Articles

Did you know that the EU imports around 26 kg of textiles per person per year? And around 11 kg are thrown away? That clothes are usually only worn 7 or 8 times? The EU is working on an EU strategy … for sustainable and circular textiles (see European Parliament resolution, published in the Official Journal on 21.12.2023), as textiles have the fourth highest negative impact on the climate and the environment, after food, housing and mobility. This article invites you to reflect on what can/ needs to be done in customs area to contribute to the EU's and global sustainability objectives. For example, whether customs tariffs or preferential rules of origin promote the circular economy, i.e. the import of used textiles for reuse or recycling and other sustainable options.

Editors’ note: In this second part of the article, the author highlights the similarities and differences between customs valuation and transfer pricing and emphasises that the requirements may … differ for the same goods. He also outlines the solutions used by customs in different countries. For example, the Canada Border Services Agency considers the transfer price to be the ‘uninfluenced’ price paid or payable for imported goods if a written transfer price agreement exists between a vendor and a related purchaser and is in effect at the time of importation.

Editors' note: In November, the European Commission published the news 'New transfer pricing rules to make life easier for businesses in the EU'. The new rules are necessary to address several … challenges, including the competing objectives of customs and tax authorities, which lead to double compliance requirements. The problem is global. According to the Corporate Tax Association of Australia (CTAA), 'it is unacceptable for a business to be required to satisfy two arms of the same government, one demanding a higher price and the other a lower price in respect of the same transaction'. In this first part of the article, the author provides an overview of the rules and methods of customs valuation and transfer pricing.

Legal clarity and certainty are what compliant companies need in order to be able to concentrate on their core activities. Legislators are trying to fulfil this need by, for example, introducing … additional legislation such as binding information (BI) decisions. Frustratingly, the more legislation, the less clarity. BI decisions issued by customs authorities can be overturned by the European Commission (e.g. Harley-Davidson case), or the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) can rule in a dispute over a BI decision that the European Commission has exceeded its powers when adopting delegated legislation, which raises the question of how binding the rules laid down in the delegated regulations, e.g. the UCC Delegated Act, are. On the latter, we provide a brief overview of a recent CJEU judgement on the rules of non-preferential origin.

Today, we often talk about circular economy goals and the ambition to reduce waste by extending the life of products through reuse, repair, refurbishment or recycling. The legal framework is … still under development. For example, there are provisions in the EU Combined Nomenclature for certain waste and scrap and for used cars, but no such provisions for used car parts - this can lead to difficulties when declaring these goods for the chosen customs procedure. Let us give an overview and discuss a current practical situation in Lithuania regarding the environmental and customs requirements for the declaration of parts of used cars for export.

According to customs data, since the introduction of sanctions, Latvian customs performed 184,972 cargo document controls and 6,027 cargo physical controls. In 8,396 cases, customs prevented … the movement of goods subject to sanctions. In 2022, 114 criminal proceedings have been initiated for the circumvention of sanctions, and in 2023, – 87 criminal proceedings. Considering the above, economic operators who move goods from or to Russia and Belarus or countries that could be used to circumvent sanctions should consider the consequences mentioned in this article.

News at a glance: Customs clearance without presentation of goods - no longer an option; Constitutional Court: the Customs Code must allow for the individualisation of penalties; Pan-Euro-Mediterranean … Regional Convention: Alternative rules of origin (EU and Ukraine); verification of exporters of agricultural products; reliable, transparent and comprehensible trade protection tools that benefit both Ukrainian businesses and international partners.

News in week 48: Amendment of EU's GSP Regulation; UCC Work Programme 2023 revision; updated UCC Guidance on Special Procedures other than Transit; EU completes ratification of state-of-the-art … trade agreement with New Zealand; Transitional Rules for Ukraine are now in ROSA (Access2Markets); a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) originating in China; tariff classification of a multifunctional apparatus in a housing with front control buttons, to be installed in the dashboard of a motor vehicle; and more updates!

The fundamental premise of these notes is that the absence of any harmonization for rules of non-preferential rules of origin is increasingly and very rapidly creating additional discriminatory … opportunities to expand and extend the scope and impact of a wide range of trade policies and trade restrictions. A brief analysis will provide a few examples of this phenomena, including an examination of its probable causes, and possible approaches to mitigate related barriers to international trade. The final notes will examine potential information and data contradictions in the current efforts to control so-called 'negative externalities' by way of 'deep origin' requirements, such as forced labour and carbon measures, at the border.

The right to be heard is well known to practitioners from various customs decisions and the Art. 22(6) of the Union Customs Code: 'Before taking a decision which would adversely affect the applicant, … the customs authorities shall communicate the grounds on which they intend to base their decision to the applicant, who shall be given the opportunity to express his or her point of view'. This fundamental right of the EU legal order is not just a formality - the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) recently annulled a regulation because it found that the European Commission had violated the importer's right to be heard during the process of adopting that regulation. It is therefore worthwhile for importers, exporters and other parties involved to take a close look at the topic and be prepared to use the right to their own advantage at EU or national level if needed.

Note from the CCRM editors: This first part of the article provides an overview of the history, objectives and scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) introduced by the EU. It … also examines the issue of whether the Paris Agreement on climate change foresees border adjustment measures by countries with high climate ambitions, and poses the following question: Is the CBAM fair towards developing countries? In the second part, the author will provide an overview of the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which could justify the CBAM, his assessment of the CBAM Regulation, and share a practical list of questions that companies can use in order to find out whether they are affected, and if so, how they can prepare to meet the CBAM requirements, in particular for the transitional period.

‘What are your main tasks as the Head of European Customs at DB Schenker? What are the main challenges and how do you deal with them? How do you measure success? What is ‘cool’ about customs … for you? If you would have all the powers and resources, what would be the very first thing you would change in customs world?’ – We had the opportunity to put these and other questions to Rainer Wilms, who we would like to thank for his answers and insights.

A recently published EU Official Journal contains a communication in accordance with Article 34(7)(a)(iii) of the Union Customs Code on decisions relating to binding information issued by the … customs authorities of the member states concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature. In this article, we provide an overview of some of the international tariff measures listed in the communication.

Editors’ word: 2024 is the year of the wood dragon (Chinese zodiac sign). How do we classify such a dragon? :-) We can start the discussion with wood and its products, among which we find a dragon … tree* (4407 29), and an old legend says that when a dragon dies, it is reborn as a dragon tree... such an interesting fact in the run-up to the New Year. Despite the importance of dragons in 2024, we won't find anything new about them in next year's Combined Nomenclature. However, we invite you to take a look at the other changes - check for any new developments related to your imports or exports. Thank you to Virginija Dordzikienė for the overview.

Where do we draw the line between non-tariff measures that help governments achieve important goals (e.g. sustainability) and non-tariff barriers that unnecessarily restrict trade? How can SMEs … ensure compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment (international sanctions, export controls, SPS, CBAM, REACH, forced labour, etc.)? As a distributor, how do you control the supply chain with multiple points of sale and resale, especially in relation to export control? These and other related questions were addressed at the 18th Authors' Meeting in an exchange of views between experts from different countries - the EU, the UK, the US, Brazil and Pakistan.

This article discusses the challenges faced by the Bulgarian automotive industry in the context of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus. A national customs risk profile has been introduced, … triggered by the export of certain automotive parts of HS Chapters 84 and 85 to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and others. The documents and information required from the consignee of the goods in the third country and the end user of the goods (if different) in order for these goods to be exported are problematic, as it is often very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain this data.