French Customs Code
In force1. Those who hold or transport goods that are dangerous to public health, safety or morals, counterfeit goods, goods prohibited under international commitments or goods that are the subject of international fraud and an underground market prejudicial to the legitimate interests of regular trade and those of the Treasury, specially designated by order of the Minister of the Economy and Finance, must, at the first request of customs officers, produce either receipts certifying that these goods have been duly imported into the customs territory of the European Community, or purchase invoices, manufacturing bills or any other proof of origin issued by persons or companies duly established within the customs territory of the European Community.
2. Those who have held, transported, sold, transferred or exchanged the said goods and those who have drawn up the proofs of origin are also required to produce the documents referred to in 1 above at the request of any customs official within a period of three years, either from the time when the goods ceased to be in their hands or from the time when the proofs of origin were issued.
3. These provisions do not apply to goods which the holders, carriers or those who have held, transported, sold, transferred or exchanged them prove, by producing their records, to have been imported, held or acquired in the customs territory prior to the date of publication of the aforementioned decrees.
Any person holding goods designated for the first time by the order referred to in 1 above may, before the expiry of a period of six months from the date of publication of the order, make a written declaration thereof to the customs service.
After checking that the declaration is accurate, the department will authenticate the declaration, which will serve as proof.
