The SCENT (System Customs Enforcement NeTwork) system, which has been operational since 1987, was to have been complemented since 1996 by the SCENT taxation system which has been in the development stage since 1993. The system allows the exchange of information on indirect taxation via the SCENT-network. The CIS (Customs Information System) (3), which has been operational since 1993, is a database which contains information (data on persons, vehicles, goods, patterns of fraud, etc.) exchanged by the Member States through the SCENT network. More than 300 Terminals have been installed to link up offices at points of entry and exit of the Union and allow them to communicate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with their own central authorities and with Commission departments. CIS is also used for specific operations (surveillance of consignments of sensitive goods in the transit procedure, maritime surveillance, etc). The Commission provides user support in technical matters and looks after training for users in the Member States.
