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Traffic Manual

I.4.2.5.2. Description of the regime

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is made up of twenty-eight member countries: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and United Kingdom.

The customs authority of each of these countries, in conjunction with each of the NATO units stationed in its territory, designates a customs office (or central office) responsible for customs formalities and controls related to the movement of goods carried out by each NATO unit or on its behalf.

Each customs office responsible for the Member State of departure must provide the NATO unit(s) under its jurisdiction with Form 302s for use as transit declarations:

  • previously authenticated with the seal and signature of the customs office;

  • numbered consecutively;

  • which will include the full address of said customs office (for the purpose of returning the return copy of form 302).

Customs must keep a record of the quantity and serial numbers of all previously authenticated 302 forms issued to NATO units.

Each shipment must be sent with a previously authenticated 302 form.

At the latest at the time of dispatch of the goods, the competent NATO authority must:

  • either send the data from form 302 electronically to the customs office of departure or entry;

  • either supplement the paper form 302 with a declaration that the goods are circulating under your control and authenticate this declaration with your signature, stamp and date.

If Form 302 is submitted in paper form, a completed and signed copy of Form 302 must be sent without delay to the customs office responsible for customs formalities and controls relating to the NATO forces that issued the goods or on whose behalf the goods are issued.

Other copies of Form 302 accompany goods sent to NATO forces until they reach their destination, where they will be sealed and signed by NATO forces.

When the goods arrive, two copies of the form are delivered to the designated customs office. This customs office retains one copy and stamps and returns the second copy to the customs office responsible for NATO -related customs controls and formalities (as previously mentioned). The address is the one shown on form 302.

However, it should be noted that when goods circulating under a Form 302 are transported for part or all of the journey using the paper-based transit regime applicable to goods transported by rail, the operation carried out under Form 302 will be suspended for that part of the journey.