ICCE · Trade and business associations · GB
Company number 03426589 Registered Address: A3 Broomsleigh Business Park, Worsley Bridge Road, London, SE26 5BN ICCE position paper on European Commission proposal for reform of the Union Customs Code (UCC) The Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa (ICCE)1 was formed in 1997 as a direct response to the increase in counterfeit imaging consumables across the regions of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Imaging consumables include such products as toner, ink cartridges and ribbons.
…of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Imaging consumables include such products as toner, ink cartridges and ribbons. Initially created as an industry association with a focus on education, lobbying, information exchange and awareness, it has since developed to include coordinating the role of receiving and processing intelligence information on counterfeiters, initiating joint industry raids and enforcement activities and helping its members to target counterfeiters through the criminal and civil courts. The imaging consumables industry is currently threatened by a €1.6 billion market in counterfeit imaging supplies which are often dangerous, environmentally unfriendly and which cheat consumers of the quality they are entitled to expect from branded consumables.
…and which cheat consumers of the quality they are entitled to expect from branded consumables. More than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in Europe depend on the imaging supplies industry and as counterfeits use economic volatility and low price to increase their customer base, those jobs are increasingly under threat. ICCE members welcome the Commission’s proposed Regulation for the UCC review and supports the objectives of this ambitious reform. ICCE would like to offer its perspective on a few aspects of the reform that are particularly relevant for the ICCE scope of activities. • ICCE strongly welcomes that prohibitions and restrictions on goods can be justified, inter alia, on the grounds of “the protection of industrial or commercial property” and “goods infringing certain intellectual property rights”, as stated in Recital 8.
…industrial or commercial property” and “goods infringing certain intellectual property rights”, as stated in Recital 8. To give the necessary emphasis to this important point, we advocate that Article 2(c) should fully and explicitly include the protected interests mentioned in Recital 8, in particular the protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights. • Online sellers and e-commerce platforms will be deemed as importers, thus obliged to provide to the customs authorities not only the data necessary for the release for free circulation of the goods sold to consumers in the EU, but also the information that they must collect for VAT purposes (Recital 14).
…the goods sold to consumers in the EU, but also the information that they must collect for VAT purposes (Recital 14). According to Recital 13: “The persons having responsibility over the goods entering and exiting from the customs territory of the Union are liable for any risks presented by the goods for the safety and security of citizens, as well as any risks to human, animal or plant health and life, the environment or consumers”. ICCE supports these proposals as they will benefit both consumers and rights holders. • ICCE supports the removal of the EUR 150 threshold under which customs duties are not charged (Recital 48). The existence of a threshold provides an opportunity for bad actors to deliberately value their counterfeit goods below the threshold knowing such under declaration will allow the unchecked importation and placement on the internal market of the counterfeit goods.
…declaration will allow the unchecked importation and placement on the internal market of the counterfeit goods. This not only infringes the intellectual 1 ICCE includes the following members: Brother, Canon, Epson, HP Inc, Kyocera, Lexmark, Ricoh and Xerox. HP Inc also represents Samsung toner division. Ref. Ares(2023)7379866 - 30/10/2023 Company number 03426589 Registered Address: A3 Broomsleigh Business Park, Worsley Bridge Road, London, SE26 5BN property of those operators (with related economic damages) but also constitutes a safety issue for consumers. A value-based approach to stopping counterfeits at the border is not consistent with the fact that all counterfeit products are illegal and the manufacturing, supply and trade of these products are considered a criminal offence under EU and international law, regardless of the declared value of the products.
…are considered a criminal offence under EU and international law, regardless of the declared value of the products. The removal of the threshold allows the identification of those counterfeit goods which would have previously gone undetected as declared under the EUR 150 threshold. In the absence of a threshold, customs can rely on existing methods such as those currently employed for example at container ports, where a certain % of imports are checked based on statistics/profiling rather than the declared value. In ICCE’s view, this would be a more dissuasive method and would ensure that there are higher chances of counterfeit products being stopped. • From the rights holders’ perspective, ICCE welcomes that the costs of the destruction shall be borne by the importer or the exporter (Article 76).
ICCE welcomes that the costs of the destruction shall be borne by the importer or the exporter (Article 76). Such costs are currently often borne by brand-owners and ICCE believes it is more appropriate that such costs are borne by the importers of the goods so to ensure better accountability. • ICCE supports the Commission’s goal to ensure more integrated data collation and sharing between member states' customs authorities; such centralised databases and data management are key to ensuring pan-European risk assessment. This will also be key to allow customs to operate more effectively to ensure scarce resources are better allocated to safeguard the EU market from counterfeits and other illegal goods. The efficiency of customs authorities therefore depends to a significant extent on the quality of the data that is made available to them.
…authorities therefore depends to a significant extent on the quality of the data that is made available to them. Detailed and clear guidelines on the type and quality of data to be collected from stakeholders should be established to ensure that the authorities can act reliably and quickly. These guidelines should be based on the principles of data efficiency and minimisation, requiring only the data necessary for effective controls. To cover all relevant data sources, it is necessary to ensure effective and compliant data collection from all stakeholders, in particular also including those based outside the EU. • Article 31 of the draft shows that a wide range of individuals and authorities have a right of access to commercially sensitive data.
…the draft shows that a wide range of individuals and authorities have a right of access to commercially sensitive data. Although Article 29 provides for a secure system, it is crucial that the data and information provided are in practice effectively protected from unauthorised access, both on the EU Data Hub itself and in the context of transfers to other authorised recipients. ICCE is in favour of effective safeguards and welcomes the guarantees contained in the draft (such as in Recitals 18 and 23). • ICCE advocates that failure to comply with the conditions for placing goods under release for free circulation under Article 88(3)(d), where the goods must “comply with the relevant other legislation applied by the customs authorities”, should be included in the list of the Union’s customs infringements in Article 252 and attract deterrent sanctions.
…should be included in the list of the Union’s customs infringements in Article 252 and attract deterrent sanctions. ICCE stands ready to constructively engage with the EU institutions on the proposed reform during the adoption process, in order to ensure that the revised UCC provides effective tools to help customs authorities and business in the fight against counterfeit imaging consumables. For further information, please contact: ICCE secretariat at [email protected]