Articles

This year, the European Commission published an updated Compendium of customs valuation (Compendium 2024) with several important updates that promise to have a significant impact on the customs … valuation process. While its aim is to harmonise the application of legislation and minimise disputes between businesses and customs, it is likely that some of these updates will actually increase the already high number of disputes in this area. This article examines the new Comment No 19 on the buying commission and its implications for enforcement.

The previous article discussed the legal basis for the customs valuation of certain types of fruit and vegetables and the verification of the accuracy of such valuation. This article focuses … on a specific case considered by the Bulgarian courts and subsequently referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. The Court of Justice of the EU has issued a preliminary ruling, which should bring more clarity for the procedures related to customs valuation of fruit and vegetables imported into the EU.

This article is the first, introductory part of the article based on the judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This judgment concerns the customs valuation of certain types of fruit … and vegetables in the EU, which has its own peculiarities compared to the valuation of other goods. Therefore, in this article, the author explains these peculiarities of the customs valuation mechanism and in the second part, the judgment itself is reviewed.

Customs value and transfer pricing could be likened to Siamese twins - that's how closely linked they are. Let's discuss some practical questions related to the year-end transfer pricing adjustments: … If the price is revised upwards, does the importer have to go to customs and pay additional duties? If the price is revised downwards, is the importer entitled to a refund of duties? If the goods are duty-free and there is no excise duty, but only import VAT (which is deductible in any case)?

The Israel Customs Authority does not seem to be a fan of discounts. It appealed against the judgement of the District Court, in which the court clarified that the Customs Authority cannot, on … the one hand, rely on the fact that the price is subject to a condition (discount) that cannot be assessed and the transaction price is therefore invalid, and, on the other hand, base the assessment on the transaction price but without the condition. Let's take a look at what the Supreme Court had to say in this dispute. The disputed amount is about ILS 5 million (~1.3 million Eur).

Israel has been in a state of war for the past three months. This war has had an impact on international trade, particularly on customs valuation, including for importers in other countries such … as the EU, as explained in more detail in this article.

Editors’ note: In this second part of the article, the author highlights the similarities and differences between customs valuation and transfer pricing and emphasises that the requirements may … differ for the same goods. He also outlines the solutions used by customs in different countries. For example, the Canada Border Services Agency considers the transfer price to be the ‘uninfluenced’ price paid or payable for imported goods if a written transfer price agreement exists between a vendor and a related purchaser and is in effect at the time of importation.

Editors' note: In November, the European Commission published the news 'New transfer pricing rules to make life easier for businesses in the EU'. The new rules are necessary to address several … challenges, including the competing objectives of customs and tax authorities, which lead to double compliance requirements. The problem is global. According to the Corporate Tax Association of Australia (CTAA), 'it is unacceptable for a business to be required to satisfy two arms of the same government, one demanding a higher price and the other a lower price in respect of the same transaction'. In this first part of the article, the author provides an overview of the rules and methods of customs valuation and transfer pricing.

Quality data is the lifeblood of an efficient Customs clearance process. All Customs tasks and responsibilities are performed, at least in part, on the basis of data received from businesses … engaged in trade – for example, data for purposes of revenue collection, risk management, admissibility checks, resource allocation and cooperation with other agencies, as well as the collection of statistical data for macroeconomic decisions.

The issue of customs valuation is extremely important for Ukraine. The author has written about it in previous issues of the journal. A special case of customs valuation is no exception - when … the seller and the buyer are related parties. The concept of "related parties" in Ukrainian legislation is fully compatible with the GATT, as the Customs Code of Ukraine refers directly to Article 15 of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement rather than defining this concept. It would seem that if there is nothing wrong with the legislation and if it is in line with accepted standards and principles, there should be no problems with its application. However, this is not the case.

The Romanian company provides transportation services. It transported goods from the port of Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to Cluj-Napoca (Romania) under transit procedure. Goods were released … into free circulation in Romania. It treated transportation service as VAT exempt because it assumed that transportation cost was included into the import VAT taxable base. Tax authorities claimed otherwise: the taxpayer failed to provide documents confirming that the transportation cost was included into the import VAT taxable base. Consequently, they denied the exemption. The dispute between the company and the tax authorities reached as far as the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), which recently issued clarifications on the application of the provisions of the VAT Directive in this case.

Can a small difference between Canadian customs legislation and the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement really affect the customs valuation process and its outcome? The following article attempts … to answer this question.

Customs valuation is one of the most problematic areas of customs, whatever the country or territory. Experts from different continents - from North and South America to Europe and Asia - confirmed … this at the 16th Authors' Meeting. The following is a summary of the main conclusions of this event. The topics covered: discounts, advertising costs, “fair prices” vs transaction value, the arm’s length principle when moving stock between branches, sourcing goods from non-market economies, advance valuation rulings, etc.

The State of Israel is a member of the WTO and complies with the Valuation Agreement. However, with regard to discounts, the State imposes many conditions and obstacles for a discount to be accepted, … in a way that may deviate from the spirit of the Agreement.

The United States is strengthening the role of customs brokers as professionals by introducing a professional development requirement (which will come into force on 24 July 2023), stressing that … this will help improve trade compliance and revenue protection and allow brokers to act as an additional layer of security to prevent illicit goods from entering US commerce. In the meantime, EU customs brokers fear that the EU Customs Reform and the draft new Customs Code could signal the end of their profession.

Customs matters are complex and little known to the general public. This makes customs brokers an indispensable part of international trade, and with their knowledge they can greatly help their … clients. What key competencies should customs brokers have? What additional key skills should they have? And what can we do to improve the competencies of customs brokers? These three questions were dealt with in a workshop organised by Customs Knowledge Community (CKC). Let's have an overview of the results.