Single Authorisations and centralised customs clearance

1
Single Authorisations and centralised customs
clearance

• Michael LUX
• Head of Unit  Customs procedures 
• European Commission

2
Overview

• What are Single Authorisations?
• What are the benefits of Single Authorisations?
• Which obstacles are to be overcome?
• Which further measures are in place or envisaged?
• 5. What is the link with AEO?
• 6. What will happen under the modernized Customs
  Code?
• 7. Conclusion

3
What are Single Authorisations ? (1)

• Single Authorisations are authorisations
  involving customs administrations in more than
  one EU Member State. Such authorisations may
  concern the use of
• simplified declarations,
• local clearance,
• inward or outward processing and processing under
  customs control,
• customs warehousing,
• temporary importation (where no ATA carnet is
  used)
• end-use

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1. What are Single Authorisations ? (2)

• The different types of Single Authorisations may
  be combined (Integrated Authorisations).
• The reason why more than on customs authority is
  involved is
• either that the customs declaration is lodged in
  a Member State other than that where the goods
  are available for customs controls
• or that the goods are processed, stored or used
  in more than one Member State

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1. What are Single Authorisations ? (3)

• Single Authorisations for simplified declarations
  and local clearance may be granted to
  representatives, provided satisfactory records
  and procedures are in place allowing the
  identification of the persons represented and
  appropriate customs controls.
• As of 2011, the use of a Single Authorisation for
  simplified declarations or local clearance
  requires electronic declarations and
  notifications

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2. What are the benefits of Single Authorisations
? (1)

• Reduction of customs transaction and transport
  costs
• Better compliance, due to centralised control of
  the economic operator and better information
  exchange
• Incentive for maintaining customs clearance at
  the place where the importer is established
  (rather than releasing the goods for free
  circulation at entry)

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2. What are the benefits of Single Authorisations
? (2)

• No need for an additional transit procedure
• No need for economic operators to communicate
  (and maintain interfaces) with the customs
  administrations of other Member States (as these
  administrations communicate with each other)
• The authorisation holder can communicate with
  customs in his own language although the release,
  control, processing, storage or use of the goods
  takes place in another Member State

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3. Which obstacles are to be overcome?

• A time consuming consultation process between
  Member States
• Agreement on the control methods/standards to be
  applied
• The need to exchange information between the two
  customs offices concerned
• The need to provide statistical information
• The need to provide information for VAT and
  excise purposes
• Agreement on the sharing of the national part of
  own resources where goods are released for free
  circulation

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4. Which further measures are in place or
envisaged? (1)

• Are in place
• administrative arrangement for the sharing of
  collection costs
• guidelines
• e-learning tool for simplified declarations and
  local clearance
• a common data set for data to be declared and
  (later) to be exchanged between Member States
  (Annex 30A, Table 6)
• obligation to lodge electronic declarations and
  local clearance

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4. Which further measures are in place or
envisaged? (2)

• Envisaged
• database for Single Authorisations (extension of
  AEO/EORI database)
• electronic exchange of the harmonized data set
  between Member States
• common rules for statistical data exchange

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5. What is the link with AEO (1)?

• The criteria for simplified declarations and
  local clearance are in practice the same as those
  for AEO customs simplifications, both for
  national and Single Authorisations
• The use of these simplifications is not
  restricted to AEO however, an AEO has already
  shown that he fulfils the criteria, so that only
  the necessary data exchange needs to be arranged
  when he applies for a Single Authorisation

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6. What will happen under the modernised Customs
Code ?

• A specific Article will cover centralised customs
  clearance
• The simplified declaration and the local
  clearance procedure will be merged (with the
  result that the customs debt is incurred at the
  place where the authorisation holder keeps his
  customs records)
• Centralised customs clearance can also be used
  where a complete declaration/entry in the records
  is made (one step procedure)
• The current administrative arrangement on the
  sharing of the national part of own resources
  will be replaced by a Convention between Member
  States.

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7. Conclusions (1)

• Centralised customs clearance is already in use
  under the present CC (under the rules for Single
  Authorisations). This facilitation will be
  expanded, to the benefit of both trade and
  customs
• What is important now is
• to agree on, and introduce, the necessary
• IT tools (SA database, AIS, AES)
• to apply uniform control methods/standards
• to accept the administrative arrangement and
  subsequently ratify the Convention on the
  sharing of the national part of own
  resources

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7. Conclusions (2)

• Possible changes to statistical and VAT rules,
  allowing traders to centralise statistical and
  VAT reporting requirements must be pursued in the
  appropriate forums
• The modernised CC will provide a better framework
  within which the use of this concept (along with
  others, such as self assessment) can be taken
  forward, thus improving the competitiveness of EU
  business, in line with the Lisbon agenda.