News Paper: Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD (July 22 2010): Customs authorities of Pakistan and Afghanistan have jointly drafted a new customs-protocol under the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) for the regulation of transit traffic through two countries, ensuring submission of financial securities of transit goods to check cross border smuggling.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the customs control and transit regime of Pakistan and Afghanistan has been specified in Protocol-III of the new APTTA. The proposed procedure would ensure security of transit goods destined for Afghanistan and the monitoring of the consignments to check their inflow back into Pakistan.
The Customs-Protocol has elaborated the procedure for submission of the customs Security ie encashable financial guarantee acceptable to customs, submitted by the traders or through their authorised brokers, on transit goods, for an amount equivalent to the import levies of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Under the agreement agreed between customs departments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the customs authorities shall notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a goods declaration or of any other serious irregularity discovered during customs transit operation for collection of duties and taxes, if necessary. The new Customs-Protocol has also laid down minimum requirements of seals to be used for trucks to be used for transportation of consignments under the transit facility to Afghanistan.
Customs officials of both the countries would jointly prescribe the goods declaration (GD) forms to be used for customs transit operations under the proposed APTTA. The GD requirement has been specified in the new Customs-Protocol under the APTTA.
Pakistan and Afghanistan will use and accept as Customs security for ensuring the fulfilment of any obligation arising under a Customs transit operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The amount of Customs security for transit operation shall be determined by the customs so that it covers any import levies chargeable on goods so carried. Following is the text of the new customs protocol under the new APTTA:
Protocol Three
Customs Control and Transit Regime
Article 1: Application Pursuant to Sections VII and VIII of the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), the Contracting Parties agree with the following Customs documentation and processing procedures with the objective of limiting the number of documents, simplifying the procedures and ensuring that obligations to the Customs are fulfilled.
Article 2: Content of the Protocol This Protocol governs the Customs control of traffic in transit between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It contains in one section general provisions, setting forth rules regarding duties and taxes, Customs security, sealing of transport unit, and specifying transit routes and Customs offices of each Contracting Party (Pakistan and Afghanistan). Other sections describe the formalities to be fulfilled at the Customs offices, and lay down rules for mutual administrative assistance.
SECTION 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3: Definitions For the purpose of this Protocol, and in addition to the definition included in Section 1 of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), the following expressions shall have the meaning hereby assigned to them:
Customs Security means encashable financial guarantee acceptable to customs, submitted by the traders or through their authorised brokers, on transit goods, for an amount equivalent to the import levies of Contracting Parties. Customs Transit Operation means the transport of goods from an office of departure to an office of destination under Customs transit;
Declarant means person who signs a Goods Declaration (GD) or on whose behalf an authorised person signs;
Goods Declaration (GD) for Customs transit means statement made in a prescribed form by which the person interested declares goods for Customs transit and furnish the particulars which the Customs require to be declared for the application of a Customs transit operation;
Office of departure means any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation commences;
Office en route means any Customs office through which goods in transit pass in the course of a Customs transit operation;
Office of destination means any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation is terminated;
Article 4: Scope of Protocol The provisions of this Protocol shall cover the transportation of transit traffic in transport units:
i. Consigned from the territory of a third country and destined to a place in the territory of one Contracting Party through the territory of the other Contracting Party;
ii. Goods originating from one Contracting Party, destined to a place in the territory of third country and transiting through the territory of the other Contracting Party;
iii. Goods passing through the territories of the Contracting parties that are originating from and are consigned to a third country.
Article 5: Duties and Taxes, Temporary Admission The Contracting Parties agree not to subject goods which are shipped through one Contracting Party with final destination to the other Contracting Party or a third country and which are carried under the Customs transit, to the payment of import or export duties and taxes, provided that the conditions laid down in this Protocol are complied with.
Article 6: Customs Offices for Customs Transit The Contracting Parties may designated additional Customs offices on need basis and under intimation to the other Contracting Party for the purpose of this Protocol and in accordance with spirit of this agreement to act as Office of Departure, Office en Route or office of Destination.
Article 7: Business Hours and Competence of Customs Offices for Custom Transit
1. For the purpose of this Protocol, the corresponding Customs offices which are located on the common frontier shall also be open on holidays as mutually to be agreed.
2. Contracting Parties authorise their corresponding frontier Customs offices to clear all goods carried under Customs transit in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol.
Article 8: Goods Declaration for Customs Transit Contracting Parties may jointly prescribe the goods declaration forms to be used for Customs transit operations in accordance with this Protocol.
Article 9: Customs Security
1. The Contracting Parties shall undertake to use and accept as Customs security for ensuring the fulfilment of any obligation arising under a Customs transit operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
2. The amount of Customs security for transit operation shall be determined by the customs so that it covers any import levies chargeable on goods so carried.
3. Persons who regularly carry out Customs transit operations shall be entitled to lodge a revolving guarantee, acceptable to customs, which shall be valid for at least one year.
4. Where persons have lodged a revolving guarantee, the Customs authorities shall require proof that original copy of the guarantee document issued by the guaranteeing institution had already been furnished for a Customs transit operations unless they have doubts as to the validity of the details concerning the guarantee.
Article 10: Exemption from Physical Customs Inspection and Escort En Route
(a) Exemption from physical Inspection The Customs authorities shall refrain from routine physical inspection of the vehicle and cargo en route unless an irregularity is suspected in view of explicit tampering of seals or locks of the transport unit or some reliable specific intelligence.
(b) Exceptional Physical Customs Inspection Customs Authorities may by way of exception and in particular when they suspect irregularities, subject the cargo to physical inspection en route.
Article 11: Customs Seals and Fastenings
1. Customs seals and fastenings to be used in the application of Customs seal shall comply with the minimum requirements laid down in Annex to this Protocol.
2. Customs seals and fastenings affixed by Customs authorities of the other Contracting Parties or of a third country and which comply with the requirements laid down in the Annex, may be accepted for the purposes of this Protocol. However each contracting party is at liberty to affix its own seal
3. The Contracting parties shall provide each other with specimens of the Customs seals and fastenings they use for the purpose of Customs transit.
Article 12: Sealing the Vehicle
(a) The vehicle's cargo compartment shall be sealed by the Customs Office of Departure.
(b) The Host Country Customs Authorities shall accept the seals affixed by the other Contracting Country's Customs Authorities, provided they are intact, but if required for control purposes, they are entitled to affix an additional seal of their own on entry into their territory.
(c) If Customs Authorities have to break the seals in order to perform a physical inspection of the cargo en route, they shall affix new seals and record this action in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents.
(d) Oversize and/or bulky cargoes, which because of their weight, size, or nature normally not carried in a closed motor vehicle, may be carried by non-sealed vehicles, provided those goods can easily be identified by reference to the description (in packing lists, photographs, drawings, etc) given, so as to prevent any substitution or removal of the goods.
Article 13: Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document
(a) Vehicle operators shall carry a Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document (containing the particulars set out in the attachment), issued by the issuing organisation and guaranteeing the payment of customs duties and taxes, fines, and interests.
(b) The document shall be issued for each transport unit.
(c) The document shall be valid for one journey only and shall specify their period and geographic scope of validity.
(d) The document shall consist of the following number of original copies:
1. one for the issuing/guaranteeing organisation;
2. one for the transport operator;
3. one for the Country of Departure Inland Customs Authorities' office;
4. one for each Country of Transit Customs Administration through the territory of which the carriage is to be performed; and,
5. one for the Inland Customs Authorities' office of the Country of Destination
6. One copy for audit
SECTION 2: FORMALITIES TO BE FULFILLED AT THE OFFICE OF DEPARTURE
Article 14: Documentary Formalities
1. The Declarant shall file the Customs Transit Carnet at the office of departure for the goods to be transported under Customs transit, together with the necessary commercial or transport documents to the Customs authorities.
2. A copy of the GD shall be kept at the office of departure, pending the return of the copy mentioned in Article 16 in paragraph 1 of this Protocol, confirming that the goods have left the Customs territory.
3. The Customs authorities at the Office of Departure shall satisfy themselves that:
(i) the GD is duly completed.
(ii) the goods declared for Customs transit are those specified in GD.
(iii) a Customs security is in order.
Article 15: Formalities relating to the Use of Customs Seals
1. Where the goods are transported, meeting the requirements set out in Article 11 of this Protocol, the Customs authorities shall seal the container or take necessary precaution in case of heavy, bulk and over size cargo.
2. Details of the Customs seals affixed and of the date of affixing shall be duly recorded on the Goods Declaration (GD) for transit goods to enable the Office of destination to identify the consignment and to detect any unauthorised interference.
3. When the goods bulk, over sized which cannot be effectively sealed, identification shall be assured and unauthorised interference rendered readily detectable, either by affixing Customs seals to individual packages, or by affixing identification marks, by describing the goods and recording the results thereof on the GD.
Article 16: Additional Control Measures
The Customs authorities may:
i. Require goods consigned from or destined to the territory of the other Contracting Party to be transported under Customs escort while in the territory of the Contracting Party in very exceptional cases, where goods are precious and highly susceptible to diversion en route.
ii. Prescribe a time limit for the presentation of the goods at a specified Customs office in their territory.
SECTION 3: FORMALITIES TO BE FULFILLED AT OFFICES EN ROUTE AND AT OFFICE AT DESTINATION
Article 17: Formalities at Offices en Route
1. At office where goods leave the Customs territory, the Customs authorities shall satisfy themselves that any Customs seals and fastening or identification mark are intact. They shall then endorse the Goods Declaration accordingly, retain one copy and pass one copy on to the office en route where the goods enter the subsequent transit country. Upon receipt of the latter copy, in accordance with paragraph 2 below, they shall return that copy to the Office of Departure, or - in transit countries - to the Office en route where the goods entered the Customs territory.
2. At offices where goods are imported into the Customs territory, the Customs authorities shall satisfy themselves that the GD is in order, that any customs seal and fastening or identification mark previously affixed are intact. They shall then endorse the Goods declaration accordingly, retain one copy and pass one copy onto the Office en route in the Customs territory from which the goods were imported.
3. When an office en route removes a Customs seal or identification mark, for example, when they are no longer considered to be secure, it shall record details of the new Customs seals or identification marks on the goods declaration accompanying the goods.
Article 18: Formalities at the Office of Destination
1. At the Office of Destination, the Customs administration shall satisfy itself that the GD is in order, that any customs seal and fastening or identification mark is intact and verify that the transport unit is otherwise secure. They may carry out a summary or detailed examination of the goods themselves.
2. After having satisfied themselves that all obligations relating to the Customs transit operation have been fulfilled, the Customs administration at the Office of Destination shall endorse the GD accordingly.
3. The Customs administration at the Office of Destination shall send a copy of the GD back to the appropriate Customs office of departure along with a copy of its goods declaration of the Office of Destination duly completed and which shall bear the cross reference of goods declaration issued by the office of departure, which shall be considered as cross border certificate so as to allow the authorities of the latter to take any action, documentary or otherwise, necessary for the completion of the Customs transit operation.
4. The customs security shall be discharged on production of cross border certificate.
Article 19: Exclusion of Offenders
(a) Each Contracting Party shall have the right to exclude temporarily or permanently from the application of this Protocol any person guilty of a serious offence under the Customs Law or Regulations applicable to international transport of goods.
(b) This exclusion shall be notified immediately by the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities to the Home Country Customs Authorities and to the Home Country Issuing and Guaranteeing Organisation.
SECTION 4: MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE
Article 20: Communication of Information
1. The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall, on request, communicate to each other as promptly as possible:
i. Any available information relating to GD completed or accepted in their territory, which is suspected of being false;
ii. Any available information enabling the authenticity of seals claimed to have been affixed in their territory to be verified.
2. The customs administrations of Contracting Parties shall ensure customs to customs co-operation by information sharing through setting up the facility of electronic interface.
3. The customs administrations of the both Contracting Parties at the point of entry shall make arrangements of communication through hotline.
4. The customs administrations of the both Contracting Parties shall make arrangements for joint customs control at entry and exit points with mutual consent.
Article 21: Notification of Inaccuracies The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall, spontaneously and without delay, notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a GD or of any other serious irregularity discovered in connection with a Customs transit operation carried out under the provisions of this Protocol, in order that the matter may be investigated, any duties and taxes chargeable may be collected and any repetition of the circumstances may be prevented.
Article 22: Discharge of the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents
(a) Upon (re-) exportation of transit goods from the territory of a Country, the Country's Customs Authorities shall enter an exit stamp in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents and thus discharge the documents.
(b) Upon arrival of the cargo at the inland Customs office of destination, provided the goods are placed under another Customs regime or are cleared for domestic use via payment of the duties and taxes due by the owner, the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document shall be discharged. To be discussed in detail because it refers to those cases which are allowed in Kyoto convention to change the designation of goods for transit to clear the goods in that country by paying the Customs duties and other charges.
Article 23: Liability of the Issuing/Guaranteeing Organisation
(a) The guaranteeing institution shall be jointly and severally liable with the person from whom the sums are directly due, to pay the import and export duties, taxes, fines, and interests, under the customs laws and regulations in the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit in respect of the lack of timely discharge of the documents or in case of an irregularity in connection with a transit or inland customs clearance operation under this Protocol.
(b) The liability of the guaranteeing institutions shall not only cover the goods that are listed in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents, but also any goods that, although not listed therein, may be contained in the sealed section of the road vehicle.
(c) If it so prefers, the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit Customs Authorities may also claim the duties, taxes, fines, and interests from the person who is directly liable for them.
(d) Upon presentation by the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit Customs Authorities of expired and non-discharged Transit and Inland Clearance Documents or in case of established irregularity, the Home Country guaranteeing organisation is to deposit with or pay to the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities immediately the duties, taxes, fines, and interests due.
(e) The guaranteeing institutions may later claim the refund of the duties and taxes upon the establishment of evidence to the satisfaction of the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities that allows the discharge of the Transit and Inland Clearance Documents or proves that no irregularity was committed.
(f) The Home Country guaranteeing institutions is entitled to take recourse and claim the reimbursement of the export or import duties and taxes advanced from the person from whom they are due.
SECTION 5: MISCELLANEOUS
Article 24: Auction of un-cleared goods
1. If a request for transit and Customs clearance is not filed for the goods imported for transit within 30 days of its arrival at the port of entry, a notice shall be sent to the importer or its agent on the address given in the shipping documents for clearance of the goods from the port. If the goods still remain on the port after sixty days of their arrival, a final notice shall be sent to the importer or his agent for clearing the same, otherwise the goods shall then be auctioned after 90 days of the first notice, unless the delay is attributable to the port authorities.
2. The sale proceed shall be paid to the trader after deducting the expenses on account of auction expenses, freight, the charges due to the custodian of the goods and duty and taxes payable in respect of such goods.
Article 25: Priority to Certain Consignments The Contracting Parties shall grant, at any Customs office during a Customs transit operation, priority to consignments consisting of live animals, perishable goods and of other urgently needed goods for which rapid transport is essential.
Article 26: Dangerous goods For transport of dangerous goods under customs transit, special permission shall be obtained from the relevant authorities of the concerned Contracting Party.
Article 27: Accidents Accidents and other unforeseen events en route effecting affecting the Customs transit operation shall be reported to, and verified by the Customs and other competent authorities closest to the scene of the accident or other unforeseen event.
Article 28: Loss, Destruction, or Shortage of the Cargo En Route When it is established to the satisfaction of the Customs Authorities that goods specified in the Transit documents/GD have been destroyed or have been irretrievably lost by accident or other unforeseen events en route or that they are short by reason of their nature, payment of duties and taxes normally due, shall be waived.
Article 29: Mutual Administrative Assistance The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a goods declaration or of any other serious irregularity discovered in connection with a Customs transit operation, in order that the matter may be investigated, any duties and charges may be collected and any repetition of the circumstances may be prevented.
Article 30: Review of the Implementation of the Provisions of this Protocol Representatives of the Customs Administration of the Contracting Parties shall meet to monitor the implementation of the provisions of this Protocol at least once upon a year or upon request of a Contracting Party.
Article 31: Provisions regarding Situation of Force-majeure Measures Where the conveyance of goods from port of entry to port of destination is interrupted by accident or force majeure, the carrier shall be required to take reasonable precautions to prevent the goods from entering into unauthorised circulation and to report to the nearest Customs office or other competent authority immediately of nature of accident or other circumstances which have interrupted the journey.
Annex to Protocol No 3
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO BE MET BY CUSTOMS SEALS AND FASTENINGS
A. General requirements in respect of seals and fastenings:
The seals and fastenings, together, shall:
i. Be strong and durable;
ii. Be capable of being affixed easily and quickly;
iii. Be capable of being readily checked and identified;
iv. Not permit removal or undoing without breaking or tampering without leaving traces;
v. Not permit use more than once;
vi. Be made as difficult as possible to copy or counterfeit;
B. Physical specification of seals:
-- The shape and size of the seal shall be such that any identifying marks are readily legible;
-- Each eyelet in a seal shall be of a size corresponding to that of the fastening used, and shall be positioned so that the fastening will be held firmly in place when the seal is closed;
-- The material used shall be sufficiently strong to prevent accidental breakage, early deterioration (due to weather conditions, chemical action, etc) or undetectable tampering;
C. Identification Marks: The seal or fastenings, as appropriate, shall be marked;
-- to show that it is a customs seal, by application of the words "Customs"
-- to enable the customs office by which the seal was affixed, or under whose authority it was affixed, to be identified, for example, by means of code letters or numbers, text of the customs protocol under the new APTTA added
Sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the customs control and transit regime of Pakistan and Afghanistan has been specified in Protocol-III of the new APTTA. The proposed procedure would ensure security of transit goods destined for Afghanistan and the monitoring of the consignments to check their inflow back into Pakistan.
The Customs-Protocol has elaborated the procedure for submission of the customs Security ie encashable financial guarantee acceptable to customs, submitted by the traders or through their authorised brokers, on transit goods, for an amount equivalent to the import levies of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Under the agreement agreed between customs departments of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the customs authorities shall notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a goods declaration or of any other serious irregularity discovered during customs transit operation for collection of duties and taxes, if necessary. The new Customs-Protocol has also laid down minimum requirements of seals to be used for trucks to be used for transportation of consignments under the transit facility to Afghanistan.
Customs officials of both the countries would jointly prescribe the goods declaration (GD) forms to be used for customs transit operations under the proposed APTTA. The GD requirement has been specified in the new Customs-Protocol under the APTTA.
Pakistan and Afghanistan will use and accept as Customs security for ensuring the fulfilment of any obligation arising under a Customs transit operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The amount of Customs security for transit operation shall be determined by the customs so that it covers any import levies chargeable on goods so carried. Following is the text of the new customs protocol under the new APTTA:
Protocol Three
Customs Control and Transit Regime
Article 1: Application Pursuant to Sections VII and VIII of the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), the Contracting Parties agree with the following Customs documentation and processing procedures with the objective of limiting the number of documents, simplifying the procedures and ensuring that obligations to the Customs are fulfilled.
Article 2: Content of the Protocol This Protocol governs the Customs control of traffic in transit between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It contains in one section general provisions, setting forth rules regarding duties and taxes, Customs security, sealing of transport unit, and specifying transit routes and Customs offices of each Contracting Party (Pakistan and Afghanistan). Other sections describe the formalities to be fulfilled at the Customs offices, and lay down rules for mutual administrative assistance.
SECTION 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3: Definitions For the purpose of this Protocol, and in addition to the definition included in Section 1 of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), the following expressions shall have the meaning hereby assigned to them:
Customs Security means encashable financial guarantee acceptable to customs, submitted by the traders or through their authorised brokers, on transit goods, for an amount equivalent to the import levies of Contracting Parties. Customs Transit Operation means the transport of goods from an office of departure to an office of destination under Customs transit;
Declarant means person who signs a Goods Declaration (GD) or on whose behalf an authorised person signs;
Goods Declaration (GD) for Customs transit means statement made in a prescribed form by which the person interested declares goods for Customs transit and furnish the particulars which the Customs require to be declared for the application of a Customs transit operation;
Office of departure means any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation commences;
Office en route means any Customs office through which goods in transit pass in the course of a Customs transit operation;
Office of destination means any Customs office at which a Customs transit operation is terminated;
Article 4: Scope of Protocol The provisions of this Protocol shall cover the transportation of transit traffic in transport units:
i. Consigned from the territory of a third country and destined to a place in the territory of one Contracting Party through the territory of the other Contracting Party;
ii. Goods originating from one Contracting Party, destined to a place in the territory of third country and transiting through the territory of the other Contracting Party;
iii. Goods passing through the territories of the Contracting parties that are originating from and are consigned to a third country.
Article 5: Duties and Taxes, Temporary Admission The Contracting Parties agree not to subject goods which are shipped through one Contracting Party with final destination to the other Contracting Party or a third country and which are carried under the Customs transit, to the payment of import or export duties and taxes, provided that the conditions laid down in this Protocol are complied with.
Article 6: Customs Offices for Customs Transit The Contracting Parties may designated additional Customs offices on need basis and under intimation to the other Contracting Party for the purpose of this Protocol and in accordance with spirit of this agreement to act as Office of Departure, Office en Route or office of Destination.
Article 7: Business Hours and Competence of Customs Offices for Custom Transit
1. For the purpose of this Protocol, the corresponding Customs offices which are located on the common frontier shall also be open on holidays as mutually to be agreed.
2. Contracting Parties authorise their corresponding frontier Customs offices to clear all goods carried under Customs transit in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol.
Article 8: Goods Declaration for Customs Transit Contracting Parties may jointly prescribe the goods declaration forms to be used for Customs transit operations in accordance with this Protocol.
Article 9: Customs Security
1. The Contracting Parties shall undertake to use and accept as Customs security for ensuring the fulfilment of any obligation arising under a Customs transit operation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
2. The amount of Customs security for transit operation shall be determined by the customs so that it covers any import levies chargeable on goods so carried.
3. Persons who regularly carry out Customs transit operations shall be entitled to lodge a revolving guarantee, acceptable to customs, which shall be valid for at least one year.
4. Where persons have lodged a revolving guarantee, the Customs authorities shall require proof that original copy of the guarantee document issued by the guaranteeing institution had already been furnished for a Customs transit operations unless they have doubts as to the validity of the details concerning the guarantee.
Article 10: Exemption from Physical Customs Inspection and Escort En Route
(a) Exemption from physical Inspection The Customs authorities shall refrain from routine physical inspection of the vehicle and cargo en route unless an irregularity is suspected in view of explicit tampering of seals or locks of the transport unit or some reliable specific intelligence.
(b) Exceptional Physical Customs Inspection Customs Authorities may by way of exception and in particular when they suspect irregularities, subject the cargo to physical inspection en route.
Article 11: Customs Seals and Fastenings
1. Customs seals and fastenings to be used in the application of Customs seal shall comply with the minimum requirements laid down in Annex to this Protocol.
2. Customs seals and fastenings affixed by Customs authorities of the other Contracting Parties or of a third country and which comply with the requirements laid down in the Annex, may be accepted for the purposes of this Protocol. However each contracting party is at liberty to affix its own seal
3. The Contracting parties shall provide each other with specimens of the Customs seals and fastenings they use for the purpose of Customs transit.
Article 12: Sealing the Vehicle
(a) The vehicle's cargo compartment shall be sealed by the Customs Office of Departure.
(b) The Host Country Customs Authorities shall accept the seals affixed by the other Contracting Country's Customs Authorities, provided they are intact, but if required for control purposes, they are entitled to affix an additional seal of their own on entry into their territory.
(c) If Customs Authorities have to break the seals in order to perform a physical inspection of the cargo en route, they shall affix new seals and record this action in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents.
(d) Oversize and/or bulky cargoes, which because of their weight, size, or nature normally not carried in a closed motor vehicle, may be carried by non-sealed vehicles, provided those goods can easily be identified by reference to the description (in packing lists, photographs, drawings, etc) given, so as to prevent any substitution or removal of the goods.
Article 13: Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document
(a) Vehicle operators shall carry a Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document (containing the particulars set out in the attachment), issued by the issuing organisation and guaranteeing the payment of customs duties and taxes, fines, and interests.
(b) The document shall be issued for each transport unit.
(c) The document shall be valid for one journey only and shall specify their period and geographic scope of validity.
(d) The document shall consist of the following number of original copies:
1. one for the issuing/guaranteeing organisation;
2. one for the transport operator;
3. one for the Country of Departure Inland Customs Authorities' office;
4. one for each Country of Transit Customs Administration through the territory of which the carriage is to be performed; and,
5. one for the Inland Customs Authorities' office of the Country of Destination
6. One copy for audit
SECTION 2: FORMALITIES TO BE FULFILLED AT THE OFFICE OF DEPARTURE
Article 14: Documentary Formalities
1. The Declarant shall file the Customs Transit Carnet at the office of departure for the goods to be transported under Customs transit, together with the necessary commercial or transport documents to the Customs authorities.
2. A copy of the GD shall be kept at the office of departure, pending the return of the copy mentioned in Article 16 in paragraph 1 of this Protocol, confirming that the goods have left the Customs territory.
3. The Customs authorities at the Office of Departure shall satisfy themselves that:
(i) the GD is duly completed.
(ii) the goods declared for Customs transit are those specified in GD.
(iii) a Customs security is in order.
Article 15: Formalities relating to the Use of Customs Seals
1. Where the goods are transported, meeting the requirements set out in Article 11 of this Protocol, the Customs authorities shall seal the container or take necessary precaution in case of heavy, bulk and over size cargo.
2. Details of the Customs seals affixed and of the date of affixing shall be duly recorded on the Goods Declaration (GD) for transit goods to enable the Office of destination to identify the consignment and to detect any unauthorised interference.
3. When the goods bulk, over sized which cannot be effectively sealed, identification shall be assured and unauthorised interference rendered readily detectable, either by affixing Customs seals to individual packages, or by affixing identification marks, by describing the goods and recording the results thereof on the GD.
Article 16: Additional Control Measures
The Customs authorities may:
i. Require goods consigned from or destined to the territory of the other Contracting Party to be transported under Customs escort while in the territory of the Contracting Party in very exceptional cases, where goods are precious and highly susceptible to diversion en route.
ii. Prescribe a time limit for the presentation of the goods at a specified Customs office in their territory.
SECTION 3: FORMALITIES TO BE FULFILLED AT OFFICES EN ROUTE AND AT OFFICE AT DESTINATION
Article 17: Formalities at Offices en Route
1. At office where goods leave the Customs territory, the Customs authorities shall satisfy themselves that any Customs seals and fastening or identification mark are intact. They shall then endorse the Goods Declaration accordingly, retain one copy and pass one copy on to the office en route where the goods enter the subsequent transit country. Upon receipt of the latter copy, in accordance with paragraph 2 below, they shall return that copy to the Office of Departure, or - in transit countries - to the Office en route where the goods entered the Customs territory.
2. At offices where goods are imported into the Customs territory, the Customs authorities shall satisfy themselves that the GD is in order, that any customs seal and fastening or identification mark previously affixed are intact. They shall then endorse the Goods declaration accordingly, retain one copy and pass one copy onto the Office en route in the Customs territory from which the goods were imported.
3. When an office en route removes a Customs seal or identification mark, for example, when they are no longer considered to be secure, it shall record details of the new Customs seals or identification marks on the goods declaration accompanying the goods.
Article 18: Formalities at the Office of Destination
1. At the Office of Destination, the Customs administration shall satisfy itself that the GD is in order, that any customs seal and fastening or identification mark is intact and verify that the transport unit is otherwise secure. They may carry out a summary or detailed examination of the goods themselves.
2. After having satisfied themselves that all obligations relating to the Customs transit operation have been fulfilled, the Customs administration at the Office of Destination shall endorse the GD accordingly.
3. The Customs administration at the Office of Destination shall send a copy of the GD back to the appropriate Customs office of departure along with a copy of its goods declaration of the Office of Destination duly completed and which shall bear the cross reference of goods declaration issued by the office of departure, which shall be considered as cross border certificate so as to allow the authorities of the latter to take any action, documentary or otherwise, necessary for the completion of the Customs transit operation.
4. The customs security shall be discharged on production of cross border certificate.
Article 19: Exclusion of Offenders
(a) Each Contracting Party shall have the right to exclude temporarily or permanently from the application of this Protocol any person guilty of a serious offence under the Customs Law or Regulations applicable to international transport of goods.
(b) This exclusion shall be notified immediately by the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities to the Home Country Customs Authorities and to the Home Country Issuing and Guaranteeing Organisation.
SECTION 4: MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE
Article 20: Communication of Information
1. The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall, on request, communicate to each other as promptly as possible:
i. Any available information relating to GD completed or accepted in their territory, which is suspected of being false;
ii. Any available information enabling the authenticity of seals claimed to have been affixed in their territory to be verified.
2. The customs administrations of Contracting Parties shall ensure customs to customs co-operation by information sharing through setting up the facility of electronic interface.
3. The customs administrations of the both Contracting Parties at the point of entry shall make arrangements of communication through hotline.
4. The customs administrations of the both Contracting Parties shall make arrangements for joint customs control at entry and exit points with mutual consent.
Article 21: Notification of Inaccuracies The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall, spontaneously and without delay, notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a GD or of any other serious irregularity discovered in connection with a Customs transit operation carried out under the provisions of this Protocol, in order that the matter may be investigated, any duties and taxes chargeable may be collected and any repetition of the circumstances may be prevented.
Article 22: Discharge of the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents
(a) Upon (re-) exportation of transit goods from the territory of a Country, the Country's Customs Authorities shall enter an exit stamp in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents and thus discharge the documents.
(b) Upon arrival of the cargo at the inland Customs office of destination, provided the goods are placed under another Customs regime or are cleared for domestic use via payment of the duties and taxes due by the owner, the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Document shall be discharged. To be discussed in detail because it refers to those cases which are allowed in Kyoto convention to change the designation of goods for transit to clear the goods in that country by paying the Customs duties and other charges.
Article 23: Liability of the Issuing/Guaranteeing Organisation
(a) The guaranteeing institution shall be jointly and severally liable with the person from whom the sums are directly due, to pay the import and export duties, taxes, fines, and interests, under the customs laws and regulations in the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit in respect of the lack of timely discharge of the documents or in case of an irregularity in connection with a transit or inland customs clearance operation under this Protocol.
(b) The liability of the guaranteeing institutions shall not only cover the goods that are listed in the Transit and Inland Customs Clearance Documents, but also any goods that, although not listed therein, may be contained in the sealed section of the road vehicle.
(c) If it so prefers, the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit Customs Authorities may also claim the duties, taxes, fines, and interests from the person who is directly liable for them.
(d) Upon presentation by the Country of Departure, Destination, and Transit Customs Authorities of expired and non-discharged Transit and Inland Clearance Documents or in case of established irregularity, the Home Country guaranteeing organisation is to deposit with or pay to the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities immediately the duties, taxes, fines, and interests due.
(e) The guaranteeing institutions may later claim the refund of the duties and taxes upon the establishment of evidence to the satisfaction of the Country of Departure, Destination, or Transit Customs Authorities that allows the discharge of the Transit and Inland Clearance Documents or proves that no irregularity was committed.
(f) The Home Country guaranteeing institutions is entitled to take recourse and claim the reimbursement of the export or import duties and taxes advanced from the person from whom they are due.
SECTION 5: MISCELLANEOUS
Article 24: Auction of un-cleared goods
1. If a request for transit and Customs clearance is not filed for the goods imported for transit within 30 days of its arrival at the port of entry, a notice shall be sent to the importer or its agent on the address given in the shipping documents for clearance of the goods from the port. If the goods still remain on the port after sixty days of their arrival, a final notice shall be sent to the importer or his agent for clearing the same, otherwise the goods shall then be auctioned after 90 days of the first notice, unless the delay is attributable to the port authorities.
2. The sale proceed shall be paid to the trader after deducting the expenses on account of auction expenses, freight, the charges due to the custodian of the goods and duty and taxes payable in respect of such goods.
Article 25: Priority to Certain Consignments The Contracting Parties shall grant, at any Customs office during a Customs transit operation, priority to consignments consisting of live animals, perishable goods and of other urgently needed goods for which rapid transport is essential.
Article 26: Dangerous goods For transport of dangerous goods under customs transit, special permission shall be obtained from the relevant authorities of the concerned Contracting Party.
Article 27: Accidents Accidents and other unforeseen events en route effecting affecting the Customs transit operation shall be reported to, and verified by the Customs and other competent authorities closest to the scene of the accident or other unforeseen event.
Article 28: Loss, Destruction, or Shortage of the Cargo En Route When it is established to the satisfaction of the Customs Authorities that goods specified in the Transit documents/GD have been destroyed or have been irretrievably lost by accident or other unforeseen events en route or that they are short by reason of their nature, payment of duties and taxes normally due, shall be waived.
Article 29: Mutual Administrative Assistance The Customs authorities of the Contracting Parties shall notify each other of any serious inaccuracy in a goods declaration or of any other serious irregularity discovered in connection with a Customs transit operation, in order that the matter may be investigated, any duties and charges may be collected and any repetition of the circumstances may be prevented.
Article 30: Review of the Implementation of the Provisions of this Protocol Representatives of the Customs Administration of the Contracting Parties shall meet to monitor the implementation of the provisions of this Protocol at least once upon a year or upon request of a Contracting Party.
Article 31: Provisions regarding Situation of Force-majeure Measures Where the conveyance of goods from port of entry to port of destination is interrupted by accident or force majeure, the carrier shall be required to take reasonable precautions to prevent the goods from entering into unauthorised circulation and to report to the nearest Customs office or other competent authority immediately of nature of accident or other circumstances which have interrupted the journey.
Annex to Protocol No 3
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO BE MET BY CUSTOMS SEALS AND FASTENINGS
A. General requirements in respect of seals and fastenings:
The seals and fastenings, together, shall:
i. Be strong and durable;
ii. Be capable of being affixed easily and quickly;
iii. Be capable of being readily checked and identified;
iv. Not permit removal or undoing without breaking or tampering without leaving traces;
v. Not permit use more than once;
vi. Be made as difficult as possible to copy or counterfeit;
B. Physical specification of seals:
-- The shape and size of the seal shall be such that any identifying marks are readily legible;
-- Each eyelet in a seal shall be of a size corresponding to that of the fastening used, and shall be positioned so that the fastening will be held firmly in place when the seal is closed;
-- The material used shall be sufficiently strong to prevent accidental breakage, early deterioration (due to weather conditions, chemical action, etc) or undetectable tampering;
C. Identification Marks: The seal or fastenings, as appropriate, shall be marked;
-- to show that it is a customs seal, by application of the words "Customs"
-- to enable the customs office by which the seal was affixed, or under whose authority it was affixed, to be identified, for example, by means of code letters or numbers, text of the customs protocol under the new APTTA added
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