Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2005:697
Date: 2005-11-17
Language of the case: French
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Customs Union
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment European Communities’ own resources – Post-clearance recovery or remission of import or export duties (Council Regulation No 2913/92, Art. 220(2)(b); Commission Regulation No 2454/93, Art. 871) Article 871 of Regulation No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation No 1677/98, must be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of a recovery procedure or a procedure for remission of uncollected customs duties, the national customs authorities are not required to submit the case to the Commission for a decision where the doubts which they had had as regards the precise scope of the criteria laid down in Article 220(2)(b) of the Community Customs Code with regard to a particular case have dissipated, even after those authorities have expressed their intention to refer the matter to the Commission, or where the doubts relate to the subsequent entry in the accounts of customs duties which were not collected due to an omission on the part of an importer acting in good faith to declare royalties which should have been incorporated in the customs value of the imported goods. (see para. 46, operative part)