No L 70/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 3. %6 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 482/96 of 19 March 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (*), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 249 thereof, Whereas it is necessary to define specifically the cases where certain documents need not be required to accom- pany the customs declarations; Whereas where the declarant refuses to be present at the taking of samples or to designate a representative, or else fails to render the customs authorities all necessary assis- tance, the customs authorities should have the option of deeming the declaration invalid; Whereas Articles 325 to 340 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1762/95 (°), establish a special method of administra- tive cooperation for the purpose of proving the Commu- nity status of products of sea-fishing caught by Member States’ vessels and of goods obtained on board such vessels from the products caught; Whereas, in view of the particular way in which such products are caught, in which the goods are obtained and in which both are routed to the Community, a separate section setting out the specific conditions applying to such products and goods should be added to Part II, Title II, Chapter 3 — Community status of goods — of Regu- lation (EEC) No 2454/93; Whereas the Community status of such products and goods should be assessed independently of their tariff treatment and classification, the nationality and means of transport used or the Member State through which they enter the Community; Whereas fishing vessels and Community factory ships should be strictly defined; Whereas to avoid excessive paperwork, customs authori- ties may allow exceptions to the procedure for landing such products and goods from fishing vessels; () OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1. () OJ No L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1. () OJ No L 171, 21. 7. 1995, p. 8. Whereas, to improve checks on the way the procedure is used, T2M forms should be endorsed by the authority responsible for registering the vessels for which the forms were issued; whereas any certification by a third party should be included in the forms and the customs autho- rity which issued them should be informed of how they have been used; Whereas because of a continuous problem of fraudulent operations under the Community transit procedure, provi- sions should be introduced which allow for the prescrip- tion of binding itineraries and prohibit the change of an office of destination as regards, in particular, the move- ment of goods for which the comprehensive guarantee is suspended; whereas it is necessary to strengthen the system for the use of the comprehensive guarantee and to introduce further flexibility in the provisions for suspen- sion of the comprehensive guarantee by amending these provisions; whereas, for reasons of clarity, Articles 360, 361 and 362 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 need to be rearranged; whereas it is necessary to align the correspon- ding provisions of Article 368 and Article 376 of the abovementioned Regulation; Whereas it is appropriate to introduce more flexibility in supplying alternative proof permitting the discharge of Community transit operations in the case of non-return of Copy 5 of the single administrative document; Whereas the Community customs territory constitutes a single territory for the purposes of the rules governing the use of the TIR carnet; Whereas the increasing incidence of fraud related to the transport of goods under the TIR procedure can lead the competent authorities to adopt, on the basis of Article 38 of the TIR Convention, exclusion measures; Whereas the rules governing the application of Article 38 of the TIR Convention should be harmonized at Com- munity level; Whereas, the economic conditions that are provided for in the context of the inward processing procedure should be applied uniformly throughout the Community; Whereas it has become apparent that the customs offices of the Member States have difficulties in authorizing temporary importation of goods referred to in Article 684 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93; whereas when a high amount is involved they must ask for a written declaration making the provision of a security equal to the precise amount of the customs debt in question obligatory; whereas this leads in many cases to the undesirable obstruction of travellers at the frontiers of the Community