Internationally, all goods are classified by sections, chapters, 4-digit headings and 6-digit subheadings in the World Customs Organization nomenclature called the
Harmonized Commodity Coding and Description System, which has explanatory notes and are subject to classification notices. In the case of the European Union, goods are classified, from this
"Harmonized System" , in the Combined Nomenclature
by means of 8-digit positions, and in the Community Integrated Tariff (TARIC) by subheadings at 10 digits.
Imported and exported goods must be declared with an indication of the subheading of the nomenclature to which they fall. This tariff classification, also called tariff species, determines the customs duty rate applicable to them as well as the way in which they will be treated for statistical purposes.
The harmonized system (HS)
The
Harmonized System Nomenclature
Coding and description of goods
is divided into sections, chapters,
headings and subheadings. It includes provisions
preliminaries, additional section or chapter notes, and notes
subheadings. It is supplemented by explanatory notes
and classification notices. The bill of materials
of the Harmonized System can be consulted
on the World Customs Organization (WCO) website:
The
Combined Nomenclature (CN)
The bill of materials
Combined fare
The common customs system allows goods and merchandise to be designated in such a way as to
meet both the statistical requirements of foreign trade and
and the Common Customs Tariff. It also includes provisions
preliminaries, additional section or chapter notes, and notes
subheadings. Each subheading of the CN has an eight-point code
digits, called Code
NC with a label. This
nomenclature is supplemented by
explanatory notes.
The
Community Integrated Tariff (TARIC)
TARIC, a multilingual database of customs tariffs accessible in
contains all measures related to tariff, commercial and commercial legislation
and agriculture of the Community. By integrating and coding these measures, TARIC ensures their uniform application by all Member States and provides
all economic operators a clear vision of the measures to be taken in the future.
the import or export of goods. TARIC also makes it possible to
To collect statistics on these measures at Community level.
Since
January 1, 2011,
import entry summary declarations under Import Control
System (ICS) are mandatory under the Customs Code
Community (modernised) published by Regulation No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the European Parliament.
Council of 23 April 2008. This information is provided in section
entry into the European Union by electronic means
by means of a message called ENS. The aim is to ensure that
A safety and security check
on imports.
These provisions follow
the World Customs Organization (WCO) SAFE standard, which recommends
electronic transmission of data,
widespread use of
risk by customs services, safety and security checks
to the country of export and the establishment of a partnership with
Operators Regarding Legitimate Trade (Statute
OEA):
- Security concerns weapons, explosives, dual-use items, products and
biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other material
can be used for terrorist or criminal purposes;
- Safety refers to goods that may be harmful to health
(human or animal), trade (counterfeits), or
the environment.
The SAFE standard provides for
Dozens of pieces of information to be included in declarations
entry and exit, two of which will allow the
customs to identify the goods, namely:
- the "code specifying a type of goods for customs purposes,
transport, statistics or other official purposes(general term) » ;
- The "description of nature in simple terms"
of a good, sufficient to identify it for purposes of
customs, transport, or statistics".
The
modalities for the implementation of the ICS system have been
specified by circular
of 10 November 2010 published in the Official Customs Bulletin No.
6878. This text invites operators to
the four-digit code of the
Position of the Harmonized Codification System and designation
(HS4), which is the digit code of the subheading
(HS6) which better clarifies the nature of the goods.
The mention
the six-digit HS code (HS6) in messages
ICS and ECS have become mandatory since the implementation of the
implementation of the Union Customs Code in 2016.
A laconic or unclear description
of a commodity, or a contradiction with the classification
indicated in the declaration, will raise concerns about the presence of a
"high-risk" goods and will be subject to control by customs
At the time of the declaration: documentary check, physical visit, sampling
samples (or documentation) for the purpose of an expert opinion; which will delay by
several days before the voucher to be collected.
Offices
have the power to carry out checks on the species, origin,
the value of a good from the moment a declaration is made.
has been validated, a condition for the issuance of
of the voucher to be removed (ex-ante controls), and then during
4 months from the date of declaration (checks
ex-post 1st level). Regional Directorates (Services
Regional Investigative Directorate) and the National Intelligence Directorate
and customs investigations (DNRED) go back up
over time up to three years (ex-post controls)
2nd level). Misrepresentation
is an offence that is considered a contravention
Article 412 of the Customs Code; It constitutes a customs offence punishable under Article 414 of the Customs Code if it is
the purpose or effect of circumventing a prohibition.
The species
Pricing can be determined by expert appraisal
technique. On the other hand, origin and value
are difficult to prove by analysis given the complexity of
both of these criteria. As
counterfeits, their presence is ascertained by experts
requested by customs officers and confirmed
by the rights owners who requested the intervention
customs authorities, during checks at
imports, exports,
or traffic.
Administration
The Customs Department is being scientifically assisted by
A service common to both
Ministries of Finance, under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Finance
of the Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Taxes
and the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs and
fraud prevention. This competent service
known as the Common Laboratory Service
(SCL), performs physico-chemical analyses of samples
goods; as well as expert appraisals on files with a view to
the application of European regulations, or the application of
Customs Codes or Consumer Code on Demand
of its two supervising directorates-general (DGDDI
and DGCCRF), or their external services.
In the event of
dispute as to the kind, origin or value of a commodity,
either during an inspection or during a visit
The customs administration carries out a
a direct debit
samples for
analysis by the joint laboratory service or examination by any other expert
of his choice.
When a commodity, by reason of its weight, its dimensions, its value,
of its nature or of the too small quantity of product, cannot, without
disadvantage of having four samples, four
copies of plans, drawings, photographs or any other documents
to identify the controlled goods. Administration
In addition, the Customs Authority may assert its right to
disclosure of all documents relating to the operations
completed in non-prescribed periods for the purpose of
expert appraisals of the goods concerned.
In practice,
SCL laboratories are seized on the initiative
customs officers in the performance of their duties and functions
by sending samples or documents constituting
"Requests for analysis", mainly for verification
of the species
for the purpose of determining the price of a commodity, or for the identification of narcotics
and other illicit products. They are rarely invited to express their views
in counterfeiting cases because the expertise of the disputed objects belongs to the
in priority to the owner of the make, model
or patent. On the other hand, they are systematically consulted when the
Trade in counterfeits
constitutes a significant loss of revenue for the State in the
indirect taxation, such as
e.g. in cases of falsifications
cigarettes, vine products (chaptalization, fakes, etc.)
origins, etc.), petroleum products (vegetable oil additions, etc.)
in diesel fuel, discolouration of fuel oil, etc.).
The
recourse to the Conciliation and Expertise Commission
(CCED) in the event of a dispute on the case
origin and value, has been
abolished by Article 88 of the Law of 29 December
2016. If the notifier believes he or she is correct at the
at the time of the inspection, it must be registered as a
against the statement of offence. It has a time limit
thirty days to defend against management
regional authority concerned if that authority
sends them a registered letter informing them of
that it intends to pursue litigation in the case of
the offence. Finally, he has a period of
three years to refer the matter to the courts if the administration
Customs Department sends a notice of assessment to the Minister
(AMR) of duties and taxes payable from the three
years prior to the offence offence.
The group of European customs laboratories, created in 1999, CLEN (formerly the GCL, European Group of Customs Laboratories) is the structure which coordinates at the European level the Customs laboratories of the Member States and called the European network of laboratories brings together the 80 laboratories consulted by the customs administrations of the 23 member states of the European Union. CLEN has scheduled six coordination actions: method database, method validation, quality, documentation and strategy, scientific expertise, product inventory. The “ Action 2 – Inter-comparisons and method validations” working group
is led by the French laboratories (SCL). Action 5 relating to scientific expertise, created in 2009, essentially aims to develop the skills of European customs laboratories in the identification of tobacco and animal and plant species by biological means (particularly DNA analysis).
© Albert Castel - April 2010
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Page updated March 2024
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