Customs warehouses and free zones
Customs warehouses
Entered into force :
Specific Annex D
Chapter 1
Customs warehouses
Definition
For the purpose of this Chapter :
| E1./ F1. |
"Customs warehousing procedure" means the Customs procedure under which imported goods are stored under Customs control in a designated place (a Customs warehouse) without payment of import duties and taxes. |
Principle
The Customs warehousing procedure shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.
Classes of Customs warehouses
National legislation shall provide for Customs warehouses open to any person having the right to dispose of the goods (public Customs warehouses).
National legislation shall provide for Customs warehouses to be used solely by specified persons (private Customs warehouses) when this is necessary to meet the special requirements of the trade.
Establishment, management and control
The Customs shall lay down the requirements for the establishment, suitability and management of the Customs warehouses and the arrangements for Customs control.
The arrangements for storage of goods in Customs warehouses and for stock-keeping and accounting shall be subject to the approval of the Customs.
Admission of goods
Storage in public Customs warehouses should be allowed for all kinds of imported goods liable to import duties and taxes or to prohibitions or restrictions other than those imposed on grounds of :
- public morality or order, public security, public hygiene or health, or for veterinary or phytosanitary considerations; or
- the protection of patents, trade marks and copyrights,
irrespective of quantity, country of origin, country from which arrived or country of destination.
Goods which constitute a hazard, which are likely to affect other goods or which require special installations should be accepted only by Customs warehouses specially designed to receive them.
The Customs shall specify the kinds of goods which may be admitted to private Customs warehouses.
Admission to Customs warehouses should be allowed for goods which are entitled to repayment of import duties and taxes when exported, so that they may qualify for such repayment immediately, on condition that they are to be subsequently exported.
Admission to Customs warehouses, with a view to subsequent exportation or other authorized disposal, should be allowed for goods under the temporary admission procedure, the obligations under that procedure thereby being suspended or discharged.
Admission to Customs warehouses should be allowed for goods intended for exportation that are liable to or have borne internal duties or taxes, in order that they may qualify for exemption from or repayment of such internal duties and taxes, on condition that they are to be subsequently exported.
Authorized operations
Any person entitled to dispose of the warehoused goods shall be allowed, for reasons deemed valid by the Customs :
(a) to inspect them;
(b) to take samples, against payment of import duties and taxes wherever applicable;
(c) to carry out operations necessary for their preservation; and
(d) to carry out such other normal handling operations as are necessary to improve their packaging or marketable quality or to prepare them for shipment, such as breaking bulk, grouping of packages, sorting and grading, and repacking.
Duration of stay
The Customs shall fix the authorized maximum duration of storage in a Customs warehouse with due regard to the needs of the trade, and in the case of non-perishable goods it shall be not less than one year.
Transfer of ownership
The transfer of ownership of warehoused goods shall be allowed.
Deterioration of goods
Goods deteriorated or spoiled by accident or force majeure while under the Customs warehouse procedure shall be allowed to be declared for home use as if they had been imported in their deteriorated or spoiled state, provided that such deterioration or spoilage is duly established to the satisfaction of the Customs.
Removal of goods
Any person entitled to dispose of the goods shall be authorized to remove all or part of them from one Customs warehouse to another or to place them under another Customs procedure, subject to compliance with the conditions and formalities applicable in each case.
National legislation shall specify the procedure to be followed where goods are not removed from the Customs warehouse within the period laid down.
Closure of a Customs warehouse
In the event of the closure of a Customs warehouse, the persons concerned shall be given sufficient time to remove their goods to another Customs warehouse or to place them under another Customs procedure, subject to compliance with the conditions and formalities applicable in each case.
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Free zones
Entered into force :
Specific Annex D
Chapter 2
Free zones
Definition
For the purpose of this Chapter :
| E1./ F1. |
"free zone" means a part of the territory of a Contracting Party where any goods introduced are generally regarded, insofar as import duties and taxes are concerned, as being outside the Customs territory. |
Principle
The Customs regulations applicable to free zones shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.
Establishment and control
National legislation shall specify the requirements relating to the establishment of free zones, the kinds of goods admissible to such zones and the nature of the operations to which goods may be subjected in them.
The Customs shall lay down the arrangements for Customs control including appropriate requirements as regards the suitability, construction and layout of free zones.
The Customs shall have the right to carry out checks at any time on the goods stored in a free zone.
Admission of goods
Admission to a free zone shall be authorized not only for goods imported directly from abroad but also for goods brought from the Customs territory of the Contracting Party concerned.
Admission to a free zone of goods brought from abroad should not be refused solely on the grounds that the goods are liable to prohibitions or restrictions other than those imposed on grounds of :
- public morality or order, public security, public hygiene or health, or for veterinary or phytosanitary considerations; or
- the protection of patents, trade marks and copyrights,
irrespective of country of origin, country from which arrived or country of destination.
Goods which constitute a hazard, which are likely to affect other goods or which require special installations should be admitted only to free zones specially designed to receive them.
Goods admissible to a free zone which are entitled to exemption from or repayment of import duties and taxes when exported shall qualify for such exemption or repayment immediately after they have been introduced into the free zone.
Goods admissible to a free zone which are entitled to exemption from or repayment of internal duties and taxes when exported shall qualify for such exemption or repayment after they have been introduced into the free zone.
No Goods declaration should be required by the Customs in respect of goods introduced into a free zone directly from abroad if the information is already available on the documents accompanying the goods.
Security
The Customs should not require security for the admission of goods to a free zone.
Authorized operations
Goods admitted to a free zone shall be allowed to undergo operations necessary for their preservation and usual forms of handling to improve their packaging or marketable quality or to prepare them for shipment, such as breaking bulk, grouping of packages, sorting and grading, and repacking.
Where the competent authorities allow processing or manufacturing operations in a free zone, they shall specify the processing or manufacturing operations to which goods may be subjected in general terms and/or in detail in a regulation applicable throughout the free zone or in the authority granted to the enterprise carrying out these operations.
Goods consumed within the free zone
National legislation shall enumerate the cases in which goods to be consumed inside the free zone may be admitted free of duties and taxes and shall lay down the requirements which must be met.
Duration of stay
Only in exceptional circumstances shall a time limit be imposed on the duration of the stay of goods in a free zone.
Transfer of ownership
The transfer of ownership of goods admitted to a free zone shall be allowed.
Removal of goods
Goods admitted to or produced in a free zone shall be permitted to be removed in part or in full to another free zone or placed under a Customs procedure, subject to compliance with the conditions and formalities applicable in each case.
The only declaration required for goods on removal from a free zone shall be the Goods declaration normally required for the Customs procedure to which those goods are assigned.
Where a document must be produced to the Customs in respect of goods which on removal from a free zone are sent directly abroad, the Customs should not require more information than already available on the documents accompanying the goods.
Assessment of duties and taxes
National legislation shall specify the point in time to be taken into consideration for the purpose of determining the value and quantity of goods which may be taken into home use on removal from a free zone and the rates of the import duties and taxes or internal duties and taxes, as the case may be, applicable to them.
National legislation shall specify the rules applicable for determining the amount of the import duties and taxes or internal duties and taxes, as the case may be, chargeable on goods taken into home use after processing or manufacturing in a free zone.
Closure of a free zone
In the event of the closure of a free zone, the persons concerned shall be given sufficient time to remove their goods to another free zone or to place them under a Customs procedure, subject to compliance with the conditions and formalities applicable in each case.
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