Page History

Customs transit (Specific Annex E, Chapter 1)

“Customs transit” means the Customs procedure under which goods are transported under Customs control from one Customs office to another. The Customs shall allow goods to be transported under Customs transit in their territory:

(a)    from an office of entry to an office of exit;

(b)   from an office of entry to an inland Customs office;

(c)    from an inland Customs office to an office of exit; and

(d)   from one inland Customs office to another inland Customs office.

Goods being carried under Customs transit shall not be subject to the payment of duties and taxes. The Customs at the office of departure shall take all necessary action to enable the office of destination to identify the consignment and to detect any unauthorized interference.

Transshipment (Specific Annex E, Chapter 2)

“Transshipment” means the Customs procedure under which goods are transferred under Customs control from the importing means of transport to the exporting means of transport within the area of one Customs office which is the office of both importation and exportation. The Customs should accept as the Goods declaration for transshipment any commercial or transport document for the consignment concerned which meets all the Customs requirements. This acceptance should be noted on the document. 

Temporary Admission (Specific Annex G, Chapter 1)

“Temporary admission” means the Customs procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a Customs territory conditionally relieved totally or partially from payment of import duties and taxes; such goods must be imported for a specific purpose and must be intended for re-exportation within a specified period^a and without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to the use made of them.

National legislation shall enumerate the cases in which temporary admission may be granted and temporary admission shall be subject to the condition that the Customs are satisfied that they will be able to identify the goods when the temporary admission is terminated. The Customs shall fix the time limit for temporary admission in each case.

Temporary admission with total conditional relief from duties and taxes should be granted to the goods referred to in the Annexes to the Convention on Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention) of 26 June 1990: ^b

(a)     “Goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events”.

(b)    “Professional equipment”.

(c)     “Containers, pallets, packings, samples and other goods imported in connection with a commercial operation”.

(d)    “Goods imported for educational, scientific or cultural purposes”.

(e)     “Travellers’ personal effects and goods imported for sports purposes”.

(f)     “Tourist publicity material”.

(g)    “Goods imported as frontier traffic”.

(h)    “Goods imported for humanitarian purposes”.

(i)      “Means of transport”.

(j)      “Animals”.

^a See also IMTS 2010, para. 1.43