French Customs Code
In force1. In order to investigate and establish the customs offences referred to in articles 414 to 429 and 459, customs officers authorised for this purpose by the Minister responsible for customs may carry out visits to any place, including private places, where goods and documents relating to these offences as well as goods and assets directly or indirectly derived from them are likely to be held or to be accessible or available. They are accompanied by a judicial police officer or a customs officer authorised underarticle 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Authorised customs officers may, during the visit, seize goods and documents, whatever their medium, relating to the aforementioned offences. If, during a visit authorised pursuant to 2 of this article, the authorised officers discover goods and assets derived directly or indirectly from the aforementioned offences, they may seize them after informing the judge who issued the order by any means, who may oppose the seizure.
2. a) Except in cases of flagrante delicto, each visit must be authorised by an order of the liberties and detention judge of the judicial court of the location of the customs directorate to which the department responsible for the procedure belongs.
The order must include:
-the address of the premises to be visited
-the name and position of the authorised official who applied for and obtained authorisation to carry out the inspection;
-mention that the occupier of the premises or his representative, as well as the alleged perpetrator of the offences referred to in paragraph 1, may call upon counsel of their choice.
Exercising this option does not suspend the inspection and seizure operations.
The judge shall give the reasons for his decision, indicating the factual and legal factors that he has taken into account and that give rise to a presumption, in the case in question, of the existence of the fraudulent conduct for which proof is sought. The court will expressly rule on the seizure of property and assets that may derive directly or indirectly from the offences for which proof is sought.
If, during the visit, the authorised officers discover the existence of a safe-deposit box in a credit institution of which the person occupying the premises visited is the owner and where items, documents, objects or goods relating to the offences referred to in 1 are likely to be found, they may, on authorisation issued by any means by the judge who has made the order, proceed immediately to visit this safe-deposit box. Mention of this authorisation is made in the report provided for in b of 2.
If, during the visit, the authorised officers discover elements revealing the existence in other places of goods or assets relating to the acts referred to in 1, they may, on authorisation issued by any means by the judge who has made the order, immediately proceed to visit these places for the purpose of seizing these goods and assets. Mention of this authorisation shall be made in the report provided for in b of this 2.
The judge must verify in a concrete manner that the request for authorisation submitted to him or her is well-founded; this request must include all the information in the administration's possession likely to justify the visit.
He will designate the judicial police officer or customs agent authorised under article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to attend these operations and to keep him informed of their progress.
The visit is carried out under the supervision of the judge who authorised it. If the visit takes place outside the jurisdiction of the judge's own court, the judge issues a letter rogatory to the liberty and custody judge of the court within whose jurisdiction the visit is taking place.
The judge may visit the premises during the visit.
He may decide to suspend or stop the visit at any time.
The order is enforceable on the basis of the minutes alone.
The order is notified orally and on the spot at the time of the visit to the occupier of the premises or to his representative, who receives a full copy of it against a receipt or in the minutes provided for in b of 2. In the absence of the occupier of the premises or his representative, the order is notified after the visit by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Notification is deemed to have been made on the date of receipt shown on the notice. A copy is also sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the alleged perpetrator of the customs offences mentioned in 1, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 59a.
If the order is not received, it shall be served by a bailiff.
The time limit and means of appeal are stated in the order.
The order may be appealed to the First President of the Court of Appeal. The parties are not required to form a lawyer.
In accordance with the rules set out in the Code of Civil Procedure, this appeal must be lodged exclusively by declaration delivered or sent by registered post or, from 1 January 2009, by electronic means, to the court registry within a period of fifteen days. This period runs from the date of delivery, receipt or service of the order. This appeal does not have suspensive effect.
The clerk's office of the judicial court shall without delay transmit the case file to the clerk's office of the court of appeal where the parties may consult it.
The order of the First President of the Court of Appeal may be appealed to the Court of Cassation in accordance with the rules set out in the Code of Civil Procedure. The time limit for lodging an appeal is fifteen days.
b) The visit may not begin before six o'clock or after twenty-one o'clock. It shall be carried out in the presence of the occupier of the premises or his representative; if this is not possible, the criminal investigation officer or the customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall call two witnesses chosen from persons other than those under his authority or that of the customs administration.
The customs officers mentioned in 1 above, any persons to whom they have recourse pursuant to article 67 quinquies A, the occupier of the premises or his representative and the judicial police officer or customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the code of criminal procedure may alone inspect the documents before they are seized.
The judicial police officer or customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall ensure that professional secrecy and the rights of the defence are respected in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of article 56 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; article 58 of this code shall apply.
The report, to which is appended an inventory of the goods and documents seized as well as the property and assets resulting directly or indirectly from the offences for which proof is sought, is signed by the customs officers, the judicial police officer or the customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the code of criminal procedure and by the persons mentioned in the first paragraph of this b; if they refuse to sign, this is noted in the report.
If the on-site inventory presents difficulties, the seized items, documents, goods and assets are placed under seal. The occupier of the premises or his representative is informed that he may attend the opening of the seals, which takes place in the presence of the judicial police officer or the customs officer authorised under article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; the inventory is then drawn up.
When on-site copying of data stored in a computer system not located on the premises visited presents difficulties, the authorised officers may apply any measure to protect online access to the data concerned in order to ensure the preservation of evidence that may disappear. This is noted in the official report. Within thirty days of the visit, the authorised officers may download the data remotely. Within thirty days of this download, which may be extended with the authorisation of the liberty and custody judge, the data relating to the offences investigated is seized.
The other data is destroyed fifteen days after the seizure. The occupier of the premises or his representative is informed that he may attend the downloading of the data, which takes place in the presence of a judicial police officer or a customs officer authorised under article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This operation is carried out on the premises of the department responsible for the procedure in accordance with the procedures set out in the fourth to penultimate paragraphs of article 57-1 of the same code.
A copy of the report and the inventory is given to the occupier of the premises or his representative. A copy is also sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the alleged perpetrator of the customs offences mentioned in 1, notwithstanding the provisions of article 59 bis.
A copy of the report and the inventory is sent to the judge who issued the order within three days of it being drawn up. If the judge finds that the property and assets seized do not derive directly or indirectly from the offences for which proof is sought, he shall order the release of the seizure and the return of the property and assets concerned.
The First President of the Court of Appeal hears appeals against the conduct of the inspection or seizure operations authorised pursuant to a. The minutes and inventory drawn up at the end of these operations shall mention the time limit and the appeal procedure. The parties are not required to appoint a lawyer.
In accordance with the rules set out in the Code of Civil Procedure, this appeal must be lodged exclusively by declaration delivered or sent by registered post or, from 1st January 2009, by electronic means, to the court registry within a period of fifteen days. This period runs from the date of delivery or receipt of either the minutes or the inventory. This appeal does not have suspensive effect.
The order of the First President of the Court of Appeal may be appealed to the Court of Cassation in accordance with the rules set out in the Code of Civil Procedure. The time limit for lodging an appeal is fifteen days.
c) If the occupant of the premises or his representative obstructs access to, reading of or seizure of records or documents on a computer medium, this is noted in the report.
Customs officers may then copy the medium and seize it, which shall be placed under seal. They have fifteen days from the date of the visit to access the documents on the sealed data storage medium, to read them and seize the data relating to the offences being investigated and to return the data storage medium and its copy. This period may be extended with the authorisation of the liberty and custody judge.
For the sole purpose of reading the documents on the sealed data storage medium, customs officers carry out the operations required to access or clarify them. These operations are carried out on the copy of the medium.
The occupier of the premises or his representative shall be informed that he may attend the opening of the seals and the reading and seizure of the items and documents on the data medium, which shall take place in the presence of the judicial police officer or the customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The customs officers draw up a report describing the operations carried out to access, clarify and read these documents. An inventory of the items and documents seized is attached to the report, if applicable.
The report and the inventory are signed by the customs officers and by a judicial police officer or a customs officer authorised pursuant to the same article 28-1, as well as by the occupant of the premises or his representative; if the latter is absent or refuses to sign, this is noted in the report.
The computer medium and its copy are returned at the same time. In the absence of the occupant of the premises or his representative, the administration will immediately take all necessary steps to return the data.
3. Customs officers may act without the assistance of a judicial police officer or a customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure:
a) to carry out home visits, censuses and inspections on the premises of holders of an open livestock account or a grazing permit ;
b) to search for goods which, after being pursued at sight without interruption under the conditions set out in article 332 below, are brought into a house or other building, even if it is located outside the radius.
4. If the customs officers refuse to open the doors, they may have them opened in the presence of a judicial police officer or a customs officer authorised pursuant to article 28-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
5. For the application of the provisions relating to mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States of the European Union with regard to customs regulations, customs officers are authorised to implement the provisions of this article for the control of customs operations carried out in the other Member States of the European Union.
