2.III.4. Letters of assurance and guarantees from parent companies (or another group company)

Letters of assurance are documents issued by a parent company (or other group company) to acknowledge the approach taken by a subsidiary in a particular transaction to obtain financing. Letters of assurance are issued when a subsidiary has negative net assets and are used to corroborate that, as indicated in the opinion of the board members and the audit report, the company has adequate financial resources to ensure the continuity of its activities. These documents may be limited to a certain period of time. They constitute a written declaration of intent to continue providing financial support to the applicant company, but are not necessarily legally binding.

When assessing the proven financial solvency of a subsidiary, it should be taken into account that the subsidiary may operate under the guarantee of its parent company, and customs authorities may examine the latter's accounts to ensure that it has the necessary means to provide assistance to the subsidiary.

It should be noted that letters of assurance do not typically constitute legally binding contractual agreements and, therefore, do not represent an enforceable guarantee under the law. Where the applicant relies on financial assistance from a parent company (or other group) to meet the financial solvency criterion, customs authorities should ensure, where appropriate, that such assistance is provided under a legally binding contractual agreement. If a guarantee is required as evidence of support from the parent company (or another group company), such guarantee must be binding under the national law of the Member States in which it is accepted; Otherwise, it cannot be taken into account when assessing compliance with the criterion. To constitute a legally binding contractual document, it must contain a commitment to irrevocably and unconditionally fulfill the obligations assumed by the subsidiary. Once signed, the signatory is legally responsible for paying any unpaid customs debts.