28. 12. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 340/5
II
(Preparatory Acts)
COMMISSION
Proposal for a Council Regulation determining the persons liable for payment of a
customs debt
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 December 1982)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular
Articles 43 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European
Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
Whereas Council Directive 79/623/EEC of ib June
1979 on the harmonization of provisions laid down
by law, regulation or administrative action relating to
customs debt (') defined inter alia the various
situations giving rise to a customs debt on impor-
tation or exportation;
Whereas, in order to ensure that the abovementioned
Directive has identical legal and economic effects
throughout the Community, it is necessary to
determine in each case in which a customs debt arises
the person or persons liable for payment of such debt;
Whereas simple rules must be laid down in this field
which enable the authorities responsible for assessing
and recovering customs debts to act with the utmost
efficiency; whereas the same principles should be
adopted both for customs debts on importation and
for customs debts on exportation;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from
acceptance by the competent authority of a customs
declaration for release for free circulation or for
export, the person liable for payment of such debt
should be the person in whose name the declaration
was made; whereas this principle makes it possible to
take account of the various types of representation
available for completing customs formalities; whereas,
where the person making the declaration has stated
that he was acting in his own name but on behalf of
another person, it is nevertheless justifiable to
consider the latter also liable for payment of the
customs debt in so far as the person who made the
declaration had received authorization to do so;
whereas the same should hold true in the event of the
implementation of the special arrangements referred
to in Articles 19 and 20 of Council Directive
79/695/EEC of 24 July 1979 on the harmonization
of procedures for the release of goods for free circu-
lation (2) and in Articles 18 and 19 of Council
Directive 81/177/EEC of 24 February 1981 on the
harmonization of procedures for the export of
Community goods (3) where the holder of the auth-
orization relating thereto is a different person from
the one in whose name the declaration was made;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from
the unlawful introduction of goods into the customs
territory of the Community, the removal of goods
from customs supervision or the unlawful export of
goods from the customs territory of the Community,
not only the person who committed the act which
gave rise to the customs debt but also all persons who
knowingly participated therein or derived an
advantage therefrom should be considered liable for
payment of such debt;
Whereas, in the case of a customs debt resulting from
the non-fulfilment of a special obligation stemming
from the application of the provisions concerning a
special customs procedure or arrangements, the
person who, through the operation of the provisions
governing the customs procedure or arrangements in
question, was personally responsible for performing
the obligation which was not complied with should be
liable for payment of such customs debt;
Whereas in all cases in which the same legal situation
gives rise to a customs debt payable by several
persons, the latter should be liable jointly and
severally for payment of such debt in order to enable
the competent authorities to ensure the recovery of
customs debts under the most favourable conditions;
0) OJ No L 179, 17. 7. 1979, p. 31.
(2) OJ No L 205, 13. 8. 1979, p. 19.
(3) OJ No L 83, 30. 3. 1981, p. 40.
No C 340/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 12. 82
Whereas this Regulation cannot prevent the
application of certain specific rules of civil or
commercial law in force in the Member States, parti-
cularly as regards the transfer of obligations; whereas
it likewise cannot affect the special obligations to
which guarantors are subject;
Whereas it is necessary to safeguard the uniform
application of this Regulation and to provide to that
end for a Community procedure enabling the rules
for its application to be adopted within an appro-
priate period; whereas the Committee on General
Customs Rules set up by Article 24 of Directive
79/695/EEC is the appropriate body to organize
close and effective collaboration between the Member
States and the Commission in this field;
Whereas this Regulation concerns the determination
of the persons liable for payment of a customs debt,
whether it results from the implementation of the
common agricultural policy or from the
implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning
the customs union; whereas this action is necessary to
attain, in the course of the operation of the common
market, one of the objectives of the Community;
whereas the Treaty has not provided, in the case of
the customs union, the necessary powers for this
purpose; whereas it is therefore necessary to base this
Regulation also on Article 235 of the Treaty,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. This Regulation determines the persons liable
for payment of a customs debt.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) 'person' means both a natural and a legal person;
(b) 'customs debt' means the obligation on a person
to pay the amount of the import duties (customs
debt on importation) or export duties (customs
debt on exportation) which apply under the
provisions in force to goods liable to such duties;
(c) 'import duties' means both customs duties and
charges having equivalent effect and agricultural
levies and other import charges laid down under
the common agricultural policy or under the
specific arrangements which apply to certain
goods resulting from the processing of agri-
cultural products;
(d) 'export duties' means agricultural levies and other
export charges laid down under the common
agricultural policy or under the specific
arrangements which apply to certain goods
resulting from the processing of agricultural
products;
TITLE I
Persons liable for payment of a customs debt on
importation
Article 2
1. Where a customs debt arises pursuant to Article
2 (a) or (f) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person
liable for payment of such debt shall be the person in
whose name the declaration was made.
However,
(a) where, pursuant to the provisions in force, the
person who made a declaration in his own name
stated that he was acting on behalf of another
person, the latter shall also be jointly and
severally liable for payment of the customs debt;
(b) where goods are released for free circulation
under the special arrangements referred to in
Articles 19 and 20 of Council Directive 79/695/
EEC, the authorized person shall also be jointly
and severally liable for payment of the customs
debt where he is a different person from the
person referred to in the first subparagraph;
(c) where the customs declaration was made in the
name of another person by a person lacking the
necessary authorization, the latter alone shall be
liable for payment of the customs debt.
2. Where, pursuant to the provisions in force, the
customs authorities authorize the release for free
circulation of goods already subject to a customs
procedure without requiring the making of a
declaration of release for free circulation, the person
liable for payment of the customs debt arising in this
situation shall be the person who, at the time of such
release for free circulation, is required to comply with
the obligations attaching to the customs procedure in
question.
The same rules shall apply, where appropriate, to
products resulting from the processing of the goods
concerned and to the waste and scrap resulting from
their destruction.
Article 3
Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to Article 2
(b) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person who
introduced the goods unlawfully into the customs
territory of the Community shall be liable for
payment of such debt.
The following shall also be jointly and severally liable
for payment of such debt:
(a) any persons who participated in such introduction
of the goods into the Community knowing that it
was unlawful and any persons who acquired or
possessed the goods in question and knew when
they acquired or received the goods that they had
28. 12.82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 340/7
been unlawfully introduced into the customs
territory of the Community;
(b) any other persons who, under the provisions in
force in the Member States, are liable by reason
of the unlawful introduction of the goods into the
customs territory of the Community.
Article 4
1. Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to
Article 2 (c) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person
who removed the goods from customs supervision
shall, subject to paragraph 2, be liable for payment of
such debt.
The following shall also be jointly and severally liable
for payment of such debt:
(a) any persons who participated in the removal of
the goods knowing that they were being removed
from customs supervision and any persons who
acquired or possessed the goods in questions and
knew when they acquired or received the goods
that they had been removed from customs
supervision;
(b) any other persons who, under the provisions in
force in the Member States, are liable by reason
of the removal of the goods from customs
supervision.
2. Where the goods removed from customs
supervision were placed
(a) in temporary storage or under the customs
warehousing procedure in premises the operator
of which has given an undertaking to the customs
authorities that he will be responsible for the
legality of operations carried out in those
premises;
(b) under the customs warehousing procedure under
conditions other than those referred to in (a) or
under another customs procedure;
the person liable for payment of customs debt
shall be:
— in cases referred to in (a), the operator of the
premises used for temporary storage or for
customs warehousing;
— in cases referred to in (b), the person who
deposited the goods in the warehouse or the
holder of the authorization for the customs
procedure in question.
Article 5
Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to Article 2
(d) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person who is
required, according to the circumstances, either to
fulfil the obligations arising, in respect of goods liable
to import duties, from their temporary storage or
from the use of the customs procedure under which
they have been placed or to comply with the
conditions laid down for the grant of that procedure,
shall be liable for payment of such debt.
Article 6
Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to Article 2
(e) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person who is
required, under conditions laid down by the
competent authorities, to use the goods in question
for the purposes stipulated, shall be liable for payment
of such debt.
TITLE II
Persons liable for payment of a customs debt on
exportation
Article 7
1. Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to
Article 5 (a) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person
liable for payment of such debt shall be:
(a) where the goods in question have been the subject
of an export declaration, the person in whose
name the declaration was made.
However,
— where, pursuant to the provisions in force, the
person who made the declaration in his own
name stated that he was acting on behalf of
another person, the latter shall also be jointly
and severally liable for payment of the
customs debt;
— where goods are exported under the simplified
procedures referred to in Articles 18 and 19 of
Directive 81/177/EEC, the person authorized
to employ such simplified procedures shall
also be jointly and severally liable for payment
of the customs debt where he is a different
person from the person in whose name the
declaration was made;
— where the customs declaration was made in
the name of another person by a person
lacking the necessary authorization, the latter
alone shall be liable for payment of the
customs debt;
(b) where the goods in question have not been the
subject of an export declaration, the person who
unlawfully exported the goods from the
Community.
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 (b), the
following shall also be jointly and severally liable for
payment of the customs debt:
(a) any persons who participated in the export of the
goods from the Community, knowing that it was
unlawful;
(b) any other persons who, under the provisions in
force in the Member States, are liable by reason
of the unlawful export of the goods from the
Community.
No C 340/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 12.82
Article 8 TITLE IV
rinal provisions Where a customs debt has arisen pursuant to Article 5
(b) of Directive 79/623/EEC, the person liable for
payment of such debt shall be determined under the
same conditions as those laid down in Article 7 (1) (a).
TITLE III
Special provisions
Article 9
The provisions of Titles I and II shall apply without
prejudice to:
(a) the provisions laid down in the Member States on
the basis of the civil and commercial law rules of
the Member States which, in certain special
circumstances, require persons other than those
referred to in this Regulation to pay a customs
debt;
(b) the obligations to which guarantors are subject in
respect of payment of a customs debt which they
have guaranteed.
Article 10
1. The Committee on General Customs Rules set
up by Article 24 of Directive 79/695/EEC may
examine any question concerning the application of
this Regulation which is raised by its chairman either
on his own initiative or at the request of a Member
State.
2. The provisions required for implementing this
Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 26 (2) and (3) of
Directive 79/695/EEC.
Article 11
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1984.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
directly applicable in all Member States.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
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