THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 of 13 March 1997 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters(1) and in particular Article 25(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The aim of the Customs Information System (CIS) is to assist the competent authorities in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of operations in breach of customs and agricultural legislation. In order to achieve this aim the competent authorities of the Member States enter information on relevant events, such as seizure or detention of goods in the CIS. In order for the CIS to continue to address the needs of the competent authorities it is necessary to update the list of items to be included in the CIS.
(2) Each event reported in the CIS includes a number of core elements which are required for meaningful interpretation of the case. In order to make it possible for the competent authorities to easily identify specific cases or events in the CIS it should be possible to search for case references in the CIS and it is thus necessary to include case reference as an item in the CIS.
(3) Fraudulent activity normally implies active participation of one or more persons. The correct and unambiguous identification of persons involved in activities which are potentially fraudulent is of the utmost importance for the successful investigation of the events. Data relating to the businesses and persons involved in fraudulent or potentially fraudulent activity should therefore be reported in the CIS.
(4) Due to the fact that modus operandi of commercial fraud as well as method of concealment depend on the means of transport it is important to include as one of the required items in the CIS, specific details on the means of transport.
(5) Transport patterns, which are not economically justified, are considered relevant indicators of certain types of fraud such as for example mis-declaration of origin. It is therefore important to know the details of the routes which are used to transport goods as these may be important in identifying fraudulent activity. Therefore, routing steps information is considered essential for the proper investigation of customs-related fraud and should be included as one of the CIS items.
(6) Customs duties and other charges vary according to the specific characteristics of the commodity. In order to ensure the proper follow up of cases or events reported in the CIS specifications relating to the goods involved in the case should therefore be entered in the CIS.
(7) Analysis of the concrete seizure, confiscation or retention of goods assist in developing preventive measures against future occurrence of the same type of customs related fraud. It is therefore considered important to include relevant information relating to seizure, detention or confiscation in the CIS.
(8) Any action taken by the relevant authorities should be justifiable and thus should be premised on appropriate risk indicators. It is therefore necessary to include risk assessment information as one of the CIS items.
(9) Depending on the case in question the relevant documentation to be attached in the case entry in the CIS may vary significantly. It may include, but is not limited to, commercial documents obtained by the competent authorities.
(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 515/97,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
The items to be included in the CIS database under the categories referred to in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97 are the following.
The items common to all the categories of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Case reference
Basic information relating to the case
Attachment of relevant documents.
Additional items for category under point (a) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Specifics on the commodities
Documents
Information relating to seizure, detention or confiscation
Actions
Risk indicators
Comment section.
Additional items for category under point (b) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Specifics on the means of transport
Documents
Routing steps
Actions
Risk indicators
Comment section.
Additional items for category under point (c) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Data relating to the businesses involved
Documents
Actions
Risk indicators
Comment section.
Additional items for category under point (d) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Data relating to persons involved
Documents
Actions
Risk indicators
Comment section.
Additional items for category under point (e) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Specifics on fraud trends
Risk indicators.
Additional items for category under point (f) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Specifics on the availability of expertise.
Additional items for category under point (g) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Information relating to seizure, detention or confiscation
Actions
Risk indicators.
Additional items for category under point (h) of Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 515/97:
Information relating to seizure, detention or confiscation
Actions
Risk indicators.
Further details in relation to the above items are provided in the Annex hereto.
Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 696/98(2) is deleted.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply as of 1 September 2016.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 10 March 2016.
For the Commission
The President
Jean-Claude Juncker
CASE REFERENCE
Case Identification Number
Document Reference
National Reference Number
Summary
Service
Contact Person
Date
BASIC INFORMATION RELATING TO THE CASE
Type of fraud
Report type
Means of transport
Information quality
DOCUMENTS
Type
Number
Freight payment
Date of issue
Place of issue
DATA RELATING TO PERSONS INVOLVED
Involvement
First Name
Surname
Maiden Name
Alias
Sex
Any particular and permanent physical characteristics
Place of Birth
Date of Birth
Nationality
Address
Street
Number
PO Box
Postal Code
City
Country
Phone/Mobile
Fax/Email
Identity papers
Document type
Document number
Date of issue
Place of issue
Country
Luggage
Category
Type
Brand
Tag number
Handling
Tickets
Date of purchase
Mode of payment
Issued in (Country)
Issued by
Start travel
Duration of stay (days)
Cash
Declared
Intended use
Provenance
Currency
Type of cash
Amount
Converted amount (EUR)
Warning
DATA RELATING TO THE BUSINESSES INVOLVED
Involvement
Name
Trading Name
Registration type
Registration number(3)
Address*
Street
Number
PO Box
Postal Code
City
Country
Phone/Mobile
Fax/Email
SPECIFICS ON THE MEANS OF TRANSPORT
CONTAINER
Type
Number
Status
Seals Number
Size
ROAD
Type
Registration type
Nationality
Brand
License Plate
Colour
Printed Names or Logos
Seals number
SMALL VESSEL
Type
Name
Flag
Port of registry
Length
Unit of length
Tonnage ICT GT
Colour
Vessel Registration type
Vessel Registration Number
COMMERCIAL VESSEL
Type
Name
Flag
Vessel Registration Type
Vessel Registration Number
RAIL
Type
Train Number
Company
Nationality
Wagon Number
Seals number
AIR
Type
Flight Nr
Transport type
Airline
Registration number
Carrier
License plate
MRN
Handling
Seals number
COURIER — POST
Type
Flight Nr
Carrier
License plate
MRN
ROUTING
Step
Date
Country
Place
Location Type
Latitude
Longitude
Means of Transport
SPECIFICS ON THE COMMODITIES
Commodity Status
Commodity Type
Description
Category
HS/CN/Taric Code (6, 8, 10 Digits)
Customs Procedure
Total Amount Invoiced
Currency
Converted amount (EUR)
Brand
Manufacturer
Quantity
Unit
Gross weight
Volume
Net weight
Labels/Warnings (Affixed)
Warning
ADDITIONAL FIELDS FOR TOBACCO
Product Type
ADDITIONAL FIELDS FOR DRUG PRECURSORS
Drug Type
Quantity
Unit
Logos
ADDITIONAL FIELDS FOR CASH
Intended Use
Provenance
Amount
Types of Cash
Quantity
INFORMATION RELATING TO SEIZURE, DETENTION OR CONFISCATION
Status
Date
Country
Location Type
Place of Seizure
Latitude
Longitude
Modus Operandi
Concealment Type
Concealment Details
Service
ACTION
Requested action
Reason for action
Suspected Modus Operandi
Suspected Concealment Type
Taken Action
Date
RISK INDICATORS
COMMENT SECTION
Comment
ATTACHMENT OF RELEVANT DOCUMENTS
Reference
SPECIFICS ON FRAUD TRENDS
SPECIFICS ON AVAILABILITY OF EXPERTISE
Commission Regulation (EC) No 696/98 of 27 March 1998 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters (OJ L 96, 28.3.1998, p. 22).
This item cannot be completed if it is thereby possible to identify a natural person.