The customs authorities may, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the particulars contained in a customs declaration which they have accepted:
examine the declaration and all of the supporting documents;
require the declarant to present other documents;
examine the goods;
take samples for analysis or for detailed examination of the goods.
1.Transport of the goods to the places where they are to be examined and where samples are to be taken, and all the handling necessitated by such examination or taking of samples, shall be carried out by or under the responsibility of the declarant. The costs incurred shall be borne by the declarant.
2.The declarant shall have the right to be present or represented when the goods are examined and when samples are taken. Where the customs authorities have reasonable grounds for so doing, they may require the declarant to be present or represented when the goods are examined or samples are taken or to provide them with the assistance necessary to facilitate such examination or taking of samples.
3.Provided that samples are taken in accordance with the provisions in force, the customs authorities shall not be liable for payment of any compensation in respect thereof but shall bear the costs of their analysis or examination.
1.Where only part of the goods covered by a customs declaration is examined, or samples are taken, the results of the partial examination, or of the analysis or examination of the samples, shall be taken to apply to all the goods covered by the same declaration.
However, the declarant may request a further examination or sampling of the goods if he considers that the results of the partial examination, or of the analysis or examination of the samples taken, are not valid as regards the remainder of the goods declared. The request shall be granted, provided that the goods have not been released or that, if they have been released, the declarant proves that they have not been altered in any way.
2.For the purposes of paragraph 1, where a customs declaration covers two or more items, the particulars relating to each item shall be deemed to constitute a separate declaration.
3.The Commission shall, in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 184(3), adopt measures laying down the procedure to be followed in the event of divergent results of examinations pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.
1.The results of verifying the customs declaration shall be used for the application of the provisions governing the customs procedure under which the goods are placed.
2.Where the customs declaration is not verified, paragraph 1 shall apply on the basis of the particulars contained in the declaration.
3.The results of the verification made by the customs authorities shall have the same conclusive force throughout the customs territory of the Community.
1.The customs authorities or, where appropriate, economic operators authorised to do so by the customs authorities, shall take the measures necessary to identify the goods where identification is required in order to ensure compliance with the provisions governing the customs procedure for which those goods have been declared.
Those identification measures shall have the same legal effect throughout the customs territory of the Community.
2.Means of identification affixed to the goods or means of transport shall be removed or destroyed only by the customs authorities or, where they are authorised to do so by the customs authorities, by economic operators, unless, as a result of unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure, their removal or destruction is essential to ensure the protection of the goods or the means of transport.
The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures for the implementation of this Section.
1.Without prejudice to Article 117, where the conditions for placing the goods under the procedure concerned are fulfilled and provided that any restriction has been applied and the goods are not subject to any prohibition, the customs authorities shall release the goods as soon as the particulars in the customs declaration have been verified or are accepted without verification.
The first subparagraph shall also apply where verification as referred to in Article 117 cannot be completed within a reasonable period of time and the goods are no longer required to be present for verification purposes.
2.All the goods covered by the same declaration shall be released at the same time.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, where a customs declaration covers two or more items, the particulars relating to each item shall be deemed to constitute a separate customs declaration.
3.Where the goods are presented at a customs office other than the office at which the customs declaration has been accepted, the customs authorities involved shall exchange the information necessary for the release of the goods, without prejudice to appropriate controls.
1.Where the placing of goods under a customs procedure gives rise to a customs debt, the release of the goods shall be conditional upon the payment of the amount of import or export duty corresponding to the customs debt or the provision of a guarantee to cover that debt.
However, without prejudice to the third subparagraph, the first subparagraph shall not apply to temporary admission with partial relief from import duties.
Where, pursuant to the provisions governing the customs procedure for which the goods are declared, the customs authorities require the provision of a guarantee, those goods shall not be released for the customs procedure in question until such guarantee is provided.
2.The Commission may, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 184(2), adopt measures laying down exceptions to the first and third subparagraphs of paragraph 1 of this Article.