Compliance
Out of temperature, out of liability? A case on freight responsibility
Omer Wagner16 Apr 2026
Out of temperature, out of liability? A case on freight responsibility
A shipment of industrial adhesive was stored at the wrong temperature resulting in damage (it was stored at minus 20 degrees instead of 20 degrees). The insurance company compensated the importer and is now suing the foreign freight forwarder and shipping company in court. How will the court rule? This...
Compliance
Case law
Parallel food importers: compliance challenges
Liat Hessel05 Mar 2026
Parallel food importers: compliance challenges
Food importers must submit a number of documents as a prerequisite for importation, and state authorities continue to monitor the process even after the food has been imported. In recent years, regulatory reforms - such as the 'What is good for Europe is also good for Israel' initiative - have...
Compliance
Country update
Illusion of savings: the real cost of trade and customs non-compliance
Peter J.M. Bulters08 Feb 2026
Illusion of savings: the real cost of trade and customs non-compliance
This article poses a straightforward yet unsettling question: what is the true cost of 'saving' on trade compliance? Against a backdrop of volatile regulation and enforcement, it reveals how apparent savings can quietly turn into significant strategic risks.
Compliance
Topic spotlight
Criminal or administrative? How countries decide on customs violations
Criminal or administrative? How countries decide on customs violations
03 Dec 2025
This article brings together the insights of experts delivered during the 30th Author’s Meeting to examine how customs infringements are classified, sanctioned and enforced across different legal systems. The contributions highlight the complexity and fragmentation of the EU sanctioning landscape, the challenges faced by individual Member States undergoing reform, and...
Compliance
Topic spotlight
The role of the risk register in compliance and risk management
Mark Rowbotham19 Oct 2025
The role of the risk register in compliance and risk management
This article introduces the risk register as a practical tool for identifying, assessing, and managing risks within organisations and projects. It explains how risks can be categorised, prioritised, and monitored through both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and illustrates these principles with a sample risk register for a customs training course.
Compliance
Profession
Topic spotlight
Roseline Logistics v HMRC: a warning on customs agent liability
Holly Piggott26 Aug 2025
Roseline Logistics v HMRC: a warning on customs agent liability
The article below examines a recent ruling by the UK First-tier Tax Tribunal regarding liability for unpaid import VAT. The case clarifies whether customs agents are liable if they have not been formally appointed. It also clarifies when customs agents may still be held accountable for unpaid import VAT if...
Duties & taxes
Compliance
Case law
What is your risk profile with customs?
Boryana Peycheva15 Apr 2025
What is your risk profile with customs?
This article looks at how your business activities, trading relationships, internal controls, and interactions with customs and other authorities can impact your risk assessment and, in turn, the extent of customs controls. It also offers practical insights into how companies can lower their customs risk profile and reduce the level...
Compliance
Explainer
Confiscation of third-party goods in case of unintentional customs infringement: CJEU interpretation
Ilona Mishchenko10 Jan 2025
Confiscation of third-party goods in case of unintentional customs infringement: CJEU interpretation
Nobody likes to be penalised - whether you are an importer, a customs broker, or just a driver taking goods across the border. The penalty is a negative consequence for any person who has committed the offence. It is clear when a person deliberately does something illegal to benefit from...
Customs law
Compliance
Case law
Customs compliance and awareness amongst traders
Customs compliance and awareness amongst traders
29 Sep 2024
It would seem that customs compliance is one of the most complex and pressing issues for all companies and individuals involved in global trade. But is this really the case? Is there a widespread understanding of how important it is to be aware of customs legislation and regulations and to...
Compliance
Case law
Customs controls and frontier management: a cybernetic approach to analysis of the EU problemMark Rowbotham26 Aug 2024
Customs controls and frontier management: a cybernetic approach to analysis of the EU problem
In the light of present-day security concerns, customs controls are an area of significant importance as a means of national security as well as the economic defence and security of the nation-state or supranational blocks. Although this is a general issue of complex systems, in this article, the problem of...
Compliance
Perspective
CJEU on the fairness of penalties for customs infringements in the EUIlona Mishchenko03 Mar 2024
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...
Customs law
Compliance
Case law
Fraudsters in the supply chain: Who pays taxes as a result of fraudulently completed formalities?
Ingrida Kemežienė24 Sep 2023
Fraudsters in the supply chain: Who pays taxes as a result of fraudulently completed formalities?
Presumption of guilt - you'll say it doesn't work that way. Unfortunately, in tax law, the taxpayer is presumed to be guilty of breaching the tax law unless he proves otherwise. The only question is whether, even if proven not guilty, the taxpayer will not have to pay the tax....
Duties & taxes
Compliance
Case law
Put yourself in the shoes of a customs auditor (and why you should) Part I
Enrika Naujokė13 Aug 2023
Put yourself in the shoes of a customs auditor (and why you should) Part I
What are the objectives of a post-clearance customs audit (PCA)? What does “a desk audit” mean? What are the obligations and rights of auditees? And generally, from a business perspective, isn’t it more important to get border controls right for goods to smoothly cross the borders than to care about...
Compliance
Topic spotlight
Customs compliance with the “INCASE-Model” – a holistic approach for real effectiveness
Dr Michael Jung07 May 2023
Customs compliance with the “INCASE-Model” – a holistic approach for real effectiveness
Through several years as a customs auditor, I saw many companies with numerous approaches and attempts to get a grip on the management of the customs requirements. Despite big efforts (financially, personally, technically), organizations often do not succeed in establishing the desired effect and corresponding success in the area of...
Compliance
Perspective
3 real-life cases: To be or not to be in trade and customs compliance?Ilona Mishchenko22 Mar 2023
3 real-life cases: To be or not to be in trade and customs compliance?
Why is there so much talk and writing about trade and customs compliance? Why is so much attention being paid to this issue in legislation and judicial practice? What are the consequences of non-compliance with many laws and trade agreements? Read about 3 real-life cases of failing to comply and...
Compliance
Perspective
Customs infringements and related penalties in the EU: current situation (2023)
Gediminas Valantiejus01 Mar 2023
Customs infringements and related penalties in the EU: current situation (2023)
In January 2023, the EU Commission presented the report "On the assessment of customs infringements and penalties in Member States" (COM(2023) 5 final), which provides a summarized overview of the individual system of penalties for infringements of customs law in each EU Member State. This article presents the essential highlights...
Compliance
Topic spotlight