Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2010:15
Date: 2010-01-14
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Free movement of goods;Customs Union
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment 1. Customs union – Arising of a customs debt on importation following removal from customs supervision of goods liable to import duty – Concept of removal (Council Regulation No 2913/92, Art. 203(1); Commission Regulations No 2454/93, Art. 865, first para., and No 1677/98) 2. Customs union – Customs declarations – Post-clearance examination – Application for revision – Obligations of the customs authorities (Council Regulation No 2913/92, Art. 78) 1. The use in the export declarations of customs code 10 00 indicating the export of Community goods, instead of code 31 51 used for goods for which duties are suspended under the inward processing procedure, gives rise to a customs debt pursuant to Article 203(1) of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code and the first paragraph of Article 865 of Regulation No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Regulation No 1677/98. The purpose of the use of the customs code indicating the re-export of goods under the inward processing procedure is to ensure effective monitoring by the customs authorities and to give them the power to identify, solely on the basis of the customs declaration, the status of the goods concerned without the need for subsequent assessments and findings. That use seeks, in particular, to permit the customs authorities to decide at the last minute to carry out a customs check pursuant to Article 37(1) of the Customs Code, namely, to check whether the re-exported goods in fact correspond to the goods placed under the inward processing procedure. Consequently, when, in an individual case, the use of customs code 10 00 in the export declarations erroneously conferred the status of Community goods on the goods concerned and therefore directly affected the ability of the customs authorities to carry out controls pursuant to Article 37(1) of the Customs Code, the use of those codes must be classified as ‘removal’ of those goods from customs supervision, a removal incurring a customs debt. (see paras 44-47, operative part 1) 2. Article 78 of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code permits the revision of the export declaration of the goods in order to correct the customs procedure code given to them by the declarant, and the customs authorities are obliged, first, to assess whether the provisions governing the customs procedure concerned have been applied on the basis of incorrect or incomplete information and whether the objectives of the inward processing regime have not been threatened, in particular in that the goods subject to that customs procedure have actually been re-exported, and, second, where appropriate, to take the measures necessary to regularise the situation, taking account of the new information available to them. (see para. 65, operative part 2)