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Traffic Manual

II.3.4. Common transit country

Article 9 of the Convention

Where Union goods have arrived in a common transit country under a T2 procedure, they shall retain their Union status provided that:

  • remain included in a T2 regime or a warehousing regime in the common transit country; and
  • the period of storage of the goods does not exceed five years (or six months in the case of certain specific categories of goods); and
  • remain under the permanent control of the customs authorities.

Union goods in common transit countries

Article 2, paragraph 3, letter b) of the Convention
Article 2 of Appendix II of the Convention

Union goods in common transit countries may only be included in procedure T2 when:

  • the goods have arrived in that country under the T2 regime;
  • The goods are reshipped under conditions whereby:
    • have remained under the permanent control of the customs authorities in order to ensure that their identity or integrity has not been altered;
    • have not been placed under a customs transit regime other than transit or a warehousing regime; and
    • if they have been included in a deposit scheme:
      • the period does not exceed five years;
      • For goods falling under Chapters 1 to 24 of the nomenclature for the classification of goods, the period may not exceed six months;
      • The goods have been deposited in reserved locations and have not been subjected to any further manipulation than that necessary to maintain their state of preservation or consisting solely of splitting the shipments without replacing the packaging; and
      • the manipulations have been carried out under customs supervision;
        and
  • The new T2 regime includes the reference to the same previous regime under which the Union goods arrived in that common transit country, including all special mentions and the corresponding grouping.

Providing evidence of the Union's status in a common transit country

Articles 5, 9, 10 and 18 bis of the Convention

The following means of proof may be issued in a common transit country:

  • T2L document;
  • invoice or transport document;
  • shipping company manifest.

For further information on the provision and use of these means of evidence, see sections II.3.2 and II.3.3.

All documents issued by the competent customs office of a common transit country to prove the customs status of Union goods must bear a reference to the corresponding T2 declaration or document proving the customs status of Union goods, under which the goods arrived in that common transit country, and must include all special indications appearing therein.

Re-export of Union goods from a common transit country

Article 9 of the Convention
Article 12 of Appendix II of the Convention

In the case of Union goods that have entered the common transit country and are to be re-exported under a transit procedure other than the common procedure, the T2L/T2LF document does not need to be renewed, provided that the goods have not been stored prior to re-dispatch. To demonstrate that the goods in question have remained under the permanent control of the customs authorities, the competent customs office of the common transit country shall affix its seal to the top of the front of the document, indicating the date of re-exportation.
For example: The arrival of goods from the Union to a common transit country occurs on a vessel that is not a regular service and they are re-exported by truck under a TIR arrangement. Please note that the validity period of the T2L/T2LF document is limited to ninety days.

Issuance of tests in common transit countries

Article 2 of Appendix II of the Convention

Proof of Union goods transported from a common transit country can only be provided if the goods are moved directly from that common transit country to another common transit country or to a Member State:

  • without crossing a third country; or
  • If they cross a third country, they circulate under a single transport document issued in a common transit country.

Export of Union goods from a common transit country

Article 2 of Appendix II of the Convention

Proof of Union status cannot be used in the case of Union goods intended for export from a common transit country or the EU.

Customs status of Union goods by default

Temporary import

Article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention

However, proof of Union status is not required for Union goods in a common transit country that are subject to the temporary importation procedure and that have not undergone any manipulation other than that necessary to maintain their state of preservation or consisting solely of splitting consignments.

T2-Corridor

Article 2 bis of Appendix II of the Convention

Goods transported by rail and having the customs status of Union goods may move, without being subject to a customs procedure, from one point to another within the customs territory of the Union and may be transported through the territory of a common transit country without changing their customs status. For more information on the T2-Corridor, see Part VI, Section 3.5.5