Community Customs Code: external transit procedure

PURPOSE: to amend the Community customs code in accordance with the proposals put forward in the Action Plan for the reform of transit in Europe presented by the Commission on 30/04/1997. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Directive 955/1999/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, amending Council regulation 2913/92/EEC with regard to the external transit procedure. CONTENT: the regulation is part of the framework of reform of the transit procedures and follows on from the Commission Action plan for transit in Europe, developed in response to the findings of the European Parliament's temporary committee of enquiry on the Community transit procedure. The amendment of the Community Customs Code is only one part of a more extensive reform, essentially consisting of a recasting of of the application provisions of the code, the revision of the Convention on joint transit concluded with the EFTA and Visegrad countries, the computerization of transit procedures and improvement of the operational wing of procedures. The tewt clarifies and simplifies the rules to be applied and takes account of both the reliability of operators and the assessment of the risks in play to ensure a satisfactory level of security in transit operations. It ensures increased harmonisation of customs practices in the field of simplifications and integrates the necessary measures for the improvement of efficiency of recovery actions in the context of transit. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 10/05/1999.�