Request use of special closures

Source: Serviceportal Rheinland-Pfalz

As an authorised consignor, you must always secure goods that you want to transport under the transit procedure with special seals.

Your goods can be

under space closure, for example a container, or
under package closure, i.e. a transport container that has to be physically secured,

to be physically secured. A special seal is, for example, a seal that is attached to the container or the package.

The purpose of the special seals is to guarantee identity in the transit procedure. In other words, they are intended to ensure that the goods dispatched arrive unchanged at the customs office of destination. Damage to and removal of the special seals may have customs consequences.

The customs office responsible decides at the time of the transit declaration whether a special seal is required for your specific consignment of goods. It may waive the sealing requirement if the description of the goods in the declaration data is so precise that the identity of the goods can be easily determined. For example, in the case of motor vehicles carried under the transit procedure, by stating the engine and chassis number.

Authorisation for use

As an authorised consignor, you may affix special officially approved seals yourself. However, as an authorised consignor, you require authorisation to use the special seals. You must apply for this authorisation in writing to your competent main customs office.

If the competent main customs office authorises you in writing to use special seals, the decision will list all the special seals that you are permitted to use.
You can also apply for the use of various special seals by submitting an application for approval.

On the website of the Generalzolldirektion you will find a "List of special seals used". All the seals listed there have already been approved within the Union. As a rule, the authorities assume their suitability without further examination.
You can also apply for the use of any other closure. However, before the customs authorities can authorise its use, it must be tested and approved.

In the authorisation, an individual code is also assigned to you as an authorised consignor. It consists of the country code "DE" and a 4-digit number. You must inform the supplier of your closure of this code when ordering. It must be affixed to each individual closure.

You must apply in writing for authorisation to use special seals:

Download the form "Application for authorisation to use special seals" (form 0353) via the website of the Directorate General of Customs.
If you are not an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), you must also download Parts I to III and V of the Customs Authorisation Questionnaire from the website of the Directorate General of Customs.
If you are applying for the use of a seal that has not yet been approved, you should also download the form "Supplementary sheet to the application for authorisation to use special seals" (form 035301) from the website of the Directorate General of Customs.
Complete the form(s) and, if applicable, the questionnaires in full.
Send the completed documents by post to the main customs office in whose district your main accounts for customs purposes are kept or accessible.
The main customs office will examine your application.
You will receive a written decision with an approval or rejection.
With a written authorisation for the use of special seals you will receive an authorisation number.

The main customs office from whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you have your residence is responsible. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you do not have a place of residence in Germany, the main customs office in whose district you first appear for tax purposes is locally responsible.

For the authorisation to use special seals, you must be an "Authorised Consignor".
The personal requirements are identical to those you also need for the authorisation as an authorised consignor:
- be established in the customs territory of the Union
- regular use of the transit procedure
- no serious or repeated infringements of customs or tax legislation
- no serious offences committed in the course of economic activity
- evidence of a high level of control of activities and movements of goods through the systematic keeping of records and, where appropriate, transport documents enabling appropriate customs controls to be carried out
- proof of practical or professional competence
The Hauptzollamt shall approve the application for the use of special seals only if the monitoring and control of the procedure can be ensured without disproportionate administrative burden.

The processing time differs in individual cases and depends, for example, on whether the closure applied for has yet to be approved.

After receiving your application, the customs authorities must decide within 30 days whether to accept your application. If they accept your application, the customs authorities have 120 days to reach a decision - approval or rejection.

The maximum processing time is therefore 150 days.

Request use of special closures

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