Regulations, 2010

L.N. 297 of 2010

CUSTOMS ORDINANCE

(CAP. 37)

Customs Ordinance (Convention on Mutual Assistance and

Co-operation between Customs Administrations) (Naples II)

Regulations, 2010

IN exercise of the powers conferred by sub-article (1) of

article 80 of the Customs Ordinance, the Minister of Finance, the

Economy and Investment has made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Customs Ordinance Citation.

(Convention on Mutual Assistance and Co-operation between

Customs Administrations) (Naples II) Regulations, 2010.

(Regulation 3)

TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

1. Without prejudice to the competences of the Community, the Member States of the European

Union shall provide each other with mutual assistance and shall cooperate with one another

through their customs administrations, with a view to

- preventing and detecting infringements of national customs provisions,

and

- prosecuting and punishing infringements of Community and national customs provisions.

2. Without prejudice to Article 3, this Convention shall not affect the provisions applicable

regarding mutual assistance in criminal matters between judicial authorities, more favourable

provisions in bilateral or multilateral agreements between Member States governing cooperation

as provided for in paragraph 1 between the customs authorities or other competent authorities of

the Member States, or arrangements in the same field agreed on the basis of uniform legislation

or of a special system providing for the reciprocal application of measures of mutual assistance.

Article 2

Powers

The customs administrations shall apply this Convention with the limits of the powers conferred

upon them under national provisions. Nothing in this Convention may be construed as affecting

the powers conferred under national provisions upon the customs administrations within the

meaning of this Convention.

Article 3

Relationship to mutual assistance provided by the judicial authorities

1. This Convention covers mutual assistance and cooperation in the framework of criminal

investigations concerning infringements of national and Community customs provisions,

concerning which the applicant authority has jurisdiction on the basis of the national provisions of

the relevant Member State.

2. Where a criminal investigation is carried out by or under the direction of a judicial authority,

that authority shall determine whether requests for mutual assistance or cooperation in that

connection shall be submitted on the basis of the provisions applicable concerning mutual

assistance in criminal matters or on the basis of this Convention.

Article 4

Definitions

For the purposes of this Convention, the following definitions shall apply

1. 'national customs provisions`: all laws, regulations and administrative provisions of a Member

State the application of which comes wholly or partly within the jurisdiction of the customs

administration of the Member State concerning

- cross-border traffic in goods subject to bans, restrictions or controls, in particular pursuant to

Articles 36 and 223 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- non-harmonised excise duties;

2. 'Community customs provisions`

- cross-border traffic in goods subject to bans, restrictions or controls, in particular pursuant to

Articles 36 and 223 of the Treaty establishing the European Community,

- non-harmonised excise duties;

B

2. 'Community customs provisions`

- the body of Community provisions and associated implementing provisions governing the

import, export, transit and presence of goods traded between Member States and third countries,

and between Member States in the case of goods that do not have Community status within the

meaning of Article 9(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community or goods subject to

additional controls or investigations for the purposes of establishing their Community status,

- the body of provisions adopted at Community level under the common agricultural policy and

the specific provisions adopted with regard to goods resulting from the processing of agricultural

products,

- the body of provisions adopted at Community level for harmonised excise duties and for value-

added tax on importation together with the national provisions implementing them;

3. 'infringement`: acts in conflict with national or Community customs provisions, including, inter

alia

- participation in, or attempts to commit, such infringements,

- participation in a criminal organization committing such infringements,

- the laundering of money deriving from the infringements referred to in this paragraph;

(1) For the purposes of these regulations and unless the Interpretation.

context otherwise requires -

“the Convention” means the “Convention drawn up

on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty of European Union

on mutual assistance and co-operation between customs

administrations” done in Brussels on the 18th December,

1997, also known as “Naples II”, signed by the Government

of Malta on the 25th June, 2007;

“the Reservations” means the Reservations made by the

Government of Malta to the Convention.

(2) Unless otherwise defined in these regulations, or

unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used

in these regulations shall have the same meaning assigned to them

in the Convention.

(Regulation 3)

In accordance with Article 30 of the Naples II Convention, Malta opts out of the

provisions on “hot pursuit” (Article 20), “cross-border surveillance” (Article 21) and “covert

investigations” (Article 23).

B

€1.49

The provisions of the Convention contained in the First Enforcement of

Schedule to these regulations and of the Reservations contained the

in the Second Schedule to these regulations, shall be in force in

Malta.

The provisions of the Convention contained in the First Schedule to these

3. regulations and of the Reservations contained in the Second Schedule to these regulations, shall

be in force in Malta.

B

'mutual assistance`: the granting of assistance between customs administrations as provided for

in this Convention;

'applicant authority`: the competent authority of the Member State which makes a request for

assistance;

'requested authority`: the competent authority of the Member State to which a request for

assistance is made;

'customs administrations`: Member States' customs authorities as well as other authorities with

jurisdiction for implementing the provisions of this Convention;

'personal data`: all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person; a person

is considered to be identifiable if he or she can be directly or indirectly identified, inter alia by

means of an identification number or of one or more specific elements which are characteristic of

his or her physical, physiological, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity;

'cross-border cooperation`: cooperation between customs administrations across the borders of

each Member State.

Article 5

Central coordinating units

1. Member States shall appoint in their customs authorities a central unit (coordinating unit). It

shall be responsible for receiving all applications for mutual assistance under this Convention and

for coordinating mutual assistance, without prejudice to paragraph 2. The unit shall also be

responsible for cooperation with other authorities involved in an assistance measure under this

Convention. The coordinating units of the Member States shall maintain the necessary direct

contact with each other, particularly in the cases covered by Title IV.

2. The activity of the central coordinating units shall not exclude, particularly in an emergency,

direct cooperation between other services of the customs authorities of the Member States. For

B

reasons of efficiency and consistency, the central coordinating units shall be informed of any

action involving such direct cooperation.

3. If the customs authority is not, or not completely, competent to process a request, the central

coordinating unit shall forward the request to the competent national authority and inform the

applicant authority that it has done so.

4. If it is not possible to accede to the request for legal or substantive reasons, the coordinating

unit shall return the request to the applicant authority with an explanation as to why the request

could not be processed.

Article 6

Liaison officers

1. Member States may make agreements between themselves on the exchange of liaison officers

for limited or unlimited periods, and on mutually-agreed conditions.

2. Liaison officers shall have no powers of intervention in the host country.

3. In order to promote cooperation between Member States' customs administrations, liaison

officers may, with the agreement or at the request of the competent authorities of the Member

States, have the following duties

(a) promoting and speeding up the exchange of information between the Member States;

(b) providing assistance in investigations which relate to their own Member State or the Member

State they represent;

(c) providing support in dealing with requests for assistance;

(d) advising and assisting the host country in preparing and carrying out cross-border operations;

(e) any other duties which Member States may agree between themselves.

4. Member States may agree bilaterally of multilaterally on the terms of reference and the

location of the liaison officers. Liaison officers may also represent the interests of one or more

Member States.

Article 7

Obligation to prove identity

Unless otherwise specified in this Convention, officers of the applicant authority present in

another Member State in order to exercise the rights laid down in this Convention shall at all

times be able to produce written authority stating their identity and their official functions.

TITLE II

ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST

Article 8

Principles

B

1. In order to provide the assistance required under this Title, the requested authority or the

competent authority which it has addressed shall proceed as though it were acting on its own

account or at the request of another authority in its own Member State. In so doing it shall avail

itself of all the legal powers at its disposal within the framework of its national law in order to

respond to the request.

2. The requested authority shall extend this assistance to all circumstances of the infringement

which have any recognisable bearing on the subject of the request for assistance without this

requiring any additional request. In case of doubt, the requested authority shall firstly contact the

applicant authority.

Article 9

Form and content of the request for assistance

1. Requests for assistance shall always be made in writing. Documents necessary for the

execution of such requests shall accompany the request.

2. Requests pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include the following information

(a) the applicant authority making the request;

(b) the measure requested;

(c) the object of, and the reason for, the request;

(d) the laws, rules and other legal provisions involved;

(e) indications as exact and comprehensive as possible on the natural or legal persons being the

target of the investigations;

(f) a summary of the relevant facts, except in cases provided for in Article 13.

3. Requests shall be submitted in an official language of the Member State of the requested

authority or in a language acceptable to such authority.

4. When required because of the urgency of the situation, oral requests shall be accepted, but

must be confirmed in writing as soon as possible.

5. If a request does not meet the formal requirements, the requested authority may ask for it to be

corrected or completed; measures necessary to comply with the request may be commenced in the

meantime.

6. The requested authority shall agree to apply a particular procedure in response to a request,

provided that that procedure is not in conflict with the legal and administrative provisions of the

requested Member State.

Article 10

Requests for information

1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall communicate to it all

information which may enable it to prevent, detect and prosecute infringements.

2. The information communicated is to be accompanied by reports and other documents, or

certified copies or extracts of the same, on which that information is based and which are in the

B

possession of the request authority or which were produced or obtained in order to execute the

request for information.

3. By agreement between the applicant authority and the requested authority, officers authorised

by the applicant authority may, subject to detailed instructions from the requested authority,

obtain information pursuant to paragraph 1 from the offices of the requested Member State. This

shall apply to all information derived from the documentation to which the staff of those offices

have access. Those officers shall be authorised to take copies of the said documentation.

Article 11

Requests for surveillance

At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall as far as possible keep a

special watch or arrange for a special watch to be kept on persons where there are serious grounds

for believing that they have infringed Community or national customs provisions or that they are

committing or have carried out preparatory acts with a view to the commission of such

infringements. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall also keep a

watch on places, means of transport and goods connected with activities which might be in breach

of the abovementioned customs provisions.

Article 12

Requests for enquiries

1. The requested authority shall at the request of the applicant authority carry out, or arrange to

have carried out, appropriate enquiries concerning operations which constitute, or appear to the

applicant authority to constitute, infringements.

The requested authority shall communicate the results of such enquiries to the applicant authority.

Article 10(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

2. By agreement between the applicant authority and the requested authority, officers appointed

by the applicant authority may be present at the enquiries referred to in paragraph 1. Enquiries

shall at all times be carried out by officers of the requested authority. The applicant authority's

officers may not, of their own initiative, assume the powers conferred on officers of the requested

authority. They shall, however, have access to the same premises and the same documents as the

latter, through their intermediary and for the sole purpose of the enquiry being carried out.

Article 13

Notification

1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall, in accordance with the

national rules of the Member State in which it is based, notify the addressee or have it notified of

all instruments or decisions which emanate from the competent authorities of the Member State in

which the applicant authority is based and concern the application of this Convention.

2. Requests for notification, mentioning the subject of the instrument or decision to be notified,

shall be accompanied by a translation in the official language or an official language of the

Member State in which the requested authority is based, without prejudice to the latter's right to

waive such a translation.

B

Article 14

Use as evidence

Findings, certificates, information, documents, certified true copies and other papers obtained in

accordance with their national law by officers of the requested authority and transmitted to the

applicant authority in the cases of assistance provided for in Articles 10 to 12 may be used as

evidence in accordance with national law by the competent bodies of the Member State where the

applicant authority is based.

TITLE III SPONTANEOUS ASSISTANCE

Article 15

Principle

The competent authorities of each Member State shall, as laid down in Articles 16 and 17, subject

to any limitations imposed by national law, provide assistance to the competent authorities of the

other Member States without prior request.

Article 16

Surveillance

Where it serves the prevention, detection and prosecution of infringements in another Member

State, each Member State's competent authorities shall

(a) as far as is possible keep, or have kept, the special watch described in Article 11;

(b) communicate to the competent authorities of the other Member States concerned all

information in their possession and, in particular, reports and other documents or certified true

copies or extracts thereof, concerning operations which are connected with a planned or

committed infringement.

Article 17

Spontaneous information

The competent authorities of each Member State shall immediately send to the competent

authorities of the other Member States concerned all relevant information concerning planned or

committed infringements and, in particular, information concerning the goods involved and new

ways and means of committing such infringements.

Article 18

Use as evidence

Surveillance reports and information obtained by officers of one Member State and

communicated to another Member State in the course of the spontaneous assistance provided for

in Articles 15 to 17 may be used in accordance with national law as evidence by the competent

bodies of the Member State receiving the information.

B

TITLE IV

SPECIAL FORMS OF COOPERATION

Article 19

Principles

1. Customs administrations shall engage in cross-border cooperation in accordance with this Title.

They shall provide each other with the necessary assistance in terms of staff and organisational

support. Requests for cooperation shall, as a rule, take the form of requests for assistance in

accordance with Article 9. In specific cases referred to in this Title, officers of the applicant

authority may engage in activities in the territory of the requested State, with the approval of the

requested authority.

Coordination and planning of cross-border operations shall be the responsibility of the central

coordinating units in accordance with Article 5.

2. Cross-border cooperation within the meaning of paragraph 1 shall be permitted for the

prevention, investigation and prosecution of infringements in cases of

(a) illicit traffic in drugs and psychotropic substances, weapons, munitions, explosive materials,

cultural goods, dangerous and toxic waste, nuclear material or materials or equipment intended

for the manufacture of atomic, biological and/or chemical weapons (prohibited goods);

(b) trade in substances listed in Tables I and II of the United Nations Convention against illicit

traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and intended for the illegal manufacture of

drugs (precursor substances);

(c) illegal cross-border commercial trade in taxable goods to evade tax or to obtain unauthorised

State payments in connection with the import or export of goods, where the extent of the trade

and the related risk to taxes and subsidies is such that the potential financial cost to the budget of

the European Communities or the Member States is considerable;

(d) any other trade in goods prohibited by Community or national rules.

3. The requested authority shall not be obliged to engage in the specific forms of cooperation

referred to in this Title if the type of investigation sought is not permitted or not provided for

under the national law of the requested Member State. In this case, the applicant authority shall be

entitled to refuse, for the same reason, the corresponding type of cross-border cooperation in the

reverse case, where it is requested by an authority of the requested Member State.

4. If necessary under the national law of the Member States, the participating authorities shall

apply to their judicial authorities for approval of the planned investigations. Where the competent

judicial authorities make their approval subject to certain conditions and requirements, the

participating authorities shall ensure that those conditions and requirements are observed in the

course of the investigations.

5. Where officers of a Member State engage in activities in the territory of another Member State

by virtue of this Title and cause damage by their activities, the Member State in whose territory

the damage was caused shall make good the damage, in accordance with its national legislation in

the same way as it would have done if the damage had been caused by its own officers. That

B

Member State will be reimbursed in full by the Member State whose officers have caused the

damage for the amounts it has paid to the victims or to other entitled persons or institutions.

6. Without prejudice to the exercise of its rights vis-à-vis third parties and notwithstanding the

obligation to make good damages according to the second sentence of paragraph 5, each Member

State shall refrain, in the case provided for in the first sentence of paragraph 5, from requesting

reimbursement of the amount of damages it has sustained from another Member State.

7. Information obtained by officers during cross-border cooperation provided for in Articles 20 to

24 may be used, in accordance with national law and subject to particular conditions laid down by

the competent authorities of the State in which the information was obtained, as evidence by the

competent bodies of the Member State receiving the information.

8. In the course of the operations referred to in Articles 20 to 24, officers on mission in the

territory of another Member State shall be treated in the same way as officers of that State as

regards infringements committed against them or by them.

Article 22

Controlled delivery

1. Each Member State shall undertake to ensure that, at the request of another Member State,

controlled deliveries may be permitted on its territory in the framework of criminal investigations

into extraditable offences.

2. The decision to carry out controlled deliveries shall be taken in each individual case by the

competent authorities of the requested Member State, with due regard for the national law of that

State.

3. Controlled deliveries shall take place in accordance with the procedures of the requested

Member State. Competence to act and to direct operations shall lie with the competent authorities

of that Member State.

The requested authority shall take over control of the delivery when the goods cross the border or

at an agreed hand-over point in order to avoid any interruption of surveillance. During the rest of

the journey it shall ensure that the goods are kept permanently under surveillance in such a way

that at any time it has the possibility of arresting the perpetrators and seizing the goods.

4. Consignments the controlled delivery of which is agreed to may, with the consent of the

Member States concerned, be intercepted and allowed to continue with the initial contents intact

or removed or replaced in whole or in part.

Article 24

Joint special investigation teams

1. By mutual agreement, the authorities of several Member States may set up a joint special

investigation team based in a Member State and comprising officers with the relevant

specialisations.

The joint special investigation team shall have the following tasks

- implementation of difficult and demanding investigations of specific infringements, requiring

simultaneous, coordinated action in the Member States concerned,

B

- coordination of joint activities to prevent and detect particular types of infringement and obtain

information on the persons involved, their associates and the methods used.

2. Joint special investigation teams shall operate under the following general conditions

(a) they shall be set up only for a specific purpose and for a limited period;

(b) an officer from the Member State in which the team's activities take place shall head the team;

(c) the participating officers shall be bound by the law of the Member State in whose territory the

team's activities take place;

(d) the Member State in which the team's activities take place shall make the necessary

organisational arrangements for the team to operate.

3. Membership of the team shall not bestow on officers any powers of intervention in the territory

of another Member State.

TITLE V

DATA PROTECTION

Article 25

Data protection for the exchange of data

1. When information is exchanged, the customs administrations shall take into account in each

specific case the requirements for the protection of personal data. They shall respect the relevant

provisions of the Convention of the Council of Europe of 28 January 1981 for the protection of

individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data. In the interest of data protection,

a Member State may, in accordance with paragraph 2, impose conditions concerning the

processing of personal data by another Member State to which such personal data may be passed.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Convention concerning the use of information

technology for customs purposes, the following provisions shall apply to personal data which are

communicated pursuant to the application of this Convention

(a) processing of the personal data by the recipient authority shall be authorised only for the

purpose referred to in Article 1(1). That authority may forward them, without prior consent from

the Member State supplying them, to its customs administrations, its investigative authorities and

its judicial bodies to enable them to prosecute and punish infringements within the meaning of

Article 4(3). In all other cases of data transmission, the consent of the Member State which

supplied the information is necessary;

(b) the authority of the Member State which communicates data shall ensure that they are

accurate and up-to-date. If it emerges that inaccurate data have been communicated or data have

been communicated which should not have been communicated or that lawfully communicated

data are required at a later stage to be erased in accordance with the law of the communicating

Member State, the recipient authority shall be immediately informed thereof. It shall be obliged to

correct such data or have them erased. If the recipient authority has reason to believe that

communicated data are inaccurate or should be erased, it shall inform the communicating

Member State;

(c) in cases where communicated data should, according to the law of the communicating

Member State, be erased or amended, the persons concerned must be given the effective right to

correct the data;

(d) the forwarding and receipt of exchanged data shall be recorded by the authorities concerned;

B

(e) if so requested, the communicating and recipient authorities shall inform the person

concerned, at that person's request, of the personal data communicated and the use to which they

are to be put. There is no obligation to provide the information if it is found, on consideration of

the matter, that the importance to the public of the information being withheld outweighs the

importance to the person concerned of receiving it. Moreover, the right of the person concerned

to receive information about the personal data communicated shall be determined in accordance

with the national laws, regulations and procedures of the Member State in whose territory the

information is requested. Before any decision is taken on providing information, the

communicating authority shall be given the opportunity of stating its position;

(f) Member States shall be liable, in accordance with their own laws, regulations and procedures,

for injury caused to a person through the processing of data communicated in the Member State

concerned. This shall also be the case where the injury was caused by the communication of

inaccurate data or the fact that the communicating authority communicated data in violation of

the Convention;

(g) the data communicated shall be kept for a period not exceeding that necessary for the

purposes for which they were communicated. The need to keep them shall be examined at the

appropriate moment by the Member State concerned;

(h) in any event, the data shall enjoy at least the same protection as is given to similar data in the

Member State which received them;

(i) every Member State shall take the appropriate measures to ensure compliance with this Article

by the application of effective controls. Every Member State may assign the task of control to the

national supervisory authority mentioned in Article 17 of the Convention concerning the use of

information technology for customs purposes.

3. For the purposes of this Article, 'the processing of personal data` shall be understood in

accordance with the definition in Article 2(b) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament

and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the

processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (1).

TITLE VI

INTERPRETATION OF THE CONVENTION

Article 26

Court of Justice

1. The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to rule on any

dispute between Member States regarding the interpretation or the application of this Convention

whenever it has proved impossible for the dispute to be settled by the Council within six months

of its being referred to the Council by one of its members.

2. The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to rule on any

dispute between Member States and the Commission concerning the interpretation or application

of this Convention which it has proved impossible to settle through negotiation. The dispute may

be submitted to the Court of Justice after the expiry of a period of six months from the data on

which one of the parties notified the other of the existence of a dispute.

3. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction, subject to the conditions laid down in paragraphs 4

to 7, to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of this Convention.

B

4. By a declaration made at the time of the signing of this Convention or at any time thereafter,

any Member State shall be able to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European

Communities to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of this Convention as specified in

either paragraph 5(a) or (b).

5. A Member State which has made a declaration pursuant to paragraph 4 shall specify that either

(a) any court or tribunal of that State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under

national law may request the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give a preliminary

ruling on a question raised in a case pending before it and concerning the interpretation of this

Convention if that court or tribunal considers that a decision on the question is necessary to

enable it to give judgment, or

(b) any court or tribunal of that State may request the Court of Justice of the European

Communities to give a preliminary ruling on a question raised in a case pending before it and

concerning the interpretation of this Convention if that court or tribunal considers that a decision

on the question is necessary to enable it to give judgment.

6. The Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the Rules

of Procedure of that Court of Justice shall apply.

7. Any Member State, whether or not it has made a declaration pursuant to paragraph 4, shall be

entitled to submit statements of case or written observations to the Court in cases which arise

under paragraph 5.

8. The Court of Justice shall not have jurisdiction to check the validity or proportionality of

operations carried out by competent law enforcement agencies under this Convention nor to rule

on the exercise of responsibilities which devolve upon Member States for maintaining law and

order and for safeguarding internal security.

TITLE VII

IMPLEMENTATION AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 27

Confidentiality

The customs administrations shall take account, in each specific case of exchange of information,

of the requirements of investigation secrecy. To that end, a Member State may impose conditions

covering the use of information by another Member State to which that information may be

passed.

Article 28

Exemptions from the obligation to provide assistance

1. This Convention shall not oblige the authorities of Member States to provide mutual assistance

where such assistance would be likely to harm the public policy or other essential interests of the

State concerned, particularly in the field of data protection, or where the scope of the action

requested, in particular in the context of the special forms of cooperation provided for in Title IV,

is obviously disproportionate to the seriousness of the presumed infringement. In such cases,

B

assistance may be refused in whole or in part or made subject to compliance with certain

conditions.

2. Reasons must be given for any refusal to provide assistance.

Article 29

Expenses

1. Member States shall normally waive all claims for reimbursement of costs incurred in the

implementation of this Convention, with the exception of expenses for fees paid to experts.

2. If expenses of a substantial and extraordinary nature are, or will be, required to execute the

request, the customs administrations involved shall consult to determine the terms and conditions

under which a request shall be executed as well as the manner in which the costs shall be borne.

Article 30

Reservations

1. Save as provided in Article 20(8), Article 21(5) and Article 23(5), this Convention shall not be

the subject of any reservations.

2. Member States which have already established agreements between them covering matters

regulated in Title IV of this Convention may make reservations pursuant to paragraph 1 only in so

far as such reservations do not affect their obligations under such agreements.

3. Accordingly, the obligations arising out of the provisions of the Convention of 19 June 1990

implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 on the gradual abolition of checks at

their common borders which provide for closer cooperation shall not be affected by this

Convention in the context of relations between the Member States which are bound by those

provisions.

Article 31

Territorial application

1. This Convention shall apply to the territories of the Member States as referred to in Article 3(1)

of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community

Customs Code (2), as revised by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic

of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the

Treaties on which the European Union is founded (3) and in Regulation (EC) No 82/97 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 1996 (4), including, for the Federal

Republic of Germany, the Island of Heligoland and the territory of Büsingen (within the

framework of and pursuant to the Treaty of 23 November 1964 between the Federal Republic of

Germany and the Swiss Confederation on the inclusion of the commune of Büsingen am

Hochrhein in the customs territory of the Swiss Confederation, or the current version thereof)

and, for the Italian Republic, the municipalities of Livigno and Campione d'Italia, and to the

B

territorial waters, the inland maritime waters and the airspace of the territories of the Member

States.

2. The Council, acting unanimously by the procedure provided for in Title VI of the Treaty on

European Union, may adapt paragraph 1 to any amendment of the provisions of Community law

referred to therein.

Article 32

Entry into force

1. This Convention shall be subject to adoption by the Member States in accordance with their

respective constitutional requirements.

2. Member States shall notify the depositary of the completion of the constitutional procedures

for the adoption of this Convention.

3. This convention shall enter into force 90 days after the notification referred to in paragraph 2

by the State, Member of the European Union at the time of adoption by the Council of the Act

drawing up this Convention, which is last to complete that formality.

4. Until this Convention enters into force, any Member State may, when giving the notification

referred to in paragraph 2, or at any other later time, declare that as far as it is concerned this

Convention, with the exception of Article 23 thereof, shall apply to its relations with Member

States that have made the same declaration. Such declarations shall take effect 90 days after the

date of deposit thereof.

5. This Convention shall apply only to requests submitted after the date on which it enters into

force or is applied as between the requested Member State and the applicant Member State.

6. On the date of entry into force of this Convention, the Convention on the provision of mutual

assistance between customs administrations of 7 September 1967 shall be repealed.

Article 33

Accession

1. This Convention shall be open to accession by any State that becomes a Member State of the

European Union.

2. The text of the Convention in the language of the acceding Member State, as drawn up by the

Council of the European Union, shall be authentic.

3. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the depositary.

4. This Convention shall come into force with respect to any State that accedes to it 90 days after

the deposit of its instrument of accession or on the date of entry into force of the Convention if it

has not already entered into force upon expiry of the said period of 90 days.

5. Where this Convention has not yet entered into force at the time of the deposit of their

instrument of accession, Article 32(4) shall apply to acceding Member States.

B

Article 34

Amendments

1. Amendments to this Convention may be proposed by any Member State that is a High

Contracting Party. Any proposed amendment shall be sent to the depositary, who shall

communicate it to the Council and the Commission.

2. Without prejudice to Article 31(2), the amendments to the Convention shall be adopted by the

Council, which shall recommend them to the Member States for adoption in accordance with

their respective constitutional requirements.

3. Amendments adopted in accordance with paragraph 2 shall come into force in accordance with

Article 32(3).

Article 35

Depositary

1. The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union shall act as depositary of this

Convention.

2. The depositary shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities information

on the progress of adoptions and accessions, implementation, declarations and reservations, and

also any other notification concerning this Convention