Valsts ieņēmumu dienests v "Veloserviss” SIA.
Date: 2017-03-16
25


Those conditions, in essence, spread the risk of errors or irregularities vitiating a customs declaration on the basis of the conduct and diligence of each of the parties involved, namely the competent authorities of the exporting and importing countries, the exporter and the importer.
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In that regard, the Court has held that it is the duty of traders, where they have doubts as to the exact application of the provisions non-compliance with which may result in a customs debt being incurred or as to the definition of the origin of the goods, to make enquiries and seek all possible clarification in order to ascertain whether those doubts are well founded (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 14 May 1996, Faroe Seafood and Others, C‑153/94 and C‑204/94, EU:C:1996:198, paragraph 100, and of 11 November 1999, Söhl & Söhlke, C‑48/98, EU:C:1999:548, paragraph 58).
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The Court has also held that it is the responsibility of traders to make the necessary arrangements in their contractual relations in order to guard against the risks of an action for post-clearance recovery, and that such prevention may, in particular, consist, for the person liable for payment, in the receipt from the other contracting party, on or after the conclusion of the contract, of all the necessary evidence confirming that the goods come from the State which is a ‘beneficiary country’ vis-à-vis the generalised tariff preferences scheme, including documents establishing that origin (see, to that effect, judgment of 8 November 2012, Lagura Vermögensverwaltung, C‑438/11, EU:C:2012:703, paragraphs 30 and 31).
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It does not follow, however, that a general obligation is imposed on an importer to verify, systematically, the circumstances of the issue, by the customs authorities of the exporting country, of a Form A certificate of origin, including the role of the exporter in the manufacture of those goods. The importer is subject to such an obligation only if there are clear reasons for doubting the accuracy of a certificate of origin. In that case, where that importer nevertheless failed to obtain, using his best efforts, information concerning the circumstances of the issue of that certificate in order to verify whether those doubts were well-founded, it must be considered that the manifest error committed by the customs authorities of the exporting country could or should have been detected by the importer, so that he cannot submit that he acted in good faith in accordance with Article 220(2)(b) of the Customs Code.
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In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the first question is that Article 220(2)(b) of the Customs Code must be interpreted as meaning that an importer may not rely on a legitimate expectation, in accordance with that provision, in order to object to a post-clearance incurring of liability for import duties, submitting that he acted in good faith, unless three cumulative conditions are met. It is necessary, first of all, that those duties were not levied as a result of an error on the part of the competent authorities themselves, secondly, that that error was such that it could not reasonably have been detected by a person liable for payment acting in good faith and, finally, that that person complied with all the provisions laid down by the legislation in force as regards his customs declaration. Such a legitimate expectation is lacking, in particular, where, although there are clear reasons for doubting the accuracy of a Form A certificate of origin, an importer failed to obtain, using his best efforts, information concerning the circumstances of the issue of that certificate in order to verify whether those doubts were well founded. Such an obligation does not however mean that an importer is required, in general, to systematically verify the circumstances of the issue, by the customs authorities of the exporting country, of a Form A certificate of origin. It is for the referring court to determine, taking into account all of the specific facts of the dispute in the main proceedings, whether those three conditions are met in this case.
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As is apparent from the Court’s case-law relating to the rules on the apportion of the burden of proof in such cases, it is, in principle, for the customs authorities of the importing country intending to effect a post-clearance recovery of the customs duties, to adduce evidence of the fact that the issue, by the customs authorities of the exporting country, of an incorrect Form A certificate of origin is attributable to an incorrect statement of the facts by the exporter. However, where, in particular, as a result of negligence wholly attributable to the exporter, the customs authorities of the exporting country are unable to adduce that evidence, it is, as the case may be, for the importer to prove that that certificate was issued on the basis of a correct statement of the facts by the exporter (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 9 March 2006, Beemsterboer Coldstore Services, C‑293/04, EU:C:2006:162, paragraphs 39 and 46, and of 8 November 2012, Lagura Vermögensverwaltung, C‑438/11, EU:C:2012:703, paragraph 41).
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However, in so far as such a report contains only a general description of the situation at issue, which is to be determined by the referring court, that report cannot, on its own, suffice for the purposes of establishing whether those conditions are satisfied in all respects, in particular as regards the relevant conduct of the exporter.
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In the light of the foregoing considerations, the answer to the second question is that Article 220(2)(b) of the Customs Code must be interpreted as meaning that, in a case such as that at issue in the main proceedings, it can be deduced from the information contained in an OLAF report that an importer may not rely on a legitimate expectation, in accordance with that provision, in order to object to a post-clearance incurring of liability for import duties. To the extent, however, that such a report contains only a general description of the situation at issue, which it is for the national court to determine, it cannot, on its own, suffice in order to show to the requisite legal standard that those conditions are indeed met in all respects, in particular as regards the relevant conduct of the exporter. In those circumstances, it is, in principle, for the customs authorities of the importing country to prove, by means of additional evidence, that the issue, by the customs authorities of the exporting country, of an incorrect Form A certificate of origin is attributable to an incorrect statement of the facts by the exporter. However, where the customs authorities of the importing country are unable to adduce that evidence, it is, as the case may be, for the importer to prove that that certificate was issued on the basis of a correct statement of the facts by the exporter.