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Submit an application for approval to set up a regular service

Service Description

Shipping companies based in the European Union (EU) can apply for a liner service for customs purposes under certain conditions.

Goods that are transported by sea generally leave the customs territory of the European Union and have to be re-customs cleared on arrival at the port of destination. However, as the holder of an authorization to set up a regular shipping service for customs purposes, you can transport Union goods by sea between ports of the European Union without having to undergo customs clearance again at the port of destination.

It is also possible to transport non-Union goods by liner shipping, but the transit procedure is mandatory for these goods.

Process flow

  • If you wish to apply for a permit to set up a regular service, you must submit the application in electronic form via the EU Trader Portal.
  • To access the EU Trader Portal, you will need
    • a user account. If you do not yet have a user account,
      • complete the application to set up an EU user account (form 05700),
      • send the form by e-mail to the Master Data Management team at the Directorate General of Customs - Dresden office.
    • an EORI number (Economic Operators Registration and Identification number). If you do not yet have an EORI number, you must apply for one in your user account in the customs administration's citizen and business customer portal. The user account gives you access to the "EORI number administration" and you can apply for a new EORI number or change your EORI-specific data at any time
  • Log in to the EU Trader Portal with your access data.
  • Complete the application for the authorization type "RSS - Regular services (RSS)" and submit it.
  • Send the "Additional sheet of national data" and, if applicable, Parts I and II of the questionnaire for customs authorizations directly to the responsible main customs office with reference to the application number generated by the EU Trader Portal.
  • If the main customs office has successfully checked whether all authorization requirements have been met, an authorization will be issued electronically in the EU Trader Portal.
  • If the requirements are not met, you will receive a notification of rejection of the application by post.

Requirements

Authorization is only granted to shipping companies that are based in the European Union and that have not committed any serious or repeated violations of customs and tax regulations or serious criminal offences in the course of their business activities.
General requirements for the establishment of a regular shipping service for customs purposes:

  • a formal authorization must be available,
  • only seaports within the European Union may be called at,
  • no free zones in a port of the European Union may be called at,
  • no goods may be transhipped at sea,
  • the names of the ships used in the regular service, the port in which the ship starts the regular service and the ports of call must be registered with the authorizing customs authority.

Which documents are required?

If you are not an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), submit the completed Customs Authorization Questionnaire Parts I and II in addition to the main application.
In addition to the main application, submit the "Supplementary sheet national information".
Parts I and II of the questionnaire for customs authorizations and the "Supplementary sheet of national data" must be submitted directly to the competent main customs office with reference to the application number generated by the EU Trader Portal.

What are the fees?

There are no costs.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

You must apply for a permit before setting up a regular service.

Processing duration

You will usually receive notification of your application within 120 days of it being accepted.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

  • Appeal. Detailed information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the rejection or approval notice.
  • Appeal to the tax court

Appeal

  • Forms: yes
  • Online procedure possible: yes
  • Written form required: yes
  • Personal appearance required: no

Further Information

Author

Forwarding service: Deep link to the original portal

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Federal Ministry of Finance

Professionally released on

04.03.2021

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)

Competent Authority

Generalzolldirektion Direktion II Stammdatenmanagement EU-Nutzerkonto

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