When importing goods into the UK, traders are required to account for any applicable customs duty and import VAT (collectively “Duties”) on import unless they can utilise a customs special procedure to delay or reduce payment of these amounts. Customs special procedures include the Inward Processing (“IP”) regime which allows traders to suspend the Duties while the imported goods are subject to repair or further manufacturing. Where a trader utilises IP, they are required to…
Article 73 of the Union Customs Code (“UCC”) provides an easement for determining the customs value of goods, where elements of the transaction value are not quantifiable at the moment of importation. The simplification has been proven particularly useful for declaring additions to value such as assists (e.g. certain R&D related costs), royalties and license fees. Subject to an authorization from the competent customs authorities, the simplification allows for the value of these elements to…
Our popular Annual Compliance Conference, which attracts over 4,000 in-house senior legal and compliance professionals every year from across the world, will be taking place from 30 April – 6 JuneĀ (with a vacation break during the week commencing 27 May). We will be delivering our cutting-edge insights and guidance virtually on key global compliance, investigations and ethics trends.Ā We invite you to join us to gain practical insights and analysis on significant developments across: View…
Last week, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury launched a public consultation on the introduction of a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), following its announcement in December 2023. The CBAM proposal forms part of the UK governmentās wider strategy to tackle carbon leakage. To achieve this it will impose a carbon price on imported goods with the aim of levelling the playing field and ensuring that imported goods are subject to a…
On 13 March 2024, the European Parliament adopted its first reading position on the proposal from the European Commission to repeal and significantly reform the EU Customs Code (which we originally reported on in our blog available here). On 17 May 2023, the European Commission published its proposal for the reform of the EU Customs Code, which aims to change the way that EU customs authorities operate, in particular due to the significant growth in…
Uncertainty reigns over the impact of post-entry adjustments of provisional customs values, mainly in the context of retroactive transfer pricing adjustments. Part of this uncertainty stems from the landmark Hamamatsu case (C-529/16) of 20 December 2017. Though the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) had the chance to provide more clarity on the customs treatment of retroactive transfer pricing adjustments, the outcome only provided partial guidance while leaving room for altering interpretations among…
While expectations remain low that federal lawmakers will be able to agree on controversial trade legislation, particularly in a presidential election year, chances are better that Congress will agree on a narrower proposal to address a topic of growing interest and concernāde minimis reform. Background Congress amended Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. Ā§ 1321) with the enactment of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-125) to…
Joint Commitment of Singapore and Malaysia to establish a Special Economic Zone in Johor The signing of a memorandum of understanding on 11 January 2024 between Singapore and Malaysia reaffirms the longstanding ties and joint commitment by both countries to strengthen economic cooperation and the establishment of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JSSEZ) which will be located in the state of Johor. Anticipated Tax, Customs & Trade Benefits While the JSSEZ is still in the…
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 (āRegulationā) 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…