RECOMMENDATION OF THE CUSTOMS CO-OPERATION COUNCIL
CONCERNING CUSTOMS REQUIREMENTS
REGARDING COMMERCIAL INVOICES
(16th MAY 1979)
THE CUSTOMS CO-OPERATION COUNCIL,
DESIRING to facilitate international trade by making it possible for trade circles to employ modern methods of data reproduction and transmission;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT inter alia the efforts being made at international level to enable all the documents required for an international trade transaction to be prepared from a single master by the one-run method;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Recommendation concerning signatures and authentication adopted in March 1979 by the Working Party on Facilitation of International Trade Procedures of the Economic Commission for Europe, which notes in particular that the general adoption of mechanical or electronic methods of data transfer requires changes in current practice regarding handwritten signatures;
CONSIDERING that the requirement of a signature on the commercial invoice for Customs purposes does not afford the Customs any particular guarantee of its accuracy;
RECOMMENDS that Members of the Council and members of the United Nations Organization or its specialized agencies, and Customs or Economic Unions, should :
1. accept commercial invoices produced by any process, for example the one-run method, in cases where the presentation of the commercial invoice is required in connection with the clearance of goods;
2. refrain from requiring a signature, for Customs purposes, on commercial invoices presented in support of a Goods declaration;
REQUESTS Members of the Council and members of the United Nations Organization or its specialized agencies, and Customs or Economic Unions which accept this Recommendation to notify the Secretary General of the Council of the date from which they will apply the Recommendation and of the conditions of its application. The Secretary General will transmit this information to the Customs administrations of all Members of the Council. He will also transmit it to the Customs administrations of the members of the United Nations Organization or its specialized agencies and to Customs or Economic Unions which have accepted this Recommendation.
* The Customs Co-operation Council is the official name of the World Customs Organization.