Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 on Community statistics relating to external trade with non-member countries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1172/95 (Text with EEA relevance)

External trade statistics shall record imports and exports of goods.

An export shall be recorded by Member States in the event that goods leave the statistical territory of the Community in accordance with one of the following customs procedures or customs-approved treatment or use, laid down in the Customs Code:

1. exportation;

2. outward processing;

3. re-exportation following either inward processing or processing under customs control.

An import shall be recorded by Member States in the event that goods enter the statistical territory of the Community in accordance with one of the following customs procedures laid down in the Customs Code:

1. release for free circulation;

2. inward processing;

3. processing under customs control.

In order to take account of changes in the Customs Code and provisions deriving from international conventions, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a adapting the list of customs procedures or customs-approved treatment or use referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article.

For methodological reasons, certain goods or movements call for specific provisions. This concerns industrial plants, vessels and aircraft, sea products, goods delivered to vessels and aircraft, staggered consignments, military goods, goods to or from offshore installations, spacecraft, electricity and gas and waste products (hereinafter referred to as specific goods or movements).

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a relating to specific goods or movements and to different or specific provisions applicable to them.

For methodological reasons, certain goods or movements shall be excluded from external trade statistics. This concerns monetary gold and means of payment which are legal tender; goods the intended use of which is diplomatic or similar nature; movements of goods between the importing and exporting Member State and their national armed forces stationed abroad as well as certain goods acquired and disposed of by foreign armed forces; particular goods which are not the subject of a commercial transaction; movements of satellite launchers before their launching; goods for and after repair; goods for or following temporary use; goods used as carriers of customised information and downloaded information; and goods declared orally to customs authorities which either are of a commercial nature, provided that their value does not exceed the statistical threshold of EUR 1 000 in value or 1 000 kg in net mass, or are of a non-commercial nature.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a relating to the exclusion of goods or movements from external trade statistics.

When exercising the powers delegated in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the Commission shall ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.

The data source for records on the imports and exports of goods referred to in Article 3(1) shall be the customs declaration, including possible amendments or changes to statistical data resulting from decisions by customs pertaining to it.

Where the further simplification of customs formalities and controls pursuant to Article 116 of the Modernised Customs Code results in records on the imports and exports of goods not being available at customs authorities, the economic operator to whom the simplification was granted shall provide the statistical data defined in Article 5 of this Regulation.

Member States may continue to use other data sources for the compilation of their national statistics until the date of implementation of a mechanism for mutual data exchange by electronic means referred to in Article 7(2).

For specific goods or movements as referred to in Article 3(3), data sources other than the customs declaration can be used.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a relating to the data collection referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Article. When exercising those powers, the Commission shall ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.

Member States shall obtain the following set of data from records on imports and exports referred to in Article 3(1):

1. the trade flow (import, export);

2. the monthly reference period;

3. the statistical value of the goods at the national border of the importing or exporting Member States;

4. the quantity expressed in net mass and in a supplementary unit if indicated on the customs declaration;

5. the trader, being the importer/consignee on import and the exporter/consignor on export;

6. the importing or exporting Member State, being the Member State where the customs declaration is lodged, if indicated on the customs declaration:

   1. on import, the Member State of destination;

   2. on export, the Member State of actual export;

7. the partner countries, that is:

   1. on import, the country of origin and the country of consignment/dispatch;

   2. on export, the country of last known destination;

8. the goods according to the Combined Nomenclature, being:

   1. on import, the goods code of the TARIC subheading;

   2. on export, the goods code of the Combined Nomenclature subheading;

9. the customs procedure code to be used for determining the statistical procedure;

10. the nature of the transaction if indicated on the customs declaration;

11. the preferential treatment on import where granted by customs authorities;

12. the invoicing currency if indicated on the customs declaration;

13. the mode of transport, detailing:

    1. the mode of transport at the frontier;

    2. the internal mode of transport;

    3. the container.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a relating to further specification of the data referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, measures relating to the codes and their format to be used in respect of the data referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2).

Where not otherwise stated and without prejudice to customs legislation, the data shall be contained in the customs declaration.

For specific goods or movements as referred to in Article 3(3) and data provided in accordance with Article 4(2), limited sets of data may be required.

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a relating to those limited sets of data.

When exercising the powers delegated in paragraphs 2 and 4, the Commission shall ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or on the respondents.