CJEU on the fairness of penalties for customs infringements in the EU

In the European Union, customs penalties and their proportionality fall within the national competence of the Member States. In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that the imposition of an administrative penalty of 50% of the amount of duty underpaid is justified "notwithstanding the good faith of and precautions taken by the operator concerned". What does this mean for EU importers who declare the non-preferential origin of goods on the basis of proofs issued by the authorities of third countries that turn out to be incorrect? We provide an overview of the case and consider what conclusions economic operators could draw from it.