The Customs and Excise (Common Transit) Regulations 1988

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Customs and Excise (Common Transit) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 26th September 1988.

2.  In these Regulations—

“CIM” means International Consignment Note;

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;

“common transit procedure” means the procedure for the carriage of goods in transit between the Economic Community and a country of the European Free Trade Association (or in transit between two such countries) for which provision is made by the Convention;

“the Convention” means the Convention of 20th May 1987 entered into by the Economic Community, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland(1);

“the customs and excise Acts” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(2);

“relevant Community provision” means any provision of the Convention specified in the first and second columns of the Schedule to these Regulations and shall include any such provision as applied by—

(a)

Article 39(2) of Appendix I to the Convention;

(b)

Articles 38, 42 and 55 of Appendix II to the Convention;

“TRTN” means TR Transfer Note(3).

Specification of transit routes

3.  Goods moving under the common transit procedure shall be moved by such routes within the United Kingdom as the Commissioners may specify.

Offences, penalty and forfeiture

4.  In the event of any contravention or failure to comply with—

(a) any relevant Community provision, or

(b) any requirement or condition imposed by or under any such provision, or

(c) any requirement imposed under regulation 3 hereof,

the person responsible for the contravention or failure and the person then in charge of the goods shall each be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding £2,000 and any goods in respect of which the offence was committed shall be liable to forfeiture.

Supplementary

5.—(1) Section 139 of and Schedule 3 to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(4) (detention, seizure and condemnation of goods) shall apply to any goods liable to forfeiture under regulation 4 above as if the goods were liable to forfeiture under the customs and excise Acts.

(2) Sections 145 to 148 and 150 to 155 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(5) (proceedings for offences, mitigation of penalties, proof and other matters) shall apply in relation to offences and penalties under regulation 4 above and proceedings for such offences or for condemnation of anything as being forfeited under that regulation as they apply in relation to offences and penalties and proceedings for offences or for condemnation under the customs and excise Acts.

Philip Nash

Commissioner of Customs and Excise

New King’s Beam House 22 Upper Ground,

London SE1 9PJ

23rd August 1988