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E-Customs

The NCTS (New Computerised Transit System) is a fundamental part of e-zoll and has already been integrated into it.

This information contains important extracts for economic operators from the BMF guidelines on the e-customs procedure.

The guidelines newly regulate the electronic customs clearance (‘e-customs’) procedure under consideration of the optimisation measures developed during the OEZoll 2006/2007 project.

They are used to harmonise procedures for managing electronically transmitted customs declarations and notifications throughout Austria, the fallback procedure workflows and the processes involved in goods controls within and outside customs office opening hours.

1.1. Definition of terms

The terms below have the following meanings for the purposes of e-customs:

1.2. Customer service teams

In addition to the conceptual and operational duties in relation to releasing goods, the customer service teams are responsible for all the customs authorities’ activities in connection with electronic customs clearance.

1.3. Authorised locations of goods

Providing their nature does not dictate that they must take place away from the official office, all customs office activities must be carried out either on the premises of the customs offices or at authorised locations of goods. The presentation and customs clearance of goods at authorised locations of goods within the scope of the information procedure must be possible both outside the opening hours of the customs offices and outside the office hours of the customer service team, i.e. 24 hours a day, every day.

1.3.1. Authorisation of an authorised location of goods

The customs offices authorise economic operators to use the data-processing technique for the presentation and customs clearance of goods at authorised locations of goods when:

The customs office for the area in which the economic operator has its normal residence or registered office is responsible for approving the data-processing technique and the authorised locations of goods. The customer service team responsible for the goods location must be involved in approving the authorised locations of goods.

An authorised location of goods must meet the following minimum requirements:

1.4. Staff rostering

The management of the customs office is responsible for determining the basic conditions for establishing rosters in the economic area under consideration of the basic principles of service-orientation, economy, flexibility and efficiency. Depending on the site-specific conditions, rostering must occur as normal work, shift work, or, in so far as possible, within the scope of flexitime arrangements. If necessary, several different roster types can be combined.

When rostering staff, it must be ensured that the simplified procedure/declaration procedure can also be implemented outside the opening times of the customs offices, i.e. 24 hours a day, every day.

If within the scope of the simplified procedure/local clearance procedure, the exemption from a duty to present the goods or the duty to notify is temporarily suspended, the electronic notifications can also be used outside the opening times of the customs offices, i.e. 24 hours a day, every day, and must therefore also be considered during staff rostering.

1.4.1. Staff rostering in the economic area

When creating the roster for the control services, it must be ensured that a sufficient number of control managers and control bodies are available 24 hours a day every day.

During office hours, every customer service team must ensure that a control manager is continually logged onto the system for at least eight hours. The control hours of the individual customer service teams must be determined within this period on the basis of the economic conditions.

Outside the customer service team’s control hours, it must be ensured that at least one control manager in the economic area is available at an office from Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 05:00 to 21:00.

The extension of this period is permitted if necessary, as is its curtailment to 06:00 to 20:00. However, this is only permissible if it does not create a significant amount of extra work for Triple-C Austria.

Outside office hours, the provision of services must be guaranteed by at least one control manager and the necessary number of control bodies in the economic area.

1.4.2. Staff rostering for the customer service team

The team leader is responsible for staff rostering in line with the management’s general conditions.

When rostering the control service for the customer service team, it must be ensured that a control manager and the necessary number of control bodies are available for at least eight hours during the office hours; this must always occur under consideration of the busiest times. If necessary due to levels of activity, managerial measures must be used to appropriately extend the control hours of the customer service team.

1.4.3. On-call duty of the control manager

To ensure that the control manager’s duties can be fulfilled outside office hours, the customs office must organise an on-call service in accordance with Section 50 (3) of the Federal Disciplinary Act (BDG).

1.4.4. On-call duty of the control body

In order to conduct goods controls outside the control hours of the customer service team, the customs office must organise an on-call service in accordance with Section 50 (3) of the Federal Disciplinary Act. Within the scope of the on-call service, goods controls can be conducted at the authorised location of goods within the economic area regardless of the customer-specific jurisdiction of the respective customer service team.

1.4.5. Duties of Triple C Austria

If customs declarations appear on the transaction monitor outside the office hours of a customs office, Triple C Austria is responsible for notifying the on-call control manager of this situation by telephone (as well as, in all cases, by e-mail).

1.4.6 Duties of the on-call control manager

The control manager processes all customs declarations that appear on the transaction monitor and, where necessary, instructs the on-call control body to conduct a goods control. This instruction is provided immediately by telephone and at the earliest possible time by e-mail (control order).

1.4.7. Control decisions by the control manager

The following control decisions can be taken:

The control manager must record the control decision in the system. If a control is to be conducted, the name of the person responsible for conducting the control and his/her expected arrival time at the authorised location of goods must also be documented.

The following procedure should be used outside office hours:

1.5. Fallback procedure

The fallback procedure should be used in the event of a system failure, including an economic operator’s system failure, which prevents the proper exchange of messages. In this event, the declarations or notifications must be faxed to the responsible customs office (within office hours) or the Triple-C Austria competence centre (outside office hours, fax machine not available).

In consideration of the economic importance of quick customs processes, the customs offices or control managers must ensure that the fallback procedure is processed immediately and with the utmost efficiency.

To process the fallback procedure, the customs declarations must be registered with a fallback reference number (FRN).

For reasons of expediency and service-orientation, the responsible customer service team must allocate the economic operator the appropriate number of FRNs to be used in advance.

FRNs have the following structure:

Example: F07AT20ATB00000227 = 18-digit alphanumeric reference

All documents relating to fallback cases must be stored chronologically.

Depending on whether the fallback procedure is used within or outside office hours, the following procedures must be followed:

1.5.1 During office hours

1.5.1.1. Reporting the fallback procedure

If the customs system fails, Triple-C Austria must report the use of the fallback procedure. All customs offices, customer service teams and economic operators must be demonstrably notified of the decision to use the fallback procedure. In all events, a copy of the notification must also be sent to the managing boards of the customs offices, the regional managers and BMF departments IV/1, IV/6 and V/5, as well as to the responsible team at BRZ GmbH.

1.5.1.2. Processing

For every clearance case, the economic operator must fax a customs declaration (including cover sheet) to the customer service team responsible for the applicable location of goods. This customs declaration must already contain a fallback reference number (FRN).

The time and date printed on the fax confirmation shall be regarded as the time and date at which the customs declaration was submitted.

If a goods control is to be carried out, the customer service team responsible for the location of goods must notify the economic operator specified by the declarant as the contact for the current fallback procedure in the fax coversheet of this situation within 15 minutes of the customs declaration’s submission. In the event of a negative control decision (no control), no further information is sent to the economic operator; in this case, the goods are deemed as released upon expiry of a 15 minute period calculated from the time of submission of the customs declaration.

1.5.1.3. Ending the fallback procedure

Triple-C Austria must also provide notification of the end of the fallback procedure.

1.5.1.4. Failure of economic operator’s system

If an economic operator’s system fails, the fallback procedure must be used by the customs office and/or the responsible customer service team at ‘the economic operator’s request’. In this event, the control manager must once again notify Triple-C Austria and the office management as soon as possible.

Triple-C must also be notified of the end of the fallback procedure.

1.5.2 Outside office hours

1.5.2.1. Reporting the fallback procedure

If the customs system fails, Triple-C Austria must report the use of the fallback procedure. All customs offices, customer service teams, the control manager on-call and economic operators must be demonstrably notified of the decision to use the fallback procedure. In all events, a copy of the notification must also be sent (by e-mail) to the managing boards of the customs offices, the regional managers and BMF departments IV/1, IV/6 and V/5, as well as to the responsible team at BRZ GmbH.

1.5.2.2. Processing

For every clearance case, the economic operator must fax a customs declaration (including cover sheet) to Triple-C Austria. This customs declaration must already contain a fallback reference number (FRN).

The time and date printed on the fax confirmation shall be regarded as the time and date at which the customs declaration was submitted.

The control manager responsible for the economic area of the applicable location of goods will be immediately notified by Triple-C Austria of the submission and the contents of the customs declaration. The control manager and Triple-C Austria will then agree upon how to proceed, e.g.:

If the control manager determines that a goods control should be carried out, Triple-C Austria must notify the economic operator specified by the declarant as the contact for the current fallback procedure in the fax coversheet of this situation within 30 minutes of the customs declaration’s submission. In the event of a negative control decision (no control), no further information is sent to the economic operator; in this case, the goods are deemed as released upon expiry of a 30 minute period calculated from the time of submission of the customs declaration.

1.5.2.3. Ending the fallback procedure

Triple-C Austria must also provide notification of the end of the fallback procedure.

1.5.2.4. Failure of an economic operator’s system

If an economic operator’s system fails, Triple-C Austria must, at the economic operator’s request, provide the economic operator with the on-call telephone number of the control manager so that direct contact can be made in order to reach an agreement on how to proceed with the fallback procedure. The control manager on duty must immediately notify Triple-C of the use of the fallback procedure and also notify the customs office’s managing board of the situation as soon as possible.

Triple-C must also be notified of the end of the fallback procedure.

1.5.3 Subsequent submission of the declarations

The customs office must monitor the subsequent submission of the declarations (incl. TR200, TR204, EX 430, IM 530) after the fallback procedure has been terminated, and where necessary, request these from the economic operator.

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