Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code

Where the customs authorities establish, based on the results of the verification, that the customs declaration covers goods that have been sold in a series of successive sales concluded before these goods are brought into the customs territory of the Union and one of those sales qualifies as a distance sale as defined in Article 14(4), point (2), of Directive 2006/112/EC, they shall consider only the distance sale for the application of the provisions governing the customs procedure under which the goods are placed.

Where, on the basis of the verification of the customs declaration, the customs authorities determine an amount of import or export duty different from the amount which results from the particulars in the declaration, Article 195(1) of the Code shall apply as regards the amount thus assessed.

Where the customs authorities have doubts about whether or not a prohibition or restriction applies and this cannot be resolved until the results of the checks carried out by the customs authorities are available, the goods in question shall not be released.

Where, for any of the reasons listed in Article 198(1)(b) of the Code, the goods cannot be released or where, after their release, the goods are found not to have fulfilled the conditions for that release the customs authorities shall give the declarant a reasonable time-limit to remedy the situation of the goods.

The customs authorities may, at the risk and expense of the declarant, transfer the goods referred to in paragraph 1 to special premises under the customs authorities’ supervision.

The customs authorities may reject a request for a permission to abandon goods to the State in accordance with Article 199 of the Code where any of the following conditions is fulfilled:

A request for the abandonment to the State shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with Article 199 of the Code where the customs authorities have made a public appeal for the owner of the goods to come forward and 90 days have passed without the owner doing so.

Customs authorities may sell goods abandoned to the State or confiscated only on the condition that the buyer immediately carries out the formalities to place the goods under a customs procedure or to re-export them.

Where the goods are sold at a price inclusive of the amount of import duty and other charges, the goods shall be considered to have been released for free circulation. The customs authorities shall calculate the amount of duty and enter it in the accounts. That sale shall be conducted according to the procedures applicable in the Member State concerned.

The economic operator authorised to draw up certificates in accordance with Article 155 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 (banana weighing certificates) shall give the customs authorities advance notice of the weighing of a consignment of fresh bananas for the purpose of drawing up a that certificate, giving details of the type of packaging, the origin and the time and place of weighing.

The banana weighing certificate shall be in the declarant’s possession and at the disposal of the customs authorities at the time of lodging of a declaration for release for free circulation of fresh bananas falling within CN code 0803 90 10 subject to import duty.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, at the declarant’s request for an authorisation as set out in  Article 166 of the Code, the customs authorities may decide to release consignments of fresh bananas into free circulation on the basis of a provisional declaration of the weight on the following conditions:

The banana weighing certificate shall be drawn up using the form set out in Annex 61-02.

The declarant shall make the information establishing that the conditions for relief from import duty have been fulfilled available to the customs office where the customs declaration for release for free circulation is lodged.

The information referred to in paragraph 1 may be provided by any of the following means:

Where information available to the competent customs authorities establishes that the goods declared for release for free circulation were originally exported from the customs territory of the Union and at that time fulfilled the conditions for being granted relief from import duty as returned goods, the information referred to in paragraph 2 shall not be required.

Paragraph 2 shall not apply where goods may be declared for release for free circulation orally or by any other act. Nor shall it apply to the international movement of packing materials, means of transport or certain goods admitted under specific customs arrangements unless where provided otherwise.

The exporter may request an information sheet INF 3 from the customs office of export.

Where the exporter requests the information sheet INF 3 at the time of export, the information sheet INF 3 shall be issued by the customs office of export at the time of completion of the export formalities for the goods.

Where the exporter requests an information sheet INF 3 after the completion of the export formalities for the goods, the information sheet INF 3 may be issued by the customs office of export if the information about the goods stated in the exporter’s request corresponds to the information about the exported goods at the disposal of the customs office of export and no refund or other amount provided for on export under the common agricultural policy has been granted, and cannot subsequently be granted, in respect of the goods.

Where an information sheet INF 3 has been issued, the exporter may request that the customs office of export replace it by several information sheets INF 3 each covering a part of the total quantity of goods included in the information sheet INF 3 initially issued.

The exporter may ask for an information sheet INF 3 to be issued only in respect of a part of the exported goods.

Where an information sheet INF 3 is issued on paper, a copy shall be kept by the customs office of export which issued it.

Where the original information sheet INF 3 was issued on paper and has been stolen, lost or destroyed the customs office of export which issued it may issue a duplicate at the request of an exporter.

Where information sheet INF 3 is issued on paper, it shall be drawn up using the form laid down in Annex 62-02.

Where following an application for an authorisation as referred to in Article 211(1)(a) of the Code an examination of the economic conditions is required in accordance with Article 211(6) of the Code, the customs administration of the customs authority competent for taking a decision on the application shall transmit the file to the Commission without delay requesting such examination.

Where, after the issuing of an authorisation for the use of a processing procedure, evidence becomes available to a customs administration of a Member State that the essential interests of Union producers are likely to be adversely affected by the use of that authorisation, that customs administration shall transmit the file to the Commission requesting an examination of the economic conditions.

An examination of the economic conditions at Union level may also take place at the initiative of the Commission where it has evidence that the essential interests of Union producers are likely to be adversely affected by the use of an authorisation.

The Commission shall establish an expert group, composed of the representatives of the Member States, which shall advise the Commission on whether the economic conditions are fulfilled or not.

The conclusion reached on the economic conditions shall be taken into account by the customs authority concerned and by any other customs authority dealing with similar applications or authorisations.

Where it has been concluded that the economic conditions are no longer fulfilled, the competent customs authority shall revoke the relevant authorisation. The revocation shall take effect no later than 1 year after the day following the date on which the decision on the revocation is received by the holder of the authorisation.

Where an application has been submitted for an authorisation referred to in Article 211(1) of the Code and involving more than one Member State, Articles 10 and 14 of this Regulation and paragraphs 2 to 5 of this Article shall apply, unless the customs authority competent to take the decision is of the opinion that the conditions for granting such an authorisation are not fulfilled.

The customs authority competent to take the decision shall communicate to the other customs authorities concerned the application and the draft authorisation at the latest 30 days after the date of acceptance of the application.

No authorisation involving more than one Member State shall be issued without the prior agreement of the customs authorities concerned on the draft authorisation.

The other customs authorities concerned shall communicate objections, if any, or their agreement within 30 days after the date on which the draft authorisation was communicated. Objections shall be duly justified.

If the other customs authorities concerned have not communicated objections within 30 days after the date on which the draft authorisation was communicated, their agreement shall be deemed to be given.

The competent customs authority shall take a decision on an application without consultation of the other customs authorities concerned as laid down in Article 260 of this Regulation in any of the following cases:

The competent customs authority shall take a decision on an application without consultation of the other customs authorities concerned as laid down in Article 260 of this Regulation and without making available the particulars of the authorisation to the other customs authorities concerned in accordance with paragraph 1, in any of the following cases:

Where goods have been placed under a special procedure using two or more customs declarations by virtue of one authorisation, the placing of such goods or of the products obtained therefrom under a subsequent customs procedure, or their assignment to their prescribed end-use, shall be considered to discharge the procedure for the goods in question placed under the earliest of the customs declarations.

Where goods have been placed under a special procedure using two or more customs declarations by virtue of one authorisation and the special procedure is discharged by taking the goods out of the customs territory of the Union or by destruction of the goods with no waste remaining, the taking out of the goods or the destruction with no waste remaining shall be considered to discharge the procedure for the goods in question placed under the earliest of the customs declarations.

By derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the holder of the authorisation or the holder of the procedure may request the discharge to be made in relation to specific goods placed under the procedure.

The application of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not lead to unjustified import duty advantages.

Where the goods under the special procedure are placed together with other goods, and there is total destruction or irretrievable loss, the customs authorities may accept evidence produced by the holder of the procedure indicating the actual quantity of goods under the procedure which was destroyed or lost.

Without prejudice to Articles 46 and 48 of the Code, the supervising customs office shall control the bill of discharge as referred to in Article 175(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 without delay.

The amount of import duty payable shall be entered in the accounts as referred to in Article 104 of the Code within 14 days from the date on which the bill of discharge was communicated to the supervising customs office.

Movement of goods to the customs office of exit with a view to discharging a special procedure other than end-use and outward processing by taking goods out of the customs territory of the Union shall be carried out under cover of the re-export declaration.

Where goods are moved under outward processing from the customs office of placement to the customs office of exit, the goods shall be subject to the provisions that would have been applicable had the goods been placed under the export procedure.

Where goods are moved under end-use to the customs office of exit, the goods shall be subject to the provisions that would have been applicable had the goods been placed under the export procedure.

Customs formalities other than keeping of records as referred to in Article 214 of the Code are not required for any movement which is not covered by paragraphs 1 to 3.

Where movement of goods takes place in accordance with paragraphs 1 or 3, the goods shall remain under the special procedure until they have been taken out of the customs territory of the Union.

The use of equivalent goods shall not be subject to the formalities for placing goods under a special procedure.

Equivalent goods may be stored together with other Union goods or non-Union goods. In such cases, the customs authorities may establish specific methods of identifying the equivalent goods with a view to distinguishing them from the other Union goods or non-Union goods.

In the case of end-use, the goods which are replaced by equivalent goods shall no longer be under customs supervision in any of the following cases:

In case of customs warehousing and temporary admission, the equivalent goods shall become non-Union goods and the goods which they are replacing shall become Union goods at the time of their release for the subsequent customs procedure discharging the procedure or at the time when the equivalent goods have left the customs territory of the Union.

In case of inward processing, the equivalent goods and the processed products obtained therefrom shall become non-Union goods and the goods which they are replacing shall become Union goods at the time of their release for the subsequent customs procedure discharging the procedure or at the time when the processed products have left the customs territory of the Union.

In case of prior export of processed products under inward processing, the equivalent goods and the processed products obtained therefrom shall become non-Union goods with retroactive effect at the time of their release for the export procedure if the goods to be imported are placed under that procedure.

An electronic information and communication system set up pursuant to Article 16(1) of the Code shall be used for the standardised exchange of information (INF) pertaining to any of the following procedures:

Paragraphs 1 and 1a of this Article shall apply from the date of deployment of the UCC Information Sheets (INF) for Special Procedures set out in the Annex to Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2151.

For the exchange of TIR carnet data for TIR operations and for the completion of the customs formalities of Union transit procedures, an electronic system set up pursuant to Article 16(1) of the Code (electronic transit system) shall be used.

In case of discrepancies between the particulars in the TIR carnet and the particulars in the electronic transit system, the TIR carnet shall prevail.

By derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, until the date of the upgrading of the system referred to therein in accordance with the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/255/EU, Member States shall use the New Computerised Transit System set up by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1192/2008 ([^E0026]).

Goods moved under a TIR operation shall be transported to the customs office of destination or exit along an economically justified itinerary.

Where the customs office of departure or entry considers it necessary, it shall prescribe an itinerary for the TIR operation taking into account any relevant information communicated by the TIR carnet holder.

The TIR carnet holder shall submit the TIR carnet data for the TIR operation at the customs office of departure or entry.

The customs office to which the TIR carnet data has been submitted shall set a time-limit within which the goods shall be presented at the customs office of destination or exit, taking into account the following:

Where the time-limit is set by the customs office of departure or entry, it shall be binding on the customs authorities of the Member States the territory of which the goods enter during the TIR operation, and that time-limit shall not be altered by those authorities.

Where the goods are released for the TIR operation, the customs office of departure or entry shall record the MRN of the TIR operation in the TIR carnet. The customs office releasing those goods shall notify the TIR carnet holder of the release of the goods for the TIR operation.

The customs office of departure or entry shall transmit the particulars of the TIR operation to the declared customs office of destination or exit.

The carrier shall present without undue delay after the incident the goods together with the road vehicle, the combination of vehicles or the container, the TIR carnet and the MRN of the TIR operation to the nearest customs authority of the Member State in whose territory the means of transport is located where:

Where the customs authority in whose territory the means of transport is located considers that the TIR operation concerned may continue, it shall take any steps that it considers necessary.

Until the dates of deployment of the upgrading of the NCTS referred to in the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/255/EU, relevant information concerning the incidents referred to in paragraph 1 shall be recorded in the electronic transit system by the customs office of destination or exit.

Until the dates of deployment of the upgrading of the NCTS referred to in the Annex to Implementing Decision 2014/255/EU, the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply.

Where goods moved under a TIR operation arrive at the customs office of destination or exit, the following shall be presented at that customs office:

Where the presentation has taken place at the customs office of destination or exit after expiry of the time-limit set by the customs office of departure or entry in accordance with Article 276(2) of this Regulation, the TIR carnet holder shall be deemed to have complied with the time-limit where he or the carrier proves to the satisfaction of the customs office of destination or exit that the delay is not attributable to him.

A TIR operation may be terminated at a customs office other than that declared in the transit declaration. That customs office shall then be considered to be the customs office of destination or exit.

The customs office of destination or exit shall notify the customs office of departure or entry of the arrival of the goods on the day the goods together with the road vehicle, the combination of vehicles or the container, the TIR carnet, the MRN of the TIR operation are presented in accordance with Article 278(1) of this Regulation.

Where the TIR operation is terminated at a customs office other than that declared in the transit declaration, the customs office considered to be the customs office of destination or exit in accordance with Article 278(3) of this Regulation shall notify the arrival to the customs office of departure or entry on the day the goods are presented in accordance with Article 278(1) of this Regulation.

The customs office of destination or exit shall notify the control results to the customs office of departure or entry at the latest on the third day following the day the goods are presented at the customs office of destination or exit or at another place in accordance with Article 278(1) of this Regulation. In exceptional cases that time-limit may be extended up to 6 days.

The customs office of destination or exit shall terminate the TIR operation in accordance with Articles 1(d) and 28(1) of the TIR Convention. It shall complete counterfoil No 2 of the TIR carnet and retain Voucher No 2 of the TIR carnet. The TIR carnet shall be returned to the TIR carnet holder or to the person acting on his behalf.

Where Article 274 of this Regulation applies, the customs authorities of the Member State of destination or exit shall return the appropriate part of Voucher No 2 of the TIR carnet to the customs office of departure or entry without delay and at the latest within 8 days from the date when the TIR operation was terminated.

Where the customs office of departure or entry has not received the control results within 6 days after receiving the notification of arrival of the goods, that customs office shall immediately request the control results from the customs office of destination or exit which sent the notification of arrival of the goods.

Where the customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry has not yet received information that allows for the discharge of the TIR operation or for the recovery of the customs debt, it shall request the relevant information from the TIR carnet holder or, where sufficient particulars are available at the place of destination or exit, from the customs office of destination or exit, in the following cases:

The customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall send requests for information in accordance with paragraph 2(a) within a period of 7 days after the expiry of the time-limit referred to therein and requests for information in accordance with paragraph 2(b) within a period of 7 days after the expiry of the applicable time-limit referred to in paragraph 1.

Replies to requests made in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be sent within 28 days from the date on which the request was sent.

Where, following a request in accordance with paragraph 2, the customs office of destination or exit has not provided sufficient information for the TIR operation to be discharged, the customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall request the TIR carnet holder to provide that information, at the latest 35 days after the initiating the enquiry procedure.

Where a TIR carnet has been accepted without exchange of TIR carnet data for the TIR operation in accordance with  Article 274, the customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall initiate an enquiry procedure in order to obtain the information needed to discharge the TIR operation if, after 2 months from the date of the acceptance of the TIR carnet, it has not received proof that the TIR operation has been terminated. This authority sends the request for the relevant information to the customs authority of the Member State of destination or exit. That customs authority shall reply to that request within 28 days from the date on which it was sent.

The customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall inform the guaranteeing association concerned that it has not been possible to discharge the TIR operation, and invite it to provide proof that the TIR operation has been terminated. That information shall not be considered a notification within the meaning of Article 11(1) of the TIR Convention.

Where during the steps of an enquiry procedure set out in paragraphs 1 to 7 it is established that the TIR operation was terminated correctly, the customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall discharge the TIR operation and shall immediately inform the guaranteeing association and the TIR carnet holder and, where appropriate, any customs authority that may have initiated a recovery procedure.

Where during the steps of an enquiry procedure set out in paragraphs 1 to 7 it is established that the TIR operation cannot be discharged, the customs authority of the Member State of departure or entry shall establish whether a customs debt has been incurred.

The TIR operation shall be considered as having been terminated correctly within the time-limit set in accordance with Article 276(2) of this Regulation where the TIR carnet holder or the guaranteeing association presents, to the satisfaction of the customs authority of a Member State of departure or entry, one of the following documents identifying the goods:

Instead of the documents referred to in paragraph 1, copies thereof certified as being true copies by the body which certified the original documents, by the authority of the third country concerned or by an authority of a Member State may be provided as proof.

The notification of arrival of the goods referred to in Article 279(1) and (2) of this Regulation shall not be considered to be proof that the TIR operation has been terminated correctly.

When the goods arrive at a place specified in the authorisation referred to in Article 230 of the Code, the authorised consignee shall:

When the customs office of destination has received notification of arrival of the goods at the premises of the authorised consignee, it shall notify the customs office of departure or entry of the arrival of the goods.

When the customs office of destination has received the results of the inspection of the goods referred to in paragraph 1(d) it shall send the control results to the customs office of departure or entry on the sixth day following the day the goods were delivered to the authorised consignee, at the latest.

At the request of the TIR carnet holder, the authorised consignee shall issue a receipt which certifies the arrival of the goods at a place specified in the authorisation referred to in Article 230 of the Code and contains a reference to the MRN of the TIR operation and to the TIR carnet. The receipt shall not be considered to be proof that the TIR operation has been terminated within the meaning of Article 279(4) of this Regulation.

The authorised consignee shall ensure that the TIR carnet together with the MRN of the TIR operation are presented within the time-limit laid down in the authorisation, at the customs office of destination for the purposes of terminating the TIR operation in accordance with Article 279(4) of this Regulation.

The TIR carnet holder shall be considered to have fulfilled his obligations under Article 1(o) of the TIR Convention where the TIR carnet together with the road vehicle, the combination of vehicles or the container and the goods have been presented intact to the authorised consignee at a place specified in the authorisation.

The ATA transit operation shall be considered as having been terminated correctly where the ATA carnet holder presents, within the time-limits prescribed in Article 7(1) and (2) of the ATA Convention where the carnet is issued under the ATA Convention or in Article 9(1)(a) and (b) of Annex A to the Istanbul Convention where the carnet is issued under the Istanbul Convention and to the satisfaction of the customs authority, one of the following documents identifying the goods:

Instead of the documents referred to in paragraph 1, copies thereof certified as being true copies by the body which certified the original documents may be provided as proof.

At the time of dispatch of the goods, the NATO forces shall do either of the following:

Where the NATO forces lodge the NATO form 302 data electronically in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article, Articles 294, 296, 304, 306 and 314 to 316 of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Where the NATO forces proceed in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 1, they shall, without delay, give a copy of the NATO form 302 to the designated customs office responsible for customs formalities and controls pertaining to the NATO forces dispatching the goods or on whose behalf the goods are being dispatched.

At the time of dispatch of the goods, the military forces of the Member State shall do either of the following:

Where the military forces of the Member State lodge the EU form 302 data electronically in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article, Articles 294, 296, 304, 306 and 314 to 316 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Where the military forces of the Member State proceed in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 1, they shall, without delay, give a copy of the EU form 302 to the designated customs office responsible for customs formalities and controls pertaining to the military forces of the Member State dispatching the goods or on whose behalf the goods are being dispatched.

Where a consignment of goods conveyed under the responsibility of a postal operator contains both Union goods and non-Union goods, that consignment and any accompanying documents shall bear a label as set out in Annex 72-01 to this Regulation.

For the Union goods referred to in paragraph 1, proof of the customs status of Union goods or a reference to the MRN of that means of proof shall be sent separately to the postal operator of destination or be enclosed in the consignment.

Where Union goods are moved to, from or between special fiscal territories under the internal transit procedure in accordance with Article 227(2), point (f), of the Code, the consignment of goods conveyed under the responsibility of a postal operator and any accompanying documents shall bear a label as set out in Annex 72-02 to this Regulation.

Where Union goods are moved under the internal transit procedure in accordance with Article 227(2), point (f), of the Code from the customs territory of the Union to a common transit country for onward transmission to the customs territory of the Union, those goods shall be accompanied by proof of the customs status of Union goods established by one of the means listed in Article 199 of this Regulation.

The customs authority shall accept a paper-based transit declaration in the event of a temporary failure of:

The acceptance of a paper-based transit declaration in the event of a temporary failure as referred to in points (b) or (c) shall be subject to the approval of the customs authorities.

The competent customs authority may carry out post-release controls of the information supplied and of any documents, forms, authorisations or data relating to the transit operation in order to check that the entries, the information exchanged and the stamps are authentic. Such controls shall be made where doubts arise as to the accuracy and authenticity of the information provided or where fraud is suspected. It may also be made on the basis of risk analysis or by random selection.

A competent customs authority receiving a request to make a post-release control shall respond without delay.

Where the competent customs authority of the Member State of departure makes a request to the competent customs authority for a post-release control of information related to the Union transit operation, the conditions laid down in Article 215(2) of the Code for discharging the transit procedure shall be deemed not to have been fulfilled until the authenticity and accuracy of the data have been confirmed.

Where the holder of the goods uses the common transit procedure, paragraph 2 of this Article and Article 189 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 shall apply. However, goods circulating within the customs territory of the Union shall be deemed to be placed under the Union transit procedure in accordance with Article 1(2) of the Convention on a common transit procedure.

Where the provisions of the Convention on a common transit procedure apply and Union goods pass through one or more common transit countries, the goods shall be placed under the internal Union transit procedure as referred to in Article 227(2)(a) of the Code, except for Union goods which are carried entirely by sea or air.

Each transit declaration shall include only goods placed under the Union transit procedure that are moved or are to be moved from one customs office of departure to one customs office of destination on a single means of transport, in a container or in a package.

For the purposes of this Article, any of the following shall also be regarded as constituting a single means of transport, provided that the goods carried are dispatched together:

Where for the purpose of the Union transit procedure a single means of transport is used for loading goods at more than one customs office of departure and for unloading at more than one customs office of destination, separate transit declarations shall be lodged for each of the consignments.

The customs office of departure shall set a time-limit within which the goods shall be presented at the customs office of destination, taking into account the following:

Where the time-limit is set by the customs office of departure, it shall be binding on the customs authorities of the Member States the territory of which the goods enter during a Union transit operation, and that time-limit shall not be altered by those authorities.

Goods placed under the Union transit procedure shall be moved to the customs office of destination along an economically justified itinerary.

Where the customs office of departure or the holder of the procedure considers it necessary, that customs office shall prescribe an itinerary for the movements of goods during the Union transit procedure taking into account any relevant information communicated by the holder of the procedure.

Where goods are to be placed under the Union transit procedure, the customs office of departure shall seal the following:

The customs office of departure shall record the number of the seals and the individual seal identifiers, in the electronic transit system.

The customs office of departure shall consider means of transport or containers to be suitable for sealing on the following conditions:

Road vehicles, trailers, semi-trailers and containers approved for the carriage of goods under customs seal in accordance with an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party shall also be regarded as suitable for sealing.

Customs seals shall have at least the following essential characteristics and comply with the following technical specifications:

Where seals have been certified by a competent body in accordance with ISO International Standard No 17712:2013 ‘Freight containers - Mechanical Seals’, those seals shall be deemed to fulfil the requirements laid down in paragraph 1.

The customs seal shall bear the following indications:

Each Member State shall notify the Commission about its customs seal types in use. The Commission shall make this information available to all Member States.

Whenever a seal needs to be removed to allow customs inspection, the customs authority shall endeavour to reseal as necessary, with a custom seal of at least equivalent security features and note the particulars of the action, including the new seal number, on the cargo documentation.

By way of derogation from Article 299 of this Regulation, the customs office of departure may decide not to seal the goods placed under the Union transit procedure and instead rely on the description of the goods in the transit declaration or in the supplementary documents provided that the description is sufficiently precise to permit easy identification of the goods and states their quantity and nature and any special features such as serial numbers of the goods.