Transit manual (EU)

Transit manual - a detailed description of the common and the Union transit procedures

The action plan for transit in Europe (COM(97) 188 final, 30.4.1997) called for a manual containing a detailed description of the common and the Union transit procedures and clarifying the role of both administrations and traders.

The Transit manual was first published in May 2004 by the European Commission. The consolidated version of the manual is aligned with the Union Customs Code, which applies as of 1 May 2016, and is updated whenever new developments in the common and Union transit systems make this necessary.

The Transit manual provides a standard interpretation of how the transit regulations should be implemented by all the customs authorities applying common and Union transit via an administrative arrangement. The purpose of the document is to explain how these transit procedures work and the roles of the various participants. The goal is to ensure the transit regulations are applied consistently, with equal treatment for all operators. In addition to this manual, national instructions or national explanatory notes may also exist.

Transit manual is a "soft law" act. Soft law instruments are referred to as rules of conduct which, in principle, have no legally binding force, however, which nevertheless may have practical effects.

Sources

Transit manual (TAXUD/A1/TRA/005/2020-EN, 19-04-2021)

Significance of guidelines, explanatory notes and other "soft law" acts by Andrius Košel, CCRM Journal for Practitioners in Europe Issue 7