Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 198 U.K. Measures to be taken by the customs authorities

1. The customs authorities shall take any necessary measures, including confiscation and sale, or destruction, to dispose of goods in the following cases:

(a) where one of the obligations laid down in the customs legislation concerning the introduction of non-Union goods into the customs territory of the Union has not been fulfilled, or the goods have been withheld from customs supervision;

(b) where the goods cannot be released for any of the following reasons:

(i)

it has not been possible, for reasons attributable to the declarant, to undertake or continue examination of the goods within the period prescribed by the customs authorities;

(ii)

the documents which must be provided before the goods can be placed under, or released for, the customs procedure requested have not been provided;

(iii)

payments or a guarantee which should have been made or provided in respect of import or export duty, as the case may be, have not been made or provided within the prescribed period;

(iv)

the goods are subject to prohibitions or restrictions;

(c) where the goods have not been removed within a reasonable period after their release;

(d) where after their release, the goods are found not to have fulfilled the conditions for that release; or

(e) where goods are abandoned to the State in accordance with Article 199.

2. Non-Union goods which have been abandoned to the State, seized or confiscated shall be deemed to be placed under the customs warehousing procedure. They shall be entered in the records of the customs warehousing operator, or, where they are held by the customs authorities, by the latter.

Where goods to be destroyed, abandoned to the State, seized or confiscated are already subject to a customs declaration, the records shall include a reference to the customs declaration. Customs authorities shall invalidate that customs declaration.

3. The costs of the measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be borne:

(a) in the case referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, by any person who was required to fulfil the obligations concerned or who withheld the goods from customs supervision;

(b) in the cases referred to in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1, by the declarant;

(c) in the case referred to in point (d) of paragraph 1, by the person who is required to comply with the conditions governing the release of the goods;

(d) in the case referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, by the person who abandons the goods to the State.