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Embassy of France in the United States
CUSTOMS OFFICE

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INFORMATIONS FOR TRADERS
The suspensive Arrangements and Customs Procedures with an Economic Impact

You are importing or exporting goods: you wish to store them, process them, import or export them on a temporary basis: use the suspensive arrangements and customs procedures with economic impact.

These arrangements allow your goods to be placed under a customs procedure under suspension of applicable duties and/or taxes and external trade measures.

Three facilities are available:

  • Customs Warehouses

  • If you wish to store, either goods imported from outside the EU which might be, for instance, re-exported or released for free circulation in the EU at a later stage, or goods intended for export.

  • Processing Procedures

  • To import (or export) goods, with a view to processing them, working them, repairing them, assembling them or fitting them into other goods, before re-exporting (or re-importing) the completed manufactures.

  • Other Suspensive Arrangements

  • To import or export, on a temporary basis, non-EC goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs or trade shows, for demonstrations, for use as commercial samples, or non-EC goods such as professional equipment.

In all cases a Customs Bond must be filed for an amount which is usually equivalent:
- to 10% of applicable duties and taxes, where goods are dutiable and taxable;
- to 5% of the applicable VAT, where only VAT is at stake.

For more information, feel free to contact the District Customs Collector (there is one Collector in each Customs District - see list).

Embassy of France in the US - October 5, 2001