Regulation (EC) No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Article 5 Exchange and storage of data

1. 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:

(a) the possibility of temporary failure of the customs authorities’ computerised systems;

(b) the possibility of temporary failure of the economic operator’s computerised systems;

(c) international conventions and agreements which provide for the use of paper documents;

(d) travellers without direct access to the computerised systems and with no means of providing electronic information;

(e) practical requirements for declarations to be made orally or by any other act.

2. 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:

(a) the messages to be exchanged between customs offices, as required for the application of the customs legislation;

(b) 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.