No L 281/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 10. 90 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 9 October 1990 amending the Directive 79/695/EEC on the harmonization of procedures for the ‘ release of goods for free circulation : (90/504/EEC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof, " Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (), In cooperation with the European Parliament (3), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Whereas, with regard to the procedures for the release of goods for free circulation, Title II of Directive 79/695/EEC (*), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 4046/89 (%), provides for special procedures, containing, in particular, in subtitles A, B and C, provisions concerning exemption from written entries, the drawing up of general, periodic or recapitulative entries and release of goods before lodging of entry; Whereas the said provisions indicate in what manner and under what conditions the competent authorities may authorize use of simplified procedures for the release of goods for free circulation ; Whereas the conditions under which importers are entitled to use such a procedure should be defined as precisely as possible ; whereas a distinction must be drawn between two types of procedure, namely the local clea- rance procedure and the simplified declaration proce- dure ; Whereas specific Community provisions apply where goods previously placed under a customs procedure with economic impact are released for free circulation ; Whereas the simplified procedures for the release of goods for free circulation are of considerable economic importance to the customs union and the internal | market ; whereass, in a single market, importers must be able to enjoy the same facilities irrespective of where goods are released for free circulation ; Whereas Directive 79/695/EEC should be amended accordingly ; () OJ No C 235, 13. 9. 1989, p. 16." () OJ No C 38, 19. 2. 1990, p. 49 and OJ No C 260, 15. 10. 1990. | () OJ No C 62, 12. 3. 1990, p. 5. () OJ No L 205, 13. 8. 1979, p. 19. . () OJ No L 388, 30. 12. 1989, p. 24. HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Article 1 Directive 79/695/EEC is hereby amended as follows : 1. Articles 16 to 20 are replaced by the following : ‘Article 16 Except where Articles 16a to 22 provide otherwise, Title I shall apply to the special procedures laid down in those Articles. Article 16a Without prejudice to the special provisions laid down in respect of consignments sent by parcel or letter post, and with the exception of cases where an import licence, permit or certificate has to be presented, a written declaration shall, in the cases and under the conditions to be established pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 26 (2) and (3), be unnecessary for goods imported for non-commercial purposes or goods of low value. Article 17 1. The local clearance procedure shall enable goods to be released for free circulation at the premises of the person concerned or at other places designated or approved by the competent authorities. The simplified declaration procedure shall enable goods to be released for free circulation on presenta- tion of a simplified declaration with later presentation of a supplementary declaration which may be of a general, periodic or recapitulative nature, as appro- priate. 2. The procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be applied in accordance with Articles 18 to 20a and do not preclude the exercise by the customs services of any controls they deem necessary to ensure the proper conduct of operations, ‘ LOCAL CLEARANCE PROCEDURE Article 18 Authorization to use the local clearance procedure shall be granted in accordance with the conditions and in the manner laid down in Articles 18a, 18b and 18¢