ANNEX IVSupplementary provisions
ANNEX IV CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE RELEASE FOR FREE CIRCULATION INTO THE UNION OF TIMBER AND DERIVED PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM A PARTNER COUNTRY AND COVERED BY A FLEGT LICENCE General framework Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 and its implementing regulation, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008 of 17 October 2008 laying down detailed measures for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 ( 1 ) govern the conditions for the entry into the European market of timber and derived products covered by a FLEGT licence from Congo. The procedures described in those regulations provide for the possibility of adaptation to national conditions, and in particular the possibility that the competent authorities responsible for accepting FLEGT licences on entry into the European market may be customs authorities or another authority. For this reason, the description of the process divides verification into two steps: (1) documentary checking of licences and (2) checking that the actual shipment complies with the licence. This process is intended to supplement the checks carried out by Congo and to verify that FLEGT licences presented on entry into Europe are indeed those duly issued and registered by the Congolese licence granting authority and cover the shipments as intended by the Congolese authorities. The competent authorities are not entitled to challenge the Congolese legality verification system or the validity of granted licences, these issues optionally being dealt with by the Joint Implementation Committee of the Agreement in accordance with Articles 12, 19 and 24 of this Agreement. Article 1 Processing licences 1. The FLEGT licence, hereinafter referred to as ‘licence’, shall be lodged with the competent authorities of the Member State of the Union in which the shipment ( 2 ) covered by that licence is declared for release for free circulation ( 3 ) . 2. The competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall, in accordance with the applicable national procedures, inform the customs authorities as soon as a licence has been accepted. Article 2 Documentary check of licences 1. Paper-based licences shall conform to the model licence in Annex V. 2. A licence shall be considered as void if the date on which it is lodged is later than the date of expiry indicated in the licence. 3. Any erasures in or alterations to a licence shall not be accepted unless such erasures or alterations have been validated by the licensing authority. 4. The extension of the validity of a licence shall not be accepted unless that extension has been validated by the licensing authority. 5. A duplicate or replacement licence shall not be accepted unless it has been issued and validated by the licensing authority. Article 3 Request for additional information 1. In case of doubt concerning the validity of a licence, a duplicate or a replacement licence, the competent authorities may request additional information from the licensing authority. 2. A copy of the licence, the duplicate or the replacement licence in question may be forwarded together with the request. Article 4 Physical verification 1. If applicable, the competent authorities verify whether the actual shipment complies with the corresponding licence. 2. If further verification of the shipment is considered necessary by the competent authorities, checks may be carried out to establish whether the shipment in question conforms to the information provided in the licence and to the records relating to the relevant licence which are held by the licensing authority. 3. Where the volume or weight of the timber products contained in the shipment presented for release for free circulation does not deviate by more than 10 % from the volume or weight indicated in the corresponding licence, it shall be considered that the shipment conforms to the information provided in the licence so far as volume or weight is concerned. 4. Costs incurred while the verification is completed shall be at the expense of the importer, except where national legislation of Member States concerned determines otherwise. Article 5 Prior verification A licence lodged before the arrival of the shipment that it covers may be accepted if the licence meets all the requirements set out in Annex V to this Agreement and no further verification in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of this Annex is deemed necessary. Article 6 Release for free circulation 1. Reference shall be made, in box 44 of the Single Administrative Document on which the customs declaration for release for free circulation is made, to the number of the licence that covers the timber and derived products subject to that declaration. Where the customs declaration is made by means of a data-processing technique, the reference shall be provided in the appropriate box. 2. Timber and derived products can be released for free circulation only after completion of the procedure described in this Annex. ( 1 ) OJ L 277, 18.10.2008, p. 23 . ( 2 ) Shipment means a given quantity of timber and derived products referred to in Annexes II and III of Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 along with a FLEGT licence that is sent by a consignor or a shipper on departure from a partner country and is presented for release for free circulation at a customs office in the Union. ( 3 ) Release for free circulation is a Union customs procedure. According to Article 129(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 laying down the Community Customs Code (Modernised Customs Code), release for free circulation shall entail the following: (1) the collection of any import duties due; (2) the collection, as appropriate, of other charges, as provided for under relevant provisions in force relating to the collection of those charges; (3) the application of commercial policy measures and prohibitions and restrictions in so far as they have not been applied at an earlier stage (in this case, it is among these measures that the existence of a FLEGT licence will be verified); (4) completion of the other formalities laid down in respect of the importation of the goods. Release for free circulation shall confer on non-Community goods the customs status of Community goods.