Regulation (EC) No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Section 4 Free zones

Article 155 Designation of free zones

1. Member States may designate parts of the customs territory of the Community as free zones.

For each free zone the Member State shall determine the area covered and define the entry and exit points.

2. Free zones shall be enclosed.

The perimeter and the entry and exit points of the area of free zones shall be subject to customs supervision.

3. Persons, goods and means of transport entering or leaving free zones may be subject to customs controls.

Article 156 Buildings and activities in free zones

1. The construction of any building in a free zone shall require the prior approval of the customs authorities.

2. Subject to customs legislation, any industrial, commercial or service activity shall be permitted in a free zone. The carrying on of such activities shall be subject to notification, in advance, to the customs authorities.

3. The customs authorities may impose prohibitions or restrictions on the activities referred to in paragraph 2, having regard to the nature of the goods in question, or the requirements of customs supervision, or security or safety requirements.

4. The customs authorities may prohibit persons who do not provide the necessary assurance of compliance with the customs provisions from carrying on an activity in a free zone.

Article 157 Presentation of goods and their placement under the procedure

1. Goods brought into a free zone shall be presented to customs and undergo the prescribed customs formalities in the following cases:

(a) where they are brought into the free zone directly from outside the customs territory of the Community;

(b) where they have been placed under a customs procedure which is ended or discharged when they are placed under the free-zone procedure;

(c) where they are placed under the free-zone procedure in order to benefit from a decision granting repayment or remission of import duties;

(d) where legislation other than customs legislation provides for such formalities.

2. Goods brought into a free zone in circumstances other than those covered by paragraph 1 need not be presented to customs.

3. Without prejudice to Article 158, goods brought into a free zone are deemed to be placed under the free-zone procedure:

(a) at the moment of their entry into a free zone, unless they have already been placed under another customs procedure;

(b) at the moment when a transit procedure is ended, unless they are immediately placed under a subsequent customs procedure.

Article 158 Community goods in free zones

1. Community goods may be entered, stored, moved, used, processed or consumed in a free zone. In such cases the goods shall not be regarded as being under the free-zone procedure.

2. At the request of the person concerned, the customs authorities shall certify the customs status as Community goods of the following goods:

(a) Community goods which enter a free zone;

(b) Community goods which have undergone processing operations within a free zone;

(c) goods released for free circulation within a free zone.

Article 159 Non-Community goods in free zones

1. Non-Community goods may, while they remain in a free zone, be released for free circulation or be placed under the inward processing, temporary admission or end-use procedure, under the conditions laid down for those procedures.

In such cases the goods shall not be regarded as being under the free-zone procedure.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions applicable to supplies or to victualling storage, where the procedure concerned so provides, paragraph 1 of this Article shall not preclude the use or consumption of goods of which the release for free circulation or temporary admission would not entail application of import duties or measures laid down under the common agricultural or commercial policies.

In the case of such use or consumption, no customs declaration for the release for free circulation or temporary admission procedure shall be required.

Such declaration shall, however, be required if such goods are subject to a tariff quota or ceiling.

Article 160 Bringing goods out of a free zone

Without prejudice to legislation in fields other than customs, goods in a free zone may be exported or re-exported from the customs territory of the Community, or brought into another part of the customs territory of the Community.

Articles 91 to 98 shall apply mutatis mutandis to goods brought into other parts of the customs territory of the Community.

Article 161 Customs status

Where goods are brought out of a free zone into another part of the customs territory of the Community or placed under a customs procedure, they shall be regarded as non-Community goods unless their customs status as Community goods has been proven by the certificate referred to in Article 158(2) or by any other status document provided for in Community customs legislation.

However, for the purposes of applying export duties and export licences or export control measures laid down under the common agricultural or commercial policies, such goods shall be regarded as Community goods, unless it is established that they do not have the customs status of Community goods.