conditions laid down in the said Article have been met;

(c) the goods have been re-exported or destroyed without customs supervision in accordance with Article 900 (1) (c) and (f) to (n), provided the other conditions laid down in Article 900 (2) and (4) have been met.

2. Repayment or remission of import duties in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 shall be conditional on:

(a) production of all the evidence needed to enable the decision-making customs authority to satisfy itself that the goods in respect of which repayment or remission is requested:

• (a) have actually been re-exported from the customs territory of the Community, or

• have been destroyed under the supervision of authorities or persons empowered to certify such destruction officially;

(b) the return to the decision-making customs authority of any document certifying the Community status of the goods in question under cover of which the said goods may have left the customs territory of the Community, or the presentation of whatever evidence the said authority considers necessary to satisfy itself that the document in question cannot be used subsequently in connection with any importation of goods into the Community.

Article 902 U.K.

1. For the purposes of Article 901 (2):

(a) the evidence needed to enable the decision-making customs authority to satisfy itself that the goods in respect of which repayment or remission is requested have actually been re-exported from the customs territory of the Community shall consist of the presentation by the applicant of:

• (a) the original or a certified copy of the declaration for export of the goods from the customs territory of the Community,

  (a) and

• certification by the customs office through which the goods actually left the customs territory of the Community.

Where such certification cannot be produced, proof that the goods have left the customs territory of the Community may be presented in the form of:

• (a) certification by the customs office in the third country of destination confirming that the goods have arrived, or

• the original or a certified copy of the customs declaration for the goods made in the third country of destination.

These documents must be accompanied by administrative and commercial documentation enabling the decision-making customs authority to check that the goods exported from the customs territory of the Community are the same as those which had been declared for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties, namely:

• (a) the original or a certified copy of the declaration for the said procedure,

  (a) and

• where this is considered necessary by the decision-making customs authority, commercial or administrative documents (such as invoices, dispatch details, transit documents or health certificates) containing a full description of the goods (trade description, quantities, marks and other identifying particulars) which were presented with the declaration for the said procedure or with the declaration for export from the customs territory of the Community or the customs declaration made for the goods in the third country of destination, as the case may be;

(b) The evidence needed to enable the decision-making customs authority to satisfy itself that the goods in respect of which repayment or remission is requested have actually been destroyed under the supervision of authorities or persons authorized to certify officially such destruction shall consist of the presentation by the applicant of:

• (b) a report or declaration of destruction drawn up by the authorities under whose supervision the goods were destroyed, or a certified copy thereof, or

• a certificate drawn up by the person authorized to certify destruction, accompanied by evidence of his authority.

These documents shall contain a sufficiently full description of the destroyed goods (trade description, quantities, marks and other identifying particulars) to enable the customs authorities to satisfy themselves, by means of comparison with the particulars given in the declaration for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties and the accompanying commercial documents (invoices, dispatch details, etc.), that the destroyed goods are those which had been declared for the said procedure.

2. Where the evidence referred to in paragraph 1 is insufficient to allow the decision-making customs authority to take a decision on the case submitted to it in full knowledge of the facts, or where certain evidence is not available, such evidence may be supplemented or replaced by any other documents considered necessary by the said authority.

Article 903 U.K.

1. For returned goods in respect of which an export duty was levied when they were exported from the customs territory of the Community, entry for free circulation shall give the right to repayment of the amounts levied.

2. Paragraph 1 shall apply only to goods which are in one of the situations referred to in Article 844.

It must be proved to the satisfaction of the customs office where the goods are declared for release for free circulation that the goods are in one of the situations referred to in Article 185 (2) (b) of the Code.

3. Paragraph 1 shall apply even where the returned goods constitute only a proportion of the goods previously exported from the customs territory of the Community.

Article 904 U.K.

Import duties shall not be repaid or remitted where the only grounds relied on in the application for repayment or remission are, as the case may be:

(a)

re-export from the customs territory of the Community of goods previously entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties, for reasons other than those referred to in Article 237 or 238 of the Code or in Article 900 or 901, notably failure to sell;

(b)

destruction, for any reason whatsoever, save in the cases expressly provided for by Community legislation, of goods entered for a customs procedure involving the obligation to pay import duties after their release by the customs authorities;

(c)

presentation, for the purpose of obtaining preferential tariff treatment of goods declared for free circulation, of documents subsequently found to be forged, falsified or not valid for that purpose, even where such documents were presented in good faith.

[F5 Article 904a U.K.

1. When no communication is required under paragraph 2, each Member State shall hold at the disposal of the Commission the list of the cases in which Article 899(2) was applied.

2. Each Member State shall communicate to the Commission a list of the cases in which it has applied the provisions of Article 899(2) and the amount repaid or remitted in respect of one or more import or export operations but in consequence of a single special situation is more than EUR  50 000 , giving a short summary of each case. This communication shall be forwarded during the first and third quarters of each year for all cases in which it was decided to repay or remit duties during the preceding half-year.]

Textual Amendments

F5 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F5 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Section 2 U.K. Decisions to be taken by the Commission

[F1 Article 905 U.K.

1. Where the application for repayment or remission submitted under Article 239(2) of the Code is supported by evidence which might constitute a special situation resulting from circumstances in which no deception or obvious negligence may be attributed to the person concerned, the Member State to which the decision-making customs authority belongs shall transmit the case to the Commission to be settled under the procedure laid down in Articles 906 to 909 where:

• the authority considers that a special situation is the result of the Commission failing in its obligations,

• the circumstances of the case are related to the findings of a Community investigation carried out under Regulation (EC) No 515/97, or under any other Community legislation or any agreement concluded by the Community with countries or groups of countries in which provision is made for carrying out such Community investigations, or

• the amount for which the person concerned may be liable in respect of one or more import or export operations but in consequence of a single special situation is EUR  500 000 or more.

The term ‘ the person concerned ’ shall be interpreted in the same way as in Article 899.

2. However, the cases referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be transmitted where:

• the Commission has already adopted a decision under the procedure provided for in Articles 906 to 909 on a case involving comparable issues of fact and of law,

• the Commission is already considering a case involving comparable issues of fact and of law.

3. The dossier submitted to the Commission shall contain all the information required for full consideration. It shall include detailed information on the behaviour of the operator concerned, and in particular on his professional experience, good faith and diligence. This assessment shall be accompanied by all information that may demonstrate that the operator acted in good faith. The dossier shall also include a statement, signed by the applicant for repayment or remission, certifying that he has read the dossier and either stating that he has nothing to add or listing all the additional information that he considers should be included.

4. As soon as it receives the dossier the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned accordingly.

5. Should it be found that the information supplied by the Member State is not sufficient to enable a decision to be taken on the case concerned in full knowledge of the facts, the Commission may request that additional information be supplied.

6. Where one of the following situations occurs the Commission shall return the dossier to the customs authority and the procedure referred to in Articles 906 to 909 shall be deemed never to have been initiated:

• the dossier shows that there is a disagreement between the customs authority that has transmitted the dossier and the person who signed the statement referred to in paragraph 3 as regards the account of the facts,

• the dossier is obviously incomplete since it contains nothing that would justify its consideration by the Commission,

• under paragraphs 1 and 2, the dossier should not be transmitted,

• the existence of a customs debt has not been established,

• new information relating to the dossier and of a nature to alter substantially its presentation of the facts or legal assessment has been transmitted by the customs authority to the Commission while it is considering the dossier.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 906 U.K.

The Commission shall forward to the Member States a copy of the dossier referred to in Article 905(3) within 15 days of the date on which it received that dossier.

Consideration of the case in question shall be included as soon as possible on the agenda of a meeting of the group of experts provided for in Article 907.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

[F6 Article 906a U.K.

Where, at any time in the procedure provided for in Articles 906 and 907, the Commission intends to take a decision unfavourable towards the applicant for repayment or remission, it shall communicate its objections to him/her in writing, together with all the documents on which it bases those objections. The applicant for repayment or remission shall express his/her point of view in writing within a period of one month from the date on which the objections were sent. If he/she does not give his/her point of view within that period, he/she shall be deemed to have waived the right to express a position.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1677/98 of 29 July 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F6 Inserted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1677/98 of 29 July 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

[F1 Article 907 U.K.

After consulting a group of experts composed of representatives of all Member States, meeting within the framework of the Committee to consider the case in question, the Commission shall decide whether or not the situation which has been considered justifies repayment or remission.

That decision shall be taken within nine months of the date on which the case referred to in Article 905(3) is received by the Commission. However, where the declaration or detailed assessment of the operator's behaviour referred to in Article 905(3) is not included in the dossier, the nine months shall be counted only from the date of receipt of these documents by the Commission. The customs authority and the person applying for repayment or remission shall be notified accordingly.

Where the Commission has found it necessary to ask for additional information from the Member State in order to reach its decision, the nine months shall be extended by a period equivalent to that between the date the Commission sent the request for additional information and the date it received that information. The person applying for repayment or remission shall be notified of the extension.

Where the Commission conducts investigations itself in order to reach its decision, the nine months shall be extended by the time necessary to complete the investigations. Such an extension shall not exceed nine months. The customs authority and the person applying for repayment or remission shall be notified of the dates on which investigations are opened and closed.

Where the Commission has notified the person applying for repayment or remission of its objections in accordance with Article 906a, the period of nine months shall be extended by one month.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 908 U.K.

1. The Member State concerned shall be notified of the decision referred to in Article 907 as soon as possible and in any event within one month of the expiry of the period specified in that Article.

The Commission shall notify the Member States of the decisions it has adopted in order to help customs authorities to reach decisions on cases involving comparable issues of fact and law.

2. The decision-making authority shall decide whether to grant or refuse the application made to it on the basis of the Commission's decision notified in accordance with paragraph 1.

3. Where it is established by the decision referred to in Article 907 that the circumstances under consideration justify repayment or remission, the Commission may specify the conditions under which the Member States may repay or remit duties in cases involving comparable issues of fact and of law.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1335/2003 of 25 July 2003 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 909 U.K.

If the Commission fails to take a decision within the time limit set in Article 907, or fails to notify a decision to the Member State in question within the time limit set in Article 908, the decision-making customs authority shall grant the application.