Case C-571/12: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 February 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Augstākās tiesas Senāts — Latvia) — Greencarrier Freight Services Latvia v Valsts ieņēmumu dienests (Request for a preliminary ruling — Community Customs Code — Articles 70(1) and 78 — Customs declarations — Partial examination of goods — Sampling — Incorrect code — Application of the results to identical goods covered by earlier customs declarations after release — Post-release examination — Impossible to request a further examination of the goods)
Date: 2014-02-27
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Combined Nomenclature, customs regulations, free movement of goods








C_2014112EN.01001001.xml










14.4.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 112/10





Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 February 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Augstākās tiesas Senāts — Latvia) — Greencarrier Freight Services Latvia v Valsts ieņēmumu dienests
(Case C-571/12) (1)

((Request for a preliminary ruling - Community Customs Code - Articles 70(1) and 78 - Customs declarations - Partial examination of goods - Sampling - Incorrect code - Application of the results to identical goods covered by earlier customs declarations after release - Post-release examination - Impossible to request a further examination of the goods))
2014/C 112/11
Language of the case: Latvian

Referring court

Augstākās tiesas Senāts

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Greencarrier Freight Services Latvia SIA

Defendant: Valsts ieņēmumu dienests

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Augstākās tiesas Senāts — Interpretation of the first subparagraph of Article 70(1), and of Article 78(2), of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ 1992 L 302, p. 1) — Application of the results of the examinations of part of the goods in a customs declaration also to identical goods included in other declarations — Whether such a practice by the customs authorities is permissible — Post-clearance examination — Application of the results of the examinations also to declarations which can no longer be verified.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 70(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code must be interpreted as meaning that, since it applies only to goods covered by ‘a [single] declaration’ where those goods are examined by the customs authorities before those authorities grant the release of those goods, that provision does not permit those authorities, in a case such as that in the main proceedings, to apply the results of the partial examination of goods covered by a customs declaration to goods covered by earlier customs declarations which have already been released by those authorities;
However, Article 78 of that Code is to be interpreted as meaning that it permits the customs authorities to apply the results of a partial examination of goods covered by a customs declaration, carried out by way of sampling of them, to goods covered by earlier customs declarations submitted by the same customs declarant, which were not and can no longer be examined since the release has been granted, where those goods are identical, which it is for the referring court to ascertain.


(1)  OJ C 38, 9.2.2013.