From January 1, 2011 and in accordance with European legislation no° A 2006/1857, exports of goods to European Union countries must be subject to a summary declaration to be forwarded to the customs office at the first European port where the ship makes its stowage.
On the sidelines of the information day on “the obligation to submit the summary declaration,” Heykel Ben Sedrine, President of the Trade Union Chamber of Shipping Agents explained the importance of this new procedure.
Interview:
What should we expect from this day?
The goal of the day is to provide necessary data to concerned operators to contribute to easing Tunisian exports to European Union countries and forwarding the summary declaration.
It is also a good opportunity to present the legal framework of this statement and technical procedures for its preparation and filing it to all operators, ship-owners, exporters and forwarders.
We will also endeavor to double, by the end of 2014, the share of our national maritime fleet in the transportation of traded goods, and give the railway a more important role in the national economic activity.
What is the Entry Summary Declaration?
As announced, exporters will be submitted, as of January 1, 2011, to the obligation to transmit to customs data required for security reasons, prior to entry into the territory of the European Union.
This procedure is part of the “Import Control System” established under the SAFE standards recommended by the World Customs Organization. The summary declaration is lodged by the person or his representative who brought the goods into the customs territory of the Community in legal deadlines.
In general, the new procedure, to which all goods from countries outside the EU will be subject, involves issuing a set of information in an electronic document, the “Summary Declaration” a way before.
Obtaining this document will facilitate the mission of inspection authorities, including customs services of EU countries, in treating and identifying the severity of each commodity.
Tunisian export sectors will be embarrassed if the EU security-based s and anti-terrorism rules, the Import Control System, is not respected. There is only a few days left and yet the information for various export-oriented economic players is not yet available.
What is its fundamental aim?
It is to distinguish and identify those goods that will be subject to control on the ground. Other goods will be released immediately from the moment they are received at one point of delivery, whether by sea or by air.
The implementation of this new procedure will be done with some delicacy in the two or three months to come, in order to give Tunisian professionals, forwarders and carriers time to assimilate this procedure.
This data is added to the transport package, which came into force in Januaryt, and whose use has become mandatory.
With the aim to popularize the use of the “Summary Statement,” meetings were held between the public services of Tunisia and their European counterparts, including French, at the level of customs. They helped form a task force whose objective was to establish mechanisms to implement the new procedures without impeding the flow of trade.
What is the impact of this new procedure?
The new legislation has a positive impact especially since it avoids any negative effect on the fluidity of Tunisian trade with the EU, the first trading partner of Tunisia. We know that France is the first partner of Tunisia and the second is Italy.
France is a strong partner, there are many French companies operating in Tunisia, at import and export. Both countries are on a good track.
I would like to stress again that this new legislation affects all goods destined for the European Union with the exception of electrical energy, goods entering by pipeline, letters, postcards and prints, including electronic and goods moving under cover of rules of the Universal Postal Union. So, through this procedure, the relationship with the EU will be strengthened and will remain strong and broad between the two countries.
And to strengthen cooperation in trade, the Tunisian customs has continuously strengthened its ties with foreign customs in trade and has established a technical platform to facilitate trade, and this, to ensure a faster and more targeted customs control. We are called to work in a more organized way, since the information will arrive faster.
