NEW STATUTORY DUTIES OF FORWARDING/SHIPPING AGENTS (Advisory opinion)
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
The Competition Authority has reported unjustified advantages granted to shipping agents
The Competition Authority has submitted a report to parliament and the government regarding draft legislation on shipping agents which is currently before the Chamber of Deputies.
In its report, the Authority has pointed out that clauses 2 and 3 of this Bill are likely to restrict competition and interfere with market forces without justification by giving certain exclusive powers to shipping agents and to the Customs Assistance Centres.
For clause 2 gives shipping agents a range of exclusive powers to provide customs declaration certification services, offering substantial benefits to those who use their services. Because of the vital importance to the companies involved of expediting the customs formalities rapidly, the shipping agents will certainly be given a privileged position over anyone else.
The Competition Authority therefore deems it essential to see whether or not the interests designed to be protected by vesting certain individuals with powers to certify customs declarations protects the intended interests - namely, the need for the customs and excise authorities to reduce clerical errors and enforce tax legislation - are based on principles and values of general interest that override the establishment of a competitive market system. The Authority pointed out that neither the Bill nor the parliamentary debate on it suggest that there exists any well-founded concern about a high number of clerical errors or cases of fraud in customs clearance operations, that make it urgently necessary to enact such legislation.
Apart from this, granting such statutory powers to shipping agents would far exceed the discretionary powers given under Community legislation to each Member State.
Secondly, the question to be asked is whether empowering only shipping agents to certify customs declarations is the sole means of protecting the interests of the authorities, or whether other measures might be used to obtain the same result with a lesser impact on restricting competition.
In particular, it is necessary to see whether the desired level of diligence in certifying customs declarations could be guaranteed by having a wider range of individuals by adopting existing penalties or whether current penalties need to be increased.
Lastly, it is necessary to see whether the certification of customs declarations, which essentially involves ensuring that the data on customs declarations or tax declarations match the documentation - is of such a technically complex nature that it justifies restricting the certifying powers merely to people who are members of a professional association, or whether these functions could continue to be properly performed by others who work continuously in the area of customs assistance services and are properly organized and have the appropriate technical skills within their organization to perform the same activities.
Clause 3 of the same Bill raises similar concerns, where it empowers the Customs Assistance Centres to perform streamlined checking procedures. Making a special streamlined procedure for submitting goods available to companies which use the services of these Customs Assistance Centres gives these companies a substantial competitive lead over other companies offering the same services.
Here again, there seems to be no justification in terms of serving general public interests for introducing such discriminatory treatment. In particular, it does not seem to serve any interests of the Tax or Customs authorities, because the effect of this measure would merely be to loosen the degree of the strict control over imports or exports instead of making it more stringent, which certification ensures.
Rome, 22 February 2000