The EU has held political talks on a law that will ban the sale on the EU market of products made with forced labour, as well as the export of such products from the EU. On 22 January 2024, the EU Council and Parliament held negotiations to agree the final text of the regulation, the proposal for which was published by the EU Commission in September 2022. The Committee on International Trade and the Committee on…
On 25 January 2024, the EU Commission confirmed and adopted the Delegated Regulation no. 5831/24 (“Regulation”) that incorporates binding valuation information (“BVI”) decisions in customs legislation. Under the new Regulation, operators may apply for a binding BVI decision from the relevant customs authorities in the EU (which would be binding across all Member States of the EU), in order to obtain certainty about the customs value of goods imported into the EU. This move, announced…
A declarant may ask for a change to certain of the data elements in a customs declaration in accordance with Article 173 Union Customs Code (“UCC”), which is applicable to customs declarations that have already been accepted by customs. The Dutch Customs Authorities (“DCA”), however, apply a very strict application of Article 173 UCC, stating that amendments are only allowed if the amendments are required by customs legislation. This position taken by the DCA deviates…
Although the formal requirements for bringing goods into the Customs Union of the EU are largely harmonised by EU customs legislation, authorisation procedures for bringing goods into the Union vary per Member State. The Think Tank of the European Parliament has conducted a study into the authorisation procedures of the various Member States for entry of goods into the EU, which was published on 19 December 2022. While the Think Tank acknowledges the need for…
The Union Customs Code (UCC) harmonizes the customs laws of the European Union. The UCC stipulates that Member States must impose penalties for failing to comply with customs legislation, and that these penalties must be efficient, proportionate, and dissuasive. Member States must notify the Commission of the penalties that they apply to various acts of non-compliance and of any subsequent amendments to those penalties (if applicable). The UCC therefore gives the Member States the freedom…
A failure to provide accurate and complete information to HMRC in relation to a quantity of goods on which Inward Processing Relief (IPR) has been claimed, gives rise to a customs debt on all the goods covered by the relevant bill of discharge report. This was decided by the UK First Tier Tribunal (FTT) in the case Thyssenkrupp Materials (UK) Ltd v HMRC on 30 November 2022. In Thyssenkrupp Materials (UK) Ltd v HMRC, Thyssenkrupp…