4. Owners or consignees of goods who wish to present a customs declaration directly to Customs, but are not holders of the licence referred to in article 7, shall produce proof of
their tax and civil identity, and they shall be granted the status of recipient, sender or consignee of goods on the basis of the documentation to be attached to the declaration
form. 5. In the case of a corporate body, the natural person who, in accordance with the
articles of association or minutes of the general meeting of the former, has been granted power to represent the corporate body and produces proof that he or she is the owner or
consignee of such goods, is considered to be qualified to make the customs declaration. 6. Where the owner or consignee of goods has applied for the issuance of a licence, he
or she becomes subject to a specific process of selection, approval and licensing, and the customs office in the area where the applicant’s tax domicile is located shall
subsequently proceed with the registration of that person and communicate to the Customs Service of Timor-Leste all the particulars in its possession.
Chapter II Eligibility and Appointment as Official Broker
Article 3 Admittance to competitive selection process
1. The announcement of the launch of a competitive selection process shall be determined by the Minister of Planning and Finance and affixed to the premises of the
Ministry and of the Customs Service, on the habitual boards for a 30-day period prior to the commencement of the training course.
2. Admittance to the business of official customs broker depends on the submission of an application for that purpose, the successful completion of a training course in the
second phase, and a competitive selection process that shall consist of an examination to test the applicant’s knowledge in the third and final phase.
3. The application shall be submitted alongside the following supporting documents:
a photocopy of the civil identity card or of the certificate of business
registration and the tax identification number TIN; b
proof of age above 21 years; c
certificate of academic qualifications, at least 9 years of compulsory schooling or equivalent;
d at least 10 customs declarations submitted to, and confirmed by, the
customs office, to be counted from the date the competitive selection process is launched;
e criminal record certificate.
4. Paragraph 3.3c does not apply to applicants holding a university degree and producing proof thereof, provided that they meet all the other requirements set out in
this decree-law.
5. The list of applicants admitted to the training course shall also be issued by the Minister of Planning and Finance and affixed to the premises of the Ministry of
Planning and Finance and of the Customs Service. 6. The need and timeliness for the launch of a competitive selection process for the
admittance of new official brokers shall be determined by the Minister of Planning and Finance.
Article 4 Training course
1. Applicants who have been admitted to the first phase of the selection process may enrol in a special training course that will give them access to the business of official
broker, provided that they cumulatively meet the following conditions:
a have been included on the list of selected applicants for the training course
phase; b
proof of payment of all taxes due to the state; c
have not been convicted for a criminal offence or tax offence carrying a term of imprisonment exceeding one year or a maximum fine exceeding US 1,000 one
d thousand Dollars.
2. The training course shall last sixty hours at least and its timeframe shall be included in the decision of the Minister Planning and Finance approving the list of selected
applicants referred to in subarticle 3.5. 3. There shall be a selective examination at the end of the course to test the applicants’
knowledge, in which they shall be individually assessed and ranked, and the names of the applicants selected for the final phase shall be published.
Article 5 Competitive selection process and jury
1. Applicants selected in the second phase shall not be required to register for the competitive selection process, and shall be considered to be fit to take the final
examinations for official brokers. 2. The examinations of the competitive selection process shall be sat in Dili within 30
days of the date of publication of the list referred to in article 4 and shall touch upon practical customs issues, and shall always include a hands-on module on issues relating
to customs tariff classification. 3. The jury shall be composed of three members, and shall be presided over by the
Customs Controller, who shall designate the two other members. 4. The Government may authorise the establishment of a single Chamber representative
of official brokers, in which case the said Chamber may nominate a fourth member of the jury, and the Customs Controller shall have authority to either accept or reject such
a nomination.
5. In the case referred to in subarticle 5.4, the president of the jury shall have a casting vote in addition to his or her own vote while all the three other members shall have one
vote each. 6. The final marking of the candidates shall be published in the Official Gazette, on a
list to be approved by the Minister of Planning and Finance and affixed to the premises of the Ministry and of the Customs Service.
Article 6 Appointment
A person is considered to have been appointed as an official broker who, having obtained a pass mark as indicated on the list referred to in subarticle 5.6 and deposited a
security prior to commencing business as referred to in article 2, receives his or her licence from the Customs Service of Timor-Leste.
Chapter III Identifying official brokers and those authorised to declare goods
