Appendix ANNEX A.1 ANNEX CONCERNING CUSTOMS FORMALITIES PRIOR TO THE LODGEMENT OF THE GOODS DECLARATION

Goods may be introduced into a country by many different modes of transport. In order to safeguard the revenue and ensure compliance with national legislation, the carrier having introduced goods into the customs territory must produce them, and the means of transport by which they are carried, to the customs authorities at the earliest possible time. The provisions necessary to control the introduction of goods into the customs territory depend, to a large extent, upon the geography of the country and other circumstances such as the principal modes of transport bringing goods into the country.

In many cases the customs office at which the goods are to be produced and the goods declaration is to be lodged is situated at the place where the goods are introduced into the customs territory; however, in other cases, this customs office is situated some distance from that place. It is essential that the customs authorities be in a position to control the conveyance of goods to the customs office at which the goods are to be produced to the customs.

The interests of the customs may be safeguarded by placing obligations on the carrier through regulations and by means of physical surveillance by the customs of means of transport and goods introduced into the customs territory.

It is important that these measures cause a minimum of inconvenience to international trade. To this end all formalities to be accomplished by the carrier should be as simple as possible and information concerning them should be readily available to all interested persons.

This Annex does not cover goods which arrive under a customs procedure, e.g. international customs transit, goods carried by post or in travellers' baggage or the temporary storage of goods, nor does it cover certain other formalities which may be applicable in the case of particular modes of transport, e.g. presentation of a report on the arrival of a ship.

For the purposes of this Annex:

1. (a)

   the term ‘customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration’ means all the operations to be carried out by the person concerned and by the customs from the time goods are introduced into the customs territory to the placing of the goods under a customs procedure;

   Note:

   Temporary storage may be considered as a customs procedure.

2. (b)

   the term ‘customs territory’ means the territory in which the customs law of a State applies in full;

3. (c)

   the term ‘carrier’ means the person actually transporting goods or in charge of or responsible for the operation of the means of transport;

4. (d)

   the term ‘import 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 of goods, but not including fees and charges which are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered;

5. (e)

   the term‘goods declaration’means a statement made in the form prescribed by the customs, by which the persons interested indicate the particular 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;

6. (f)

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

7. (g)

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

Customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration shall be governed by the provisions of this Annex.

National legislation shall specify the conditions to be fulfilled and the formalities to be accomplished in respect of goods which are introduced into the customs territory.

All goods which are introduced into the customs territory, regardless of whether they are liable to import duties and taxes, shall be subject to customs control.

Customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration shall be reduced to the minimum necessary to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations which the customs are responsible for enforcing.

Customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration shall apply equally, regardless of the country of origin of the goods or the country whence they arrived.

National legislation shall specify the places at which goods may be introduced into the customs territory. In determining these places the factors to be taken into account shall include the particular requirements of trade, industry and transport.

The fact of having introduced goods into the customs territory shall carry with it the obligation upon the carrier to convey them directly to a designated customs office or other place specified by the customs authorities without altering their nature or their packaging.

Where the conveyance of the goods from the place of their introduction into the customs territory to a designated customs office or other specified place is interrupted by accident or force majeure, the carrier shall be required to take precautions to prevent the goods from entering into unauthorized circulation and to advise the customs or other competent authorities of the nature of the accident or other circumstance which has interrupted the journey.

Customs control in respect of imported goods shall be reduced to the minimum.

Customs control may include the boarding and searching of means of transport.

The customs authorities may have the power to take special control measures which are applied only in specified areas, for example, in the frontier zone.

As a rule it is not necessary to take control measures which involve unloading goods, affixing seals or identification marks to means of transport or goods or conveyance of goods under customs escort. However, where the customs authorities consider such control measures to be indispensable, they would apply those which would cause the least inconvenience to both the customs and the carrier while still providing adequate safeguards. Customs seals and identification marks affixed by foreign customs authorities would normally be accepted unless they were considered not to be sufficient or secure.

Where the customs office at which the goods are to be produced is not located at the place where the goods are introduced into the customs territory, no document should be required to be lodged with the customs authorities at that place.

Where the customs authorities require documentation in respect of the production of the goods to the customs, this shall not be required to contain more than the information necessary to identify the goods and the means of transport.

Where the documents produced to the customs are made out in a language which is not specified for this purpose or in a language which is not a language of the country into which the goods are introduced, a translation of the particulars given in those documents should not be required as a matter of course.

The customs authorities shall designate the customs offices at which goods may be produced to the customs. In determining the competence of these offices and their hours of business, the factors to be taken into account shall include the particular requirements of trade and industry and transport.

In some countries the competence of the customs offices is determined with reference to the customs routes and their importance.

Where necessary the competence of certain customs offices may be restricted to certain modes of transport or to certain categories of goods or to goods consigned to specified areas (e.g. the frontier zone or an industrial zone).

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.

The customs authorities shall specify the precautions to be taken by the carrier to prevent the goods from entering into unauthorized circulation in the customs territory when they arrive at a customs office outside working hours.

At the request of the carrier, and for reasons deemed valid by the customs authorities, the latter should, so far as possible, allow the customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration to be accomplished outside the business hours of the customs office; any expenses which this entails may be charged to the carrier.

National legislation shall specify the places which are approved for unloading.

At the request of the person concerned, and for reasons deemed valid by the customs authorities, the latter should allow goods to be unloaded at a place other than the one approved for unloading; any expenses which this entails may be charged to the person concerned.

The commencement of unloading should be permitted as soon as possible after the arrival of the means of transport at the place of unloading.

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, allow unloading to proceed outside the business hours of the customs office; any expenses which this entails may be charged to the person concerned.

Total or partial exemption, as the case may be, from payment of import duties and taxes, shall be granted in respect of goods damaged, destroyed or irrecoverably lost by accident or force majeure during the accomplishment of the customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration provided that the facts are duly established to the satisfaction of the customs authorities.

National legislation shall specify the person or persons responsible for the payment of any import duties and taxes in respect of goods introduced into the customs territory which have not been produced to the customs in compliance with the conditions and formalities to be fulfilled prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration.

The customs authorities shall ensure that all relevant information regarding customs formalities prior to the lodgement of the goods declaration is readily available to any person interested.