1.

In the light of Article 70(1) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code, read in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 75(5) and Article 75(6) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 (2) supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the fruit and vegetables sectors, must it be understood that the following are to be regarded as being relevant to the assessment of the condition in Article 70(3)(d) of the Customs Code — ‘the buyer and seller are not related’ — for the purpose of applying the transaction value of the goods for customs purposes in connection with a specific customs declaration concerning an importation of vegetables: — information regarding the relationship between the parties involved in the importation of the goods and the sale of the same goods at the first level of trade in the European Union — regarding long-term and recurrent supplies of goods of the same kind, in significant quantities and of a significant value, such as would preclude the inference that the relationship was formed coincidentally in the context of the specific importation under assessment; — information regarding the invoices issued in respect of the supplies, the payment of the price, the recording of the invoices in the importer’s accounts and VAT books, or the right of deduction exercised in respect of the specific import; — the fact that the declared transaction value of the specific importation under assessment is significantly higher than the standard import value determined by the Commission for the same product for the purpose of applying import duties in the vegetable sector, while the same product is sold at a loss in the European Union; — the fact that the importer has not produced either a commercial contract relating to the specific importation, as requested by the customs authorities, or a document relating to any other legal relationship between the contracting parties? If those circumstances are relevant, do they permit the importing trader and the exporting trader, or the importer and the buyer at the first level of trade in the EU, to be categorised as ‘legally recognised partners in business’ or as related persons within the meaning of Article 127(1)(b) and Article 142(4)(b) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (3) of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code? If the above circumstances are relevant but are not sufficient to regard the traders as related persons, is there an obligation to assess, for the purposes of the verification under Article 75(6) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891, whether the relationship between the traders influenced the determination of the higher price of the product subject to the specific importation, in order to counteract the evasion of customs duties and the loss of tax revenue to the EU budget, taking into account also the subsequent sale at a loss at the first level of trade in the EU?