D. Wandel GmbH v Hauptzollamt Bremen.
Date: 2001-02-01
35 In that regard, it should first be borne in mind that, in accordance with Article 37(2) of the Customs Code, goods in temporary storage remain under customs supervision until, inter alia, their customs status is changed.
36 Furthermore, if Article 10 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 24 EC) is read together with Article 74 and the second paragraph of Article 79 of the Customs Code, it is apparent that non-Community goods declared for release for free circulation do not obtain the status of Community goods until commercial policy measures have been applied and the other formalities laid down in respect of the importation of goods have been completed and any import duties legally due have been not only charged but paid or secured.
37 Obviously those formalities include the lodging and immediate acceptance of a customs declaration under Article 59(1) and Article 63 of the Customs Code, but they must also be taken to include application of the measures referred to in Article 68 of the Customs Code, which entitles the customs authorities, when verifying the declarations which they have accepted, to carry out, inter alia, an examination of the goods (which may involve the taking of samples for analysis or detailed examination).
38 Likewise, given that, under the first paragraph of Article 79 of the Customs Code, the purpose of release for free circulation is to confer on non-Community goods the status of Community goods, the grant of release of the goods (defined in Article 4(20) of the Customs Code) must be considered as one of the requisite formalities for imported goods to be properly released for free circulation.
46 It is true that Community legislation does not define what constitutes removal; as the Advocate General has observed in point 87 of his Opinion, Article 865 of the implementing regulation contains only examples of acts which are to be regarded as constituting removal for the purposes of Article 203(1) of the Customs Code.
47 However, if Articles 37(1), 50, 51(1) and 203(1) of the Customs Code are read together, it is apparent that the scope of Article 203(1) extends well beyond the acts referred to in Article 865 of the implementing regulation and that removal must be understood as encompassing any act or omission the result of which is to prevent, if only for a short time, the competent customs authority from gaining access to goods under customs supervision and from monitoring them as provided for in Article 37(1) of the Customs Code.
48 It should also be noted that, for the purposes of Article 203(1) of the Customs Code, removal of goods from customs supervision does not require intent: it is sufficient if certain objective conditions are met, including, in particular, the absence of the goods from the approved place of storage at the time when the customs authorities intend to carry out an examination of them.
50 It follows that any withdrawal from authorised storage of goods subject to customs supervision without the authorisation of the customs authority constitutes removal for the purposes of Article 203(1) of the Customs Code and thus gives rise under that provision to a customs debt on importation.