Outward processing is the opposite of inward processing. It allows Community goods to be processed abroad and, when they come back into the Community to be put into free circulation, that duty has to be paid only on the value added abroad.
Without such a system, duty would have to be paid on the goods as produced in the Community as well as on the value added abroad.
The guidelines concerning customs procedures with economic impact are published in the Official Journal C 269 of 24 September 2001 and C 219 of 7 September 2005 .
These guidelines are not law and are only of an explanatory nature. Their purpose is to provide a tool to facilitate the correct application of the legal provisions.