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The WTO's Harmonised System (HS) convention is probably one of the most successful international conventions and aims to harmonise tariff codes for goods worldwide. The WTO also has successful … conventions, including the 1996 Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which aims to improve trade in technology products by eliminating customs duties on selected and defined products. The interests of the HS and the ITA are not identical. While the HS aims to establish rules for a unified classification, regardless of whether the result leads to duty-free treatment or not, the ITA's objective is duty-free treatment for technological products.

The language of sustainable development legislation and the language of the legislation of origin are completely different; it is necessary to find a lingua franca for these areas to better understand … and implement the requirements. On the other hand, harmonisation of rules of origin at a global level is essential to address the challenges faced by importers - the need for harmonisation of these rules has never been greater. These and many other views were exchanged at the 20th Authors' Meeting. We invite you to read an overview.

The EU has concluded more than 40 free trade agreements (FTAs) with around 80 countries, which supposedly bring significant benefits for trade with partner countries. But is this really the case, … i.e. is the EU fully utilising these benefits? This article attempts to assess the application of EU FTAs by analysing the flow of goods in and out of the main trading partners. The author looks at how import and export volumes and geography depend on the existence of preferential agreements.

Do you regularly import goods into the UK? Managing import taxes and VAT payments for every consignment can be complicated, time-consuming, and frustrating. Since Brexit, dealing with VAT payments … at the border is no longer necessary as they are postponed and settled separately via the importer’s EORI number. However, to release the goods from customs, duties need to be paid at the time of import… or do they? UK customs (HMRC) offer an option to simplify the whole process, known as a deferment account.

In theory, when goods enter the EU, import VAT is immediately due to the customs authorities at the relevant border. In practice, the EU VAT Directive gives Member States the ability to determine … the conditions under which goods enter their territories. This is in addition to the ability to set detailed rules for payment of VAT in respect of goods imported. This means Member States can implement mechanisms for postponed accounting via the VAT return, or deferred payment schemes, or a combination of both.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), approved in 2012 by the African Union’s (AU) 18th Ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government, is one of the Flagship Projects … of the AU’s Agenda 2063. The Action Plan for Boosting intra-African trade has a strong focus on accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market, in particular through implementation of trade facilitation standards and tools. We provide a brief overview of AfCFTA rules of origin.

Editors' note: The recent 20th Authors' Meeting dealt with issues of origin for customs purposes. At this meeting, the author presented two Israeli court cases - one concerning an unauthorised … person signing the certificate of preferential origin and the other concerning whether pistachios originated in Iran or Turkey (non-preferential origin for the application of prohibitions). The cases are not necessarily new, but they deal with relevant questions: What happens if the proof of preferential origin is signed by an unauthorised person? Can the authorisation be granted retrospectively? Is the 'statistical and reasonableness check' sufficient for customs to reject the declared non-preferential origin of the goods?

In 2022, the WCO Secretariat sent a questionnaire to the Organization’s Members to gather information on certification of origin processes and the digitalization of the certificate of origin … (CO). Eighty-four Customs administrations responded, and a Study on the Digitalization of the Certificate of Origin, containing an analysis of the information received, was published in December 2023.

The Study provides a comparative analysis of origin provisions in a region which has the most numerous and complex overlapping trade regimes of the entire African continent.

The present research covers the interpretation of the concept of customs posts and the relationship with customs tax control. The analysis of the European Union (EU) regulations showed the essential … criteria for customs posts. The Maturity model was also reviewed in order to implement the EU regulations requirements for customs posts. In customs posts the Maturity model must be used in three areas – tax administration, customs administration, and information technology implementation. To assess the practical situation, it was chosen to analyse high-risk customs posts. The situation of the Suwalki corridor and the three-month data collected by two customs posts at the Kybartai Road and Raigardas Road posts were reviewed. The analysis revealed that there is a lack of available data for researchers to conduct analysis and determine the impact of selected customs posts on customs tax control.

Customs taxes are a form of taxation imposed on goods imported into a country. They are typically levied on the value of the goods, and are intended to protect domestic industries from foreign … competition. In the European Union (EU), customs duties are harmonized across all member states. This means that the same rate of duty is applied to the same goods, regardless of which EU country they are imported into, however, there are some exceptions to this rule. Also, not only Duties has to be paid before release to free circulation. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services online. It has become increasingly popular in recent years, as it offers consumers a convenient and affordable way to shop. However, the growth of e-commerce has also led to an increase in the number of goods being imported into the EU. The influence of customs taxes on e-commerce imports can have a significant impact on private persons. For example, if a private person imports goods from a country outside of the EU, they may have to pay customs taxes on those goods. This can make imported goods more expensive, it can also take more time for delivery, and can discourage private persons from importing goods from outside of the EU. The following sections of this paper will explore this topic in more detail and will discuss the various factors that can influence the impact of customs taxes on e-commerce imports for private persons and propose a theoretical model of how customs taxes affect the e-commerce of private persons.

The World Customs Organization has published a comprehensive study on the digitalisation of the Certificate of Origin (CO). This article provides a short summary of the existing CO issues and … suggests some solutions that could help achieve the long-term digitalisation goals – such as the framework for trusted digital signatures currently used in the EU.

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.

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.

Understanding the terms Double Taxation and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) is crucial in the field of international taxation, as they encapsulate complex scenarios that impact cross-border … trade and investments. This paper aims to unravel the conceptual framework of DTAAs, assessing their advantages and disadvantages in the realm of international trade. By presenting case studies, this paper endeavors to delineate how DTAAs influence international trade decisions, offering a pragmatic understanding of their significance.

Europos Sąjungos Teisingumo Teismas (ESTT) išnagrinėjo bylą, kurioje spręstas klausimas, ar transporto įmonė, tranzitu gabenanti prekes iš Olandijos uosto į prekių importo valstybę - Rumuniją … - gali savo paslaugoms automatiškai taikyti 0 proc. PVM (kaip transporto paslaugoms, susijusioms su importu), ar visgi turi papildomai įsitikinti, kad importuotojas PVM nuo šių paslaugų tinkamai įtraukė į prekių importo PVM apmokestinamąją vertę. Ir jeigu neįrodo, turi PVM nuo šių paslaugų sumokėti pats. ESTT patvirtino transporto įmonėms nepalankią poziciją - automatinio 0 proc. taikymo šiuo atveju negali būti. Visgi, mokesčių administratorius privalo atsižvelgti į visus galimus pateikti įrodymus.

What are the pitfalls and opportunities of 42 import procedure? What about post-Brexit VAT? What do you need to know about import GST (VAT) in Canada? Do traders and brokers understand excise … risk? What about "domestic" import taxation in Latvia? The CBAM – what does the future hold? These were the main questions discussed during the 17th Authors' Meeting on 24 August. We invite you to read the key points from this meeting in the article below.