Brussels, 06/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - Last week, the European Commission announced that the new customs transit scheme would take effect on 1 July 2001, in the Fifteen countries of the EU and seven countries members of the "Common Transit" Convention of 20 May 1987 (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia).
Based on the recommendations of the European Parliament's Committee of Enquiry on Community transit, this new scheme has as main goal to reduce the possibilities of fraud without increasing red tape. It essentially rests on a more precise definition of "guarantees", the amount of which is set in relation to the "reliability" of the operator and the risks linked to the goods carried.
The European Commission and joint committees adopted the implementing regulation for this new transit scheme and its equivalent for the EFTA and Visegrad countries last December. The texts of the decisions of the EC/EFTA Joint Committee were published in the Official Journal L/9 of 12 January (see EUROPE of 22/23 January, p.12). Most of the new provisions will apply from 1 July. The rules applied to the more sensitive products, like agricultural products, cigarettes and alcohol, have already been in force since 1 January. The Commission and joint committees have still to adopt a series of texts on the computerisation of the customs procedures within a month.