Dear Reader,
Customs formalities cover global supply chains from the country of exportation to the country of importation. The legal rules to be addressed on the way are extensive (tariff, non-tariff, safety, etc.). They vary across countries and regions, change constantly, and often are inaccessible because of the language barrier and/ or unavailability online.
Businesses aim to arrange customs formalities in the most cost-effective way, taking into account tariff preferences, the variety of customs procedures, and the simplifications. Therefore, the task to ensure compliant and cost-effective customs formalities is a complex one and any customs-related topic is in the scope of the journal.
At the core of the Customs Compliance & Risk Management Journal for Practitioners in Europe are these keywords: up-to-date customs knowledge, compliance, harmonisation and simplification of the international and national rules (the simpler the rules, the easier to trade and to manage compliance and risks).
The first bi-monthly issue was released at the end of March 2020. Stakeholders - business, customs, academia, and others - from all over the world are invited to read the journal and to contribute articles.
The Editorial Board:
Enrika Naujokė, CC Learning, UAB, Lithuania
Dr David Savage, Ireland
Roberto Raya da Silva, Raya Consult, Brazil
Prof Dr Borys Kormych, National University 'Odesa Law Academy', Ukraine
Dr Ilona Mishchenko, National University 'Odesa Law Academy', Ukraine
Samuel Draginich, Amazon EU, Luxembourg
Ira Reese, Global Security and Innovative Solutions, the USA
Mark Rowbotham, Portcullis ISC, the UK
Omer Wagner, Israel
Svitlana Siurik, Belgium
We will be happy to answer your questions. Contact us: info@customslcear.net
Best regards,
Editorial Board
Terms and Conditions
Responsibility for the content. The information contained in the Customs Compliance & Risk Management Journal for Practitioners in Europe is for general information purposes only and cannot be construed as legal advice, conclusion or consultation. The publisher CC Learning, UAB (CustomsClear, the Publisher) does not necessarily agree with the views of the authors of articles.
Distribution. The exclusive right to distribute the journal belongs to the Publisher. The paid articles of the journal are only for the use of those who have acquired them lawfully. The originals or copies of the articles may not be distributed, sold, rented, lent or otherwise transferred without the written consent of CustomsClear.
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Contact: info@customsclear.net
Information for Authors
Writing an article is a great way to share your knowledge and, if relevant, to inform readers about your expertise in a particular field of Customs.
Articles are contributed on a non-remunerated basis. Thanking you for your contribution, we will invite you to meet other authors in bimonthly online meetings.
The ISSN 2669-2171 number can be used for academic purposes.
Reader
The reader of the journal is a practitioner dealing with customs-related questions first of all in business. She or he might be a beginner or experienced one. Therefore, please write for practitioners, delivering your message in a simple and clear way.
Language
The main language of the journal is English. However, practitioners in many countries do not speak English, therefore, we encourage to write the article in several languages up to your choice.
Structure and length
Please start with about 3-5 sentences introducing what is your article about. Structure the article in short paragraphs, use subtitles. At the end of the article (and/ or in the author’s profile), you may introduce your organisation and services.
The length of the article is up to your choice, the most important is to clearly deliver the knowledge/ the main message to the reader (there are articles of 1000 and of 3000 words, it can be less or more).
Author’s profile
Additionally, you may send us a picture and a description of the author for the author's profile. The author's profile opens when you click on the author’s name in the article.
Note
Please also read 'About the Journal' and 'Terms and Conditions'.
Contacts
We will be happy to answer your questions. Please contact us by info@customsclear.net
Dear Readers,
I am delighted to write the editorial for the February/ March issue of CCRM. The WCO Secretariat announced the 2023 slogan “Nurturing the Next Generation: Promoting a Culture of Knowledge-sharing and Professional Pride in Customs”, which, in fact, goes far beyond mere customs administrations and is essential for all stakeholders involved in international trade. The knowledge-sharing culture can help build stronger partnerships, trust and mutual understanding between customs and the private sector and develop more effective processes to achieve common goals, such as improving trade facilitation and enhancing supply chain security. The WCO emphasizes the role of professional journals, magazines, and newsletters in knowledge management and sharing. And, in this regard, I am thrilled to inform you that the case of CCRM in providing information and fostering exchanges between brokers and representatives of Customs and other relevant institutions was presented by our Editor, Enrika Naujokė, in her insightful piece for the first 2023 issue of WCO News.
The current CCRM issue makes a particular focus on tariff classification. Articles written by Christopher Matt, Ingrida Kemežienė and Taichi Kawazoe cover a broad range of cases, including the completeness of product information, procedures for advance rulings, pipe transportation devices, inflatable couches, and drones. The latter reminds us of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian armed conflict that shows the extensive utilization of commercial drones for military purposes. So, I think we will soon see a more detailed classification of drones to distinguish some features critical for military use, empowering more strict export controls.
The customs procedures section starts with the notes from the discussion at the 14th CCRM Authors' Meeting, which involved customs experts from Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, France, Bulgaria, Israel, Brazil and Argentina. It provides valuable insights into possibilities the proper choice of procedure may deliver and highlights the diversity of challenges customs professionals face in particular countries. This is followed by articles investigating inward procedures in the UK by Arne Mielken and the EU by Sandra Rinnert, Michael Lux and Enrika Naujokė. Besides general information, readers may get some comparative aspects of the UK and the EU customs procedures trajectory after Brexit.
Among the overviews of the EU law, I would like to highlight the article by Gediminas Valantiejus on the long-lasting EU efforts on the harmonization of penalties for customs infringements that “celebrate” the tenth anniversary this year. The series of EU-organized surveys and research revealed too many differences between member states, yet few suggestions on harmonization. In the same section Boryana Peycheva addresses pressing measures to unify customs control practices across the EU that are discussed in the report for the European Parliament's committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
The current issue traditionally embraces the valuation topic. Georgi Goranov discusses the pros and cons of the Commission’s draft delegated regulation on Binding Valuation Information. Enrika Naujokė looks into the interplay between the choice of place of entry of goods and customs value. In country-specific publications, Ilona Mishchenko addresses information exchange challenges between Ukrainian customs and businesses. At the same time, Omer Wagner provides insights on the “importer's affidavit,” a unique tool the Israeli customs uses to obtain valuation information.
I would rather not bore readers with any further listing, but on behalf of our editorial team, I hope you will find this CCRM issue exciting and valuable.
With Best Regards,
Dr. Prof. Borys Kormych
News in week 13: communication on decisions relating to binding tariff information; conclusion of the 71st Session of the Harmonized System Committee; CJEU judgements in two tariff classification … cases; updates related to anti-dumping; creation of certain tariff rate quotas under the steel safeguard measure; and more news!
News in week 13: communication on decisions relating to binding tariff information; conclusion of the 71st Session of the Harmonized System Committee; CJEU judgements in two tariff classification cases; updates related to anti-dumping; creation of certain tariff rate quotas under the steel safeguard measure; and more news!
News at a glance: Common transit - list of goods exempted from guarantee; extended suspension of import duties, quotas and trade defence measures for Ukrainian exports to the EU and the UK; pilot … project for the transport of goods between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova using the TIR electronic procedure; and more news!
Iryna Pavlenko , Oleg Kyryievskyi
News at a glance: Common transit - list of goods exempted from guarantee; extended suspension of import duties, quotas and trade defence measures for Ukrainian exports to the EU and the UK; pilot project for the transport of goods between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova using the TIR electronic procedure; and more news!
Iryna Pavlenko , Oleg Kyryievskyi
This is not a scientific paper claiming to be absolutely complete - it is rather a short examination (born out of the practitioner’s view) of the complexity of classification based on a simple … article (with minor variations) and a pointing out of the (often, usually) missing information to classify an article completely (automated?) based on existing (tabular?) data. Let us now consider the complexity of classification in the EU nomenclature using a simple example. Let's take as an example a screw, more precisely a hexagon head screw.
Christopher Matt
This is not a scientific paper claiming to be absolutely complete - it is rather a short examination (born out of the practitioner’s view) of the complexity of classification based on a simple article (with minor variations) and a pointing out of the (often, usually) missing information to classify an article completely (automated?) based on existing (tabular?) data. Let us now consider the complexity of classification in the EU nomenclature using a simple example. Let's take as an example a screw, more precisely a hexagon head screw.
Christopher Matt
The Israeli customs authority has, as I believe, invented an original tool to gain more information about specific goods valuation process, even before officially starting an audit. The tool … is called the "importer's affidavit". As far as I know, there is no similar requirement in other jurisdictions.
Omer Wagner
The Israeli customs authority has, as I believe, invented an original tool to gain more information about specific goods valuation process, even before officially starting an audit. The tool is called the "importer's affidavit". As far as I know, there is no similar requirement in other jurisdictions.
Omer Wagner
Why is there so much talk and writing about trade and customs compliance? Why is so much attention being paid to this issue in legislation and judicial practice? What are the consequences of … non-compliance with many laws and trade agreements? Read about 3 real-life cases of failing to comply and their consequences.
Dr Ilona Mishchenko
Why is there so much talk and writing about trade and customs compliance? Why is so much attention being paid to this issue in legislation and judicial practice? What are the consequences of non-compliance with many laws and trade agreements? Read about 3 real-life cases of failing to comply and their consequences.
Dr Ilona Mishchenko
Let's take a look at the second judgement issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) earlier this year on the tariff classification of goods (the first one was on classification … of inflatable couches). This case is about a pipe transportation device: Should it be classified as an article of aluminium or a container? Accordingly, the import duty rate is 6% or 0%. The CJEU also clarified what a ‘container’ means for tariff classification purposes.
Ingrida Kemežienė
Let's take a look at the second judgement issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) earlier this year on the tariff classification of goods (the first one was on classification of inflatable couches). This case is about a pipe transportation device: Should it be classified as an article of aluminium or a container? Accordingly, the import duty rate is 6% or 0%. The CJEU also clarified what a ‘container’ means for tariff classification purposes.
Ingrida Kemežienė
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has in the first 2 months of the year provided clarifications in 2 cases related to the tariff classification of goods. This shows that business … is constantly confronted with questions of the proper classification of goods, which, for certain goods, we will overview. In this article, let’s start with the classification of inflatable couches: Are they furniture or camping equipment? The duty tariff would be 3.7% or 12%, respectively.
Ingrida Kemežienė
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has in the first 2 months of the year provided clarifications in 2 cases related to the tariff classification of goods. This shows that business is constantly confronted with questions of the proper classification of goods, which, for certain goods, we will overview. In this article, let’s start with the classification of inflatable couches: Are they furniture or camping equipment? The duty tariff would be 3.7% or 12%, respectively.
Ingrida Kemežienė
The possibilities and risks of customs procedures were the focus of discussion at the 14th Authors' Meeting. Experts from Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, France, Bulgaria, Israel, Brazil and Argentina … shared insights and tips on how to manage customs procedures for the maximum benefit of businesses. A number of issues were raised, particularly in relation to the use of special customs procedures.
The possibilities and risks of customs procedures were the focus of discussion at the 14th Authors' Meeting. Experts from Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, France, Bulgaria, Israel, Brazil and Argentina shared insights and tips on how to manage customs procedures for the maximum benefit of businesses. A number of issues were raised, particularly in relation to the use of special customs procedures.
Classification under a tariff subheading is not an end in itself but serves to determine which measures, tariff or other, should be applied to the goods concerned. However, in case of inward … processing in the EU, the question has been raised, whether the duty rate of the processed goods at the time of release for free circulation must be applied in certain cases even though the tariff classification, customs value, and origin of the imported goods are the basis for the duty calculation.
Prof Dr Sandra Rinnert , Michael Lux, Enrika Naujokė
Classification under a tariff subheading is not an end in itself but serves to determine which measures, tariff or other, should be applied to the goods concerned. However, in case of inward processing in the EU, the question has been raised, whether the duty rate of the processed goods at the time of release for free circulation must be applied in certain cases even though the tariff classification, customs value, and origin of the imported goods are the basis for the duty calculation.
Prof Dr Sandra Rinnert , Michael Lux, Enrika Naujokė
“He who owns information owns the world”, said Nathan M. Rothschild two centuries ago. The quote is relevant today particularly when it comes to customs. What if a company needs information from … customs authorities? Is it possible to obtain it? Are customs obliged to provide it to a company or an individual? This article deals with the problems faced by Ukrainian companies in obtaining the information they need from the customs authorities. We also take a look at the provisions of the EU Customs Code.
Dr Ilona Mishchenko
“He who owns information owns the world”, said Nathan M. Rothschild two centuries ago. The quote is relevant today particularly when it comes to customs. What if a company needs information from customs authorities? Is it possible to obtain it? Are customs obliged to provide it to a company or an individual? This article deals with the problems faced by Ukrainian companies in obtaining the information they need from the customs authorities. We also take a look at the provisions of the EU Customs Code.
Dr Ilona Mishchenko
Since problems of classification of goods are relevant to all countries of the world, the WCO, as the "keeper" of the Harmonised System, has developed a number of tools for its correct and uniform … application. These tools include Explanatory Notes, Compendium of Classification Opinions, Classification Decisions, Recommendations Related to the Harmonised System, and Advance Rulings for Classification. Let's look at the latter tool in more detail, including a practical tip on where to find Advance Rulings in different countries.
Taichi Kawazoe
Since problems of classification of goods are relevant to all countries of the world, the WCO, as the "keeper" of the Harmonised System, has developed a number of tools for its correct and uniform application. These tools include Explanatory Notes, Compendium of Classification Opinions, Classification Decisions, Recommendations Related to the Harmonised System, and Advance Rulings for Classification. Let's look at the latter tool in more detail, including a practical tip on where to find Advance Rulings in different countries.
Taichi Kawazoe
In January 2023, the EU Commission presented the report "On the assessment of customs infringements and penalties in Member States" (COM(2023) 5 final), which provides a summarized overview of … the individual system of penalties for infringements of customs law in each EU Member State. This article presents the essential highlights of the Commission‘s report, describes the existing system of infringements of customs law in the EU and its specific features throughout the EU Member States, as well as its specific features in different states. At the same time, the article reviews the perspectives of unifying the system of application of legal responsibility for infringements of customs law and the initiatives currently which are being considered in this area.
Dr. Gediminas Valantiejus
In January 2023, the EU Commission presented the report "On the assessment of customs infringements and penalties in Member States" (COM(2023) 5 final), which provides a summarized overview of the individual system of penalties for infringements of customs law in each EU Member State. This article presents the essential highlights of the Commission‘s report, describes the existing system of infringements of customs law in the EU and its specific features throughout the EU Member States, as well as its specific features in different states. At the same time, the article reviews the perspectives of unifying the system of application of legal responsibility for infringements of customs law and the initiatives currently which are being considered in this area.
Dr. Gediminas Valantiejus
The Pan-European organisation International Confederation of Customs Brokers and Customs Representatives (Confiad) was founded in 1982 in Italy. It was founded with the purpose to defend and … coordinate the professional interest of its members, supporting harmonisation of the legislative, professional and customs regulations at European level. Confiad President Dr Massimo De Gregorio kindly accepted our invitation to share information about the confederation, its main activities and the customs broker’s profession.
Dr Massimo De Gregorio
The Pan-European organisation International Confederation of Customs Brokers and Customs Representatives (Confiad) was founded in 1982 in Italy. It was founded with the purpose to defend and coordinate the professional interest of its members, supporting harmonisation of the legislative, professional and customs regulations at European level. Confiad President Dr Massimo De Gregorio kindly accepted our invitation to share information about the confederation, its main activities and the customs broker’s profession.
Dr Massimo De Gregorio
In 2022, the approach to the classification of unmanned aircraft changed. A separate heading has been introduced for them. Has the classification of these goods been simplified? Have there been … fewer problems in determining their code? Let's find out what challenges we may face when classifying some types of drones.
Taichi Kawazoe
In 2022, the approach to the classification of unmanned aircraft changed. A separate heading has been introduced for them. Has the classification of these goods been simplified? Have there been fewer problems in determining their code? Let's find out what challenges we may face when classifying some types of drones.
Taichi Kawazoe
A recently published comparative analysis of Member States' customs authorisation procedures for the entry of products into the EU concludes that the EU is a customs union with common legislation, … customs rules, procedures and a single development plan; yet, for a number of objective reasons and considerations, each Member State manages and develops its customs activities at its own pace and according to its own interpretation of the Union Customs Code. We overview some aspects of the analysis.
Boryana Peycheva
A recently published comparative analysis of Member States' customs authorisation procedures for the entry of products into the EU concludes that the EU is a customs union with common legislation, customs rules, procedures and a single development plan; yet, for a number of objective reasons and considerations, each Member State manages and develops its customs activities at its own pace and according to its own interpretation of the Union Customs Code. We overview some aspects of the analysis.
Boryana Peycheva
Customs Consultative Committees (CCCs) or similar bodies have been set up in EU Member States, the UK and other countries to bring business and customs together to discuss issues, share knowledge … and improve the business environment. With what questions or problems can businesses turn to the CCC and what results can be expected? How can this be done? Do businesses actively make use of this tool? We thank Anthony Buckley, Chair of the CCC in Ireland for a number of years during the Brexit preparations, for kindly accepting the invitation to share his experiences and views.
Anthony Buckley , Enrika Naujokė
Customs Consultative Committees (CCCs) or similar bodies have been set up in EU Member States, the UK and other countries to bring business and customs together to discuss issues, share knowledge and improve the business environment. With what questions or problems can businesses turn to the CCC and what results can be expected? How can this be done? Do businesses actively make use of this tool? We thank Anthony Buckley, Chair of the CCC in Ireland for a number of years during the Brexit preparations, for kindly accepting the invitation to share his experiences and views.
Anthony Buckley , Enrika Naujokė
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