Certain items are prohibited for intransit shipments on grounds of
health and sanitation, but the number of items so prohibited is very
small and the prohibited list has not been changed since 1939. German
customs officials may inspect transit shipments at the border and
remove any items prohibited under German law. They then seal the
containers of all other goods and such goods are permitted to proceed,
in accordance with international agreement on transit traffic, without
further inspection or restriction, except to insure at the exit border
that the original customs seals remained unbroken.
Intransit shipments arriving in the Freeport of Hamburg are subject
to a customs documentary and physical check before being allowed to
enter the Freeport. When in the Freeport, such shipments are under
the control of the Freeport authorities, and may be loaded, unloaded,
or reloaded only with their approval. The destination of intransit
shipments arriving in the Freeport of Hamburg traveling under a
"through bill of lading" can only be changed upon instructions of the
original shipper, while the destination of intransit goods traveling
under an "ordinary bill of lading" can be determined by the responsible
local forwarding agent.
Intransit shipments consigned to West German firms and remaining
in the Freeport of Hamburg for shipment to a consignee outside
Western Germany, require an intransit trade permit (Transit
Handelsgenehmigung), except when the goods are returned to country of
origin. Such intransit trade permits are issued by the State Central
Banks after careful scrutiny of the West German firm and in accordance
with the same regulations applying to shipments of West German origin,
and approval by the West German Central Export Control Office. West
German firms must be listed in the official trade register in order to
qualify for an intransit trade permit.
The identical procedure is enforced in the Freeports of Bremen and
Bremerhaven, with the exception that the functions within the Freeport
are carried out by Federal Customs Authorities rather than Freeport
Authorities. This procedure also applies to Cuxhaven, Emden, and Kiel,
which are Freeports of very minor importance.