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Customs/Imports

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Retroactive TP-adjustments – whether upwards or downwards – Highest German Court rules that they do not have an impact on the customs value. On 17 May 2022 (published end of September 2022) the German Federal Fiscal Court (or: Bundesfinanzhof. “BFH”) – which is the Highest court for tax related matters in Germany – gave its final judgement in the (in)famous Hamamatsu case. This proceeding is part of the referral to the European Court of Justice…

On June 9, 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its decision in case C-599/20 (Baltic Master UAB). This case provides more clarity on the concept of related persons, which allows customs authorities to disregard the transactions value and instead use different valuation methods to determine the customs value of imported goods. EU customs law provides for an exhaustive list in determining when (legal) persons are related and in which situations customs authorities can…

Introduction In the early hours of 17 June 2022, the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted a package of decisions after five days and nights of intense negotiations that appeared to be teetering on the brink of collapse. With the WTO’s credibility on the line, trade ministers were able to compromise and reach consensus at the last minute, reaffirming the WTO’s capacity to deliver multilateral trade rules and provide trade-related responses to…

The Ministry of Trade amended the Customs Regulation (“Regulation”) on 25 May 2022. Amendments include a simplified authorized sender declaration as well as changes to regulations covering: declaration periods for imports with unknown values; delivery of goods; incomplete export declarations and supplementary export declarations; general warehouse storage and permits, the cost of customs laboratory testing; and, companies established by authorized customs consultants.The main amendments introduced to the Regulation are as follows: The period granted for…

Brexit has given rise to a significant increase in customs representation in the EU and more particularly for non-EU established entities. Many UK companies, who no longer qualify as established in the EU, were required to appoint indirect representatives to import goods on their behalf into the EU market. Indirect representation means that the party clearing the goods and submitting the declaration is jointly liable for the content of the declaration and the customs debt…