Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/604Show full title

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/604

of 18 April 2018

amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards the procedural rules to facilitate the establishment in the Union of the preferential origin of goods, and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 3510/80 and (EC) No 209/2005

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code(1), and in particular Article 66(a) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447(2) lays down, inter alia, the procedural rules, referred to in Article 64(1) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (‘the Code’), to facilitate the establishment in the Union of the preferential origin of goods.

(2) The last sentence of Article 68(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 currently refers to an application mutatis mutandis of Subsections 2 to 9 of Section 2 of that Regulation, which relate to rules of origin for the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme of the Union. However, only some provisions of those subsections are relevant in the context of the registration of exporters outside the framework of the GSP scheme of the Union. It is therefore necessary to specify those provisions. Since the obligation for the Commission to provide a third country with which the Union has a preferential arrangement with the addresses of the customs authorities responsible for the verification of a document on origin completed by a registered exporter results in any event from the provisions of the arrangement concerned and, therefore, it should no longer be laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447. The transitional provision laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 provisionally allowing an exporter who has not been registered but is an approved exporter in the Union to complete a document on origin has become obsolete and should be abolished. For reasons of simplification and consistency amongst preferential arrangements, small consignments not imported by way of trade should be exempted from the presentation of a document on origin where such exemption is allowed but not directly established in the preferential arrangement. Considering that there are other ways to identify the exporter and that the signature does not contribute in the Union to the legal status of a document on origin, exporters should not be required to sign such document where this is allowed but not directly established by the preferential arrangement.

(3) The rules laid down in Article 69 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 regarding the replacement of proofs of preferential origin issued or made out outside the framework of the GSP scheme of the Union should apply more broadly to documents on origin. Additionally, the form in which a replacement document on origin can be issued or made out should be clarified.

(4) Rules should be laid down with the purpose to facilitate the establishment in the Union of the preferential origin of processed products obtained from goods having preferential originating status. Since those rules aim at preventing the economic operators concerned from the adverse and unintended consequences of the merger in the Code of the processing under customs control procedure with the inward processing procedure, they should apply retroactively from the date of application of the Code.

(5) Article 80(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should include a reference to a new Annex 22-06A containing the application form to be used by exporters of Member States to register in the REX system, Annex 22-06 being thus reserved to the registration of exporters in GSP beneficiary countries. Consequently, that new Annex 22-06A needs to be inserted in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, while Annex 22-06 to that Regulation should be amended accordingly. Articles 82, 83 and 86 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should also be amended as a consequence of the introduction of the new Annex 22-06A. Considering that there are other ways to identify the exporter and that the signature does not contribute in the Union to the legal status of the document, exporters should not be required to sign the statement on origin referred to in Article 92 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of that Article should apply mutatis mutandis to statements on origin made out by exporters in the Union not only for the purpose of bilateral cumulation as referred to in Article 53 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446(3), but also to declare the origin of goods exported to a beneficiary country of the GSP schemes of Norway, Switzerland or Turkey for the purpose of cumulation with materials originating in the Union. Article 92 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6) Annex 22-07 to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 should be amended in order to specify the symbol to be indicated by the exporter when the statement on origin relates to products originating in Ceuta and Melilla. It should also be amended to reflect that when the statement on origin relates to products originating in the Union, the exporter must indicate the origin by means of the symbol ‘EU’.

(7) Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3510/80(4) has become obsolete, given that the provisions which were provided for in that Regulation have been replaced by provisions now laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447. Therefore, it should be repealed for the sake of legal certainty and transparency.

(8) Commission Regulation (EC) No 209/2005(5) grants derogations from the obligation laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1541/98(6) to present the proof of origin for textile products falling within Section XI of the Combined Nomenclature. Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 has been repealed by Regulation (EU) No 955/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(7). Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 209/2005 has become obsolete and should be repealed for the sake of legal certainty and transparency.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1.

(2)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558).

(3)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1).

(4)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3510/80 of 23 December 1980 on the definition of the concept of originating products for purposes of the application of tariff preferences granted by the European Economic Community in respect of certain products from developing countries (OJ L 368, 31.12.1980, p. 1).

(5)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 209/2005 of 7 February 2005 establishing the list of textile products for which no proof of origin is required on release for free circulation in the Community (OJ L 34, 8.2.2005, p. 6.)

(6)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 of 13 July 1998 on proof of origin for certain textile products falling within Section XI of the Combined Nomenclature and released for free circulation in the Community, and on the conditions for the acceptance of such proof (OJ L 202, 18.7.1998, p. 11).

(7)

Regulation (EU) No 955/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2011 repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 on proof of origin for certain textile products falling within Section XI of the Combined Nomenclature and released for free circulation in the Community and on the conditions for the acceptance of such proof, and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3030/93 on common rules for imports of certain textile products from third countries (OJ L 259, 4.10.2011, p. 5).