Regulation 2015/1525 - Amendment of Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 243/1

In order to ensure that Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 (2) covers all possible movements of goods in relation to the customs territory of the Union, it is appropriate to clarify the definitions of ‘customs legislation’ and ‘carriers’ with regard to the concepts of entry and exit of goods.

With a view to further enhancing administrative and criminal procedures for dealing with irregularities, it is necessary to ensure that evidence obtained through mutual assistance can be considered as admissible in proceedings before the administrative and judicial authorities of the Member State of the applicant authority.

With a view to increasing clarity, consistency and transparency, it is necessary to determine in more concrete terms the authorities which should have access to the directories established on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 515/97. For that purpose, a uniform reference to competent authorities should be established. Direct access for those authorities is an important condition for the effective implementation of the mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters.

Data concerning container movements make it possible to identify fraud with regard to goods that are moved in and out of the customs territory of the Union. Such data serve to assist in preventing, investigating and prosecuting operations which constitute, or appear to constitute, breaches of customs legislation. In order to collect and use a set of data as complete as possible, while avoiding potential negative impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises in the freight forwarding sector, it is necessary that carriers submit to the Member States data concerning container movements in so far as they collect such data in electronic formats by way of their equipment tracking systems or have such data stored on their behalf. Such data should be directly transmitted to a single directory established by the Commission for that purpose.

In order to ensure a high level of consumer protection, the Union has a duty to combat customs fraud and thus contribute to the internal market's objective of having safe products with genuine certificates of origin.

The detection of fraud depends significantly on the identification and cross-analysis of relevant operational data sets. It is necessary therefore to establish, at Union level, a directory containing data on the import, export and transit of goods, including the transit of goods within the Member States and direct exports. For that purpose, the Commission should systematically replicate data from the sources operated by the Commission into the import, export and transit directory, and Member States should have the option to supply to the Commission data relating to transit of goods within a Member State...