EC Customs: Public consultation on a review of the cash control Regulation

European Commission launch a public consultation on a review of Regulation (EC) N° 1889/2005 “on controls of cash entering or leaving the Community”.

Period of consultation: From 27.02.2015 to 01.06.2015

The objective of this consultation is to gain stakeholder and public input regarding a review of Regulation 1889/2005 “on controls of cash entering or leaving the Community”.

Regulation 1889/2005 on the controls of cash entering and leaving the Community came into force in 2007. It establishes a framework in line with the present FATF recommendation 32 on cash couriers. It imposes, inter alia, an obligation for physical persons entering or leaving the European Union who carry cash or cash-equivalents of 10 000 Euro or more to file a declaration with customs or other competent authorities. It enables competent authorities to temporarily hold the cash in case of non-declaration or incorrect declaration pending further investigation and possible confiscation/forfeiture after judiciary intervention. It provides for the possibility of sharing information with competent authorities in other Member States, with the Commission or with third countries under certain circumstances. Finally, the Regulation imposes Member States to provide for penalties in case of non-declaration, even if after investigation there are no indications of illicit activity. Regulation 1889/2005 does not apply to natural persons carrying cash or cash equivalents between two Member States.

Pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation 1889/2005, the Commission submitted a report to the Council and the European Parliament on the application of the Regulation in 2010. The report concluded that generally, the Regulation is meeting its objective and adequately transposes FATF recommendation 32 in EU law. However, possible improvements in several areas were mentioned.

Discussions with Member State experts in cash controls on the implementation of the Regulation as well as international developments lead the Commission to believe that there may be a scope for improvement in the regulatory framework and/or the implementation procedures.

In order to judge the desirability of potential actions and policy options and to obtain new insights, the Commission Services would like to receive the views of stakeholders on the possible action to be taken to address the identified gaps.

The dedicated page of the consultation