Specific Annex J

Chapter 1

Travellers

Definitions

For the purpose of this Chapter:

E1./ F2.

“dual-channel system” means a simplified Customs control system allowing travellers on arrival to make a declaration by choosing between two types of channel. One, identified by green symbols, is for the use of travellers carrying goods in quantities or values not exceeding those admissible duty-free and which are not subject to import prohibitions or restrictions. The other, identified by red symbols, is for other travellers;

E2./ F4.

“means of transport for private use” means road vehicles and trailers, boats and aircraft, together with their spare parts and normal accessories and equipment, imported or exported exclusively for personal use by the person concerned and not for the transport of persons for remuneration or the industrial or commercial transport of goods, whether or not for remuneration;

E3./ F5.

“traveller” means:
(1) any person who temporarily enters the territory of a country in which he or she does not normally reside (“non-resident”) or who leaves that territory; and
(2) any person who leaves the territory of a country in which he or she normally resides (“departing resident”) or who returns to that territory (“returning resident”);

E4./ F3.

“personal effects” means all articles (new or used) which a traveller may reasonably require for his or her personal use during the journey, taking into account all the circumstances of the journey, but excluding any goods imported or exported for commercial purposes;

E5./ F1.

“temporary admission” means the Customs procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a Customs territory conditionally relieved from payment of import duties and taxes; such goods must be imported for a specific purpose and must be intended for re-exportation within a specified period and without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to the use made of the goods.

Principles

1. Standard
The Customs facilities applicable to travellers shall be governed by th e provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.

2. Standard
The Customs facilities provided for in this Chapter shall apply to travellers irrespective of their citizenship/nationality.

Field of application

3. Standard
The Customs shall designate the Customs offices at which Customs formalities relating to travellers may be accomplished. In determining the competence and location of these offices, and their hours of business, the Customs shall take into account in particular the geographical situation and existing volumes of passenger traffic.

4. Standard
Subject to compliance with the appropriate Customs controls, travellers entering or leaving the country by their means of transport for private use shall be permitted to accomplish all necessary Customs formalities without, as a matter of course, having to leave the means of transport in which they are travelling.

5. Recommended Practice
Travellers entering or leaving the country by road vehicle for commercial use or train should be permitted to accomplish all necessary Customs formalities without, as a matter of course, having to leave the means of transport in which they are travelling.

6. Recommended Practice
The dual-channel system should be used for the Customs control of travellers and the clearance of goods carried by them and, where appropriate, their means of transport for private use.

7. Recommended Practice
Regardless of the mode of transport us ed, a separate list of travellers or of their accompanying baggage should not be required for Customs purposes.

8. Recommended Practice
The Customs, in co-operation with other agencies and the trade, should seek to use internationally standardized advance passenger information, where available, in order to facilitate the Customs control of travellers and the clearance of goods carried by them.

9. Recommended Practice
Travellers should be permitted to make an oral declaration in respect of th e goods carried by them. However, the Customs may require a written or electronic declaration for goods carried by travellers which constitute an importation or exportation of a commercial nature or which exceed, in value or quantity, the limits laid down in national legislation.

10. Standard
Personal searches of travellers for the purposes of Customs control shall be carried out only in exceptional cases and when there are reasonable grounds to suspect smuggling or other offences.

11. Standard
Goods carried by travellers shall be stored or kept, subject to the conditions prescribed by the Customs, pending clearance under the appropriate Customs procedure, re-exportation or other disposal in accordance with national legislation in the following cases:

• at the traveller’ s request;
• when the goods concerned cannot be cleared immediately; or
• where the other provisions of this Chapter do not apply to such goods.

12. Standard
Unaccompanied baggage (i.e. baggage arriving or leaving before or after the traveller) shall be cleared under the procedure applicable to accompanied baggage or under another simplified Customs procedure.

13. Standard
Any authorized person shall be allowed to present unaccompanied baggage for clearance on behalf of the traveller.

14. Recommended Practice
A system of flat-rate assessment should be applied to goods declared for home use under the facilities applicable to travellers, provided that the importation is of a non-commercial nature and that the aggregate value or quantity of the goods does not exceed the amounts laid down in national legislation.

15. Recommended Practice
Wherever possible, the use of credit cards or bank cards should be acceptable as a means of payment for services rendered by the Customs and for duties and taxes.

Entry

16. Recommended Practice
The quantities of tobacco goods, wine, spirits and perfume allowed to be imported free of import duties and taxes by travellers should be not less than:

1. 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco, or an assortment of these products of a total weight not exceeding 250 grams;
2. 2 litres of wine or 1 litre of spirits;
3. ¼ litre of toilet water and 50 grams of perfume.

The facilities provided for tobacco goods and alcoholic beverages may, however, be restricted to persons who have reached a certain age and may not be granted, or may be granted in reduced quantities only, to persons who cross the border frequently or who have been out of the country for less than 24 hours.

17. Recommended Practice
In addition to the consumable p roducts allowed to be imported free of import duties and taxes within specified quantitative limits, travellers should be permitted to import, free of import duties and taxes, goods of a strictly non-commercial nature up to an aggregate value of 75 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). A lower amount may be fixed for persons less than a certain age or for persons who cross the frontier frequently or who have been out of the country for less than 24 hours.

18. Standard
Returning residents shal l be permitted to re-import free of import duties and taxes personal effects and their means of transport for private use which they took with them at the time of their departure from the country and which were in free circulation in that country.

19. Standard
The Customs shall not require a Customs document or security for the temporary admission of personal effects of non-residents unless:

• they exceed, in value or quantity, the limits laid down in national legislation; or
• they are deemed b y the Customs to be a risk to the Revenue.

20. Standard
In addition to clothing, toilet articles and other articles obviously of a personal nature, the following shall in particular be considered to be non-residents’ personal effects:

• personal j ewellery;
• still and motion picture cameras together with a reasonable supply of films, tapes and accessories therefor;
• portable slide or film projectors and accessories therefor together with a reasonable quantity of slides or films;
• binoculars;
• portable musical instruments;
• portable sound reproduction devices including tape recorders, compact disc players and dictating machines with tapes, records and discs;
• portable radio receivers;
• cellular or mobile telephones;
• portable television sets;
• portable typewriters;
• portable personal computers and accessories;
• portable calculators;
• baby carriages and strollers;
• wheelchairs for invalids;
• sporting equipment.

21. Standard
Where it is necessary to lodge a temporary admission declaration for non-residents' personal effects, the time limit for temporary admission shall be fixed by reference to the length of the traveller's stay in the country, provided that any limit laid down in national legislation is not exceeded.

22. Standard
At the request of the traveller, and for reasons deemed valid by the Customs, the latter shall extend the period of temporary admission initially fixed for a non-resident’ s personal effects, provided that any limit laid down in national legislation is not exceeded.

23. Standard
Non-residents shall be granted temporary admission in respect of their means of transport for private use.

24. Standard
Fuel carried in the normal tanks of the means of transport for private use shall be admitted free of import duties and taxes.

25. Standard
The facilities granted in respect of means of transport for private use shall apply whether the means of transport are owned, rented or borrowed by non-residents and whether they arrive with, before or after the traveller.

26. Recommended Practice
The Customs should not require a Customs document or security for the temporary admission of non-residents' means of transport for private use.

27. Recommended Practice
Where a Customs document or security is required for the temporary admission of non-residents' means of transport for private use, the Customs should accept standard international documents and securities.

28. Standard
Where it is necessary to lodge a temporary admission declaration for temporary admission of non-residents' means of transport for private use, the time limit for temporary admission shall be fixed by reference to the length of the non-resident’ s stay in the country, provided that any limit laid down in national legislation is not exceeded.

29. Standard
At the request of the person concerned, and for reasons deemed valid by the Customs, the latter shall extend the period of temporary admission initially fixed for a non-resident’ s means of transport for private use, provided that any limit laid down in national legislation is not exceeded.

30. Standard
Any replacement parts required for the repair of a means of transport for private use temporarily in the country shall be granted temporary admission.

Re-exportation

31. Standard
The Customs shall allow non-residents’ temporarily admitted goods to be re-exported through a Customs office other than that through which they were imported.

32. Standard
The Customs shall not require the re-exportation of non-residents' means of transport for private use or personal effects which have been seriously damaged or destroyed through accident or force majeure.

Departure

33. Standard
The Customs formalities applicable to departing travellers shall be as simple as possible.

34. Standard
Travellers shall be permitted to export goods for commercial purposes, subject to compliance with the necessary formalities and payment of any export duties and taxes chargeable.

35. Standard
At the request of residents leaving the country, the Cus toms shall take identification measures for certain articles when it will facilitate the re-importation free of duties and taxes.

36. Standard
Only in exceptional cases shall the Customs require a temporary exportation document for the personal effects and means of transport for private use of residents leaving the country.

37. Recommended Practice
If security has been given in the form of a cash deposit, provision should be made for it to be repaid at the office of re-exportation, even if the goods were not imported through that office.

Transit passengers

38. Standard
Transit passengers who do not leave the transit area shall not be required to pass through any Customs control. However, the Customs shall be allowed to maintain general surveillance of transit areas and to take any action necessary when a Customs offence is suspected.

Information concerning the Customs facilities applicable to travellers

39. Recommended Practice
Information concerning the Customs facilities applicable to travellers should be made available in the official language or languages of the country concerned and in any other language deemed to be useful.

Chapter 2

Postal traffic

Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

E1./ F1.

“CN22/23” means the special declaration forms for postal items as described in the Acts of the Universal Postal Union currently in force;

E2./ F3.

“Customs formalities in respect of postal items” means all the operations to be carried out by the interested party and the Customs in respect of postal traffic;

E3./ F2.

“postal items” means letter-post and parcels, as described in the Acts of the Universal Postal Union currently in force, when carried by or for postal services;

E4./ F5.

“postal service” means a public or private body authorized by the government to provide the international services governed by the Acts of the Universal Postal Union currently in force;

E5./ F4.

“the Universal Postal Union” means the inter-governmental organization founded in 1874 by the Treaty of Bern as the “General Postal Union” which, in 1878, was renamed the “Universal Postal Union (UPU)” and which since 1948 has been a specialized agency of the United Nations.

Principles

1. Standard
The Customs formalities in respect of postal items shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.

2. Standard
National legislation shall specify the respective responsibilities and obligations of the Customs and of the postal service in connection with the Customs treatment of postal items.

Clearance of postal items

3. Standard
The clearance of postal items shall be carried out as rapidly as possible.

(a) Customs status of goods

4. Standard
The exportation of goods in postal items shall be allowed regardless of whether they are in free circulation or are under a Customs procedure.

5. Standard
The importation of goods in postal items shall be allowed irrespective of whether they are intended to be cleared for home use or for another Customs procedure.

(b) Production to the Customs

6. Standard
The Customs shall designate to the postal service the postal items which shall be produced to them for the purposes of Customs control and the methods of production of these items.

7. Standard
The Customs shall not require postal items to be produced to them at exportation for the purposes of Customs control, unless they contain:

• goods the exportation of which must be certified;
• goods which are subject to export prohibitions or restrictions or to export duties and taxes;
• goods having a value exceeding an amount specified in national legislation; or
• goods which are selected for Customs control on a selective or random basis.

8. Recommended Practice
The Customs should not, as a general rule, require the following categories of imported postal items to be produced to them:

1. postcards and letters containing personal messages only;
2. literature for the blind;
3. printed papers not subject to import duties and taxes.

(c) Clearance against forms CN22 or CN23 or against a Goods declaration

9. Standard
When all the information required by the Customs is available from the CN22 or CN23 and supporting documents, the form CN22 or CN23 shall be the Goods declaration, except in the case of:

• goods having a value exceeding an amount specified in national legislation;
• goods which are subject to prohibitions or restrictions or to export duties and taxes;
• goods the exportation of which must be certified;
• imported goods intended to be placed under a Customs procedure other than clearance for home use.

In these cases, a separate Goods declaration shall be required.

Postal items in transit

10. Standard
Postal items shall not be subject to Customs formalities whilst they are being conveyed in transit.

Collection of duties and taxes

11. Standard
The Customs shall make the simplest possible arrangements for the collection of duties and taxes on the goods contained in postal items.

Chapter 3

Means of transport for commercial use

Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

E1./ F2.

“Customs formalities applicable to means of transport for commercial use” means all the operations to be carried out by the person concerned and by the Customs in respect of means of transport for commercial use arriving in or departing from the Customs territory and during their stay therein;

E2./ F1.

“declaration of arrival” or “declaration of departure”, as the case may be, means any declaration required to be made or produced to the Customs upon the arrival or departure of means of transport for commercial use, by the person responsible for the means of transport for commercial use, and containing the necessary particulars relating to the means of transport for commercial use and to the journey, cargo, stores, crew or passengers;

E3./ F3.

“means of transport for commercial use” means any vessel (including lighters and barges, whether or not ship-borne, and hydrofoils), hovercraft, aircraft, road vehicle (including trailers, semi-trailers and combinations of vehicles) or railway rolling stock, which is used in international traffic for the transport of persons for remuneration or for the industrial or commercial transport of goods, whether or not for remuneration, together with their normal spare parts, accessories and equipment, as well as lubricants and fuel contained in their normal tanks, when carried with the means of transport for commercial use.

Principles

1. Standard
Customs formalities applicable to means of transport for commercial use shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.

2. Recommended Practice
Customs formalities applicable to means of transport for commercial use should apply equally, regardless of the country of registration or ownership of the means of transport for commercial use, of the country from which they arrived or their country of destination.

Temporary admission of means of transport for commercial use

3. Recommended Practice
Means of transport for commercial use, whether loaded or not, should be a llowed to be brought temporarily into a Customs territory conditionally relieved from payment of import duties and taxes, provided that such means of transport for commercial use are not used for internal transport in the Customs territory of the country of temporary admission. They must be intended for re-exportation without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to their use, normal consumption of lubricants and fuel and necessary repairs.

4. Standard
The Customs shall require security or a temporary admission document for means of transport for commercial use duly registered abroad only when they consider it essential for the purposes of Customs control.

5. Standard
Where the Customs fix a time limit for the re-exporta tion of means of transport for commercial use, they shall take into account all the circumstances of the transport operations intended.

6. Recommended Practice
At the request of the person concerned, and for reasons deemed valid by the Customs, the latter should extend any period initially fixed.

Temporary admission of parts and equipment

7. Recommended Practice
Special equipment for the loading, unloadi ng, handling and protection of cargo, whether or not it is capable of being used separately from the means of transport for commercial use, which is imported with the means of transport for commercial use and is intended to be re-exported therewith, should be allowed to be brought temporarily into a Customs territory conditionally relieved from payment of import duties and taxes.

8. Recommended Practice
Parts and equipment which are to be used, in the course of repair or maintenance, as replacements for parts and equipment incorporated in or used on a means of transport for commercial use already temporarily imported in a Customs territory, should be allowed to be brought temporarily into that territory conditionally relieved from payment of import duties and taxes.

Arrival

9. Standard
When a declaration of arrival is required to be lodged with the Customs on arrival of means of transport for commercial use, the particulars required to be given thereon shall be limited to the minimum necessary to ensure compliance with Customs law.

10. Standard
The Customs shall reduce, as far as possible, the number of copies of the declaration of arrival required to be submitted to them.

11. Standard
No documents to be produced to or lodged with the Customs in connection with the arrival of means of transport for commercial use shall be required to be legalized, verified, authenticated or previously dealt with by any representatives abroad of the country into which means of transport for commercial use arrive.

Subsequent calls in the Customs territory

12. Standard
Where means of transport for commercial use call at subsequent places in the Customs territory without intermediate calls in another country, the applicable Customs formalities shall be kept as simple as possible and shall take into account any Customs control measures already taken.

Departure

13. Standard
Customs formalities applicable upon the departure of means of transport for commercial use from the Customs territory shall be limited to measures to ensure that:

1. where required, a declaration of departure is duly lodged with the competent Customs office;
2. where appropriate, Customs seals are affixed;
3. where required for control purposes, specified Customs routes are followed; and
4. no unauthorized delay occurs in the departure of means of transport for commercial use.

14. Recommended Practice
The use of declaration of departure forms identical to those prescribed for declaration of arrival forms should be allowed by the Customs provided that their use for purposes of departure is clearly indicated.

15. Standard
Means of transport for commercial use shall be permitted to depart from the Customs territory through a Customs office other than that through which they arrived.

Chapter 4

Stores

Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

E1./ F6.

“carrier” means the person actually transporting goods or in charge of or responsible for the operation of the means of transport;

E2./ F1.

“Customs formalities applicable to stores” means all the operations to be carried out by the person concerned and by the Customs in respect of stores;

E3./ F5.

“Customs treatment of stores” means all the facilities to be accorded and all the
Customs formalities applicable to stores;

E4./ F2.

“stores” means :
- stores for consumption; and
- stores to be taken away;

E5./ F3.

“stores for consumption” means :
- goods intended for consumption by the passengers and the crew on board vessels, aircraft or trains, whether or not sold; and
- goods necessary for the operation and maintenance of vessels, aircraft or trains including fuel and lubricants but excluding spare parts and equipment; which are either on board upon arrival or are taken on board during the stay in the Customs territory of vessels, aircraft or trains used, or intended to be used, in international traffic for the transport of persons for remuneration or for the industrial or commercial transport of goods, whether or not for remuneration;

E6./ F4.

“stores to be taken away” means goods for sale to the passengers and the crew of vessels and aircraft with a view to being landed, which are either on board upon arrival or are taken on board during the stay in the Customs territory of vessels and aircraft used, or intended to be used, in international traffic for the transport of persons for remuneration or for the industrial or commercial transport of goods, whether or not for remuneration.

Principles

1. Standard
Customs treatment of stores shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.

2. Recommended Practice
Customs treatment of stores should apply equally, regardless of the country of registration or ownership of vessels, aircraft or trains.

Stores on board arriving vessels, aircraft or trains

(a) Exemption from import duties and taxes

3. Standard
Stores which are carried in a vessel or aircraft arriving in the Customs territory shall be exempted from import duties and taxes provided that they remain on board.

4. Recommended Practice
Stores for consumption by the passengers and the crew imported as provisions on international express trains should be exempted from import duties and taxes provided that:

1. such goods are purchased only in the countries crossed by the international train in question; and
2. any duties and taxes chargeable on such goods in the country where they were purchased are paid.

5. Standard
Stores for consumption necessary for the operation and maintenance of vessels, aircraft and trains which are on board these means of transport arriving in the Customs territory shall be exempted from import duties and taxes provided that they remain on board while these means of transport are in the Customs territory.

(b) Documentation

6. Standard
When a declaration concerning stores on board vessels arriving in the Customs territory is required by the Customs, the information required shall be kept to the minimum necessary for the purposes of Customs control.

7. Recommended Practice
The quantitie s of stores which are allowed by the Customs to be issued from the stores held on board should be recorded on the declaration concerning stores produced to the Customs upon arrival of the vessel in the Customs territory and no separate form should be required to be lodged with the Customs in respect thereof.

8. Recommended Practice
The quantities of stores which are supplied to vessels during their stay in the Customs territory should be recorded on any declaration concerning stores which has been required by the Customs.

9. Standard
The Customs shall not require the presentation of a separate declaration of stores remaining on board aircraft.

(c) Issue of stores for consumption

10. Standard
The Customs shall allow the issue of stores for consumption on board during the stay of a vessel in the Customs territory in such quantities as the Customs deem reasonable having regard to the number of the passengers and the crew and to the length of the stay of the vessel in the Customs territory.

11. Recommended Practice
The Customs should allow the issue of stores for consumption on board by the crew while the vessel is undergoing repairs in a dock or shipyard, provided that the stay in a dock or shipyard is considered to be of reasonable duration.

12. Recommended Practice
When an aircraft is to land at one or more airports in the Customs territory, the Customs should allow the issue of stores for consumption on board both during the stay of the aircraft at such intermediate airports and during its flight between such airports.

(d) Customs control

13. Standard
The Customs shall require the carrier to take appropriate measures to prevent any unauthorized use of the stores including sealing of the stores, when necessary.

14. Standard
The Customs shall require the removal of stores from the vessel, aircraft or train for storage elsewhere during their stay in the Customs territory only when they consider it necessary.

Supply of stores exempted from duties and taxes

15. Standard
Vessels and aircraft which depart for an ultimate foreign destination shall be entitled to take on board, exempted from duties and taxes:

1. stores in such quantities as the Customs deem reasonable having regard to the number of the passengers and the crew, to the length of the voyage or flight and to any quantities of such stores already on board; and
2. stores for consumption necessary for their operation and maintenance, in such quantities as are deemed reasonable for operation and maintenance during the voyage or flight having regard also to any quantities of such stores already on board.

16. Standard
Replenishment of stores exemp ted from duties and taxes shall be allowed for vessels and aircraft which have arrived in the Customs territory and which need to replenish their stores for the journey to their final destination in the Customs territory.

17. Standard
The Customs shall allow stores for consumption supplied to vessels and aircraft during their stay in the Customs territory to be issued under the same conditions as are applicable in this Chapter to stores for consumption held on board arriving vessels and aircraft.

Departure

18. Recommended Practice
No separate declaration concerning stores should be required upon departure of vessels from the Customs territory.

19. Standard
When a declaration is required concerning stores taken on board vessels or aircraft upon departure from the Customs territory, the information required shall be kept to the minimum necessary for the purpose of Customs control.

Other disposal of stores

20. Standard
Stores on board vessels, aircraft and trains having arrived in the Customs territory shall be allowed:

1. to be cleared for home use or to be placed under another Customs procedure, subject to compliance with the conditions and formalities applicable in each case; or
2. subject to prior authorization by the Customs, to be transferred respectively to other vessels, aircraft or trains in international traffic.

Chapter 5

Relief consignments

Definition

For the purposes of this Chapter:

E1./ F1.

“relief consignments” means :
- goods, including vehicles and other means of transport, foodstuffs, medicaments, clothing, blankets, tents, prefabricated houses, water purifying and water storage items, or other goods of prime necessity, forwarded as aid to those affected by disaster; and
- all equipment, vehicles and other means of transport, specially trained animals, provisions, supplies, personal effects and other goods for disaster relief personnel in order to perform their duties and to support them in living and working in the territory of the disaster throughout the duration of their mission.

Principles

1. Standard
Clearance of relief consignments shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter and, insofar as applicable, by the provisions of the General Annex.

2. Standard
Clearance of relief consignments for export, transit, temporary admission and import shall be carried out as a matter of priority.

Field of application

3. Standard
In the case of relief consignments the Customs shall provide for :

• lodging of a simplified Goods declaration or of a provisional or incomplete Goods declaration subject to completion of the declaration within a specified period;
• lodging and registering or checking of the Goods declaration and supporting documents prior to the arrival of the goods, and their release upon arrival;
• clearance outside the designated hours of business or away from Customs offices and the waiver of any charges in this respect; and
• examination and/or sampling of goods only in exceptional circumstances.

4. Recommended Practice
Clearance of relief consignments should be granted without regard to the country of origin, the country from which arrived or country of destination.

5. Recommended Practice
In the case of relief consignme nts any economic export prohibitions or restrictions and any export duties or taxes otherwise payable should be waived.

6. Recommended Practice
Relief consignments received as gifts by approved organizations for use by or under the control of such organizations, or for distribution free of charge by them or under their control, should be admitted free of import duties and taxes and free of economic import prohibitions or restrictions.