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A tool specifically designed for the needs of small and medium-sized businesses

The benefits of the Simplified Clearance Procedure

The Simplified Clearance Procedure (S.C.P.) provides traders with a secure and expeditious method for clearing their goods. It may also be automated (for imports only) as an integral part of the French Automated Clearance System, known as "SOFI". The S.C.P. greatly reduces the amount of paperwork, enables the lodging of declarations with a local customs office and accelerates the release of goods.

Why choose the S.C.P.?

• The main elements of the procedure are spelt out in a contractual arrangement signed with Customs and which provides for a customized clearance procedure taking into account the trader’s specific manufacturing or marketing constraints.
• Goods are released on presentation of a "simplified declaration" containing twelve basic particulars, deemed essential for their identification and examination, if any.
• a "supplementary declaration", containing the particulars missing on the simplified declaration, is submitted, either on a case by case basis or for a number of simplified clearances filed over a certain period of time.

• The S.C.P. is made available to any individual or legal entity which is entitled, under French Law, to lodge a declaration with Customs (brokers, importers, traders, etc.);

• It covers nearly all categories of goods, although sensitive products may be subject to specific regulations;
• It is applicable to imports and exports;
• It may be implemented at any customs office or in any location designated or approved by Customs;
• It may be combined with most other customs procedures;
• It may be used without prior authorization or approval for the occasional clearance of goods urgently needed;
• If the declaration is submitted to Customs prior to the arrival or departure of the shipment, Customs will be in a position to make a pre-selection of consignments to be examined if any and to release immediately the remaining consignments on arrival or departure;
• For imported goods, the whole process, from the simplified declaration to the supplementary declaration, may be computerized as part of the "SOFI" system.

The particulars of the simplified declaration

Import		Export
Authorization Number		Authorization Number
Customs Office Code Number		Customs Office Code Number
Summary Declaration Reference Number, if any		Reference Number of the Document under cover of which the goods are leaving the European Community (EC)
Simplified Declaration Reference Number		Simplified Declaration Reference Number
Name and Registration Number (SIREN) of Consignee		Name and Registration Number (SIREN) of Consignor
Net Mass		Net Mass
Number and Kind of Packages		Number and Kind of Packages
Commercial Description of Goods		Commercial Description of Goods
Commodity Code (French Nomenclature or "N. D. P.")		Commodity Code (EC Combined Nomenclature or "CN")
Requested Customs Procedure/Previous Customs Procedure		Requested Customs Procedure/Previous Customs Procedure
Country of Origin and		Country of Destination Name
Country of Consignment Name or Code		or Code
Invoice Price		Invoice Price
Expected Date and Time of arrival (only required for simplified declarations submitted prior to arrival)		Expected Date and Time of dispatch (only required for simplified declarations submitted prior to dispatch)