Destruction of goods at NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1.

Destruction of goods at NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1. NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1. (NTCA AD 1) Carries out customs clearances Monitors customs related activities of companies operating at the airport Controls traffic of prohibited and restricted goods Creates and maintains contact with other authorities (CITES, police, National Food Chain Safety Office, National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition) Manages licenses at a local level (licenses for warehouses, simplified procedures,, etc)

Destruction of goods at NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1. Director Deputy Director Customs Supervision and Licensing Dept. Risk Management and Patrolling Dept. Secretariat Customs Clearences Dept. No. 1 Customs Clearences Dept. No. 2 Head of Audit Departments Customs Value and Origin Dept. Post Clearence Dept. NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1. (NTCA AD 1)

Controls cargo traffic and courier traffic (an average of shipments of non-community goods monthly ) Risk Analysis and Patrolling Department -> controls legal and illicit traffic of „sensitive goods” (drugs, military and dual-use technology, CITES-related goods, etc AND COUNTERFEITS)

Destruction of goods at NTCA Airport Directorate No. 1. RISK ANALYSIS AND PATROLLING DEPARTMENT - Risk analysis and operational unit: 18 persons …. and 1 sniffer dog - IPR unit: 2 persons - Crimes and offences administrators: 2 persons

Legal basis of destructions Council Regulation No 608/2013 of of 12 June 2013 concerning customs enforcement of intellectual property rights and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 Internal directions

Destruction - requirements In 10 working days: 1)the rightholder declares that an IPR has been infringed AND 2) the rightholder confirms his agreement to the destruction AND 3) the declarant / holder of the goods confirms his agreement to the destruction (no reaction -> can be considered as a confirmation) As a result of destruction goods must become non-usable

Destruction – proper outcome BEFORE AFTER

Destruction – in practice -Destruction is carried out by the rightholder / representative -> under customs control -Costs of destruction are covered by the rightholder / representative (they also take responsibility for it) -Hazardous goods must be destroyed at specialized facilities

Destruction – in practice -The rightholder / representative reimburses the costs of storage (goods are stored in the warehouse of the customs office while detained) -Theoretically goods can be offered for charity purpose – in practise it does not work (rightholder does not confirm his agreement, trademarks cannot be removed, etc) -Samples can be taken for analysis (such samples must be returned to customs) -The remains of goods have to be cleared

REPORT A report is made and signed by both parties (rightholder / customs) of each destruction

AN EXAMPLE Step 1) 5 pairs of possibly infringing „Nike” shoes were found in a DHL consignment

AN EXAMPLE Step 2) The rightholder has been notified the very same day Step 3) The rightholder has confirmed (in writing, in 10 working days) that the shoes infringe their IPR Step 4) The consignee has confirmed his agreement to the destruction (in fact, he has not exclaimed against the destruction in 10 working days)

AN EXAMPLE Step 5) Goods destroyed – 14 days later

MAIN ADVANTAGE A lower number of IP-related offences resulted in less paperwork (officers can avoid interrogating consignees as witnesses, courier consignments can be „seized” /detained/ without the prosecutor’s permission, etc). Cases still have to be managed: applying the provisons of simplified procedure to a tipical infringing consignment takes 5 man-hours (average)

Thank you for your attention!