Protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data
According to the relevant legislation, “personal data” means any information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person. The identifiable natural person shall be that whose identity can be ascertained, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier, such as name, identity number, location data, online identifier or one or more factors that can specify the physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
This Privacy Policy governs the processing of your personal data by the Customs and Excise Department under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, based on the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) and the Law providing for the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and for the Free Movement of such Data of 2018 (Law 125(I)/2018).
1. Processing of personal data
Your personal data are collected and processed for a specified, explicit and legitimate purpose and are not further processed in a manner incompatible with these purposes.
2. Purpose and legal basis of processing
The Customs and Excise Department processes personal data in the context of the implementation of its responsibilities, and in particular:
- during the management of applications for:
· registration in the Customs Register (EORI)
· customs agent's authorization
· access to customs electronic systems
- during management of access to customs electronic systems
- for the keeping of the Customs Register (EORI) and the Customs Agents Register
- for the control and management of declarations and/or other information submitted to customs electronic systems
3. Who processes your personal data
Your personal data are processed by the Customs and Excise Department, the Tax Department, the Statistical Service and various other services of the Cyprus Government.
4. To whom your personal data is communicated
Your data may be communicated to any authority with legal power to carry out audits in the activities of the Department, including the Audit Office of the Republic. In addition, documents relating to the conduct of transactions may be forwarded to the Tax Department for audit purposes.
5. Storage of personal data
Personal data shall be stored, in paper form, in files maintained by the Customs and Excise Department and/or, in electronic form, in a computerised system accessible only by the authorised personnel of the Department.
6. How we protect your personal data
With regard to computer systems/equipment, access to your data is provided by specific employees of the Customs and Excise Department who have a unique username and password. As regards the files paper form, access to them shall be limited only to the staff/persons required to have access to carry out their duties.
7. For how long will your personal data be stored
Personal data shall be stored in paper form in the service files and/or in electronic form.
As far as declarations are concerned, the deletion of personal data takes place 7 years after the completion of the handling of each declaration. The handling of each declaration shall be deemed to be completed when there are no obligations or requirements of the involved parties and when there is no audit and/or judicial procedure concerning or relating to the declaration. The time of deletion of the data in the printed files is considered the time of their forwarding to the Registrar of the State Archives for destruction, in accordance with the State Archives Law of 1991 (Law 208/1991).
The periods referred to above may be extended if it is required by objective reasons.
8. What are your rights
-You have the right to request the Customs and Excise Department to access and correct the data kept regarding yourself.
-You have the right to withdraw – where applicable – the consent you have given for the processing of your personal data.
-You also have the right to request the deletion of your personal data, provided that the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes referred to in the above paragraph 2. However, please be aware that the request for deletion will be assessed by us against legal obligations or administrative or judicial orders that may be contrary to such a deletion.
-You also reserve the right to request the restriction of data processing or to object to the processing.
-If you wish to exercise any of the above rights, please send a written request to:
Headquarters,
Customs and Excise Department,
Ministry of Finance,
1440 Nicosia
-Futheromer, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Commissioner for personal data protection in relation to the application of the legislation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data.
9. Consequences of non-provision of personal data
In the event of non-provision of your personal data or in the event of exercising your right to delete or restrict processing or to oppose the processing or withdrawal of your consent, the Customs and Excise Department may not be able to handle your application.
10. More information
For more information, you may write to the following address.
Email: headquarters@customs.mof.gov.cy