PROTOCOL 4
On Mutual Assistance between Administrative Authorities in Customs Matters


ARTICLE 1
Definitions


For the purposes of this Protocol:

 
(a)

"customs legislation" shall mean any legal or regulatory provisions applicable on the territories of the Parties and governing the import, export, transit of goods and their placing under any customs procedure, including measures of prohibition, restriction and control adopted by the said Parties;
(b)

"applicant authority" shall mean a competent administrative authority which has been appointed by a Party for this purpose and which makes a request for assistance in customs matters;
(c)

"requested authority" shall mean a competent administrative authority which has been appointed by a Party for this purpose and which receives a request for assistance in customs matters;
(d) 

"personal data" shall mean all information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.

ARTICLE 2
Scope


1. The Parties shall assist each other, in the areas within their jurisdiction, in the manner and under the conditions laid down in this Protocol, in preventing, detecting and investigating operations in breach of customs legislation.
2. Assistance in customs matters, as provided for in this Protocol, shall apply to any administrative authority of the Parties which is competent for the application of this Protocol.  It shall not prejudice the rules governing mutual assistance in criminal matters. Nor shall it cover information obtained under powers exercised at the request of the judicial authorities, unless those authorities so agree.

ARTICLE 3
Assistance on Request


1. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall furnish it with all relevant information which may enable it to ensure that customs legislation is correctly applied, including information regarding operations noted or planned which are or could be in breach of such legislation.
2. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall inform it whether goods exported from the territory of one of the Parties have been properly imported into the territory of another Party, specifying, where appropriate, the customs procedure applied to the goods.
3. At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall, within the framework of its laws, take the necessary steps to ensure that a special watch is kept on:
(a) natural or legal persons of whom there are reasonable grounds for believing that they are breaching or have breached customs legislation;
(b) places where goods are stored in a way that gives grounds for suspecting that they are intended to supply operations in breach of customs legislation;
(c) movements of goods notified as possibly giving rise to breaches of customs legislation;
(d) means of transport for which there are reasonable grounds for believing that they have been, are or might be used in operations in breach of customs legislation.

ARTICLE 4
Spontaneous Assistance

The Parties shall provide each other, in accordance with their laws, rules and other legal instruments, with assistance if they consider that to be necessary for the correct application of customs legislation, particularly when they obtain information pertaining to:
- operations which are, or appear to be in breach of such legislation and which may be of interest to the other Party;
- new means or methods employed in carrying out such operations;
- goods known to be subject to breaches of customs legislation;
- natural or legal persons of whom there are reasonable grounds for believing that they are breaching or have breached customs legislation;
-

 means of transport for which there are reasonable grounds for believing that they have been, are or might be used in operations in breach of customs legislation.

 

ARTICLE 5
Delivery/notification

At the request of the applicant authority, the requested authority shall, in accordance with its legislation, take all necessary measures in order:
- to deliver all documents,
-

to notify all decisions,

falling within the scope of this Protocol to an addressee, residing or established in its territory.  In such a case Article 6(3) shall apply as far as the request is concerned.

 

ARTICLE 6
Form and substance of requests for assistance

. Requests pursuant to this Protocol shall be made in writing.  They shall be accompanied by the documents necessary to enable compliance with the request.  When required because of the urgency of the situation, oral requests may be accepted, but must be confirmed in writing as soon as possible.
2. Requests pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include the following information:
(a) the applicant authority making the request;
(b)  the measure requested;
(c) the object of and the reason for the request;
(d) the laws, rules and other legal elements involved;
(e) indications as exact and comprehensive as possible on the natural or legal persons who are the target of the investigations;
(f) a summary of the relevant facts and of the enquiries already carried out, except in cases provided for in Article 5.
3. Requests shall be submitted in an official language of the requested authority or in a language acceptable to that authority.
4. If a request does not meet the formal requirements, its correction or completion may be requested; precautionary measures may, however, be ordered.

ARTICLE 7
Execution of requests

1. In order to comply with a request for assistance, the requested authority shall proceed, within the limits of its competence and available resources, as though it were acting on its own account or at the request of other authorities of that same Party, by supplying information already possessed, by carrying out appropriate enquiries or by arranging for them to be carried out.  This provision shall also apply to the administrative department to which the request has been addressed by the requested authority when the latter cannot act on its own.
2. Requests for assistance shall be executed in accordance with the laws, rules and other legal instruments of the requested Party.
3. Duly authorized officials of a Party may, with the agreement of the other Party involved and subject to the conditions laid down by the latter, obtain from the offices of the requested authority or other authority for which the requested authority is responsible, information relating to operations which are or may be in breach of customs legislation which the applicant authority needs for the purposes of this Protocol.
4.

Officials of a Party may, with the agreement of the other Party involved and subject to the conditions laid down by the latter, be present at enquiries carried out in the latter's territory.

 ARTICLE 8
Form in which information is to be communicated


1. The requested authority shall communicate results of enquiries to the applicant authority in the form of documents, certified copies of documents, reports and the like.
2. The documents provided for in paragraph 1 may be replaced by computerized information produced in any form for the same purpose.

ARTICLE 9
Exceptions to the obligation to provide assistance

1. The Parties may refuse to give assistance as provided for in this Protocol, where to do so would:
(a) be likely to prejudice the sovereignty of Jordan or that of a Member State of the Community which has been asked for assistance under this Protocol; or
(b) be likely to prejudice public policy, security or other essential interests, in particular in the cases referred to under Article 10(2); or
(c) involve currency or tax regulations other than customs legislation; or
(d) violate an industrial, commercial or professional secret.
2. Where the applicant authority requests assistance which it would itself be unable to provide if so asked, it shall draw attention to that fact in its request.  It shall then be left to the requested authority to decide how to respond to such a request.
3. If assistance is refused, the decision and the reasons therefor must be notified to the applicant authority without delay.

ARTICLE 10
Information exchange and confidentiality

1. Any information communicated in whatsoever form pursuant to this Protocol shall be of a confidential or restricted nature.  It shall be covered by the obligation of official secrecy and shall enjoy the protection extended to like information under the relevant laws of the Party which received it and the corresponding provisions applying to the Community institutions.
2. Personal data may be exchanged only where the receiving Party undertakes to protect such data in at least an equivalent way to the one applicable to that particular case in the supplying Party.
3. Information obtained shall be used solely for the purposes of this Protocol.  Where one of the Parties requests the use of such information for other purposes, it shall ask for the prior written consent of the authority which furnished the information.  Moreover, it shall be subject to any restrictions laid down by that authority.
4. Paragraph 3 shall not impede the use of information in any judicial or administrative proceedings subsequently instituted for failure to comply with customs legislation.  The competent authority which supplied that information shall be notified of such use.
5. The Parties may, in their records of evidence, reports and testimonies and in proceedings and charges brought before the courts, use as evidence information obtained and documents consulted in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol.

ARTICLE 11
Experts and witnesses

1. An official of a requested authority may be authorized to appear, within the limitations of the authorization granted, as an expert or witness in judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the matters covered by this Protocol in the jurisdiction of the other Party, and produce such objects, documents or authenticated copies thereof, as may be needed for the proceedings.  The request for an appearance must indicate specifically on what matters and by virtue of what title or qualification the official will be questioned.
2. The authorized official shall enjoy the protection guaranteed by existing legislation to officials of the applicant authority on its territory

ARTICLE 12
Assistance Expenses

The Parties shall waive all claims on each other for the reimbursement of expenses incurred pursuant to this Protocol, except, as appropriate, for expenses to experts, witnesses, interpreters and translators who are not public service employees.

ARTICLE 13
Application

1. The application of this Protocol shall be entrusted to the central customs authorities of Jordan on the one hand and the competent services of the Commission of the European Communities and, where appropriate, the customs authorities of the Member States of the Community on the other.  They shall decide on all practical measures and arrangements necessary for its application, taking into consideration rules in force in the field of data protection.  They may, through the Customs Cooperation Committee, propose to the Association Council amendments which they consider should be made to this Protocol.
2. The Parties shall consult each other and subsequently keep each other informed of the detailed rules of implementation which are adopted in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol.
ARTICLE 14
Complementarity

Without prejudice to Article 10, the agreements on mutual assistance which have been or may be concluded between one or more Member States of the Community and Jordan do not prejudice Community provisions governing the communication between the competent services of the Commission and the customs authorities of the Member States of any information obtained in customs matters which could be of Community interest.