S.I. No. 202/1982 - European Communities (Customs) (No. 2) Regulations, 1982.


S.I. No. 202 of 1982.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CUSTOMS) (No. 2) REGULATIONS, 1982.

I, RAY MACSHARRY, 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 purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 79/695/EEC of 24 July, 1979(1), hereby make the following Regulations:

(1)O.J. No. L205, 13.8.1979, p. 19.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Customs) (No. 2) Regulations, 1982.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1982.

3. (1) In these Regulations—

"appropriate officer of customs" means any officer of customs and excise or any other officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

"import duties" means customs duties chargeable in the State (but does not include value-added tax or excise duties chargeable on goods imported into the State) and charges having equivalent effect, as well as agricultural levies and other import charges laid down within the framework of the common agricultural policy of the European Economic Community or of the specific arrangements applicable, pursuant to Article 235 of the Treaty, to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products;

"the Treaty" means the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in Council Directive No. 79/695/EEC shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning in these Regulations that it has in that Directive.

4. These Regulations apply to the release for free circulation, within the meaning of Article 10 (1) of the Treaty, of goods which—

( a ) have been produced to customs and which may have been placed in temporary storage in accordance with the conditions laid down in Council Directive No. 68/312/EEC of 30 July, 1968(2), or

(2)O.J. No. L194, 6.8.1968, p. 13.

( b ) are under another customs procedure.

5. Except as otherwise provided by these Regulations, the provisions of the Customs Acts relating to the entry and release of goods for home use shall apply, with any necessary modifications, to the entry and release for free circulation of goods referred to in Regulation 4 of these Regulations.

6. An entry for free circulation may be accepted by the Revenue Commissioners as an entry for home use also if it meets all the requirements of an entry for home use.

7. For the purpose of making entry, the Revenue Commissioners shall, under conditions which they shall specify, authorise the prior examination of goods and taking of samples.

8. (1) ( a ) The appropriate officer of customs may authorise the entry to be lodged before the declarant is in a position to present the goods.

( b ) In such a case that officer may set a time limit, to be determined according to the circumstances, for presentation of the goods, and if the goods have not been presented within this time limit the entry shall be deemed not to have been lodged.

(2) For the purpose of applying paragraph (1) of this Regulation, goods shall be deemed to have been presented at a customs office when their arrival at the customs office, or at another place designated by the Revenue Commissioners, has been notified to the appropriate officer of customs in the manner required to enable him to control or to inspect them.

9. (1) ( a ) At the declarant's request and for reasons deemed valid by the appropriate officer of customs, the latter may accept an entry which does not contain certain of the required particulars or to which some of the required documents are not attached.

( b ) In such a case the appropriate officer of customs shall set a time limit for the communication of those particulars or for the production of those documents, and the release of the goods for free circulation may be made conditional on the provision of security.

( c ) The entry shall in all cases contain the particulars necessary for the identification of the goods to which it relates.

(2) ( a ) An incomplete entry accepted under the conditions set out in paragraph (1) of this Regulation may be either completed by the declarant or, by agreement with the appropriate officer of customs, replaced by another entry which complies with all the appropriate requirements.

( b ) In the latter case the operative date for the fixing of the import duties and the application of any other provisions governing the release of goods for free circulation shall be the date of acceptance of the incomplete entry.

10. (1) ( a ) Entries which comply with all the appropriate requirements and those which are accorded the facilities provided for in Regulation 9 (1) of these Regulations shall be accepted by the appropriate officer of customs immediately, in accordance with the relevant prescribed procedures.

( b ) However, where, pursuant to Regulation 8 (1) of these Regulations, an entry has been lodged before the goods to which it relates have been presented to that officer, the entry may be accepted only after the goods in question have been so presented.

(2) The date of acceptance of the entry shall be noted on that document for the purpose of determining the operative date for the application of Regulation 12 (1) of these Regulations.

11. (1) The declarant shall, at his request, be authorised to correct entries accepted by the appropriate officer of customs under the conditions laid down in Regulation 10 of these Regulations, as regards one or more of the required particulars, subject to the following:

( a ) the correction shall be requested before the goods are released for free circulation;

( b ) the correction may no longer be allowed where the request is made after the appropriate officer of customs has informed the declarant that he intends to examine the goods or that he has himself established that the particulars in question are incorrect;

( c ) the correction shall not result in the entry applying to goods other than those to which it originally related.

(2) ( a ) The appropriate officer of customs may allow or require the corrections referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation to be made by the lodging of a new entry intended to replace the original entry.

( b ) In such an event the date for determination of the import duties and for the application of any other provisions governing the release of goods for free circulation shall be that of the acceptance of the original entry.

(3) ( a ) Where the declarant provides proof, to the satisfaction of the appropriate officer of customs, that goods have been entered for free circulation by mistake or that, as a result of special circumstances, the release of the goods for free circulation is no longer justified, that officer shall authorise cancellation or invalidation of the entry relating to them.

( b ) Such authorisation may be given as long as that officer has not released the goods.

12. (1) ( a ) Without prejudice to special rules applicable under general or specific Community legislation, and subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, import duties shall be levied in accordance with the rates and amounts in force at the date of acceptance of the entry.

( b ) Without prejudice to such special rules, that date shall be the operative date for determining other particulars material to the calculation of duty on the goods and for applying any other provisions governing the release of goods for free circulation.

(2) ( a ) In as much as the import duty payable on goods is a customs duty, where the rate of this customs duty is reduced after the date of acceptance of the entry but before the release of the goods for free circulation has been authorised by the appropriate officer of customs, the declarant may claim the application of the most favourable rate.

( b ) This paragraph shall not apply to goods which the appropriate officer of customs has been unable to release for free circulation for reasons attributable solely to the declarant.

13. Without prejudice to any prohibitive or restrictive measures provided for in respect of the goods, the appropriate officer of customs may release the goods for free circulation only when the import duties have been paid or guaranteed or payment of them has been deferred under the conditions laid down in Council Directive No. 78/453/EEC of 22 May, 1978(3).

(3)O.J. No. L146, 2.6.1978, p. 19.

14. (1) The declarant may be authorised by the appropriate officer of customs before the goods have been released for free circulation—

( a ) to surrender the goods free of charge to the Exchequer, or

( b ) to destroy them under the supervision of that officer, any costs incurred by such destruction being borne by the declarant.

(2) Where goods are surrendered to the Exchequer or destroyed under the supervision of the appropriate officer of customs, the declarant shall not be required to pay the import duties.

15. The release for free circulation of any waste or scrap resulting from the destruction of goods destroyed under official supervision shall be effected on the basis of the import duty and other particulars material to the calculation of duty applicable to it, as recognised or accepted by the appropriate officer of customs on the date of destruction.

16. These Regulations shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and any instrument relating to the Customs made under statute.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of June, 1982.

RAY MACSHARRY.

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations, which come into operation on 1 July, 1982 implement at national level Community Directive 79/695/EEC which determines general rules for the release of goods for free circulation in the Community.