Article 13
Administrative customs penalties 1. In order to ensure that penalties are such that Community legislation is enforced with equal effect and to protect the Community's financial interests effectively, the Commission, in partnership with the Member States, and with due regard for - the principles set out in point 5 of Article 5; - the respective powers of the Community and the Member States and the principles of Member States' national law, in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, shall identify irregularities in the customs sector, on the basis of the obligations resulting from the Community Customs Code and from its implementing provisions and on the basis of a comparative study of their importance and ranking in the legal order of the Member States in the light of their degree of gravity. The Commission shall submit any proposals it considers necessary to achieve these objectives. 2. The Commission shall inform the budgetary authority of the content of the measures which it has adopted.