Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1996:437
Date: 1996-11-14
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: External relations;Financial provisions;Free movement of goods;Commercial policy;Overseas countries and territories;Customs Union;Own resources
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Portugal

Summary of the Judgment
1. Association of the overseas countries and territories — Importation into the Community, with
exemption from customs duties, of goods originating in the overseas countries and territories
— Origin of the goods — Proof provided by the EUR.1 certificate — Subsequent verification
establishing that the certificate had been improperly issued — Notification of the 'results of...
verification' by the authorities of the Member State of exportation to the authorities of the
Member State of importation — Detailed arrangements and consequences — Post-clearance
recovery of the uncollected customs duties
(Council Regulation No 1697/79, Art. 2(1); Council Decision 86/283, Annex II, Art. 25(3))
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SUMMARY — CASE C-97/95
2. Association of the overseas countries and territories — Importation into the Community, with
exemption from customs duties, of goods originating in the overseas countries and territories
— Origin of the goods — Proof provided by the EUR.1 certificate — Certificate issued on the
basis of false information supplied by the exporter and cancelled following subsequent verifi­
cation — Recovery of the uncollected customs duties — Determination of the person respon­
sible for paying the customs debt
(Council Regulation No 2144/87, Arts 2(1)(a) and 3(a); Council Directive 79/623, Arts 2(a)
and 3(a); Council Decision 86/283, Annex II, Art. 10(1))
3. Association of the overseas countries and territories — Importation into the Community, with
exemption from customs duties, of goods originating in the overseas countries and territories
— Origin of the goods — Proof provided by the EUR.1 certificate — Certificate issued on the
basis of false information supplied by the exporter and cancelled following subsequent verifi­
cation — Recovery of the uncollected customs duties — Good faith on the part of the
importer responsible for paying the customs debt — No prior check by the authorities of the
State of exportation to determine the true origin of the goods — Not relevant
(Council Decision 86/283, Annex II, Art. 8(2))
1. A communication addressed to the
authorities of the State of importation by
the authorities of the State of exportation
following subsequent verification of an
EUR.1 movement certificate, in which
the latter merely confirm that the certifi­
cate in question was improperly issued
and must therefore be cancelled, without
setting out in detail the reasons justifying
cancellation, must be regarded as 'results
of ... verification' within the meaning of
Article 25(3) of Annex II to Decision
86/283 on the association of the overseas
countries and territories with the Euro­
pean Economic Community. The
authorities of the State of importation are
entitled to bring an action for recovery of
the uncollected customs duties on the
basis of such a communication alone,
without seeking to establish the true ori­
gin of the goods imported.
2. The responsibility of the exporter, under
Article 10(1) of Annex II to Decision
86/283 on the association of the overseas
countries and territories with the Euro­
pean Economic Community, to submit
the request for the EUR.1 certificate,
along with, where relevant, any support­
ing documents, concerns only the pro­
cedure for obtaining the EUR.1 certifi­
cate. It does not extend to customs duties
which prove to be due in respect of the
importation into the European Commu­
nity of goods which are the subject of an
EUR.1 movement certificate, even where
the latter was issued on the basis of false
information supplied by the exporter as
to the origin of the goods and was can­
celled following subsequent verification.
3. The fact of requiring, in certain circum­
stances, an importer who has acted in
good faith to pay customs duties payable
on the importation of goods in respect of
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PASCOAL & FILHOS v FAZENDA PÚBLICA
which the exporter has committed a cus­
toms offence, where the importer has
played no part in that offence, is not con­
trary to the general principles of law, in
particular the principles of proportional­
ity and legal certainty, which the Court
must uphold. It is the responsibility of
professional traders to make the neces­
sary arrangements in their contractual
relations in order to guard against the
risks of an action for post-clearance
recovery.
Furthermore, the fact that the authorities
of the State of exportation issued an
EUR.1 movement certificate pursuant to
Decision 86/283 without having carried
out any prior check to determine the true
origin of the goods in question does not
constitute a case of force majeure pre­
venting post-clearance recovery of cus­
toms duties owed by an importer who
has acted in good faith. Article 8(2) of
Annex II to Decision 86/283 entitles, but
does not oblige, the authorities of the
State of exportation to carry out such a
prior check. In those circumstances, a
situation in which a customs debt subse­
quently proves to be due, even though
those authorities had decided, in a specific
case, not to exercise that option, is neither
abnormal nor unforeseeable.
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