Section 116: Competent customs officers

1 The Service shall determine by regulations the location and competence of the various customs offices situated in the customs territory.

2 Where a customs office is located at a common border crossing, to the extent possible, the Service shall correlate the business hours and competence of such an office with the customs administration of the concerned foreign country.

3 At common border crossings the Service shall, as far as practicable, operate joint customs controls with the customs administration of the concerned foreign country.

4 To the extent possible, the Service shall establish adjacent or joint customs office at common border crossings to facilitate joint controls with the customs administration of the concerned foreign country.

5 To facilitate trade, customs offices shall operate reasonable and appropriate hours, taking into account the nature of the traffic and of the goods and customs procedure at the location or place in question.

6 The Service may extend the normal working hours of customs offices to facilitate trade and in such instances, a cost-based user fee may be assessed by the Service on persons using these special services.