S.I. No. 431/1992 - European Communities (Customs) (No. 2) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 431 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CUSTOMS) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, BERTIE AHERN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Article 8a of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3925/91⁽¹⁾ and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1823/92⁽²⁾, hereby make the following Regulations:

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L374. 31.12.1991. pp. 4-6.

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L185. 4.7.1992. pp. 8-12.

1 Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Customs) (No. 2) Regulations, 1992.

2 Commencement.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1993.

3 Definitions.

3. In these Regulations, and in any amendments made by these Regulations to any enactments or Statutory Instruments—

"the Act of 1876" means the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (1876, c.36);

"Commissioners" means Revenue Commissioners;

"Community" means the European Economic Community;"Community goods" means goods:

—wholly obtained or produced in the customs territory of the Community and not incorporating goods imported from countries or territories not forming part of the customs territory of the Community;

—imported from countries or territories not forming part of the customs territory of the Community which have been released for free circulation;

—obtained or produced in the customs territory of the Community, either from goods referred to in the second indent alone or from goods referred to in first and second indents;

"third country goods" means goods from countries or territories not forming part of the customs territory of the community which have not been released for free circulation within the meaning of Article 10 (1) of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community;

"Member State" means the territory of any country within the customs territory of the Community;

"non-Member State" means the territory of any country which is not a Member State.

4 Application of Customs Act 1849.

4. Insofar as section 43 of the Customs Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c.90) relates to the entry of goods, the said section shall apply only to third country goods.

5 Application of Act of 1876.

5. (1) Insofar as section 47 of the Act of 1876 provides for the forfeiture of goods found concealed on board any ship, the said section shall apply only to third country goods or goods subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation.

(2) The reference to goods in section 51 of the Act of 1876 shall be construed as a reference to third country goods.

(3) The provisions of sections 64, 73 and 75 of the Act of 1876 shall apply only to third country goods.

(4) In section 66 of the Act of 1876—

( a ) "goods or other things" shall be construed to mean third country goods or goods subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation, and

( b ) "goods" where it occurs secondly, shall be construed to mean third country goods.

(5) Section 102 of the Act of 1876, as amended by section 3 of the Customs, Inland Revenue and Savings Bank Act 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c. l3), insofar as it prohibits the exportation of goods without the presence or authority of an officer of Customs and Excise and before entry of the goods, shall apply only to goods being exported to a non-Member State.

(6) Section 177 of the Act of 1876 shall be construed as if the words "or if any goods" where they first occur, referred only to third country goods.

(7) The reference in section 185 of the Act of 1876 to foreign goods shall be construed as a reference to third country goods or goods which are subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation.

(8) Section 186 of the Act of 1876 shall be construed as if the words "any goods imported into the United Kingdom" referred only to goods imported from a third country or goods subject on importation to any prohibition or restriction.

6 Application of Revenue Act 1884.

6. The reference in section 2, subsection (1) of the Revenue Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c.62.) to inward cargo shall be construed as a reference to third country goods.

7 Application of Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1881.

7. (1) Section 9 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. l2.), insofar as it prohibits

( a ) the unshipping or landing of goods unless in the presence or with the authority of an officer of Customs and Excise, and

( b ) the transhipment or removal of unshipped goods into any other boat or craft previously to their being landed, without the permission of an officer of Customs and Excise

shall apply only to third country goods.

(2) The requirements of section 11 of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1881 (44 & 45, Vict. c.12.) shall, subject to the provisions of Community legislation for the time being in force, apply to goods being exported to a non-Member State and shall not apply to goods being exported to another Member State.

8 Application of Section 29 of the Finance Act, 1971 .

8. (1) In this Regulation, references to section 29 of the Act of 1971 are to the section of the Finance Act, 1971 , inserted by the Customs and Excise (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1988 (No. 10 of 1988).

(2) Insofar as subsection (2) of section 29 of the Act of 1971 applies to a person who is entering the jurisdiction of the State, having come from another Member State, or to a person who is leaving the jurisdiction of the State for another Member State, it shall so apply, on or after the 1st day of January, 1993, only to the extent that an officer of Customs and Excise has reason for believing that there may be included in that person's baggage or brought with him goods which, as the case may be, are subject on importation to any prohibition or restriction or are subject on exportation to any prohibiton or restriction.

(3) Nothing in paragraph (2) of this Regulation shall affect the application of the said subsection (2) in any case where:

( a ) Customs controls and formalities are exercisable by virtue of Community provisions for the time being in force in relation to persons, or goods in their baggage or brought with them, arriving in or departing from the jurisdiction of the State, or

( b ) an officer of Customs and Excise has reason to doubt whether a person entering the jurisdiction of the State has come from another Member State, or whether a person leaving the jurisdiction of the State is travelling to another Member State.

(4) Where a person entering the jurisdiction of the State by air continues or resumes his journey by air to a destination in the State which is not the place where that person is regarded for the purposes of this section as entering the State, subsections (1) and (2) of section 29 of the Act of 1971 shall apply in relation to that person on his arrival at that destination as they apply in relation to a person entering the State, insofar as Community legislation for the time being in force so allows.

9 Restriction of Section 12(1) and section 12 (2) of the Customs and Excise (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1988 .

9. The powers conferred on the Minister for Finance under section 12, subsections (1) and (2) of the Customs and Excise (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1988 (No. 10 of 1988), shall be exercised only where the said Minister is of the opinion that the exercise of the said powers is necessary for purposes connected with:

( a ) the importation into the State by land of third country goods including such goods conveyed through one or more other Member States; or

( b ) the exportation from the State by land of goods destined for a non-Member State; or

( c ) the control of goods which, as the case may be, are subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation.

10 Amendment of Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations 1968 to 1988.

10. The Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1968 ( S.I. No. 117 of 1968 ), as amended by the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 324 of 1978 ), and the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 299 of 1988 ) are hereby amended—

( a ) by the substitution of the following for Regulation 4:

"4. In these Regulations—

"Customs Station" means the offices listed in Parts I and II of the First Schedule which are maintained by the Revenue Commissioners for the transaction of Customs business in regard to goods being imported into the State or exported from the State;

"during official hours" means on a day and during the hours prescribed or allowed by the Revenue Commissioners under Regulation 6 of these Regulations;

"goods" means third country goods or goods being exported to a non-Member State of the European Communities, as the context requires;

"importer" and "exporter" mean respectively the owner or other person for the time being possessed of or beneficially interested in goods to which these Regulations apply at the time of the importation or exportation thereof, and include any person acting in relation thereto as agent for the owner or other person;

"Land Frontier" means the frontier between the State and Northern Ireland:

"Officer" means an officer of Customs and Excise or any person acting under the orders of such officer, or any member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces assisting such officer;

"ordinary merchandise" shall mean goods as defined by this Regulation.";

( b ) by the deletion from Regulation 6A of the words "by an approved route" and by the re-numbering of that Regulation to Regulation 5;

( c ) by the deletion from Regulation 8 of the words "and Frontier Posts" and "or Frontier Post" and by the re-numbering of that Regulation to Regulation 6;

( d ) by the substitution of the following for Regulation 9:

"7. Save as provided by Community legislation for the time being in force, every person conveying goods into the State shall:

( a ) convey such goods directly to one of the Customs Stations listed in Part I (in respect of goods carried by road) or Part II (in respect of goods carried by rail) of the First Schedule, in the means of transport in which such goods are imported, without alteration of such goods or of the packages containing them;

( b ) present to the Officer at the Customs Station during official hours a report in duplicate in an approved form and containing the particulars indicated therein and required thereby and produce the goods for examination by an Officer at the Customs Station during the said hours;

( c ) not convey such goods away from the Customs Station until the delivery of the goods has been authorised by the Officer and any permit necessary for their removal has been granted by him;

( d ) where such goods are entered for warehousing, convey, after examination by the Officer at the Customs Station, such goods with all reasonable despatch to the appropriate warehouse and deposit them therein;

( e ) the person in charge or control of any vehicle and the guard of any railway train which stops at a Customs Station shall allow any Officer to examine the vehicle or train and to examine and take account of any goods thereon and shall produce to the Officer all documents in his possession relating to those goods and shall answer all questions relating to the vehicle, train and journey and to any goods being conveyed put to him by the Officer.";

( e ) by the substitution of the following for Regulation 10:

"8 (1) Save as provided otherwise by Community legislation for the time being in force, every person conveying goods out of the State shall:

( a ) produce such goods for examination by an Officer at one of the Customs Stations listed in Part I (in respect of goods carried by road) or Part II (in respect of goods carried by rail) of the First Schedule, during official hours;

( b ) present to such Officer during official hours a manifest in duplicate in an approved form and containing the particulars indicated therein or required thereby, together with copies of the entry of such goods required by Regulation 9 of these Regulations where the Officer at the Customs Station so directs;

( c ) after production and clearance of the goods forthwith convey the goods over the Land Frontier;

( d ) where, for any reason, goods cleared for export do not leave the State or are brought back into the State not having left the Customs territory of the European Communities, the exporter or carrier of the goods shall immediately inform the Customs Station in the State at which the export formalities were carried out, to enable any necessary action to be taken;

(2) the provisions of paragraph (e) of Regulation 7 shall also apply when goods are being conveyed out of the State by land.";

( f ) by the amendment of the reference to "Article 9 or 10" in Regulation 11 to read "Regulation 7 or 8" and by the amendment of the reference to "Articles 9 to 11" in Regulation 12 to read "Regulations 7 to 9";

( g ) by the re-numbering of Regulations 11, 12 and 13 to Regulations 9, 10 and 11, respectively;

( h ) by the amendment of Regulation 15, which shall be re-numbered Regulation 12—

(i) by the substitution in paragraph 3 for the words "the Frontier Post" of the words "the Customs Station listed in Part II of the First Schedule" and for the words "Article 9" of the words "Regulation 7";

(ii) by the substitution in paragraph 4 for the words "Article 10 (b) of these Regulations" of the words "Regulation 8 (b) of these Regulations relating to the presentation of a manifest";

(iii) by the substitution of the following for paragraph (5):

"(5) The proprietors of a railway shall, in respect of each railway line carrying goods and which crosses the Land Frontier with Northern Ireland, furnish to the Revenue Commissioners tables showing the times of arrival at and departure from the Customs Station listed at Part II of the First Schedule, of every regular railway train running on that line and shall not alter those times or run any trains not specified in those tables on that line without giving notice to the Revenue Commissioners.";

(iv) by the substitution of the following for paragraph (6):

"(6) The guard of every railway train running on a railway line which crosses the Land Frontier with Northern Ireland, shall permit any Officer to board the train at any stopping place on the line on which it is travelling and to search the train and examine all goods thereon and to remain on the train so long as it shall be on that railway line.";

( i ) by the re-numbering of Regulation 16 to Regulation 13 and of Regulation 17 (3) to Regulation 14;

( j ) by the deletion from Regulation 20 of the words "orFrontier Post";

( k ) by the re-numbering of Regulations 19, 20, 21 and 22 to Regulations 15, 16, 17 and 18, respectively;

( l ) by the substitution for the First Schedule of the following:

"First Schedule

Customs Stations

Part I

Road

Carrickcarnan

Bridgend

Lifford

Monaghan

Greenore.

Part II

Rail

Dublin — Midlands Depot, North Wall";

( m ) by the deletion of Regulations 5, 6, 7, 14, 17 (1), 17 (2), 17 (4) and 18.

11 Amendment of Customs and Excise (Aircraft) Regulations 1964 to 1967.

11. The Customs and Excise (Aircraft) Regulations 1964, ( S.I. No. 189 of 1964 ), as amended by the Customs and Excise (Aircraft) (Amendment) Regulations, 1967 ( S.I. No. 131 of 1967 ), are hereby amended—

( a ) by the insertion in Regulation 2 of the following additional definitions:

""tourism or business aircraft" means private aircraft intended for journeys whose itinerary depends on the wishes of the user;

"intra-Community flight" means the movement of an aircraft between two Community airports, without any stopovers, and which does not start from or end at a non-Community airport;"

( b ) by the insertion at the end of Regulation 7 of the following paragraph:

"(2) Save in the case of an aircraft carrying third country goods and without prejudices to Community rules for the time being in force, the Commissioner may not refuse permission under paragraph (1) of this Regulation, to a pilot-in-command of an aircraft on an intra-Community flight, to land in the State at a place other than a Customs airport or a Customs-free airport, save where in their opinion such refusal is necessary for purposes connected with the application of a prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation.";

( c ) by the re-numbering of Regulation "7" to read "7(1)";

( d ) the provisions of sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (1) of Regulation 8, shall not apply, in respect of an aircraft on an intra-Community flight, save where, (i) in relation to passengers, the requirements of the said sub-paragraph are not in any particular case incompatible with Community rules for the time being in force and (ii) the provisions of the said sub-paragraph relate to third country goods or to stores or to goods subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation;

( e ) by the insertion of the following additional paragraph after paragraph (2) of Regulation 8:

"(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Regulation, with the exception of sub-paragraphs 1 (a) and (1) (b) (ii), shall not apply to the pilot-in-command of a tourist or business aircraft arriving in the jurisdiction of the State from another Member State, at a customs airport or a customs-free-airport, provided that such aircraft is not carrying third country goods, or goods subject to any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation, or stores, or one or more passengers liable to customs controls and formalities by virtue of Community rules for the time being in force.";

( f ) Insofar as the provisions of Regulation 9 apply to an aircraft on an intra-community flight—

(i) paragraph (a) of the said Regulation shall apply only where

( a ) one or more of the passengers carried in the aircraft are liable to customs controls and formalities in the State by virtue of Community rules for the time being in force, or

( b ) third country goods are carried in the aircraft, or

( c ) the Commissioners refuse the permission referred to in Regulation 7 in respect of the flight;

(ii) the Commissioners may refuse the permission referred to in paragraph (b) of the said Regulation, in the case of an aircraft not carrying third country goods or any passengers liable to customs controls and formalities by virtue of Community rules for the time being in force, only where in their opinion, such refusal is necessary for purposes connected with the enforcement of a prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation;

(iii) paragraph (c) of the said Regulation shall apply only insofar as it relates to third country goods;

(iv) paragraph (d) of the said Regulation shall be amended by the insertion after the word "Regulations" of the words "as amended".

( g ) Insofar as Regulation 10 relates to an intra-Community flight, the permission referred to in the said Regulation shall not be refused save where, in the opinion of the Commissioners, such refusal is necessary:

(i) for purposes connected with the enforcement of any prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation,

(ii) for compliance with Community rules for the time being in force,

(iii) for the purpose of controlling the exportation of goods to a non-Member State.

( h ) Subject to such conditions as they may think fit to impose, the Commissioners may dispense with some or all of the requirements of Regulation 11, in the case of a tourist or business aircraft on an intra-Community flight, where they are of the opinion, that such requirements are not necessary for purposes connected with the application of a prohibition or restriction on exportation or for the control of goods being exported to a non-Member State.

( i ) the provisions of Regulation 16 shall apply only to third country goods;

( j ) in the case of an aircraft on an intra-Community flight—

( a ) paragraphs (b), (e) and (f) of Regulation 20 shall apply only where such aircraft is carrying goods which have been entered for exportation to a non-Member State, or third country goods, or goods subject to a prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation, or stores;

( b ) paragraph (d) shall apply only where such aircraft is carring one or more passengers liable to Customs controls and formalities under Community rules for the time being in force.

12 Application of Customs-Free Airport Act, 1947 , as amended by Customs-Free Airport (Amendment) Act 1958 .

12. The Customs-Free Airport Act, 1947 (No. 5 of 1947) as amended by the Customs-Free Airport (Amendment) Act, 1958 (No. 29 of 1958), is hereby modified as follows:

( a ) subsection (1) of section 5 shall not apply to Community goods, not being liable to a duty or restriction on importation;

( b ) subsection (2) of section 5 shall apply only to—

(i) goods liable to a duty of excise,

(ii) goods intended for exportation to a non-Member State and

(iii) goods subject to a prohibition or restriction on exportation.

( c ) subsection (2A) of section 6 shall be construed as providing that neither—

(i) goods brought directly into the airport from outside the State, nor

(ii) goods brought into the airport from another part of the State,

which are liable to a duty of customs or a duty of Excise and in respect of which either of the said duties has not been paid, shall be used for personal use or consumption within the airport or sold by retail therein.

13 Amendment of Customs-Free Airport (Customs and Excise) Regulations 1947.

13. The Customs-Free Airport (Customs and Excise) Regulations 1947, ( S.I. No. 137 of 1947 ) are hereby amended as follows:

( a ) the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) of Regulation 6 shall not apply to Community goods not being goods liable to a duty of excise,

( b ) the provisions of sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of Regulation 7 shall apply only to

( a ) goods liable to a duty of excise; and

( b ) subject to Community rules for the time being in force, goods intended for exportation to a non-Member State;

( c ) Paragraph (1) of Regulation 8 shall apply only to goods liable to a duty of excise and to third country goods;

( d ) Paragraph (2) of Regulation 8 shall apply only to (a) goods liable to a duty of excise and (b) goods intended for exportation to a non-Member State.

14 Enforcement Powers: Restrictions on use of intra-EC movements.

14. Insofar as the provisions (as amended by these Regulations) of the enactments or Statutory Instruments specified in the Schedule to these Regulations involve the excise of a power or responsibility by the Revenue Commissioners or an officer of Customs and Excise or other officer of the Revenue Commissioners, in relation to persons or Community goods moving between Member States or to conveyances carrying only Community goods or persons moving between Member States, the said power or responsibility shall be exercised on or after 1st January, 1993, only to the extent that the person responsible for exercising the power of responsibility under any of the said provisions is of the opinion that the said power or responsibility should be so exercised for purposes connected with the application of a prohibition or restriction on importation or exportation as the case may be: provided that nothing in this Regulation shall in any way affect the application of the said provisions in any case where the Revenue Commissioners or any officer of Customs and Excise or other officer of the Revenue Commissioners have reason to doubt whether a movement of Community goods or a conveyance carrying only such goods is involved.

15 Amendment to Schedules.

15. The modifications to sections 30 and 77 of the Act of 1876 specified in Column 4 of the Second Schedule to the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1968 ( S.I. No. 117 of 1968 ), as amended by the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 324 of 1978 ), and by the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 299 of 1988 ), shall be further modified as follows—

( a ) in the said modification to section 30 of the Act of 1876, the words "Customs Station at which the goods are produced for examination" shall be substituted for the words "Customs Station on the approved route";

( b ) in the said modification to section 77 of the Act of 1876 the words "at the Customs Station at which the goods are presented for examination" shall be substituted for the words "at the Customs Station upon the approved route by which the goods are imported".

16 Examination of Goods etc.

16. Nothing in these Regulations shall affect the power of an Officer of Customs and Excise to examine and take samples of any goods where the said Officer considers that such examination is necessary for purposes connected with a prohibition or restriction on importation.

17 Transitional Provisions.

17. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Regulations, the provisions of the Customs Acts applicable immediately prior to the 1st day of January, 1993, shall continue to apply on or after that date.

( a ) in relation to Community goods which arrive in the jurisdiction of the State prior to the 1st day of January, 1993 and are not reported and entered prior to that date;

( b ) in relation to Community goods which were placed under a customs procedure prior to the 1st day of January, 1993 and cease to be covered by that procedure on or after that date;

( c ) in relation to goods which are liable to value-added tax on importation from another Member State on or after that date.

18 Goods moving between the State and the Canary Islands, the overseas departments of the French Republic, the Channel Islands and Mount Athos.

18. Nothing in these Regulations shall affect the application, for the purposes of value-added tax or a duty of excise on excisable products within the meaning of section 104 of the Finance Act, 1992 (No. 9 of 1992), of the Customs Acts in force immediately prior to the 1st day of January, 1993, in relation to the importation of goods from or exportation of goods to the Canary Islands, the overseas department of the French Republic, the Channel Island and Mount Athos on or after the 1st day of January, 1993.

19 Questioning of persons and examination of baggage, etc.

19. Nothing in these Regulations shall affect the power of an Officer of Customs and Excise to:

( a ) require a person entering the State to stop and answer any questions put to him by the said officer in relation to any baggage or goods either carried by him or in his possession or charge, and

( b ) examine any such baggage or goods

where the said officer has reason to believe that the said person may be committing an offence under any provision implementing the provisions of Council Directive No. 92/12/EEC of 25 February, 1992 ⁽¹⁾.

⁽¹⁾O.J. No. L76. 23.3.1992. p.1.

20 Interpretation.

20. These Regulations, so far as they relate to duties of customs, shall be construed together with the Customs Acts and, so far as they relate to duties of excise, shall be construed together with the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and the management of those duties.

SCHEDULE

Provisions of enactments and Statutory Instruments referred to in Regulation 14.

1. Section 102 of the Act of 1876.

2. Regulation 2 of the Foreign Parcels (Customs) Warrant 1885.

3. Regulation 14 of the Customs (Land Frontier) Regulations, 1968 ( S.I. No. 117 of 1968 ) as amended.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 24th day of December, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The effect of these Regulations is to make certain changes in Customs law necessitated by the completion of the EC Single Market.

The Regulations come into operation on the 1st January, 1993.