For the purposes of this Convention:

(a)

By the Council: the organisation established by the Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council, concluded in Brussels on 15 December 1950 ¹ ;

(b)

By "Standing Technical Committee": the Permanent Technical Committee of the Council;

(c)

By "ratification" means the actual ratification, acceptance or approval.

Each Contracting Party undertakes to promote the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures and, to that end, to comply with the standards and best practices referred to in this Convention, as provided for in this Convention Annexes to this Convention. However, it is open to any Contracting Party to grant greater facilities than those provided for in the Convention and it is recommended that such facilities be granted to the maximum extent possible.

The provisions of this Convention shall not preclude the application of prohibitions and restrictions deriving from national legislation.

Each Annex to this Convention shall in principle consist of:

(a)

An introduction which summarising the various issues dealt with in the Annex;

(b)

Definitions of the main customs terms used in this appendix;

(c)

Standards, which are provisions whose general application is recognised as necessary to achieve the harmonisation of customs procedures and their simplification;

(d)

Recommended practices, which are recognised as progress towards the harmonisation and simplification of customs procedures and whose application as broadly as possible is considered desirable;

(e)

Notes intended to indicate some of the possibilities that may be considered for the application of the standard or the corresponding recommended practice.

(1) Each Contracting Party which accepts an annex shall be deemed to accept all the standards and best practices set out in that Annex, unless it notifies the Secretary-General of the Council at the time of acceptance of that annex or At a later date, the recommended standard (s) and recommended practices for which it formulates reservations by indicating the differences between the provisions of its national legislation and those of the standards and best practices in question. Any Contracting Party which has formulated reservations may, at any time, remove them, in whole or in part, by notification to the Secretary-General, indicating the date on which those reservations are lifted.

(2) Each Contracting Party bound by an annex shall, at least every three years, consider the standards and recommended practices contained in that annex and for which it has formulated reservations, compared to the provisions of its legislation And shall notify the Secretary-General of the Council of the results of that examination.

The Council shall ensure, within the framework of this Convention, the management and development thereof. It decided, inter alia, to incorporate new annexes.

2. For these purposes, the Standing Technical Committee shall exercise, under the authority of the Council and in accordance with its directives, the following functions:

(a)

Prepare new annexes and propose to the Council their adoption in order to incorporate them into the Convention;

(b)

Propose to the Council the draft amendments to this Convention or the annexes that it deems necessary and, in particular, proposals to amend the text of the recommended standards and practices or to transform recommended practices into Standards;

(c)

Provide advice on all matters relating to the implementation of the Convention;

(d)

To carry out the tasks which the Council may assign to it with regard to the provisions of the Convention.

For the purposes of voting in the Council and the Standing Technical Committee, each Annex shall be considered to constitute a separate convention.

For the purposes of this Convention, the Annex or Annexes in force in respect of a Contracting Party shall form an integral part of the Convention; in respect of that Contracting Party, any reference to the Convention shall therefore apply Also to this annex or to those annexes.

Contracting Parties which form a customs or economic union may notify the Secretary-General of the Council that, for the purposes of applying a specified annex to this Convention, their territories shall be regarded as one Territory. In all cases where, as a result of such notification, differences exist between the provisions of this Annex and those of the law applicable in the territories of the Contracting Parties, the States concerned shall Application of s. 5 of this Convention, a reservation to the standard or practice recommended in question.

1. Any dispute between two or more Contracting Parties in respect of the interpretation or application of this Convention shall be settled, as far as possible, through direct negotiations between the Parties.

2. Any dispute that is not settled by direct negotiation shall be brought by the Parties to the dispute before the Standing Technical Committee which shall examine it and make recommendations for its settlement.

3. If the Standing Technical Committee cannot resolve the dispute, it shall refer the matter to the Council, which shall make recommendations in accordance with Art. III (e) of the Convention establishing the Council ¹ .

4. The Parties to the dispute may agree in advance to accept the recommendations of the Standing Technical Committee or the Council.

(1) Any Member State of the Council and any State member of the United Nations or its specialized agencies may become a Contracting Party to this Convention:

(a)

By signing it, without reservation of ratification;

(b)

By depositing an instrument of ratification after having signed it subject to ratification; or

(c)

By adhering to it.

(2) This Convention shall be open until 30 June 1974 at the seat of the Council, in Brussels, at the signature of the States referred to in para. 1 of this article. After that date, it will be open for accession.

3. Any State not a member of the organisations referred to in par. 1 of this Article, to which an invitation is addressed to that effect by the Secretary-General of the Council, on the request of the Council, may become a Contracting Party to this Convention by acceding thereto after its entry into force.

4. Each of the States referred to in s. 1 or 3 of this Article specifies, at the time of signing or ratifying or acceding to this Convention, the annex or annexes that it accepts, on the understanding that it must accept at least one annex. It may subsequently notify the Secretary-General of the Council that it accepts one or more other annexes.

5. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council.

Any new annex which the Council decides to incorporate into this Convention shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the Council to the Contracting Parties to this Convention, to the other signatory States, to the member States of the Council which do not Are not Contracting Parties to this Convention and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Contracting Parties that accept this new annex shall notify the Secretary-General of the Council in accordance with paragraph 1. 4 of this article.

7. The provisions of s. 1 of this Article shall also apply to customs or economic unions referred to in Art. 9 of this Convention, to the extent that the obligations arising from the instruments establishing such customs or economic unions require their competent bodies to stipulate in their own name. However, these bodies do not have the right to vote.

(1) This Convention shall enter into force three months after five of the States mentioned in par. 1 of the art. 11 above have signed this Convention without reservation of ratification or have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.

(2) In respect of any State which signs this Convention without reservation of ratification, which ratifies or accedes thereto, after five States have either signed the Convention without reservation of ratification, or deposited their instrument of ratification or accession, The Convention shall enter into force three months after the said State has signed without reservation of ratification or deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.

(3) Any annex to this Convention shall enter into force three months after five Contracting Parties have accepted the said Annex.

(4) In respect of any State which accepts an annex after five States have accepted it, that Annex shall enter into force three months after that State has notified its acceptance.

(1) Any State may, at the time of signature without reservation as to ratification, ratification or accession, or at a later date, notify the Secretary-General of the Council that this Convention extends to all or some of the Territories whose international relations are under its responsibility. Such notification shall take effect three months after the date on which the Secretary-General receives it. However, the Convention may not become applicable to the territories designated in the notification before it has entered into force in respect of the State concerned.

2. Any State which has, pursuant to s. 1 of this Article, notified that this Convention extends to a territory whose international relations are under its responsibility, may notify the Secretary-General of the Council, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Art. 14 of this Convention, that this territory shall cease to apply the Convention.

1. This Convention shall be concluded for an unlimited period. However, any Contracting Party may denounce it at any time after the date of its entry into force, as set out in Art. 12 of this Convention.

2. The denunciation shall be notified by a written instrument deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council.

(3) Denunciation shall take effect six months after the receipt of the instrument of termination by the Secretary-General of the Council.

4. The provisions of s. 2 and 3 of this Article shall also apply in respect of the Annexes to the Convention, any Contracting Party which may, at any time after the date of its entry into force, as laid down in Art. 12, withdraw its acceptance of one or more annexes. The Contracting Party withdrawing its acceptance of all annexes shall be deemed to have denounced the Convention.

The Council may recommend amendments to this Convention. Any Contracting Party to this Convention is invited, by the Secretary-General of the Council, to take part in the discussion on any proposal to amend this Convention.

2. The text of any amendment thus recommended shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the Council to the Contracting Parties to this Convention, to the other signatory States and to the member States of the Council which are not Contracting Parties to the Present Convention.

3. Within six months, from the date of the communication of the recommended amendment, any Contracting Party or, if it is an amendment concerning an existing Annex, any Contracting Party bound by that Annex, may Know to the Secretary-General of the Council:

(a)

Has an objection to the recommended amendment;

(b)

Or, although it intends to accept the recommended amendment, the conditions necessary for such acceptance have not yet been fulfilled in its country.

4. As long as a Contracting Party that has addressed the communication under s. 3 (b) of this Article has not notified its acceptance to the Secretary-General of the Council it may, for a period of nine months from the expiration of the six-month period provided for in paragraph 3 (b). 3 of this article, submit an objection to the recommended amendment.

5. If an objection to the recommended amendment is formulated in accordance with the conditions set out in s. 3 and 4 of this Article, the amendment shall be deemed not to have been accepted and shall have no effect.

6. If no objections to the recommended amendment were made under the conditions set out in s. 3 and 4 of this Article, the amendment shall be deemed to be accepted on the following date:

(a)

Where no Contracting Party has sent a communication under s. 3 (b) of this Article, after the expiry of the six-month period referred to in that paragraph. 3;

(b)

Where one or more Contracting Parties have addressed a communication under s. 3 (b) of this section, whichever is later:

(i)

The date on which all Contracting Parties having sent such a communication have notified the Secretary-General of the Council of their acceptance of the recommended amendment, however, that date shall be deferred until the expiry of the six-month period referred to To par. 3 of this Article if all acceptances have been notified prior to that expiry,

(ii)

Expiry of the nine-month period referred to in s. 4 of this article.

7. Any amendment deemed to be accepted shall enter into force six months after the date on which it was deemed to have been accepted, if the recommended amendment is accompanied by a different period of entry into force, at the end of that period following the date Which he was deemed to have accepted.

8. The Secretary-General of the Council shall, as soon as possible, notify the Contracting Parties to this Convention and the other signatory States of any objection to the recommended amendment formulated in accordance with par. 3 (a) of this Article, as well as any communication addressed in accordance with paragraph 3 (a). 3 (b). It shall subsequently inform the Contracting Parties and the other signatory States if the Contracting Party which has addressed such a communication raises an objection to the recommended amendment or accepts it.

Irrespective of the procedure for amendment provided for in Art. 15 of this Convention, any annex may, except for the definitions contained therein, be amended by a decision of the Council. Any Contracting Party to this Convention is invited, by the Secretary-General of the Council, to take part in the discussion on any proposal to amend an annex. The text of any amendment so decided shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the Council to the Contracting Parties to this Convention, to the other signatory States and to the member States of the Council which are not Contracting Parties to the Present Convention.

2. The amendments which have been the subject of a decision under s. 1 of this Article shall enter into force six months after the communication has been made by the Secretary-General of the Council. Each Contracting Party bound by the Annex which is the subject of such amendments shall be deemed to have accepted those amendments, unless it formulates reservations in accordance with the conditions laid down in Art. 5 of this Convention.

(1) Any State ratifying or acceding to this Convention shall be deemed to have accepted the amendments which entered into force on the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession.

(2) A State which accepts an annex shall be deemed, unless it formulates reservations in accordance with the provisions of Art. 5 of this Convention, having accepted the amendments to that Annex which entered into force on the date on which it notifies its acceptance to the Secretary-General of the Council.

The Secretary-General of the Council shall notify the Contracting Parties to this Convention, to the other signatory States, to the member States of the Council which are not Contracting Parties to this Convention and to the Secretary-General of United Nations:

(a)

Signatures, ratifications and accessions referred to in s. 11 of this Convention;

(b)

The date on which this Convention and each of its Annexes come into force in accordance with Art. 12;

(c)

Notifications received in accordance with Art. 9 and 13;

(d)

Notifications and communications received in accordance with Art. 5, 16 and 17;

(e)

Denunciations received pursuant to s. 14;

(f)

Amendments deemed accepted in accordance with s. 15 and the date of their entry into force;

(g)

Amendments to the annexes adopted by the Council in accordance with Art. 16, as well as the date of their entry into force.

In accordance with Art. 102 of the United Nations Charter ¹ , this Convention shall be registered at the United Nations Secretariat at the request of the Secretary-General of the Council.

In witness whereof, The undersigned to that duly authorized have signed this Convention.

Done at Kyoto, on 18 May mil nine hundred and seventy-three, in the English and French languages, the two texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council who shall transmit certified copies In accordance with all the States referred to in par. 1 of the art. 11 of this Convention.

(Suivent signatures)