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The Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation assembled in Congress, etc. sanction with force of Law:
ARTICLE 1 Appropriate the agreement of many ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE FOR THE PREVENTION, CONSTATATION AND REPRESION OF ADUANERAL ILICITES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ARGENTINA REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT. GOVERNMENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, signed in Rome .REPUBLICA ITALIANA el on March 21, 2007, which consists of VEINTICUATRO (24) articles and UN (1) ANNEX, whose authenticated photocopies are part of this law. ARTICLE 2 Contact the national executive branch._
DADA IN THE SESSION OF THE ARGENTINE CONGRESS, IN GOOD AIRES, THE YEAR'S JUNE VEINTITRES.
JULY C. C. COBOS. EDUARDO A. FELLNER. . Enrique Hidalgo. . Juan H. Estrada.
AGREEMENT OF MUTUA ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE FOR PREVENTION, CONSTATATION AND REPRESION OF ADUANERAL ILICITES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF ARGENTINA REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ITALIAN REPUBLICThe GOVERNMENT OF THE ARGENTINA REPUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, hence more so-called the Parties,
CONSIDERING that customs illegals harm the economic, fiscal, social, commercial, industrial and agricultural interests of their respective countries; Agreed that the fight against customs illegals could be more effective through close cooperation between their customs administrations; CONSIDERING that it is important to ensure the exact determination of tariffs and other rates on the import or export of goods and the proper application of the measures of prohibition, restriction and control, including also the latter regarding compliance with the regulations on the counterfeiting of goods and factory brands; CONSIDERING that drug trafficking and psychotropic substances pose a danger to public health and to society; IN ACCOUNT the instruments of the Customs Cooperation Council, in particular the Recommendation on Administrative Mutual Assistance of 5 December 1953; IN ACCOUNT the United Nations Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 20 December 1988; THEY'VE KNOWN THE NEXT: CHAPTER I Definitions Article 1For the purposes of this Agreement, it is understood that:
1 "Custom Law", the set of legislative and regulatory provisions applicable by the two customs administrations and relating to:
Import, export, transit and deposit of goods and capitals, including means of payment;
- the collection, guarantee and restitution of import and export duties and fees;
- prohibition, restriction and control measures, including provisions on change control;
- the fight against illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
2. "Customs administration", for the Argentine Republic, the Federal Public Income Administration and for the Italian Republic, the Italian Customs Agency that is supported by the Finance Guard to develop specific technical tasks;
3. "Customs law", Any violation or attempted violation of customs law;
4. "Customs and fees for import and export", customs duties on import and export, and all other duties, fees or canons that were perceived on import and export, including, for the Italian Republic, the rights and fees provided by the competent bodies of the European Union;
5. "Person", any natural or legal person;
6. "Personal data", any information referring to a person, identified or identifiable, whether physical or legal;
7. "Stupephants and Psychotropic Substances", any product detailed in the United Nations Convention against the Illicit Trade in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 20 December 1988, including those annexed to the Convention.
CHAPTER II Scope of implementation of the Agreement Article 21. The Parties, through their customs administrations, shall provide their mutual assistance under the conditions set forth in this Agreement for the purpose of the proper application of customs legislation and the prevention, verification and suppression of customs illegals.
2. Under this Agreement, the Parties shall provide all assistance in accordance with the legislative and administrative provisions in force in each of them, and within the limits of the competence and means available to the Customs Administrations themselves.
3. This Agreement does not adversely affect the obligations, present and future, on the subject of customs legislation that corresponds to the Argentine Republic and the Italian Republic by virtue of its membership in Mercosur and the European Union respectively and as Contracting Parties to already stipulated intergovernmental agreements or that are stipulated with other members of Mercosur and the European Union as appropriate.
4. This Agreement is limited exclusively to mutual administrative assistance between the Parties and does not cover criminal assistance.
CHAPTER III Request for assistance Article 3On its own initiative or at the request of the other Party, the customs administrations shall provide the following information on:
(a) The regularity of imports in the customs territory of the requested Party, of goods exported from the customs territory of the requesting Party and the customs regime to which the goods have been subject;
(b) The regularity of exports from the customs territory of the requested Party, of the goods imported into the customs territory of the requesting Party and the customs regime to which the goods were eventually subject.
Article 4In the framework of the legislative and regulatory provisions, the customs administrations of the Parties shall communicate sa order and eventually after investigation cualquier any information that would ensure the accurate perception of customs duties and fees, in particular the information that it provides:
(a) Identification of customs value, tariff classification and origin of goods;
(b) Implementation of the provisions concerning prohibitions, restrictions and controls.
Article 5At the request of the other Party, the required Customs Administration shall provide data and information and exercise special supervision over:
(a) Persons in respect of which the requesting Customs Administration knows or presumes that they have committed a customs offence, especially those entering or leaving the customs territory of the requested Party;
(b) the goods transported or deposited, in respect of which the requesting Customs Administration suspects that they constitute the subject of illegal traffic to the customs territory of the requesting Party;
(c) means of transport and containers for which the requesting customs administration suspects that they are used to commit customs illegals in the customs territory of any Party.
(d) premises for which the requesting customs administration suspects that they are used to commit customs illegals in the customs territory of any Party.
Article 61. Customs authorities shall communicate, on their own or at the request of the other Party, data and information on transactions, carried out or projected, which constitute or appear to constitute a customs offence.
2. In cases where the economy, public health, public security or any other vital interest of a Party may be seriously adversely affected, the customs administration of the other Party shall, as far as possible, provide data and information on its own initiative.
CHAPTER IV Special assistance request Article 71. At the request of the other Party, the required customs administration shall provide all information on customs legislation and the procedure applicable in that Party concerning investigations carried out following a customs law.
2. Each customs administration shall communicate, on its own motion or at the request of the other Party, any information available on:
(a) Substantial amendments to customs legislation;
(b) new proven customs techniques;
(c) New trends, instruments or methods used to commit customs offences;
(d) Compliance with actions that may be useful in preventing violations and illegal customs.
3. The customs authorities of the Parties, in accordance with their national regulations, shall seek to cooperate on:
(a) The initiation, development or improvement of specific staff development programmes;
(b) Assessment and analysis of new technologies and procedures.
Article 8At the request of the other Party, the customs administration of a Party, in accordance with its legislation, shall notify or request the competent authorities to notify, to the person concerned, resident or established in its territory, all documents and decisions contained in this Agreement, which come from the requesting customs administration.
Article 9Customs administrations may, on the basis of agreement and within the scope of their own competence determined by national legislation, use controlled deliveries in order to identify persons involved in customs law.
Article 10Customs administrations will provide mutual technical assistance in customs matters through:
(a) the exchange of staff, with a view to increasing the mutual knowledge of the respective customs techniques;
(b) Training and assistance in the development of the specialization of its staff;
(c) the exchange of customs experts.
CHAPTER V Communication and execution of orders Article 111. In accordance with this Agreement, assistance will be exchanged directly between customs administrations.
2. In accordance with this Agreement, requests for assistance shall be submitted in writing in the language agreed by the Customs Administrations and shall be accompanied by any documentation that may prove useful. Where circumstances require, orders may also be orally formulated. In such a case, they must be confirmed in writing without delay.
3. Orders submitted under paragraph 2 of this article shall contain the data listed below:
(a) The name of the Customs Administration which makes the order;
(b) the object and motives of the order;
(c) A brief report on the matter, the elements of law and the nature of the procedure;
(d) the names and addresses of the parties involved in the proceedings, if they were known.
4. The request to follow a particular procedure formulated by one of the customs administrations shall be satisfied by the other Party provided that it is in conformity with the legislative and administrative provisions of the requested Party.
5. The information and data referred to in this Agreement shall be communicated to officials designated for that purpose by any of the customs administrations.
In accordance with article 20, paragraph 2, of the present agreement, the Customs Administrations shall communicate reciprocally the list of such officials.
Article 121. At the request of a Customs Administration, the other Customs Administration shall initiate investigations in respect of operations which are, or appear to be, contrary to the customs legislation in force in the territory of the State of the requesting Customs Administration, then forwarding the results of such investigations to the requesting Customs Administration.
2. These investigations will be carried out in accordance with the regulations in force in the territory of the requested State of the Customs Administration. The latter will act as if he was acting on his own.
3. In cases where the required customs administration is not authorized to comply with the request, it shall proceed to transmit it immediately to the competent administration, while requesting cooperation.
Article 131. When a written request is made for the investigation of a customs offence, staff members designated by the requesting Customs Administration may, upon the authorization of the required customs administration and under conditions imposed by the Customs Administration:
(a) To consult in the customs administration units required documents, records and other relevant data for information concerning such an offence;
(b) To obtain copies of these documents, records and other relevant data concerning such customs law;
(c) Collaborate with investigations conducted by the Customs Administration required in the customs territory of the requested Party, which are of use to the requesting Administration.
2. Where, according to the conditions provided for in item 1 of this Article, officials of the requesting customs administration are present in the territory of the other Party, they shall be in a position to establish their character and the role assigned to them.
3. Such officials shall receive in place the same protection and assistance accorded to the customs officials of the other Party by the legislation in force in the territory of the latter and shall be liable for any unlawful person they may commit.
CHAPTER VI Records and documents Article 141. Each customs administration, on its own motion or at the request of the other Party, shall provide to the other reports, means of proof, documents or authenticated copies of documents with all available information on activities carried out or planned, which constitute or appear to constitute an offence in the territory of the State of the other customs administration.
2. The documents referred to in this agreement may be replaced by computerized information, produced in any format for the same purposes. In this case and to the extent possible, all necessary material must be provided for the interpretation and use of the information.
3. Records and documents should be requested in originals only in cases where certified copies are considered insufficient.
4. The original files and documents received under this Agreement shall be returned as soon as possible.
CHAPTER VII Experts and witnesses Article 151. At the request of one of the Parties, in connection with a customs offence, the required Customs Administration may authorize its own officials, where possible, to testify to the competent authorities of the requesting Party, as experts or witnesses in respect of facts found by them in the performance of their functions, and to present evidence. The request for appearance should clearly indicate which case and in what quality the staff member shall declare.
2. The Customs Administration that accepts the request will detail, if necessary in the authorization issued, the limits within which its officials may declare.
CHAPTER VIII Use of information and documents and data protection. Article 161. Information, communications and documents received in the field of administrative assistance may be used in civil, criminal and administrative proceedings, under the conditions established by the respective relevant legislation, only for the purposes provided for in this Agreement.
2. Such information, as well as communications and documents, may be communicated to agencies other than those provided for in this Agreement, only if the customs administration that has provided them expressly consents to it, and provided that the customs administration legislation that has received them does not prohibit such communication.
3. Restrictions in points 1 and 2 shall not apply to information, communications and documents relating to illicit drugs and psychotropic substances.
4. However, due to the obligations of the Italian Republic and the Argentine Republic for their membership in the European Union and MERCOSUR respectively, the provisions of item 2 of this Article do not prevent the information, communications and documents received from being transmitted, upon request, to the MERCOSUR Council and to the Member States of the said Market in the case of the Argentine Republic, and to the European Commission and to the Member States mentioned in the Italian Republic.
5. The information, communications and documents available to the Administration, customs of the requesting Party shall, under this Agreement, enjoy the same protection as agreed by the national law of that Party to documents and information of the same nature.
Article 17Where personal data are provided in accordance with this Agreement, the Parties shall ensure that they are protected at least equivalent to that arising from the application of the principles set out in the Annex to this Agreement and which is an integral part of this Agreement.
CHAPTER IX Exceptions Article 181. Where the required Customs Authority considers that the requested assistance may prejudice the sovereignty, public order, security or other vital interests of the requested Party or may involve the violation of an industrial, commercial or professional secret in the territory of that Party, or is presumed incompatible with its legal and administrative provisions, such assistance may be refused, partially or subject to certain conditions or requirements.
2. When the requesting customs administration is not in a position to satisfy a request of a similar nature that may be submitted by the required customs administration, the first will indicate the fact in its request. In such a case, the execution of such a request shall be discretionary to the required customs administration.
3. Assistance may be postponed by the required customs administration when it interferes with ongoing investigations or judicial or administrative proceedings. In such a case, the required customs administration shall consult with the requesting customs administration to determine whether the assistance may be provided under conditions established by the former.
4. The rejection or postponement of assistance must be substantiated.
CHAPTER X Costs Article 191. The Customs Administrations waive any claim for the reimbursement of the costs arising from the implementation of this Agreement, except for the reimbursed expenses and the retributions paid to witnesses and experts, as well as the costs of interpreters and translators, when they are not State officials, who shall be in charge of the requesting Customs Administration.
CHAPTER XI Application and territorial scope of the Agreement Article 201. The Customs Administrations shall have the necessary measures to ensure that officials of their services responsible for the identification or prosecution of customs illegals are in personal and direct contact.
2. The customs administrations shall establish detailed provisions to facilitate the implementation of this Agreement.
3. A Mixed Commission is set up, composed respectively by the Director of the Customs Agency and the Federal Public Income Administrator or their representatives, assisted by experts, who will meet when deemed necessary, upon request of one or another Administration, to follow the evolution of this Agreement, and to seek solutions to any problems that may arise.
4. Disputes for which friendly solutions are not found will be channelled through diplomatic channels.
Article 21This Agreement is applicable in the territories of the Parties as defined in the existing legislative and administrative provisions.
CHAPTER XII Entry into force and denunciation Article 22This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month of the date of receipt of the second of the two notifications with which the Parties have communicated by diplomatic means the effective implementation of the respectful internal procedures for approval.
Rule 23This Agreement is signed with an unlimited duration but each Party may denounce it at any time by diplomatic means.
The complaint shall have effect three months after its notification to the other Party.
Article 24At the request of the other Party or at the expiration of the five-year period from the date of entry into force of the present Agreement, the Parties shall meet to analyse it, unless it is mutually notify in writing that such an analysis is not necessary.
In evidence of conformity, the representatives who are subscribed, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE IN Rome, March 21, 2007 in two originals, in Spanish and Italian languages, both of which are equally valid.
1. The personal data that has been processed shall be:
(a) obtained and processed legally;
(b) registered for specific and legitimate purposes and not used in a manner incompatible with such purposes;
(c) Appropriate, relevant and not excessive, for the purposes for which they have been obtained;
(d) accurate and, where necessary, updated;
(e) preserved so that it is possible to identify the subjects to which they relate, for a period of time that does not exceed the required for the purposes for which they have been stored.
2. Personal data providing information of a racial and ethnic nature, political opinions, religious convictions or other beliefs, philosophical or moral, union membership, as well as those relating to health or sexual life, may not be subject to treatment processes, unless the national legislation gives sufficient guarantee. These provisions shall also apply to personal data relating to contravention or criminal convictions.
3. Security measures that are necessary to ensure the safety and confidentiality of personal data should be taken in order to avoid their adulteration, loss, consultation or unauthorized treatment, and to detect deviations, intentional or otherwise, of information, whether the risks come from human action or the technical medium used.
4. Any person shall have the possibility of:
(a) To know whether the personal data referred to therein are contained in a computerized file, the main purposes for which they are used and the data of the person responsible for that file;
(b) obtain, at intervals not less than six months, unless a legitimate interest is credited to the effect, without delay and free of charge, confirmation of the eventual existence of a file containing your personal data, and the communication of such data in an understandable manner;
(c) To obtain, according to the cases, the rectification or cancellation of the data that were processed contrary to the provisions provided for by national legislation concerning the application of the fundamental principles referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Annex;
(d) have the means of appeal when a request for communication, rectification or cancellation has not been made in accordance with the cases referred to in letters (b) and (c).
5. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of this Annex shall not admit exceptions except in the following cases:
(1) When the legislation of the Party provides for it and when such a derogation constitutes an indispensable measure in a democratic society and abode to:
(a) To protect the security of the State and public order, as well as the essential interests of the State or to combat criminal violations;
(b) To protect the persons to whom the data concerned relate, that is, the rights and freedom of third parties.
(c) without prejudice to subpoints (a) and (b), access to the records in question should be provided at the time when the person concerned has to exercise his or her right of defence.
(2) The law may provide for restrictions on the exercise of the rights referred to in paragraph 4.-letras (b), (c) and (d) of this Annex, with reference to computerized files containing personal data used for statistical purposes or for scientific research, provided that there is no apparent risk of infringement of the privacy of the persons to whom such data is referred.
6. Persons who under this agreement enter into the knowledge of personal data are obliged to the professional secrecy regarding them. Such an obligation shall remain even after the end of its relationship with the data file holder. The obligation may be relieved of the duty of secrecy by judicial resolution and when they measure substantial grounds for public safety, national defence or public health.
7. The Parties undertake to provide for sanctions and means of appeal in cases of violation of the provisions of national legislation regarding the application of the fundamental principles defined in this Annex.
8. None of the provisions of this Annex shall be interpreted in the sense of limiting or impairing the possibility of a Party to grant persons to whom the data in question relates, a wider protection than that provided for in this Annex.
