On 15 May 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) has delivered a judgment in the ‘Tauritus’ case, offering crucial guidance on how to determine the customs value of imported products when their final price is not fixed at the time of importation but is subject to a provisional pricing arrangement. The ruling provides important considerations and clarification for businesses engaged in transactions with such pricing mechanisms. The judgement can be found via this link.
The dispute
Tauritus had purchased fuels from various suppliers and had imported these products into Lithuania. The initial purchase price stated in the contracts and preliminary invoices from the supplier was a provisional price. These contracts stipulated that the final price would be calculated later based on average market prices and exchange rates over a specific period, potentially resulting in a higher or lower final price for the products. The revaluation of the provisional price is therefore dependent on objective factors, which were predetermined and beyond the control of Tauritus and its suppliers.
Tauritus used the provisional price as the customs value for its customs import declarations, using the fall-back method. After receiving the final invoices, Tauritus typically sought to adjust the declared customs value. However, a post-release customs audit revealed that for certain import declarations Tauritus had not requested these amendments, despite receiving final invoices with higher prices (with no indication of fraudulent intent). The Lithuanian Customs Authorities adopted a decision where the customs value was determined with the transaction value method (i.e. the final price indicated on the final invoices), leading to an assessment of additional import VAT and interest.
Tauritus objected to this decision and argued that the customs value of the products cannot be calculated with the transaction value method, as the final price was not known on the date that the customs declaration was lodged. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania decided to refer questions to the CJEU on the customs valuation method (i.e. the transaction value method or the fall-back method) to be used if at the time of acceptance of the customs declaration only a provisional price is known and the final price depends on future factors beyond the control of the parties.
It must also be underlined that it appears that Tauritus did not lodge a simplification request based on Article 73 UCC nor it has requested a valuation decision of the National Customs Authorities to be entitled to use a secondary method of determining the customs value upon importation.
The CJEU ruling
The CJEU observes again that a hierarchy is established between the various methods to determine the customs value, so that an importer is not free to choose the method to be used. The CJEU hereby emphasized the primacy of the transaction value method and considers that the transaction value method corresponds not only to the ‘price actually paid‘ for the products concerned, but also to the ‘price payable‘ for those products.
Furthermore, the CJEU notes that EU Customs Law provides for a simplified customs declaration procedure, where a simplified declaration with a value corresponding to the provisional price may be made, followed by a supplementary declaration indicating a value corresponding to the final price. This procedure makes it possible to declare a customs value which reflects the real economic value of the products and satisfy the requirement for accurate and complete customs declarations, as the customs authorities are informed from the outset that the products are declared with a provisional price. The CJEU further considers that the application of the simplified customs declaration procedure would not have represented disproportionate administrative costs for Tauritus (excluding the possibility to apply for a customs valuation simplification authorization in this case).
Therefore, in such circumstances, the value of the imported products must be determined on the basis of the transaction value method, using the simplified customs declaration procedure.
