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Customs
Inspection Control
When goods arrive into the EU, in order to be imported they are inspected and
checked by the customs authorities until a relevant customs procedure for these
goods is established. The goods may be taken to be stored in a customs warehouse
without payment of import duties or being re-exported. The party responsible for
taking the goods through the customs is the carrier.
Summary Declaration
When the goods arrive to the EU, they must be taken to the customs
authorities for inspection. This is done by presenting a declaration which
contains all necessary information for the identification of the goods. The
person responsible for the carriage of the goods must present the declaration
before the end of the following working day from the date of arrival. Without
the declaration, the goods cannot be cleared, unless under an express
authorization.
Single Administrative Document (SAD) (documents)
The SAD is the declaration form prescribed in the European Union for
declaring goods for any of the customs procedures. The declaration must be made
by the importer/exporter or his/her agent. It must be signed by the declarant,
contain all the information necessary for customs and be accompanied by all the
documents required for the customs procedure for which the goods are declared.
SAD sets may be obtained from any Collector, Customs and Excise. The SAD is used
to record import and export details for trade with countries outside the EU. It
is also required for import from and export to non-fiscal areas of the EU
(Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, the French Overseas Departments, Mount
Athos and the Aland Islands).
VAT.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a system of taxing products on the amount of value
added at each stage of their production as well as at the time of purchase by
the ultimate consumer. VAT is chargeable on imported goods in addition to any
customs and excise duties to which the goods may be liable. Since the completion
of the Single European Market on 1 January 1993, VAT is no longer payable on the
goods traded between EU member states.
FREE ZONES
A free zone is a designated part of the customs territory of the Community in
which non-Community goods are considered for customs purposes as being outside
the Community. Therefore, customs duties, VAT and restrictions are not applied
to or imposed on the goods placed in free zones. Community goods may be stored
in a free zone where Community legislation permits.
The ATA system. The ATA is a system allowing the free movement of goods
across frontiers and their temporary admission into a Customs territory with
relief from duties and taxes. The goods are covered by a single document known
as the ATA carnet that is secured by an international guarantee system.
General System of Preferences
The GSP allows the reduction of import duties for goods from developing
countries. It is one of the community's unilateral measures which aims to
promote the development of these countries. The regulations also set out the
mechanisms for exclusion of certain countries if certain situations occur (level
of development, export volume to the EU, etc.). In order to apply reduced
tariffs established by agreements between the EU and GSP countries, the supplier
must provide a certificate of origin "Form A".
Dumping is the practice of selling a product in a foreign market at an
unfairly low price (a price which is lower than the cost in the home market, or
which is lower than the cost of production) in order to gain a competitive
advantage over other suppliers. Dumping is considered an unfair trade practice
under the GATT and World Trade Organization agreements. It is regulated by
national governments through the imposition of anti-dumping duties, in some
cases calculated to equal the difference between the product's price in the
importing and the exporting country.
Anti-dumping duty is charged on goods in order to counteract their unusually low
price in the market. It is a national trade protection measure and was designed
to prevent dumping and unfair competition.
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