KGH Belgium NV v Belgische Staat.
Date: 2012-11-08
17. In that regard, it should be noted that it is settled case‑law that, although, in proceedings under Article 267 TFEU, the Court of Justice may not rule upon the compatibility of a provision of domestic law with European Union law or interpret domestic legislation or regulations, it may nevertheless provide the national court with an interpretation of European Union law on all such points as may enable that court to determine the issue of compatibility for the purposes of the case before it (see, inter alia, Case C‑292/92 Hünermund and Others  [1993] ECR I‑6787, paragraph 8; Joined Cases C‑338/04, C‑359/04 and C‑360/04 Placanica and Others  [2007] ECR I‑1891, paragraph 36; and Case C‑126/10 Foggia  – SGPS [2011] ECR I‑10923, paragraph 29).
21. It should be recalled that it follows from the first subparagraph of Article 217(1) of the Customs Code that entry in the accounts consists of the entry, by the customs authorities, of the amount of import duty or export duty resulting from a customs debt in the accounting records or on any other equivalent medium (Case C‑126/08 Distillerie Smeets Hasselt and Others  [2009] ECR I‑6809, paragraph 22).
23. Since Article 217 of the Customs Code does not lay down any practical procedures for ‘entry in the accounts’ within the meaning of that provision or, accordingly, any minimum requirements of a technical or formal nature, that entry in the accounts must be made in a way which ensures that the competent customs authorities enter the exact amount of the import duty or export duty resulting from a customs debt in the accounting records or on any other equivalent medium, so that, inter alia, the entry in the accounts of the amounts concerned may be established with certainty, including with regard to the person liable (Case C‑264/08 Direct Parcel Distribution Belgium  [2010] ECR I‑731, paragraph 23).
25. Moreover, as regards the nature of the medium required, the Court has already held that, having regard to the margin of discretion conferred on them by Article 217(2) of the Customs Code, the Member States can provide that the entry in the accounts of the amount of duty resulting from a customs debt may be made by the entry of that amount on the record which is drawn up by the competent customs authorities for the purpose of establishing an infringement of the applicable customs legislation ( Distillerie Smeets Hasselt and Others , paragraph 25, and Direct Parcel Distribution Belgium , paragraph 24).
29. Thus, in accordance with Article 221(1) of the Customs Code, the communication of the amount of duty to be recovered must have been preceded by the entry in the accounts of that amount by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned and, if it has not been entered in the accounts in accordance with Article 217(1) of the Customs Code, that amount may not be recovered by those authorities, which however remain entitled to proceed with a new communication of that amount, in accordance with the conditions laid down by Article 221(1) of the Customs Code and the limitation rules in force at the time the customs debt was incurred (see, inter alia, the order of 9 July 2008 Case C‑477/07 Gerlach & Co. , paragraph 30, and Direct Parcel Distribution Belgium , paragraph 39).