S.I. No. 433/1992 - European Communities (Community Transit) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 433 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (COMMUNITY TRANSIT) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, BERTIE AHERN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purposes of giving effect to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2726/90¹ make the following Regulations.

¹ O.J. No. L 262/1 26.9.90.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Community Transit) Regulations, 1992.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1993.

3. (1) In these Regulations—

"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2726/90 on Community Transit;

"the Commission Regulation" means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1214/92² on provisions for the implementation of the Community Transit procedure and for certain simplifications of that procedure;

² O.J. No. L 132/1 16.5.92.

"Office of Destination" means an office of destination within the meaning of Article 2 of the Council Regulation and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Regulation or in the Commission Regulation shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Council Regulation and in the Commission Regulation.

4. For the purpose of these Regulations and the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation the competent authority in the State shall be the Revenue Commissioners.

5. ( a ) Any person who makes a declaration within the State to carry out a Community transit operation and who fails to produce any goods covered by that declaration to the office of destination in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 or Article 37 of the Council Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding £1,000 and the goods in respect of which the offences was committed shall be liable to forfeiture.

( b ) any person who aids or abets the commission of an offence contrary to paragraph (a) of this Regulation shall, without prejudice to any other fine to which he may be liable, be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

( c ) It shall be a defence to any prosecution under this Regulation for an accused person to show that the Community transit operation in question was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation.

( d ) In any prosecution for a breach of this Regulation it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that any document purporting to be a declaration is in fact a declaration and that any signature thereon is the signature of the person who purports to sign same.

6. Any person who makes a false declaration for the purpose of Article 2 (d) of the Council Regulation shall, without prejudice to any other penalty to which he may be liable, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

7. The provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, shall not apply to an offence under these Regulations.

8. Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or approval of or to have been facilitated by any connivance on the part of any person who, when the offence was committed, was a Director, Member of the Committee of Management or other controlling authority thereof, or Manager, Secretary or other Officer thereof, that person or persons shall also be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

9. These Regulations shall be construed together with the Customs Acts.

10. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 24th day of December, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to implement with effect from 1 January, 1993, Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2726/90 relating to the movement of goods within the Community under a system of Customs control to ensure that any charges payable are secured.