Facilities granted to persons declaring goods.
8
4. It is desirable that the consignee should always be free, except in so far as otherwise provided by Article 10 of the Berne Convention of October 14th, 1890, regarding the Carriage of Goods by Rail, which was amended by the Berne Convention of September 19th, 1906, to declare, in person, goods in a Customs Office, or to cause this declaration to be made by some person designated by him.
5. It is desirable, wherever it is considered that such a system could usefully be employed, to adopt a printed form, including the Customs declaration, to be filled in by the party concerned, the certificate of verification, and, if the country in question regards it as advisable, the receipt for the payment of the import duties.
6. It is desirable that States should refrain, so far as possible, from inflicting severe penalties for trifling infractions of Customs procedure or regulations. In particular, if an act of omission or an error has been committed which is obviously devoid of any fraudulent intent and which can easily be put right, in respect of cases in which the production of documents is required for the clearing of goods through the Customs, any fine which may be imposed should be as small as possible so as to be as little burdensome as possible and to have no character other than that of a formal penalty, i.e. of a simple warning.
7. Consideration should be given to the possibility of using postal money-orders or cheques, against security of a permanent character, for the payment or guarantee of Customs duties.
8. It is desirable that the Customs authorities should as far as possible be authorised, when the identity of the goods can be established to their satisfaction, to refund on re-exportation of goods the duties paid on their importation, provided that they have remained continuously under the supervision of the Customs authorities. It is also desirable that no export duties should be imposed when such goods are re-exported.
9. Suitable measures should be taken to avoid all delay in the passage through the Customs of commercial catalogues and other printed matter of the same kind intended for advertisement when they are sent by post or packed with the goods to which they refer.
IO. It is desirable, in cases in which certain documents necessary for purposes of Customs formalities must bear the visa of a consulate or other authority, that the office which grants the visa should endeavour so far as possible to keep the hours of business which are habitual in the commercial circles of the locality in which such office is situated; it is also desirable that charges for attendances out of office hours, when levied, should be fixed at as reasonable a figure as pos- sible.
B.
EXAMINATION OF BAGGAGE.
II.
It is desirable that the practice of examining hand baggage in trains consisting entirely of corridor stock, either en route or when the train stops at a frontier station, should if possible be generally applied.
12. It is desirable that the practice recommended in paragraph II above as regards the examination of travellers' baggage should, as far as possible, be extended to journeys by sea and on rivers. The examination should, as far as practicable, be carried out on board ship, either during the voyage, when the crossing is not long, or on the ship's arrival in port.
13. It is desirable that notices should be posted on the Customs-House premises and, as far as possible, in railway carriages and on boats, stating the charges and duties payable on the chief articles which travellers usually carry, and also a list of the articles the importation of which is prohibited.
C. TREATMENT OF GOODS IN WAREHOUSES AND WARehousing Charges.
14. It is desirable that States in which such institutions do not already exist should establish or approve the establishment of so called "constructive" and "special" warehouses, which might be used for goods requiring special care on account of their peculiar character.
15. It is desirable that warehouse charges should be drawn up on a reasonable basis so as to be as a rule no more than sufficient to cover general expenses and interest on the capital laid out.
16. It is desirable that all persons having goods in warehouses should be allowed to with- draw damaged goods; the latter should be. either destroyed in the presence of the Customs offi- cials or returned to the consignor without the payment of any Customs duties.
D. GOODS SHOWN ON THE MANIFEST BUT NOT LANDED,
17. It is desirable that the payment of import duties should not be required in the case of goods which, although they are shown on the manifest, are not actually introduced into the country, provided that sufficient evidence of the fact is furnished either by the carrier or by the captain within a time-limit fixed by the Customs authorities.
E.
Co-OPERATION OF THE SERVICES CONCERNED.
18. It is desirable to develop the system of international railway stations and to obtain effective co-operation among the various national organisations established therein.
It would also be advisable to establish the closest possible concordance between the func- tions and office hours of the corresponding offices of two contiguous countries, whether in the
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