1. End Use Procedure

The End Use Procedure (EUS) is a customs special regime which allows certain non-Union goods to be released for free circulation in the EU under a duty exemption or at a reduced rate of duty, provided that they are used for a specific purpose and within a defined period, e.g. materials for shipbuilding, drilling platforms, civil aircrafts, etc.

The relief applies to customs duty only and is not extended to any anti-dumping duty, V.A.T. or excise duty that may be payable.

Goods under the EUS remain under customs supervision until they are used for the approved purpose.

2. Benefits when using the EUS procedure

The EUS procedure promotes and supports legitimate business activities by providing favourable tariff treatment with the application of a reduced or zero duty rates upon the importation of certain goods for certain use,. This enables economic operators and manufactures to gain advantage from the use of low-cost materials to manufacture competitive product, to create and increase jobs and facilitating the smooth movement of these goods within the EU.

3. Legal framework

The legal framework for the EUS procedure includes:

· Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 - Union Customs Code (UCC), (common provisions: articles 1-6, 22-30, 55, 77-80, 82, 85-86, specific provisions: articles 210-225, 254).

· Regulation (EU) No 2015/2446 - Delegated Act Regulation (UCC-DA), (common provisions articles: 8-18, specific provisions articles 161-164, 169, 171-175, 177a, 178-180, 183, 239, and Annex A).

· Regulation (EU) No 2015/2447 - Implementing Act Regulation (UCC-IA), (common provisions articles 8-15, 147-158, specific provisions: articles 259-269, and Annex A).

· Regulation (EU) No 2016/341 - Transitional Rules Delegated Act Regulation, (common provisions articles 2-3, 7-8, specific provisions articles 14-15, 22, 55).

· Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 - Common Customs Tariff - Latest Amendment to Annex I

· Law No. 94(I)/2004 – The Customs Code Law of 2004 (Articles 54-57)

· Law No. 91(I)/2004 – The Excise Duties Law of 2004

· Law No. 95(I)/2000 – The VAT Law as it has been amended

· Κ.Δ.Π. 436/2004 (Only in Greek) - Customs Code (terms and conditions of customs procedures)

· Κ.Δ.Π. 437/2004 (Only in Greek) - Application of the End Use Procedure Regulation.

4. Necessary conditions for using the EUS procedure

In order to use the EUS and benefit from reduced or zero customs duties:

(a) The importer of the goods must be authorised for using of the aforementioned procedure.

(b) The goods must be used for the specified purpose, within a defined time period.

(c) The importer must maintain records for the goods and their use, adhere to the terms determined for the use of the procedure, and pay the corresponding duties and taxes in the event of using the goods for a purpose other than the specified one.

(d) Customs must ensure the supervision and control of the procedure without the need to establish administrative arrangements disproportionate to the existing economic needs.

5. Persons who may be granted an EUS authorisation

The authorisation to use the EUS procedure can be granted to a person who:

· is established in the customs territory of the Union (occasionally, and where justified, it may be established outside this territory),

· provides all necessary assurances for the proper conduct of operations,

· provides a guarantee in order to ensure any potential customs debt or other charges for the goods placed under the procedure,

· keeps appropriate records,

· will place the goods (in whole or in part) to their intended use, will use them only for the approved purpose and can transfer its obligations to another approved beneficiary.

The holder of the authorisation is not required to be the owner of the goods.

6. Goods that can be placed under the EUS procedure

Goods eligible for end-use are identified by their tariff classification:

(a) in the Preliminary provisions of the Tariff - Part One - Title II - Special Provisions A & B () (products intended for certain categories of ships and drilling or exploration platforms, civil aircrafts, and certain products intended for use/integration in them, ground devices for flight training for civil aviation)

(b) in the Tariff, based on their customs classification, where their end use is defined. [For example, 15111010 - crude palm oil intended for technical or industrial use, other than the production of human food. Note: The inclusion in this distinction depends on the terms provided by the relevant EU provisions (see Article 254 UCC).]

Indicatively, the goods that can be placed under the EUS procedure include:

• Shipbuilding goods

• Aircraft and aircraft parts

• Hydrocarbon oil

• Marine propulsion engines

• Military equipment

• Fish

• Cheese

• Casein (for use in cheesemaking)

End use authorisation cannot be granted for the following goods:

(a) portable equipment that is not permanently installed on the ship or aircraft, as well as food supplies and fuel,

(b) goods that will subsequently be subject to a customs suspensive procedure, such as customs warehousing, inward processing relief procedure, or Free Zone.

7. Types of EUS authorisations and ways goods can be placed under the procedure

Goods can be placed under the EUS procedure if an authorisation is granted by the Customs.

Type of authorisations

- National Authorisation – (when is used only in the issuing Member State and includes national simplified authorisation).

- Multinational Authorisation – (when more than one member state is included) – see paragraph 8.

The authorisation can be submitted electronically through one of the following:

(a) through the Customs Decisions System (CDS) (for a national/multinational authorisation) or

(b) directly through the Customs Import System (simplified national authorisation)

In (a) case, the application is submitted through the CDS system to the competent customs office of the applicant's jurisdiction, where the applicant’s main accounts for customs purpose are held or accessible. The application should be accompanied by all the necessary information and documents.

More information about CDS and the application process can be found in the Circular EE "Θ" (161) (links), in the DG Taxud guide for CDS application (links) and on the department's website .

In (b) case, the application for a simplified authorisation is based on the submission of a customs declaration in the import system for the release of goods for free circulation/consumption. This applies only in case where the applicant intends to wholly assign the goods to the prescribe end use.

A simplified authorisation cannot be granted in cases of article 163 UCC-DA i.e. where the application involves simplified procedures, or multinational authorisation or the use of equivalent goods, or requests retroactive validity. The authorisation is granted with the acceptance of import declaration and the release of goods.

It should be noted that, within the framework of Law 76(I)/2010 on the Freedom of Establishment of Service Providers and the Free Movement of Services, the Customs Department, for the purpose of simplifying procedures and administrative cooperation required for the examination of this application, may request and obtain information concerning the applicant from the Competent Authority of another member state, in which the applicant has declared to be a registered member. For more information regarding the operation of the IMI, you can visit the website http://ec.europa.eu/imi-net or connect through the website of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism.

8. Granting an EUS Multinational authorisation- involvement of more than one Member State

The multinational authorisation is granted after the agreement of participating Member States, following a prior consultation among them, to ascertain whether the conditions for granting the authorisation are met. The participating Member States must communicate any duly justified objections within 30 days from the date of notification of the draft authorisation.

If no objections are communicated by the involved customs authorities or if there is no response within this deadline, it is considered that the conditions are fulfilled and the authorisation is granted through the CDS system. If objections are raised within the deadline and no agreement is reached within 60 days from the date of notification of the draft authorisation, the authorisation is granted with the elements that were not objected to.

9. Operation of the EUS procedure

The authorisation becomes effective from the date of issuance or from a later date (if requested by the applicant). Its validity period depends on the type of goods subject to the scheme, either for a period of 3 or up to 5 years. Specifically, if the authorisation concerns sensitive agricultural products such as sugar, olive oil, milk, and dairy products, which are detailed in Annex 71-02 of the UCC-DA , the duration is up to three (3) years, while for other goods, it is up to five (5) years. Within the validity period of the authorisation, the holder can place goods under the procedure.

The goods can remain under the EUS until their intended purpose is completed.

Both the authorisation holder and all persons involved in the operation of the EUS procedure must maintain appropriate "records" satisfying the requirements of the Customs for monitoring the procedure. These records should contain information and details as referred to in Article 178(1) of UCC-DA, facilitating accounting controls and providing Customs with the ability to supervise and verify the procedure at any time, mainly regarding the identification of goods subject to the regime, customs status of goods, their movement, and the completion of their intended purpose e.g., order number, MRN of declaration for placement/discharge, quantities, type (description, tariff code), import duty rate, customs value (CIF), origin, way of discharge.

10. Obligations of the holder of an EUS authorisation

The obligations are mentioned in paragraph 10 (α-ιε) of ΚΔΠ 437/2004 (Only in Greek) .

11. End of the customs supervision – Discharge of the EUS procedure

According to Article 254 UCC and Public Instrument no. 437/2004 (paragraphs 19-21), customs supervision ends when goods placed under free circulation with a zero or reduced duty rate due to their specific end-use are:

(a) Used for the first time for their prescribed end use,

(b) Exported,

(c) Used for other purposes and the due duty is paid,

(d) Destroyed with the approval of Customs, under Customs supervision without leaving any residue,

(e) Abandonment to the Republic.

12. More Information

- Special procedures - Guidance for Member States and traders - TAXUDA2/SPE/MRe (20171) 6411367 (in English) - EU Website

- Circulars for the End Use Procedure (only in Greek)

- Supporting documents accompanying the application

- Information contained in accounting records - Article 178 UCC-DA

- Information/ details to be provided in the bill of discharge - Annex 71-06 UCC-DA

For more information interested persons may write to the Department of Customs and Excise at the following address:

The Director,
Department of Customs and Excise
Corner M. Karaoli and Gr. Afxentiou,1096 Nicosia

The postal address is:
Director of Customs,
Customs Headquarters,
1440, Nicosia.
Fax no: 22302031
E-mail: headquarters@customs.mof.gov.cy
For oral inquiries you may call: 22601740/1.