Article 14 Action by customs authorities

If there are sufficient grounds for suspecting that products manufactured under a compulsory licence granted pursuant to the Decision and/or this Regulation are being imported into the F1United Kingdom contrary to Article 13(1), customs authorities shall suspend the release of, or detain, the products concerned for the time necessary to obtain a decision of the competent authority on the character of the merchandise. F2... The period of suspension or detention shall not exceed 10 working days unless special circumstances apply, in which case the period may be extended by a maximum of 10 working days. Upon expiry of that period, the products shall be released, provided that all customs formalities have been complied with.

The competent authority, the rights-holder and the manufacturer or exporter of the products concerned shall be informed without delay of the suspended release or detention of the products and shall be given all information available with respect to the products concerned. Due account shall be taken of F3the law relating to the protection of personal data and commercial and industrial secrecy and professional and administrative confidentiality.

The importer, and where appropriate, the exporter shall be given ample opportunity to supply the competent authority with the information which it deems appropriate regarding the products.

If it is confirmed that products suspended for release or detained by customs authorities were intended for import into the F4United Kingdom contrary to the prohibition in Article 13(1), the competent authority shall ensure that the products are seized and disposed of in accordance with national legislation.

The procedure of suspension or detention or seizure of the goods shall be carried out at the expense of the importer. If it is not possible to recover those expenses from the importer, they may F5... be recovered from any other person responsible for the attempted illicit importation.

If the products suspended for release or detained by customs authorities are subsequently found not to violate the prohibition in Article 13(1), the customs authorities shall release the products to the consignee, provided that all customs formalities have been complied with.

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