Articles

'It is December 2039, and various newsbots push the following content to their subscribers: ... Customs is being abolished next January (2040) when the EU's new customs system [Artificial Customs … Intelligence Depository, ACID] comes into operation ... The new system means that most of the approximately 5,500 Customs employees will lose their jobs.' This is how the introduction to the book "Customs Inside Anywhere, Insights Everywhere" by Frank Heijmann and John Peters begins [1].

The Romanian company provides transportation services. It transported goods from the port of Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to Cluj-Napoca (Romania) under transit procedure. Goods were released … into free circulation in Romania. It treated transportation service as VAT exempt because it assumed that transportation cost was included into the import VAT taxable base. Tax authorities claimed otherwise: the taxpayer failed to provide documents confirming that the transportation cost was included into the import VAT taxable base. Consequently, they denied the exemption. The dispute between the company and the tax authorities reached as far as the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), which recently issued clarifications on the application of the provisions of the VAT Directive in this case.

A few days ago, an Israeli court accepted a claim by an importer of electric kettles against the customs authority, regarding the classification of the products for customs purposes. The court … adopted the importer's position that the kettles should be classified in subheading 851610 of the HS as "immersion heaters" and rejected the customs position to classify them in subheading 851670 as "other electro-thermal devices". This ruling is an example of the court's creative interpretation of old terms, considering the advancement of technology.

Can a small difference between Canadian customs legislation and the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement really affect the customs valuation process and its outcome? The following article attempts … to answer this question.

If you import aluminium, steel and iron products, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen or electricity, you should already have answered the question of who in your company speaks the language of the … Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), i.e. is knowledgeable in this area and responsible for compliance. And not just you, but also your suppliers from outside the EU, as they will provide you with information on the carbon emissions generated in the production of goods. So who in your supplier company speaks the CBAM language? In this article we look at the links between CBAM and customs, as well as other areas, to help you answer the question of whether the primary responsibility for CBAM compliance should lie with the person responsible for customs matters.

Instead of declaring non-Union goods for release for free circulation under code 40 (in which case import VAT will also become due), an importer established in another Member State (MS) than … that in which such goods will be released for the procedure (and will thus become Union goods) has – often using the services of a representative who is either a freight forwarder or a customs broker – the option of declaring code 42, thus avoiding the obligation to pay the import VAT and regular VAT in the import clearance MS, with the consequence that (only) the regular VAT is to be paid in the MS of destination (where the importer or consignee is established) on an intra-EU acquisition (and the importer can thus avoid a VAT registration in the MS of import clearance). This is already my summary of the opportunities. The remaining part of this article will deal with the pitfalls experienced by customs practitioners in Austria (AT) and Germany (DE). At the end, I will also try to give an outlook into the future.

The EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement signed at the end of 2020 made very little mention of the impact of VAT on UK businesses trading within the EU. Zero Tariffs and Zero Quotas were the … most pressing concerns for companies looking to see minimal disruption to their trading activities. However, the complexities of VAT legislation and application for businesses are a stark reminder that difficulties remain when trading both out of and with the UK. One of these difficulties relates to the VAT Triangulation concept, essentially a transaction and supply of goods where there are three or more EU member states involved and the supply chain is not as simple as 1, 2, 3. Most importantly, however, is that the UK is no longer able to benefit from the VAT Triangulation simplification offered by the EU, which will therefore result in the need for UK businesses to have to register for VAT purposes when making sales into the EU.

Editors' note: In this article, Mr Rowbotham, author of numerous books on trade and logistics topics, shares some parts of the book he is currently working on. Topics covered: Introduction to … domestic duties, excise duty and the UK due diligence requirements, for both domestic and import purposes. This is the continuation of the articles "The risk challenge of indirect tax - customs (Part I)” and "The risk challenge of indirect tax - VAT (Part II)".

Editors' note: In this article, Mr Rowbotham, author of numerous books on trade and logistics topics, shares some parts of the book he is currently working on. Topics covered: Introduction to … VAT and the challenges it poses for businesses, types of VAT fraud, EU triangulation (How do we prove VAT zero-rating?), call off and consignment stock VAT, postponed VAT accounting. This is the continuation of the article "The risk challenge of indirect tax - customs (Part I)”.

Indirect tax - customs duty, excise duty and VAT - while it must be paid correctly, also offers various cash enhancement opportunities, which is crucial for all organisations seeking to continuously … improve their internal indirect tax function. However, the prerequisite is due diligence. In this article, we overview the host of indirect taxes and indirect tax compliance obligations and focus on the “prerequisite” by discussing risk analysis in customs control based on the rules of HRMC (the UK Customs) and highlighting the importance to achieve “low-risk” status. We also overview customs duty. In the following articles, we will discuss VAT and excise more in detail.

The recent ECJ judgment (July 2023) highlights the obsolescence of the legislative framework established by the Commission in 1996. In theory, the European Union’s blocking statute makes it possible … to protect European companies against laws with extraterritorial reach. However, it appears that its scope and use have not achieved the objective initially set, namely, to neutralize the effects of foreign legislation.

What are the objectives of a post-clearance customs audit (PCA)? What does “a desk audit” mean? What are the obligations and rights of auditees? And generally, from a business perspective, isn’t … it more important to get border controls right for goods to smoothly cross the borders than to care about PCAs? If you don't know the answers, continue reading this article, which gives an overview of the principles of customs audit-based controls around the world. Understanding these will help you better understand how customs auditors think and work. This is important to be prepared for customs audits and also to develop an appropriate internal procedure for auditing your company's compliance with customs and trade regulations, which is an effective measure to prevent costly errors or to detect and correct them in a timely manner (before the customs audit).

Customs valuation is one of the most problematic areas of customs, whatever the country or territory. Experts from different continents - from North and South America to Europe and Asia - confirmed … this at the 16th Authors' Meeting. The following is a summary of the main conclusions of this event. The topics covered: discounts, advertising costs, “fair prices” vs transaction value, the arm’s length principle when moving stock between branches, sourcing goods from non-market economies, advance valuation rulings, etc.

News at a glance: Start of the use of the NСTS system for the internal transit procedure; amendment of the procedure for determining the country of origin of goods; Ukraine prepares for the start … of the 5th phase of NCTS; joining the "Customs" programme; and more news!

Those who pay their mortgages have become accustomed to paying higher interest rates. However, this applies not only to mortgages, but also to other interest and late payment charges that we … may not think about in practice. For example, increased interest on customs duties, which are additionally charged by customs authorities when discrepancies are found after customs clearance.

News in week 30: Updated FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus (11th package) concerning luxury goods, customs related matters, imports, purchase and transfer of listed goods and transit … of listed goods via Russia; CJEU clarification regarding amendment of a customs declaration in case excess quantity of goods is discovered after the release of the goods; temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to products from Moldova; and more updates.