VII.4.1.5. Destination country response to the investigation notice
The competent authority of the destination country that receives the investigation notice shall respond as quickly and appropriately as possible based on the information available or available to it. First, you will search your own files (registration of copies No. 4 and No. 5 of the SAD, a second copy of the DAT or the preserved manifests, etc.) or those of the authorized recipient. Sometimes this investigation may lead to the discovery of original evidence of the end of the regime that has not yet been returned or has not been properly filed.
If the investigation proves unsuccessful, the competent authority of the country of destination will contact the consignee (named on the transit declaration) or the person, likely listed on the TC20 by the competent authority of the country of departure, who appears to be the direct recipient of the goods and documents, without these having been previously presented to the customs office of destination.
However, if the information provided by the competent authority of the country of departure in the TC20 or in the attached documents is insufficient to allow the competent authority of the country of destination to carry out the investigation, the latter will request additional information by returning the TC20, once Box II has been completed, to the competent authority of the country of departure, which will complete Box III, attach the requested additional information (on paper) and return the TC20 to the requesting competent authority of the country of destination.
By following the steps of the investigation procedure mentioned above, the following cases may arise:
1. The goods have been effectively presented at the customs office of destination or delivered to the authorized recipient, but:
- proof of completion of the regime has not been returned within the specified period (for example, return of copy no. 5 of the SAD, a second copy of the DAT or return of the monthly list under air/sea transit regime in paper format).
In this case, the competent authority of the country of destination must promptly return the evidence to the competent authority of the country of departure that sent the TC20, after duly completing Box IV.
- The authorized recipient has not returned to the customs office of destination proof of completion of the procedure despite it being mandatory.
In such a case, once the evidence has been found, the competent authority of the country of destination must immediately return it, together with the duly completed TC20, to the competent authority of the country of departure, after verifying that the authorized recipient has provided the requested information regarding the date of arrival of the goods and the condition of the seals and having registered and endorsed the evidence. The competent authority of the country of destination will take appropriate measures with respect to the authorized recipient.
- Proof of completion of the regime has been sent, but the competent authority of the country of departure has not yet received it.
In this case, the competent authority of the destination country must return the test to the competent authority of the country of departure, with box IV of TC20 duly completed. This proof may be either the document issued by the competent authority of the country of departure (copy no. 1 of the SAD, a first copy of the DAT, manifest issued at the customs office of departure, etc.) or a copy of the document kept by the competent authority of the country of destination (copy no. 4 of the SAD, a second copy of the DAT, manifest presented at the customs office of destination or kept copy of the monthly list, etc.). This authority will note on the copy the date of arrival of the goods and the results of any inspections and will certify them.
2. The goods have not been presented at the customs office of destination or have not been delivered to an authorized recipient:
- There has been a change at the destination customs office: In this case, the customs office of the actual destination will be the one that returns the proof of the completion of the procedure to the competent authority of the country of departure:
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- If the competent authority of the country of the declared customs office of destination has been able to determine the actual customs office of destination, it shall send the TC20 to that customs office, in Box IV of which the details of the actual customs office of destination shall be shown, and shall send a copy of the TC20 to the competent authority of the country of departure for information.
- If the competent authority of the country of the declared customs office of destination has not been able to determine the actual customs office of destination, the declared customs office of destination shall forward the TC20, by completing Box IV, to the last planned customs office of transit and, if there is none, directly to the competent authority of the country of departure.
- There has been no change at the destination customs office (or there is no news of such a change):
- In this case, if the competent authority of the country of destination establishes that the goods have been delivered directly to an unauthorized consignee indicated in the TC20 or to any other person, that competent authority shall return the TC20 and a copy of the transit declaration to the competent authority of the country of departure. You will provide all relevant information, in a supplementary document, if necessary, indicating:
- the identity of the recipient and all persons who may be involved;
- the date and conditions of direct delivery of the goods, their nature and quantity; and
- the customs procedure under which the goods were included, if applicable.
- If the competent authority of the country of destination cannot find any trace of the goods, the completed TC20 shall be sent to the last customs office of passage specified in the transit declaration. If there is no customs office at the crossing, the TC20 will be returned directly to the competent authority of the country of departure (as in the second indent of point 2).
- In this case, if the competent authority of the country of destination establishes that the goods have been delivered directly to an unauthorized consignee indicated in the TC20 or to any other person, that competent authority shall return the TC20 and a copy of the transit declaration to the competent authority of the country of departure. You will provide all relevant information, in a supplementary document, if necessary, indicating:
When the competent authority of the country of destination sends Form TC20 to the final customs office of transit, it will also send a copy to the competent authority of the country of departure in order to provide it with information on the status of the investigation procedure.