The United Kingdom has agreed with the European Union a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland which seeks to significantly reduce the number of checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework would create two ‘lanes’ for goods which are arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain: Some product…

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 noncompliance and of any subsequent amendments to those penalties (if applicable).

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 from the practice of the tax authorities of other EU Member States, given the fact that Article 173 UCC does not stipulate that the amendments must be required by law.

Although the formal requirements for bringing goods into the Customs Union of the EU are largely harmonized by EU customs legislation, authorization procedures for bringing goods into the Union vary per Member State.
The Think Tank of the European Parliament has conducted a study into the authorization 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 effective customs controls, it also argues that the divergence in the practices of Member States can create efficiency barriers, such as the time needed for customs controls.

On 26 January 2023 HM Revenue & Customs announced that, as of 1 January 2023, it has nine live Corporate Criminal Offenses investigations for the failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion, with a further 26 investigation opportunities under review. These live and potential investigations cover 11 different business sectors including software providers, labor provision, transport, accountancy and legal services.

The Argentina Customs Director announced in a November press conference that Customs will continue focusing on customs valuations and transfer pricing issues. The asphyxiating foreign exchange regulations currently in place in Argentina are seen by Customs as an incentive for importers to artificially increase the import value of goods (since this will result in the transferring abroad of more foreign currency; a practice known as “over-invoicing”) as well as for exporters to artificially reduce the export value of goods (since this will result in some foreign exchange remaining abroad instead of being mandatorily converted into Pesos at an artificially low foreign exchange rate; known as “under-invoicing”).

Requests for preliminary rulings made by courts of EU Member States have always been dealt with by the European Court of Justice. Over the years the CJEU handled numerous customs cases on tariff classification, customs valuation, origin and procedural customs law. Due to capacity restraints at the CJEU, an alternative distribution of jurisdiction between the CJEU and the lower EU General Court is proposed by the CJEU. More specifically, the CJEU requests that the EU Commission propose a change to the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU, such that preliminary ruling requests for, amongst others, VAT and customs matters, are to be submitted to the General Court.

Latest Customs Audit and Enforcement Trends in Europe and the United Kingdom

In this session, our speakers discuss the legal framework and practical issues related to customs audits in Europe and the United Kingdom, areas of importance for EU and UK customs authorities during audits, and how to effectively prepare for and navigate customs audits. They also share key EU and UK customs enforcement updates and priorities, to include the latest developments relating to forced labor laws.

Welcome to our Virtual Year-End Review of Import/Export and Trade Compliance Developments Conference resource center. Baker McKenzie’s international trade compliance lawyers from around the world discussed the major global legislative, judicial and administrative activities and trends in export controls, trade sanctions, customs compliance, and import requirements in nine 75 minute sessions which took place from 15 to 17 November 2022.

Hot on the heels of the German Federal Fiscal Court’s publication of its final decision in the Hamamatsu case, UK Customs (HMRC) have today published updated guidance on the customs valuation of imports, replacing its previous guidance (Notice 252).
What jumps out at first glance is a seeming change in policy with regards to the valuation of goods sold between related parties, with HMRC advising “you will not usually be able to use Method 1 [Transaction Value] with a margin-based transfer pricing model.”