Regulation (EC) No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Section 2 Payment of the amount of import or export duty

Article 72 General time limits for payment and suspension of the time limit for payment

1. Amounts of import or export duty, corresponding to a customs debt notified in accordance with Article 67, shall be paid by the debtor within the period prescribed by the customs authorities.

Without prejudice to Article 24(2), that period shall not exceed 10 days following notification to the debtor of the customs debt. In the case of aggregation of entries in the accounts under the conditions laid down in the second subparagraph of Article 70(1), it shall be so fixed as not to enable the debtor to obtain a longer period for payment than if he had been granted deferred payment in accordance with Article 74.

Extension of that period may be granted by the customs authorities at the request of the debtor where the amount of import or export duty payable has been determined in the course of post-release control as referred to in Article 27. Without prejudice to Article 77(1), such extensions shall not exceed the time necessary for the debtor to take the appropriate steps to discharge his obligation.

2. If the debtor is entitled to any of the payment facilities laid down in Articles 74 to 77, payment shall be made within the period or periods specified in relation to those facilities.

3. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the conditions for the suspension of the time limit for payment of the amount of import or export duty corresponding to a customs debt in the following situations:

(a) where an application for remission of duty is made in accordance with Article 84;

(b) where goods are to be confiscated, destroyed or abandoned to the State;

(c) where the customs debt was incurred pursuant to Article 46 and there is more than one debtor,

shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4).

Those measures shall lay down, in particular, the period of the suspension, taking into account the time which is reasonable for the conclusion of any formalities or for the recovery of the amount of import or export duty corresponding to the customs debt.

Article 73 Payment

1. Payment shall be made in cash or by any other means with similar discharging effect, including by adjustment of a credit balance, in accordance with national legislation.

2. Payment may be made by a third person instead of the debtor.

3. The debtor may in any case pay all or part of the amount of import or export duty without awaiting expiry of the period he has been granted for payment.

Article 74 Deferment of payment

Without prejudice to Article 79, the customs authorities shall, at the request of the person concerned and upon provision of a guarantee, permit deferment of payment of the duty payable in any of the following ways:

(a)

separately in respect of each amount of import or export duty entered in the accounts in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 70(1), or Article 70(4);

(b)

globally in respect of all amounts of import or export duty entered in the accounts in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 70(1) during a period fixed by the customs authorities and not exceeding 31 days;

(c)

globally in respect of all amounts of import or export duty forming a single entry in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 70(1).

Article 75 Time limits for deferred payment

1. The period for which payment is deferred under Article 74 shall be 30 days.

2. Where payment is deferred in accordance with Article 74(a), the period shall begin on the day following that on which the customs debt is notified to the debtor.

3. Where payment is deferred in accordance with Article 74(b), the period shall begin on the day following that on which the aggregation period ends. It shall be reduced by the number of days corresponding to half the number of days covered by the aggregation period.

4. Where payment is deferred in accordance with Article 74(c), the period shall begin on the day following the end of the period fixed for release of the goods in question. It shall be reduced by the number of days corresponding to half the number of days covered by the period concerned.

5. Where the number of days in the periods referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 is an odd number, the number of days to be deducted from the 30-day period pursuant to those paragraphs shall be equal to half the next lowest even number.

6. Where the periods referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 are calendar weeks, Member States may provide that the amount of import or export duty in respect of which payment has been deferred is to be paid on the Friday of the fourth week following the calendar week in question at the latest.

If those periods are calendar months, Member States may provide that the amount of import or export duty in respect of which payment has been deferred is to be paid by the 16th day of the month following the calendar month in question.

Article 76 Implementing measures

The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the rules for deferment of payment in cases where the customs declaration is simplified in accordance with Article 109, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4).

Article 77 Other payment facilities

1. The customs authorities may grant the debtor payment facilities other than deferred payment on condition that a guarantee is provided.

Where facilities are granted pursuant to the first subparagraph, credit interest shall be charged on the amount of import or export duty. The rate of credit interest shall be the interest rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent main refinancing operation carried out before the first calendar day of the half-year in question (the reference rate), plus one percentage point.

For a Member State which is not participating in the third stage of economic and monetary union, the reference rate referred to above shall be the equivalent rate set by its national central bank. In that case, the reference rate in force on the first calendar day of the half-year in question shall apply for the following six months.

2. The customs authorities may refrain from requiring a guarantee or from charging credit interest where it is established, on the basis of a documented assessment of the situation of the debtor, that this would create serious economic or social difficulties.

3. The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 78 Enforcement of payment and arrears

1. Where the amount of import or export duty payable has not been paid within the prescribed period, the customs authorities shall secure payment of that amount by all means available to them under the law of the Member State concerned.

The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down measures in respect of securing payment from guarantors within the framework of a special procedure, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4).

2. Interest on arrears shall be charged on the amount of import or export duty from the date of expiry of the prescribed period until the date of payment.

The rate of interest on arrears shall be the interest rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent main refinancing operation carried out before the first calendar day of the half-year in question (the reference rate), plus two percentage points.

For a Member State which is not participating in the third stage of economic and monetary union, the reference rate referred to above shall be the equivalent rate set by its national central bank. In that case, the reference rate in force on the first calendar day of the half-year in question shall apply for the following six months.

3. Where a customs debt has been notified pursuant to Article 67(3), interest on arrears shall be charged over and above the amount of import or export duty, from the date on which the customs debt was incurred until the date of its notification.

The rate of interest on arrears shall be set in accordance with paragraph 2.

4. The customs authorities may refrain from charging interest on arrears where it is established, on the basis of a documented assessment of the situation of the debtor, that to charge it would create serious economic or social difficulties.

5. The measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, by supplementing it, laying down the cases, in terms of time and amounts, in which the customs authorities may waive the collection of interest on arrears, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 184(4).