What is Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll.?

Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll., Customs Act — Customs law.

When it became Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll. became effective 01.08.1954.

Is Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll. is still valid and effective.

Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll. - Customs law

36.

Customs law

of 24 April 1953

The National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic decided on the following Act:

HLAVA PRVNÍ

Purpose of the Customs Act.

§ 1.

(1) The planned development of the economy, in particular the protection and promotion of foreign trade, requires the circulation of goods in contact with a foreign country to be under customs control.

(2) This law specifies which State authorities perform these tasks and how.

HLAVA DRUHÁ

Customs and its organisation.

§ 2.

The office in customs matters shall be exercised by the Ministry of Foreign Trade through the Central Customs Administration, which shall be its specific component, and by its directly subordinate authorities.

§ 3.

(1) The Central Customs Administration shall organise and manage the customs administration, exercise the highest supervision in customs and carry out other tasks under this Act and under specific regulations.

(2) The central customs administration is also responsible for ensuring that the customs authorities comply with other provisions which require the implementation of the customs administration's synergies.

§ 4.

The central customs administration is directly subordinate to customs, their turnovers and customs patrols; established and repealed by the Foreign Trade Minister in agreement with the participating members of the Government.

§ 5.

(1) Customs, their turnovers and patrols carry out control over the circulation of goods in contact with foreign goods and customs procedures and carry out other tasks under this law and under specific regulations.

(2) The central customs administration may entrust customs authorities to take decisions in the first storehouse on certain cases falling within the competence of the central customs administration and may, on the contrary, reserve decisions on certain cases falling within the competence of the customs authorities.

§ 6.

(1) Customs staff are required to wear uniform in the performance of their duties. The Foreign Trade Minister shall provide details in agreement with the participating members of the Government.

(2) The Foreign Trade Minister shall determine in an agreement with the participating members of the Government when and under what conditions customs personnel are required to carry a service weapon.

§ 7.

Customs supervision of goods crossing national borders.

National security authorities may also co-operate in the customs supervision of the transport of goods across national borders and in the circulation of goods in the territory established under the rules on the protection of national borders and in the customs border zone. The details, in particular the authorisations and responsibilities of the national security authorities in carrying out these tasks and in which sections of the national border the authorities co-operate, shall be determined by the foreign trade and national security ministers.

§ 8.

Synergies of other state bodies.

All state authorities are obliged to provide effective assistance to the customs administration, within the limits of their competence, in implementing this law, in particular in prosecuting goods which have escaped customs control.

HLAVA TŘETÍ

Customs control and customs procedure.

§ 9.

Initial provision.

Goods imported, exported and accompanied, and goods transported through foreign territory shall be subject to restrictions under this Act, in particular customs procedure and customs control.

DÍL PRVNÍ

Transport goods across borders.

§ 10.

Obligation to deliver goods and report to customs.

(1) Any person who transports goods from or abroad in any way shall supply them to a border customs office with customs documents.

(2) Passengers crossing the border are obliged to come to the border customs office and submit to customs procedures.

(3) The customs administration may authorise exemptions and derogations.

§ 11.

Customs routes.

(1) Goods may be transported across borders only on customs routes and at a specified time. The customs administration may grant exemptions.

(2) Customs routes are sections of railway, road and water lines leading from borders to border customs, ports in border waters open to public transport and air travel between border and customs airport; the customs routes are specified by the Foreign Trade Minister in agreement with the participating members of the Government.

(3) Transport by customs must be carried out without delay, without changing the load and without turning the customs route. The Minister for Foreign Trade, in agreement with the participating members of the Government, may also introduce similar restrictions on the carriage of goods from abroad and to abroad by motor vehicles on roads downstream of customs.

(4) Cross-border transport is subject to customs control.

§ 12.

Means of transport.

(1) Only means of transport which do not have hard-to-find spaces may be used for the carriage of goods from and into a foreign country are such that they can be safely sealed with respect to customs and comply with international conventions.

(2) The Foreign Trade Minister, in an agreement with participating members of the Government, provides for details and exceptions. In the same way, it may order that goods may only be stored in certain places for transport by customs.

DÍL DRUHÝ

Customs procedure.

Oddíl první.

General provisions.

§ 13.

Top principles.

(1) Goods imported, exported and accompanied and transported through foreign territory may be handled, unless otherwise specified, only after the customs procedure has been carried out and only with the restrictions imposed on them.

(2) Customs procedures shall be carried out by the customs authorities on the basis of a proposal from the customs official (Section 14), in cooperation with the customs authorities and, in principle, on the basis of an inspection of the goods and documents, in order to establish under which conditions and for whom the customs administration may, in respect of the provisions in force, release the goods into circulation.

(3) The Foreign Trade Minister provides in an agreement with the participating members of the Government, in which cases and under which conditions, exceptionally for important reasons, a customs inspection is to be waived.

(4) Customs procedures shall normally be carried out in rooms or premises designated by the customs administration in agreement with public transport authorities and undertakings (customs). Goods to be subject to customs procedures shall, as a general rule, be delivered to the customs office of destination and may be removed when the customs office of departure. The customs administration may grant exemptions.

§ 14.

A customs participant.

(1) A customs party shall be the one who may dispose of the goods which are subject to customs proceedings, whether in his possession or with someone else. In cases where the goods need not be re-supplied for customs purposes, the customs party shall be the one who provides proof of the customs procedure to which the goods were subjected last.

(2) The customs party shall act alone or through a representative. If there is doubt, the representative shall demonstrate his authority in writing with full authority.

(3) The person used by the transport undertaking in the transport of goods for the purpose of procuring the tasks with which customs procedures are necessarily linked is the transport undertaking being authorised for the customs procedure.

§ 15.

Application for a customs procedure.

(1) An application for customs procedure shall be lodged, unless otherwise specified, after delivery of the goods to customs and within the time limit laid down.

(2) The application for a customs procedure shall contain all the information necessary to carry out the procedure and shall be accompanied by the documents provided for.

(3) The customs party is authorised to check the information required for the application by examining the goods under customs control.

(4) A customs party may amend the application for a customs procedure until the examination has begun. After that time, until the goods have been examined, the customs party may amend the application only in respect of the type of customs procedure.

§ 16.

Implementation of the customs procedure.

(1) The customs authority shall, on the basis of the draft, examine the goods. The customs authority shall, in accordance with the instructions of the customs office, prepare the goods for inspection, provide the necessary explanations and accept the sampling required for the customs procedure.

(2) According to the result of the inspection and taking into account the documents submitted and the explanation provided, the customs office shall decide whether to release them into the proposed circulation, under which conditions and for whom (to discuss the goods).

(3) Once the conditions of the decision have been fulfilled, the customs authorities shall release the goods for circulation, as a general rule, by issuing proof of the customs procedure carried out.

(4) Decisions on the release of goods for export (Sections 22 and 23) shall be annulled by the customs authorities on application by the customs authorities if the goods have not yet entered the territory. Customs may require prior to this decision that goods bearing the necessary documents be delivered to it.

§ 17.

Lack of cooperation between the customs participant.

(1) Where no application for a customs procedure is lodged within the time limit set, the customs authorities shall take appropriate measures on its cargo and risk to prevent the illicit disposal of the goods; in particular it may, on official duty, deposit the goods in a customs warehouse.

(2) Where the application is not complete, or where it is not duly substantiated, or where the customs party fails to submit the necessary documents within the prescribed time limit, or where the requested explanation is not provided, the customs authority shall reject the application and dispose of the goods in the manner referred to in the preceding paragraph.

(3) Where the customs party fails to submit a proper application and the necessary explanation within a further period of 3 days, if the goods are subject to perishable goods, otherwise within a further 30 days, after the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 1, after the case referred to in paragraph 2, the customs administration shall sell the goods in accordance with the auction rules outside execution. The customs administration may extend or shorten these three-day and 30-day periods. The proceeds of the auction will pay mainly the auction costs, the cost of the storage, the customs duties and levies, in the event of a customs refund (§ 30). The remainder of the proceeds shall be paid to those who prove that they have been a customs participant; If the authorised person does not sign up within a year after the sale of the goods, the remainder shall belong to the State.

(4) The customs administration may sell the goods in question in the same way if the conditions for their release are not fulfilled within the time limit laid down. The customs administration shall dispose of the proceeds in accordance with paragraph 3.

§ 18.

Persons authorised and obliged to discuss the goods.

(1) Customs treatment of goods shall give rise, unless otherwise specified, to authorisations and obligations of the customs candidate. Customs is the one for whom customs will release the goods into the proposed circulation. The customs party must certify the accuracy of the particulars relating to the person concerned in the application.

(2) The customs party shall be liable for the fulfilment of the obligations arising from the examination of the goods until it has handed over to the customs candidate referred to in the application for the procedure proof of the customs procedure carried out and until it has issued to the customs candidate the goods in those cases where the issue of the goods is considered.

(3) The customs administration may, with the agreement of the persons concerned, authorise a third party to take over, in whole or in part, the authorisations and obligations arising from the processing of the goods.

(4) The customs administration may also give its consent to be guaranteed by one person for the fulfilment of obligations arising from the processing of goods; The hostage is bound as much as the one he vouched for. The customs administration may require the hostage to fulfil its obligations even if it has failed to mention the principal debtor.

Oddíl druhý.

Types of customs procedure.

§ 19.

Initial provision.

(1) Imported goods are either released for free circulation or for circulation in the country; until that happens, the goods are displayed or stored.

(2) The exported goods shall be released for free circulation or for circulation abroad. Goods to be exported other than by frontier customs shall be shown for exit abroad; may also be stored in a customs warehouse.

(3) Balanced goods are shown or stored.

(4) Goods to be transported through foreign national territory are generally shown.

(5) Goods entered into circulation, the goods ordered, the goods stored and the goods released for export which have not yet entered the territory shall be subject to customs control and customs procedure. The Minister for Foreign Trade shall determine in which cases goods released for free circulation are subject to customs control.

I. Imports.

§ 20.

Recording in the country.

(1) Goods imported shall be released for circulation within the territory of the country provided that they are exported abroad within the prescribed period. The customs administration may authorise it to be exported in the altered state.

(2) The Minister for Foreign Trade sets out the purposes for which goods may be imported into the circulation of the goods.

(3) Imports of recorded goods may be left in the country only after release for free circulation in the country.

§ 21.

Free circulation in the country.

Goods intended to remain in the country shall be released for free circulation in the country. Goods released for free circulation within the territory of the country may be freely disposed of in the light of this Act, unless otherwise specified.

II. Export.

§ 22.

Recurrent circulation abroad.

(1) Goods exported shall be released for circulation abroad on condition that they are reimported within the prescribed period. The customs administration may allow it to be re-imported as amended.

(2) The Minister for Foreign Trade sets out the purposes for which the goods may be exported for the purpose of their circulation.

(3) In exports recorded goods may be kept abroad only after release for free circulation abroad.

§ 23.

Free circulation abroad.

Goods intended to remain abroad shall be released for free circulation abroad. As soon as such goods have gone abroad, they may be freely loaded in the light of this law, unless otherwise specified.

III. Auxiliary types of customs procedure.

§ 24.

Pointing.

(1) The customs office shall indicate the goods if the goods are to be brought under customs control to another customs office for further customs proceedings.

(2) The customs interested party must deliver the goods to the customs office to which the goods were directed within the time limit laid down, in the unaltered state and with the customs seals intact.

(3) Where the transport undertaking transfers the goods ordered as a customs candidate to another transport undertaking, the obligation referred to in the preceding paragraph shall pass on to each other transport undertaking.

§ 25.

Storage.

(1) The customs office shall examine the goods for storage in the customs warehouse if the customs party so requests.

(2) The customs interested party must ensure that the goods stored in the warehouse are kept in good and unaltered condition. With the agreement of the customs administration, he is also entitled to treat the goods in a different way.

(3) The customs warehouse operator shall be obliged to hide the goods properly and shall not do anything to change their status.

(4) The customs administration may exceptionally authorise the goods to be considered for storage under similar conditions in a place other than a customs warehouse.

(5) The customs administration lays down the conditions for the operation of the customs warehouse and the way in which goods may be handled in the operating warehouse of transport undertakings.

§ 26.

Output confirmation.

(1) The exit of goods transported abroad is certified by the border customs office of departure, if the customs party provides the necessary documents.

(2) The output of mail shall be demonstrated by the post office in accordance with its rules.

DÍL TŘETÍ

General authorisation of customs administration and duty to customs.

I. Customs control.

§ 27.

The customs authorities shall in particular be empowered to:

(a) have under direct supervision or have under customs supervision goods transported between frontier and frontier customs, goods stored and referred to, goods recorded and goods examined for export;

(b) place under direct supervision undertakings which have been granted a customs relief;

(c) to ensure that goods [(a)] are not handled illegally;

(d) inspect the records and documents of manufacturing, commercial and transport undertakings relating to goods subject to customs control and enter the premises and premises of such undertakings and the premises in which the goods are subject to customs control;

(e) satisfy itself whether the transport undertaking fulfils its obligations towards the customs administration and whether its equipment, intended or used for transport or for the custody of goods subject to customs control, complies with the customs rules;

(f) in the customs border zone and in the territory designated under the Code on the Protection of State Borders, stop persons and examine their baggage, stop road vehicles and vessels, examine them and their cargo and accompanying documents.

§ 28.

(1) Where goods have escaped or avoided customs control, or where goods have been handled illegally, the customs administration of the authorised goods shall prosecute and, notwithstanding the rights of third parties, detain them in order to ensure further proceedings, in particular the measurement and collection of the customs refund.

(2) Unless otherwise provided for in the specific provisions, the customs administration may not detain goods from a person who did not know when they were acquired and could not, in circumstances, know that they were goods which had escaped customs control.

II. Specific obligations of public transport authorities and undertakings.

§ 29.

(1) Public transport authorities and undertakings shall adjust the timetables so that customs authorities have sufficient time to carry out the customs procedure.

(2) Public transport authorities and undertakings shall provide the rooms necessary for the performance of the customs service. Foreign trade, rail and transport ministers shall determine the conditions under which customs personnel will be transported in the course of their duties.

III. Customs refund.

§ 30.

(1) Those who withdraw the goods from customs control, even if they know that they are goods subject to such control, or who fail to comply with the obligations imposed on them by this law or the obligations imposed on them in respect of the handling of the goods under customs procedure, shall be required to pay the customs authorities a customs refund.

(2) The basis for measuring the customs refund is the duty and the price of the goods.

(3) The customs refund shall be determined on the basis of the state and rules in which the goods were discussed the last time before the obligation to refund arose and, if they have not been cleared by customs, according to the state and rules in which the goods were brought across the border.

(4) The customs administration may require a customs refund up to the full amount of the base.

(5) The duty to refund shall be without prejudice to the duty to pay the duty if the goods are presented for free circulation.

§ 31.

The customs refund shall be subject to the legal lien of the goods subject to customs control as long as the customs administration or the person liable for the refund or the transferee of the goods to whom the goods may be detained under Paragraph 28 is in possession.

§ 32.

In the case of goods ordered, entered in the records, stored and in the case of goods to be exported, the customs administration may require a security for any customs refund.

§ 33.

(1) The right of the State to determine and enforce a customs refund is limited in three years.

(2) The limitation period shall begin on the first day of the year following the year in which the customs refund obligation arose. Measures to measure or recover a customs refund, if communicated to the person liable for reimbursement, shall result in a new limitation period starting on the first day of next year.

§ 34.

The provisions on remission (§ 48) and enforcement (§ 47) and limitation of the right to repayment (§ 49) apply mutatis mutandis to the remission and enforcement of the customs refund and to the limitation of the right to reimbursement of the duty (security for the customs refund).

HLAVA ČTVRTÁ

About the circle.

Customs and his kind.

§ 35.

(1) The duty is collected on goods imported (import duty) and on goods exported (export duty).

(2) The subject matter, the basis and the amount of the duty are laid down by the Government's tariff regulation.

(3) Customs duties are supplemented and interpreted by explanatory notes issued by the Minister for Foreign Trade.

(4) The Minister for Foreign Trade may allow the contractual duty to be levied on goods originating in States with which no trade agreement has been concluded containing provisions on the treatment of goods in the customs field.

§ 36.

(1) The import duty is, in principle, subject to all imported goods, with the exception of goods which are expressly declared free of duty in the Customs Tariff or in an international contract.

(2) The exported goods shall be subject to an export duty only if the customs duty expressly provides for a duty, otherwise the export duty shall be that of the customs duty.

§ 37.

The dues.

For reasons of economic retaliation, the Minister for Foreign Trade may, for a transitional period, provide for the introduction of specific duties on goods not subject to customs duties in respect of goods from a State which has been discriminated against in the field of the exchange of goods.

§ 38.

Customs exemptions and waivers on reimportation or exportation of goods.

The Foreign Trade Minister shall, in agreement with the participating members of the Government, determine which goods and under which conditions are exempt and in which cases the duty may be refunded or waived on the re-import or export of the goods.

§ 39.

Customs debt and customs debt.

The entitlement of the State to the duty (customs debt) and the corresponding obligation to pay the duty (customs debt) arise:

(a) on importation for free circulation in the domestic territory of goods subject to import duties;

(b) on exportation, for free circulation abroad, in respect of goods subject to export duties.

§ 40.

Validity of the customs claim.

(1) The customs debt shall be payable immediately after the goods have been examined. However, where goods have been subject to a duty-free or reduced duty procedure, the duty shall be payable on the basis of the difference in customs duty as soon as the condition with which the goods have been consulted has been undermined.

(2) The Minister for Foreign Trade sets out, in agreement with the Minister for Finance, the method of payment of the customs debt, following the payment relief, and where interest and late payment interest are required.

(3) Goods may be released for free circulation only after payment of the customs debt. The customs administration may authorise an exemption.

Citation	Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll., Customs Act
Regulation Type	-
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	13.05.1953
Effective from	01.08.1954
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 36 / 1953 Coll.