What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Added:(d) any other obligation on the importer established in customs legislation.

Added:2. The importer shall be established in the customs territory of the Union.

Added:3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2 the following importers or persons shall not be required to be established in the customs territory of the Union:

Added:(a) an importer who places goods in transit or temporary admission;

Added:(b) an importer bringing goods that remain in temporary storage;

Added:(c) persons, who occasionally place goods under customs procedures, provided that the customs authorities consider such placing to be justified;

Added:(d) persons who are established in a country the territory of which is adjacent to the customs territory of the Union, and who present the goods at a Union border customs office adjacent to that country, provided that the country in which the persons are established grants reciprocal benefits to persons established in the customs territory of the Union;

Added:(e) a deemed importer who is represented by an indirect representative established in the customs territory of the Union.

Added:Article 21 Deemed importers

Added:1. By way of derogation from Article 20(1), point (a), deemed importers shall provide or make available the information on distance sales of goods to be imported in the customs territory of the Union at the latest on the day following the date when the payment was accepted and in any event prior to the release of the goods.

Added:2. Without prejudice to the information required to release the goods for free circulation in accordance with Article 88(3), point (a), the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall contain at least the requirements set out in Article 63c(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011.

Added:3. Where goods previously imported by a deemed importer under distance sales are returned to the original consignor’s address or to another address outside the customs territory of the Union, the deemed importer shall invalidate the information on release for free circulation of those goods and provide or make available the proof of exit of the goods out of the customs territory of the Union.

Added:Chapter 3 Exporter

Added:Article 22 Exporters

Added:1. The exporter shall comply with the following obligations:

Added:(a) providing, keeping and making available to customs authorities, as soon as it is available and in any event prior to the release of the goods, all the information required in respect of the customs procedure under which the goods are placed in accordance with Article 99 and Article 140 or to discharge the temporary admission procedure;

Added:(b) ensuring the correct calculation and collection of customs duties and any other charges, if applicable;

Added:(c) ensuring that the goods entering or exiting the customs territory of the Union comply with the relevant other legislation applied by the customs authorities and providing, keeping and making available appropriate records of such compliance;

Added:(d) any other obligation established in customs legislation.

Added:2. The exporter shall be established in the customs territory of the Union.

Added:3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, the following exporters shall not be required to be established in the customs territory of the Union:

Added:(a) an exporter who places goods in transit, discharges the temporary admission procedure or exports goods that were in temporary storage;

Added:(b) persons, who occasionally place goods under customs procedures, provided that the customs authorities consider this to be justified;

Added:(c) persons who are established in a country the territory of which is adjacent to the customs territory of the Union, and who present the goods at a Union border customs office adjacent to that country, provided that the country in which the persons are established grants reciprocal benefits to persons established in the customs territory of the Union.

Added:Chapter 4 Authorised economic operator and Trust and Check traders

Added:Article 23 Application and authorisation for authorised economic operator

Added:1. A person who is resident, incorporated or registered in the customs territory of the Union and who meets the criteria set out in Article 24 may apply for the status of authorised economic operator.

Added:The EU Customs authoritiesAuthority shall, after assessing the audit of the competent national authority, following consultation with other authorities, if necessary, grant one or both of the following types of authorisations: [Am. 96]

Added:(a) that of an authorised economic operator for customs simplifications, which shall enable the holder to benefit from the simplifications in accordance with the customs legislation; or

Added:(b) that of an authorised economic operator for security and safety that shall entitle the holder to facilitations relating to security and safety.

Added:2. Both types of authorisations referred to in paragraph 1, second subparagraph, may be held at the same time.

Added:3. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 shall comply with the obligations set out in Article 7(2) and (3). The customs authorities shall monitor the operator’s continuous compliance with the criteria and conditions for the status of authorised economic operator in accordance with Article 7(4).

Added:The customs authorities shall at least every 3 years perform an in-depth monitoring of the authorised economic operator’s activities and internal records.

Added:4. The status of authorised economic operator shall, subject to paragraph 5 of this Article and to Article 24, be recognised by the customs authorities in all Member States.

Added:5. Customs authorities shall, on the basis of the recognition of the status of authorised economic operator for customs simplifications and provided that the requirements related to a specific type of simplification provided for in the customs legislation are fulfilled, authorise the operator to benefit from that simplification. Customs authorities shall not re-examine those criteria which have already been examined when granting the status of authorised economic operator for customs simplifications. [Am. 97]

Added:6. The authorised economic operator referred to in paragraph 1 shall enjoy more facilitations than other economic operators in respect of customs controls according to the type of authorisation granted, including fewer physical and document-based controls. The status of authorised economic operator shall be taken into account favourably for customs risk management purposes.

Added:7. The customs authorities shall grant benefits resulting from the status of authorised economic operator to persons established in third countries, who fulfil conditions and comply with obligations defined by the relevant legislation of those countries or territories, insofar as those conditions and obligations are recognised by the Union as equivalent to those imposed on authorised economic operators established in the customs territory of the Union. Such a granting of benefits shall be based on the principle of reciprocity unless otherwise decided by the Union, and shall be supported by an international agreement of the Union, relevant and binding partnerships or Union legislation in the area of the common commercial policy. [Am. 98]

Added:8. A joint business continuity mechanism to respond to disruptions in trade flows due to increases in security alert levels, border closures and/or natural disasters, hazardous emergencies or other major incidents shall be established providing that the customs authorities may facilitate and expedite to the extent possible priority cargos related to authorised economic operators.

Added:8a. Whenever necessary, the Commission may adopt guidelines with a view to supporting SMEs, recognizing the unique challenges faced by SMEs while maintaining the integrity and security of external trade processes when applying the status of Authorised Economic Operators and Trust and Check traders. Continuous efforts shall be made to simplify and make the procedures more accessible for SMEs, ensuring their vital role in the EU's external trade is facilitated and promoted. [Am. 99]

Added:9. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 261, to supplement this Regulation by determining:

Added:(a) the type and frequency of the monitoring activities by both the persons referred to in paragraph 1 and the customs authorities referred to in paragraph 3;

Added:(b) the simplifications for authorised economic operators referred to in paragraph 5;

Added:(c) the facilitations referred to in paragraph 6.

Added:10. The Commission shall specify, by means of implementing acts, the procedural rules for the consultations in respect of the determination of the status of authorised economic operators referred to in paragraph 1, second subparagraph, including the deadlines for replying. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 262(4).

Added:Article 24 Granting of the status of authorised economic operator

Added:1. The criteria for the granting of the status of authorised economic operator shall be the following:

Added:(a) the absence of any serious infringement or repeated infringements of customs legislation, the relevant other legislation referred to in Article 20(1) point (c) of this Regulation, and taxation rules, and no record of serious criminal offences; the infringements and offences to be considered are those relating to economic or business activities; [Am. 100]

Added:(b) the demonstration by the applicant of a high level of control of his or her operations and of the flow of goods, by means of a system of managing commercial and, where appropriate, transport records, which allows appropriate customs controls and evidence that non-compliance has been effectively remedied; the applicant ensures that relevant employees are instructed to inform the customs authorities whenever compliance difficulties are discovered and establishes procedures for informing the customs authorities of such difficulties;

Added:(c) financial solvency, which shall be deemed to be proven where the applicant has good financial standing, which enables him or her to fulfil his or her commitments, with due regard to the characteristics of the type of business activity concerned;

Added:(d) with regard to the authorisation referred to in Article 23(1), point (a), practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the activity carried out;

Added:(e) with regard to the authorisation referred to in Article 23(1), point (b), appropriate security, safety and compliance standards, adapted to the activity carried out. The standards shall be considered as fulfilled where the applicant demonstrates that he or she maintains appropriate measures to ensure the security and safety of the international supply chain, including in the areas of physical integrity and access controls, logistical processes and handling of specific types of goods, personnel and identification of his or her business partners.

Added:2. The Commission shallis empowered to adopt, by means of implementing delegated acts, the modalitiesin accordance with Article 261, to supplement this Regulation by laying down detailed arrangements for the application of the criteria referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 262(4). [Am. 101]

Added:Article 25 Granting the status of Trust and Check trader

Added:1. An importer or exporterA person, who is resident or registered in the customs territory of the Union, meets the criteria set out in paragraph 3 and has conducted regular customs operations in the course of that person’s business for at least 32 years, may apply for the status of Trust and Check trader to the customs authority of the Member State where that person is established. [Am. 102]

Added:2. The EU Customs authoritiesAuthority shall grant the status following consultation with other authorities, if necessary, and after having had access toreceived and assessed the relevant data of the applicant for the last 32 years in order to assess compliance with the criteria in paragraph 3. [Am. 103]

Added:3. The EU Customs authoritiesAuthority shall grant, after assessing the audit of the competent national authority, the status of Trust and Check trader to a person who meets all the following criteria: [Am. 104]

Added:(a) the absence of any serious infringement or repeated infringements of customs legislation, relevant other legislation applied by customs authorities pursuant to Article 20(1) point (c) of this Regulation, and taxation rules and no record of serious criminal offences; the infringements and offences to be considered are those relating to economic or business activities; [Am. 105]

Added:(b) the demonstration by the applicant of a high level of control of his or her operations and of the flow of goods, by means of a system of managing commercial and transport records, which allows appropriate customs controls and evidence that non-compliance has been effectively remedied; the applicant shall ensure that relevant employees inform the customs authorities whenever compliance difficulties are discovered and establishes procedures for informing the customs authorities of such difficulties;

Added:(c) financial solvency, which shall be deemed to be proven where the applicant has good financial standing, which enables him or her to fulfil his or her commitments, with due regard to the characteristics of the type of business activity concerned. In particular, during the last 3 years preceding the submission of the application, the applicant shall have fulfilled his financial obligations regarding payments of customs duties and all other duties, taxes or charges which are collected on or in connection with the import or export of goods, including on VAT and excise duties due in relation to intra-Union operations; [Am. 106]

Added:(d) practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the type and size of activity carried out, including that relevant employees are instructed on how to interact with customs authorities through the EU Customs Data Hub;