Appendix ANNEX E.1 ANNEX CONCERNING CUSTOMS TRANSIT

For a variety of reasons it is frequently necessary for goods which are potentially liable to import or export duties and taxes to move from one customs office to another.

The legislation of most countries contains provisions under which such movements may take place without payment of the import or export duties and taxes, the goods being transported under customs control to ensure compliance with the requirements laid down. The procedure under which such movements are made is termed ‘customs transit’.

To facilitate the international transport of goods which have to pass through a number of customs territories arrangements have been made under international agreements for the States concerned to apply standard procedures for the treatment of goods carried in customs transit through their territories.

This Annex relates to both national and international customs transit. It does not apply to goods carried by post or in travellers' baggage.

For the purposes of this Annex:

1. (a)

   the term ‘customs transit’ means the customs procedure under which goods arc transported under customs control from one customs office to another;

2. (b)

   the term ‘customs transit operation’ means the transport of goods from an office of departure to an office of destination under customs transit;

3. (c)

   the term ‘office of loading’ means any customs office under whose authority certain preliminary measures are taken to facilitate commencement of a customs transit operation at an office of departure;

4. (d)

   the term ‘office of departure’ means any customs office at which a customs transit operation commences;

5. (e)

   the term ‘office en route’ means any customs office where goods are imported or exported in the course of a customs transit operation;

6. (f)

   the term ‘office of destination’ means any customs office at which a customs transit operation is terminated;

7. (g)

   the term ‘goods declaration’ means a statement made in the form prescribed by the customs by which the persons interested indicate the customs procedure to be applied to the goods and furnish the particulars which the customs require to be declared for the application of that procedure;

8. (h)

   the term ‘declarant’ means the person who signs a goods declaration or in whose name it is signed;

9. (ij)

   the term ‘transport unit’ means:

   1. (i)

      containers having an internal volume of one cubic metre or more,

   2. (ii)

      road vehicles, including trailers and semi-trailers,

   3. (iii)

      railway wagons, and

   4. (iv)

      lighters, barges and other vessels suitable for use on inland waterways;

10. (k)

    the term ‘import and export duties and taxes’ means customs duties and all other duties, taxes, fees or other charges which are collected on or in connection with the importation or exportation of goods but not including fees and charges which are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered;

11. (l)

    the term ‘customs control’ means measures applied to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations which the customs are responsible for enforcing;

12. (m)

    the term ‘security’ means that which ensures to the satisfaction of the customs, that an obligation to the customs will be fulfilled. Security is described as ‘general’ when it ensures that the obligations arising from several operations will be fulfilled;

13. (n)

    the term ‘person’ means both natural and legal persons, unless the context otherwise requires.

Customs transit shall be governed by the provisions of this Annex.

National legislation shall specify the conditions to be fulfilled and the formalities to be accomplished for the purposes of customs transit.

The customs authorities shall allow goods to be transported under customs transit in their territory:

1. (a)

   from an office of entry to an office of exit;

2. (b)

   from an office of entry to an inland customs office;

3. (c)

   from an inland customs office to an office of exit;

4. (d)

   from one inland customs office to another inland customs office.

Goods being carried under customs transit shall not be subject to the payment of import or export duties and taxes provided the conditions laid down by the customs authorities are complied with.

Any person having the right to dispose of the goods, for example the owner, the carrier, the forwarding agent, the consignee or an authorized agent approved by the customs should be entitled to declare the goods for customs transit.

The declarant shall be responsible to the customs authorities for compliance with the obligations incurred under customs transit; in particular he shall ensure that the goods are produced intact at the office of destination in accordance with the conditions imposed by those customs authorities.

The customs authorities shall designate the customs offices which are competent to perform the functions laid down for the purposes of customs transit.

Where corresponding customs offices are located on a common frontier, the customs authorities of the two countries concerned should correlate the business hours and the competence of those offices for the purposes of customs transit.

At the request of the person concerned, and for reasons deemed valid by the customs authorities, the latter should, so far as administrative circumstances permit, perform the functions laid down for the purposes of customs transit outside the business hours and outside the premises of the customs office, it being understood that the expenses entailed may be charged to the person concerned.

Priority shall be given to the customs operations relating to live animals, perishable goods and other urgent consignments which are under customs transit and for which rapid transport is essential.

Unless this formality is waived by the customs authorities a written goods declaration for customs transit shall be presented at the office of departure.

Goods declaration forms for customs transit shall conform to the official model prescribed by the competent authorities.

Any commercial or transport document setting out clearly the necessary particulars should be accepted as the descriptive part of the goods declaration for customs transit.

The form in which security is to be provided for the purposes of customs transit shall be laid down in national legislation or determined by the customs authorities in accordance with national legislation.

The choice between the various acceptable forms of security should be left to the declarant.

The customs authorities shall determine the amount in which security is to be provided for the customs transit operation.

When security is required to ensure that the obligations arising from several customs transit operations will be fulfilled, the customs authorities shall accept a general security.

The amount of any security should be set as low as possible having regard to the import or export duties and taxes potentially chargeable.

Where the customs authorities exercise their right to examine goods declared for customs transit, they should limit the extent of the examination to that deemed necessary to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations which the customs are responsible for enforcing.

The customs authorities at the office of departure shall take all necessary action to enable the office of destination to identify the consignment and to detect any unauthorized interference.

When a consignment is conveyed in a transport unit, customs seals shall be affixed to the transport unit itself provided that the transport unit is so constructed and equipped that:

1. (a)

   customs seals can be simply and effectively affixed to it;

2. (b)

   no goods can be removed from or introduced into, the sealed part of the transport unit without leaving visible traces of tampering or without breaking the customs seal;

3. (c)

   it contains no concealed spaces where goods may be hidden;

4. (d)

   all spaces capable of holding goods are readily accessible for customs inspection.

Such transport units shall also have been approved for the transport of goods under customs seal.

When the consignment is conveyed in a transport unit which cannot be effectively sealed, identification shall be assured and unauthorized interference rendered readily detectable, either by affixing customs seals to individual packages, by affixing identification marks, by describing the goods, by reference to samples, plans, sketches or photographs attached to the goods declaration, by full examination of the goods and recording the results thereof on the goods declaration, or by customs escort.

Only when they consider such a measure to be indispensable shall the customs authorities:

1. (a)

   require goods to follow a prescribed itinerary; or

2. (b)

   require goods to be transported under customs escort.

When the customs authorities prescribe a time limit for the production of the goods at a specified customs office they should take account of the circumstances in which the customs transit operation will take place.

Customs seals and fastenings used in the application of customs transit shall fulfil the minimum requirements laid down in Appendix III to this Annex.

Customs seals and identification marks affixed by foreign customs authorities should be accepted for the purposes of the customs transit operation unless they are considered not to be sufficient or secure or the customs authorities proceed to an examination of the goods. When foreign customs seals and fastenings have been accepted in a customs territory they should be afforded the same legal protection in that territory as national seals and fastenings.

National legislation shall not, in respect of the termination of a customs transit operation, require more than that the goods and the relevant goods declaration be presented at the office of destination within any time limit fixed, without the goods having undergone any change and without having been used, and with customs seals or identification marks intact.

When it has been established to the satisfaction of the competent customs authorities that the person concerned has fulfilled his obligations, any security given shall be discharged without delay.

Failure to follow a prescribed itinerary or to comply with a prescribed time limit should not entail the collection of any import or export duties potentially chargeable provided the customs authorities are satisfied that all other requirements have been met.

Exemption from the payment of the import or export duties and taxes normally chargeable shall be granted when it is established to the satisfaction of the customs authorities that goods being transported under customs transit have been destroyed or irrecoverably lost by accident or by force majeure, or are short for reasons due to their nature.

Contracting Parties should give careful consideration to the possibility of acceding to:

• the Customs Convention on the international transit of goods (ITI Convention), Vienna, 7 June 1971,

• the Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention), Geneva, 15 January 1959,

• the Customs Convention on the ATA carnet for the temporary admission of goods (ATA Convention), Brussels 6 December 1961,

and of adhering to any international instruments that may supersede them.

Contracting Parties which are not in a position to adhere to the international instruments enumerated in recommended practice 31 should, when drawing up bilateral or multilateral agreements with a view to setting up an international customs transit procedure, take account therein of standards and recommended practices 1 to 30 in the present Annex and, in addition, incorporate in the agreements the following specific provisions:

1. (1)

   where goods are transported in a transport unit meeting the requirements set out in standard 21, and where the person concerned so requests and gives the assurance that the transport unit will, at a subsequent stage of the transport operation, be placed under a customs transit procedure requiring a customs seal, the customs authorities at the office of loading should:

   • satisfy themselves of the accuracy of the accompanying documents approved by the bilateral or multilateral agreement and describing the contents of the transport unit,

   • seal the transport unit,

   • record on the accompanying documents the name of the office of loading, details of the customs seals affixed and of the date of affixing.

2. (2)

   when the goods are subsequently declared for customs transit, the customs authorities at the office of departure should, unless in exceptional circumstances they deem it necessary to examine the goods, accept the seals affixed by the office of loading and the accompanying documents referred to in (1) above;

3. (3)

   common goods declaration forms for customs transit should be accepted in each customs territory involved; such forms should be based on the model shown in Appendix I to this Annex taking account of the notes contained in Appendix II;

4. (4)

   security, where required, should be given and accepted in the form of a guarantee valid and enforceable in each customs territory involved, evidence of the existence of such guarantee being provided either by the goods declaration form for customs transit or by another document;

5. (5)

   without prejudice to their right to examine the goods, the customs authorities should, as a rule, limit the extent of the formalities to be carried out at offices en route to the following:

   • at offices where goods are imported into the customs territory the customs authorities should satisfy themselves that the goods declaration is in order, that any customs seals and fastenings or identification marks previously affixed are intact and, where appropriate, that the transport unit is secure, and that, where required, a guarantee is in force; they should then endorse the goods declaration accordingly,

   • at offices where goods leave the customs territory, the customs authorities should satisfy themselves that any customs seals and fastenings or identification marks are intact and, where necessary, that the transport unit is secure; they should then endorse the goods declaration accordingly;

6. (6)

   when an office en route removes a customs seal or identification mark, for example, in order to examine the goods, it should record details of the new customs seals or identification marks on the goods declaration accompanying the goods;

7. (7)

   formalities at offices en route should be further reduced, or completely abolished, the discharge of the obligations incurred under customs transit being given by the competent authorities in respect of the entire customs transit operation;

8. (8)

   arrangements should be made for measures of mutual assistance between the customs administrations of the countries concerned with regard to verification of the accuracy of the documents describing goods transported under customs transit and of the authenticity of customs seals.

The customs authorities shall ensure that all relevant information concerning customs transit is readily available to any person interested.