Brussels, 17/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner Frits Bolkestein has welcomed the Internal Market Council's agreement on modernisation of the cusoms code. "This will help cut costs and accelerate procedures to the benefit of both traders and customs administrations", he declared. "I am particularly pleased that we have been able to agree with the Council on safeguards against goods being imported with incorrect certificates of origin, while giving importers acting in good faith the possibility to benefit from lower import tariffs."
This positive outcome followed a serious dispute between the European Commission and the Fifteen. The Commission had even threatened in December of last year to withdraw its proposal if Ministers did not provide sufficient guarantees against fraud relating to the origin of products imported into the EU. The text adopted on Thursday "provides at last a number of safeguards", observed Commissioner Bolkestein. The importer will have the burden of proof of "good faith" in suspected cases of fraudulent imports involving considerable losses of customs revenue for the Community (see EUROPE of 10 Marc, page 11). "Balance has been struck between protection of the Community's financial interests and tolerance enabling the importer to prove good faith, while ensuring that all conditions for the application of preferential treatment arrangements have been met", said the Commissioner's spokesman.
In addition to this new definition of the protection of the good faith of those importing goods under preferential arrangements, the amended code will make possible more widespread use of electronic customs declarations and the use of more flexible control methods for free zones. Before it can be adopted definitively, the code still has to be examined by the European Parliament at second reading (under codecision).