Period for discharge
Article 257
1. The customs authorities shall specify the period within which the inward processing procedure is to be discharged, in accordance with Article 216. That period shall run from the date on which the non-Union goods are placed under the procedure and shall take account of the time required to carry out the processing operations and to discharge the procedure. 2. The customs authorities may grant an extension, of reasonable duration, of the period specified pursuant to paragraph 1, upon justified application by the holder of the authorisation. The authorisation may specify that a period which commences in the course of a month, quarter or semester shall end on the last day of a subsequent month, quarter or semester respectively. 3. In the case of prior export in accordance with point (c) of Article 223(2), the authorisation shall specify the period within which the non-Union goods shall be declared for the inward processing procedure, taking account of the time required for procurement and transport to the customs territory of the Union. The period referred to in the first subparagraph shall be set in months and shall not exceed six months. It shall run from the date of acceptance of the export declaration relating to the processed products obtained from the corresponding equivalent goods. 4. At the request of the holder of the authorisation, the period of six months referred to in paragraph 3 may be extended, even after its expiry, provided that the total period does not exceed 12 months.