Changes from plenary report to adopted text

AddedArticle 118 Scope

Added1. Under a storage procedure, non-Union goods may be stored in the customs territory of the Union without being subject to any of the following:

Added(a) import duty;

Added(b) other charges as provided for under other relevant provisions in force;

Added(c) commercial policy measures, insofar as they do not prohibit the entry or exit of goods into or from the customs territory of the Union.

Added2. The conditions for placing goods under storage shall be the following:

Added(a) the minimum data has been provided or made available to customs, which must include at least the importer responsible for the goods, the manufacturer, the value, the origin, the tariff classification and description of the goods and the list of relevant other legislation applied by the customs authorities on those goods, unless otherwise provided; and

Added(b) it has been ascertained that the goods comply with the other legislation applied by the customs authorities. [Am. 194]

Added3. Union goods may be placed under the customs warehousing or free zone procedure in accordance with the other legislation applied by the customs authorities or in order to benefit from a decision granting repayment or remission of import duty. Union goods may be entered, stored, moved, used, processed or consumed in a customs warehouse or in a free zone. In such cases the goods shall not be regarded as being under a storage procedure.

Added4. The importer shall place non-Union goods brought into a customs warehouse or a free zone under the appropriate storage procedure.

Added5. The Commission shall specify, by means of implementing acts, the procedure for the placing of Union goods under the customs warehousing or free zone procedure as referred to in paragraph 2. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 262(4).

AddedArticle 119 Storage information

Added1. The operator of a customs warehouse or a free zone shall be required to provide or make available to the customs authorities the minimum data necessary for the application of the provisions governing the storage of the goods located therein, in particular the data referred to in Article 118(2), point (a), the customs status of the goods placed under the storage procedure and the subsequent movements of those goods. Once the functionalities of the EU Customs Data Hub laid down in Article 29 are fully operational, the operator shall be required to make this data available via the EU Customs Data Hub. [Am. 195]

Added2. Where the importer or the carrier has already provided or made available all or part of the information referred to in paragraph 1, the customs warehouse or free zone operator shall link its own additional information to the importer’s or carrier’s information.

Added3. The operator must not accept goods for which the minimum information has not been provided or made available to customs.

Added4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 261, to supplement this Regulation by determining the minimum information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

AddedArticle 120 Amendment and invalidation of storage information

Added1. The operator of a customs warehouse or a free zone may amend one or more particulars of the information on the goods in its facility after it has been provided or made available, unless the customs authorities have informed the operator that they intend to examine the goods or that they have established that the information on the goods is incorrect.

Added2. The importer, the carrier or the operator of the warehouse of free zone shall invalidate the information on goods that are not brought into the customs territory of the Union as soon as possible. The customs authorities shall invalidate the information on those goods after 30 days from the date in which the information was provided or made available.

AddedArticle 121 Duration of a storage procedure

Added1. There shall be no limit to the length of time goods may remain under a storage procedure.

Added2. In exceptional circumstances, the customs authorities may set a time limit by which a storage procedure must be discharged in particular where the type and nature of the goods may, in the case of long-term storage, pose a threat to human, animal or plant health and life or to the environment.

AddedSection 2 Customs warehousing

AddedArticle 122 Storage in customs warehouses

Added1. Under the customs warehousing procedure non-Union goods may be stored in premises or any other location authorised for that procedure by the customs authorities and under customs supervision (‘customs warehouses’).

Added2. Customs warehouses may be available for use by any importer for the customs warehousing of goods (‘public customs warehouse’), or for the storage of goods imported by the holder of an authorisation for customs warehousing (‘private customs warehouse’).

AddedArticle 123 Authorisation for the operation of customs warehouses

Added1. The operation of a customs warehouse requires an authorisation from the customs authorities, unless the operator of the customs warehouse is the customs authority itself. The authorisation shall set out the conditions for the operation of the customs warehouse.

Added2. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted only to persons who satisfy the following conditions:

Added(a) they are established in the customs territory of the Union;

Added(b) they provide the necessary assurance of the proper conduct of the operations;

Added(c) a Trust and Check trader shall be deemed to fulfil this condition insofar as the operation of customs warehouse is taken into account in the authorisation referred to in Article 25;

Added(d) they provide a guarantee for the potential customs debt.

Added3. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be granted only where the customs authorities are able to exercise customs supervision without having to introduce administrative arrangements which are disproportionate to the economic needs involved.

Added4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 261, to supplement this Regulation by determining the conditions for granting the authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

AddedArticle 124 Movement of goods in customs warehouse

Added1. The customs authorities may authorise an operator of a customs warehouse to move goods under the following conditions:

Added(a) the possibility to move the goods is provided for in the customs warehouse authorisation;

Added(b) the operator of the customs warehouse is an authorised economic operator trust and check;

Added(c) information on the movements is recorded in the operator’s records and provided or made available to the customs authorities of departure and arrival of the goods.

Added2. The Commission shall specify, by means of implementing acts, the procedure for the movement of goods in customs warehouse referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 262(4).

AddedArticle 125 Processing in a customs warehouse

AddedThe customs authorities may, where an economic need exists and customs supervision is not adversely affected, authorise that goods in customs warehousing are subsequently placed under the inward processing or end-use procedure to be processed in the customs warehouse, subject to the conditions provided for by those procedures.

AddedArticle 126 Customs supervision

AddedThe holder of the authorisation shall be responsible for ensuring that goods under the customs warehousing procedure are not removed from customs supervision.

AddedSection 3 Free zones

AddedArticle 127 Designation of free zones

Added1. Member States may designate parts of the customs territory of the Union as free zones.

AddedFor each free zone the Member State shall determine the area covered and define the entry and exit points.

Added2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission information on their free zones which are in operation.

Added3. Free zones shall be enclosed.

AddedThe perimeter and the entry and exit points of the area of free zones shall be subject to customs supervision.

Added4. Persons, goods and means of transport entering or leaving free zones may be subject to customs controls.

AddedArticle 128 Buildings and activities in free zones

Added1. The construction of any building in a free zone shall require the prior approval of the customs authorities.

Added2. Subject to the customs legislation, any industrial, commercial or service activity shall be permitted in a free zone. The carrying on of such activities shall be subject to notification, in advance, to the customs authorities.

Added3. The customs authorities may prohibit or restrict the activities referred to in paragraph 2, having regard to the nature of the goods in question, or the requirements of customs supervision, or security and safety requirements.

Added4. The customs authorities may prohibit persons who do not provide the necessary assurance of compliance with the customs provisions from carrying on an activity in a free zone.

AddedArticle 129 Non-Union goods in free zones

Added1. Non-Union goods may, while they remain in a free zone, be released for free circulation or be placed under the inward processing, temporary admission or end-use procedure, under the conditions laid down for those procedures.