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In this article, we overview a recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning tariff classification of goods. The product is 'bamboo beakers' made of plant fibers (72,33% … by weight) and melamine resin (25,2% by weight), the latter gives the product its shape and strength. The questions raised: how are headings 3924 and 4419 of the Combined Nomenclature to be interpreted for the classification of this product; whether GIR 3 (a) ('heading which provides the most specific description') or GIR 3 (b) ('the material which gives the goods their essential character') should be applied.

Editorial word. This month, the European Commission published a regulation that prolonged the application of safeguard measures against imports of certain steel products. Ingrida Beliokienė, … the chief specialist of the Tariffs Division of the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance (Lithuania), kindly agreed to share information about the peculiarities of the use of these measures.

The use of tariff quotas is an important topic for many EU importers, and its relevance is not diminishing. Let’s take a look at the questions that businesses raise about tariff quotas and what … is important to pay attention to.

Place of origin of import VAT obligation - the final destination of the goods entering the territory of the Union or entering the economic circulation of the Union? This question was further … explored and answered by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

It often happens that customs declarations are incorrectly filled out. Such errors are not necessarily intentional and are often nothing more than carelessness. The question in such cases is … whether it is possible to amend the customs declaration retrospectively and how. Whereas it is accepted it is possible to go back and correct particulars about the goods and their value, the customs administration has generally not allowed the customs declarant to be amended in this way. Among the reasons cited is that the relevant court judgements have also rejected such an amendment. We now have two recent judgements which deal with this question of the retrospective amendment of the customs declarant. How helpful are these judgements in practice?

EU Member States import a significant amount of timber, timber products, and sawn timber from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Therefore, the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union … in a recent case, in which the issue of tariff classification of sawn timber (boards) was examined, may be relevant for many businesses.

Exactly a year following the publication of the UK’s Global Tariff, the UK government announced on 20 May 2021 that the UK will launch its own tariff suspension scheme, tailored to the needs … of UK businesses. This means legible goods will benefit from paying no customs duties upon import into the UK. As a UK business paying customs duties currently, this is a window of opportunity to apply for a tariff suspension to reduce your future customs duty bill. What does this mean in practice, and who can apply for this benefit?

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) examined a case regarding the determination of the customs value of imported goods (technical sulfuric acid). The question was raised whether … customs authorities were entitled to add transport costs to the transaction price if, under the Incoterms DAF terms agreed between the parties, the transport costs were already included in the transaction price but actually exceeded it.

In this article, we review the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in which the goods relevant at this time of year are examined, namely tariff classification of spot-on … solution for cats against fleas and ticks. One of the questions raised was whether permission to place a product on the market as a veterinary medicinal product means that the product should be classified as a medicinal product in the Combined Nomenclature.

Is the banknote validator classified as an office machine or as a measuring or checking instrument? The situation is interesting in that two Binding Tariff Information (hereinafter – BTI) decisions … have been taken on identical goods. According to one of them, this product falls in CN heading 8472 (office machines), while according to the second decision, it is CN heading 9031 (measuring or checking instruments). The Commission classified the product under heading 8472 of the CN by means of an Implementing Regulation. Is such classification correct and valid? The Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter – CJEU) answered the question and provided clarification.

Sources of European Union (EU) law can be classified according to their binding nature. 'Hard law' defines binding legislation, and 'soft law' includes non-obligatory guidelines, recommendations, … opinions. Andrius Košel has published an excellent article on soft law and here we will examine hierarchy and types of hard law, as well as opportunities in its application.

In tax disputes with customs authorities, the question often arises as to whether a person in respect of whom a customs debt is calculated can be regarded as a customs debtor. This issue is particularly … evident in cases where the person concerned did not import the taxable goods himself, but only indirectly or directly contributed to their importation. While in the European Union (EU) such issues are mainly regulated and covered by the Union Customs Code, in practice the implementation of EU customs law differs in various EU Member States, which sometimes even adopt their own national laws in this area. With this in mind, the article discusses the latest practice in Lithuania and the position of its national courts whether such an expansive interpretation of the concept of customs debtor is possible and in which cases.

Reader's question. Is it possible to recover import duties if the imported goods are exported? For example, a Lithuanian company imports goods from China (releases them into free circulation). … After a few months, it happens that unchanged goods are sold and exported to a company in Switzerland. In such a case, could the Lithuanian company apply for a refund of import duties? Because the goods were exported and the company itself, if it had foreseen that such a situation would arise, would not have released the goods for free circulation but would have placed them in a customs warehouse. We also operate in the UK, what would be the rules there in a similar situation?

‘The aircraft tractor’ hauls an undamaged vehicle - the rate of the duty is higher than it hauls a broken-down vehicle! The correct classification of goods is important for the proper and correct … payment of customs duties.