Part 4: Using Temporary Admission – how to prepare for a customs ramp check
OPMAS - EU import and admission of aircraft
Leading experts in EU importation and admission issues for aircraft owners and operators.
We are seeing a trend where aircraft are checked for customs issues and operators are asked to prove TA compliance – quite commonly in Greece, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Customs ramp checks only take two minutes if the operator is prepared but can take hours and sometimes days if the relevant paperwork is not ready at hand onboard the aircraft – also in all good scenarios where everything is correct.?
Let us dig deeper into the topic and examine what kind of underlying documentation and information an operator should prepare and have available when encountering EU customs during customs ramp checks.
Other Short & Sweet articles about?arriving in the EU using the TA procedure.
The customs aspect of flying within the EU
Any aircraft flying into the EU will operate under customs control using either the Temporary Admission procedure (TA) or full importation (FI). There are no other options. If the aircraft is not already fully imported, the aircraft will automatically be considered as flying under the TA procedure even though the owner or operator has not themselves taken any action to activate the TA procedure or realized that their aircraft is flying under TA. The TA procedure?can only be used by?EU outsiders?where the aircraft is owned?(including any UBOs), operated, registered,?and?based outside the EU, leaving?EU insiders?with only one option: full importation. EU outsiders can, of course, choose to use full importation instead of TA if they find it beneficial. However, both options can be used commercially or privately if applied correctly.
Temporary Admission is supposed to be paperless, so why is documentation needed?
Only the entry and exit are supposed to be paperless, but the operator must continuously live up to the TA preconditions, handle the limitations correctly, and be able to document these at any time, even if flights are just in and out of the EU with only one visited destination.
What do customs want to know?
It is important to immediately give local customs total comfort and demonstrate that the operator is on top of the situation andunderstands TA. The pilots must be able to explain and document why the aircraft is eligible to use the TA procedure. Please be aware that the Supporting Document does not function like this.
The pilots should be ready to answer (and document) a minimum of relevant questions, such as:
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Be prepared to meet the EU customs when using Temporary Admission
No operator should fly to the EU unprepared and unable to explain and document which customs procedure they are using. Being ready for customs ramp checks should be seen parallel to how an operator prepares for an eventual SAFA ramp check. We experience that many pilots are not trained and prepared to handle the above issues convincingly and thus fly without a ready-to-use portfolio to support the use of TA.
IMPORTANT!
Be ready for customs ramp checks
Ramp checks will eventually happen, so any operator ought to be prepared to avoid wasting time on the ramp. All experience shows that a convincing portfolio and well-prepared pilots will close all inspection issues effectively, while a fumbling start will often prolong an inspection for hours or days. About one-third of all recorded TA problems are related to the operators’ inability to understand and document the correct use of TA. In these cases, compliance is not an issue, only the lack of ability to prove compliance.
The relevant documentation can be conditioned without help from OPMAS, but we will be happy to help and have years of experience with this process.?We have different TA solutions pending on the risk profile and typical flight pattern. Please inquire for more details.
The Temporary Admission procedure has become a very well-defined customs procedure
Please note that?TA?can?be used to fly?privately,?corporately, and?commercially?within the EU without any problems and with EU-resident persons onboard if applied correctly. Since 2014, the TA procedure has become a very well-defined customs procedure, especially for corporate and commercial aviation. This is thanks to the huge effort from, e.g., the EU Commission and NBAA.
Legal background for Temporary Admission
The Istanbul convention from 1990, regulating the worldwide usage of TA, is not very precise, and the EU Commission has been and is continuously publishing various working papers and guidelines to clarify the correct understanding of TA and its usage in the EU.?The?2014 working paper from the EU Customs Code Committee?(available in English, French, and German) is especially important.?Operators should always be aware that these documents are not binding for the EU member states, which is why different interpretations exist between member states, thus also why it is important to have a competent customs agency to outline the correct use and understanding based on the specific setup. The problem with local interpretations is often related to flights within France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece.
Click here to see a list of the known grey zone areas where different interpretations of the TA procedure exist and where an operator often needs guidance to use TA safely. None of the grey zone areas create problems for using TA if correctly handled and documented.
How can we help?
If you have questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.