Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2003:98
Date: 2003-02-13
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Customs Union
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

SUMMARY — CASE C-56/02 
Summary of the Judgment 
Common Customs Tariff — Relief from import duties — Procedure for returned goods 
in the customs territory of the Community — Importation of compensating products 
qualifying for application of that procedure — Importer unable to provide all the 
information necessary for calculating the duty legally owed — Customs authorities 
required to use the administrative cooperation procedure to obtain the relevant 
information 
(Council Regulation No 2913/92, Arts 15 and 187; Commission Regulation No 2454/93, 
Arts 611(2) (b), 613 and 848) 
The first paragraph of Article 187 of 
Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the 
Community Customs Code allows the 
reimportation, with relief from import 
duties, of compensating products originally 
exported or re-exported subsequent to an 
inward processing procedure. 
The second paragraph of that provision, 
according to which '[t]he amount of import 
duty legally owed shall be determined on 
the basis of the rules applicable under the 
inward processing procedure', must be 
interpreted as meaning that, where an 
importer has provided proof that the 
imported goods are compensating products 
qualifying for application of the procedure 
for returned goods under Article 848 of 
Regulation No 2454/93 laying down provi­
sions for the implementation of Regulation 
No 2913/92, but is unable to provide all 
the information necessary for calculating 
the duty legally owed, the administrative 
cooperation procedure provided for in 
Articles 611(2)(b) and 613 of Regulation 
No 2454/93 must be used by the customs 
authorities responsible for accepting the 
declaration. Those authorities must there­
fore ask the supervising customs office, 
using the INF 1 sheet, to communicate to 
them the amount of duty legally owed. 
Article 15 of the Customs Code, relating to 
professional secrecy, does not preclude use 
of that procedure. 
(see paras 35-36, operative part) 
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