Article 33 Verification of suppliers' declarations

Verification of suppliers' declarations shall be carried out at random or whenever the customs authorities of the importing State have reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the document or the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning the true origin of the materials in question.

The customs authorities to which a supplier's declaration is submitted may request the customs authorities of the State where the declaration was made to issue an information certificate, a specimen of which appears in Appendix 6. Alternatively, the customs authorities to which a supplier's declaration is submitted may request the exporter to produce an information certificate issued by the customs authorities of the State where the declaration was made.

A copy of the information certificate shall be preserved by the office which issued it for at least three years.

The customs authorities requesting the verification shall be informed of the results of the verification as soon as possible. The results shall indicate clearly whether the declaration concerning the status of the materials is correct.

For the purpose of verification, suppliers shall keep a copy of the document containing the declaration together with all necessary evidence showing the true status of the materials for not less than three years.

The customs authorities in the State where the supplier's declaration is drawn up shall have the right to call for any evidence or to carry out any check which they consider appropriate in order to verify the correctness of any supplier's declaration.

Any movement certificate EUR.1 or invoice declaration issued or made out on the basis of an incorrect supplier's declaration shall be considered null and void.