THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 31 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)
By Council Regulation (EC) No 1147/2002, the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties were temporarily suspended for certain parts, components and other goods of a kind to be incorporated in or used for civil aircraft, when imported with airworthiness certificates. That Regulation simplified customs procedures for duty-free imports of parts, components and other goods used for the manufacture, repair, maintenance, rebuilding, modification or conversion of aircraft. However, due to extensive technical and legislative developments which have occurred since 2002, and in the interests of clarity, Regulation (EC) No 1147/2002 should be replaced.
(2)
According to information received from the Member States, the temporary suspension introduced by Regulation (EC) No 1147/2002 remains necessary in order to alleviate the administrative burden for both the economic operators in the aircraft sector and for the customs authorities of the Member States, as importations under special procedures with customs supervision such as end-use, inward processing or customs warehousing would be burdensome. The temporary suspension should therefore be continued.
(3)
In view of the fact that the prices for parts and components used in the aircraft sector are usually much higher than the prices for similar goods used for other purposes, the risk that the imported duty-free goods might be used in other industrial areas and, hence, the risk of abuse of the temporary suspension, is very low.
(4)
Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 provides that in order for a part to be eligible for installation in a type-certificated product, it must be accompanied by an authorised release certificate (EASA Form 1) issued by a party authorised by aviation authorities within the Union. Therefore, the suspension of customs duties should be conditional on the availability of an authorised release certificate or, in the case of repair or maintenance of goods that have lost their airworthiness status, on the availability of a previous authorised release certificate.
(5)
In addition, equivalent certificates issued by third countries and certificates which were issued in the framework of bilateral aviation safety agreements with the Union before the establishment of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) should also be accepted as an alternative to the authorised release certificates (EASA Form 1).
(6)
Considering that certificates are issued in an electronic form, it should be possible to make certificates available using either electronic data-processing techniques or other means for the purposes of benefitting from the suspension.
(7)
In order to facilitate customs controls, the customs declaration for release for free circulation should contain a reference to the identification number of the authorised release certificate or, in the case of the repair or maintenance of goods that have lost their airworthiness status, to the identification number of a previous authorised release certificate.
(8)
Customs authorities of the Member States should be able to request an expert opinion from a representative of the national aviation authorities, at the expense of the importer, where they suspect that a certificate has been falsified. However, before taking such action, the customs authorities should take into account the risk that the cost of the expert opinion would outweigh the benefit to the importer of the suspension of duties, in the event that according to the expert opinion the rules for the issuing of those certificates have not been infringed.
(9)
In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to establish a list of the headings, subheadings and codes of the Combined Nomenclature set out in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 under which the goods eligible for suspension under this Regulation are classified, and to establish a list of certificates which are deemed to be equivalent to the authorised release certificate EASA Form 1. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(10)
In view of the extensive changes brought about by this Regulation with regard to the goods eligible for the suspension of autonomous customs duties, the acceptable authorised release certificates and the procedures, as well as in the interests of clarity, Regulation (EC) No 1147/2002 should be repealed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: