One court case - two lessons: tariff quotas, invalidation of a customs declaration and potential risks

Jurgita Stanienė
Jurgita Stanienė
Head of the Customs Compliance Department, UAB "Muita", Lithuania
Published 18 Dec 2022
One court case - two lessons: tariff quotas, invalidation of a customs declaration and potential risks
Adobe Stock
Tariff quotas mean less or no duty when importing goods. Most tariff quotas are allocated on a first come, first served basis; therefore, the timing of lodging a customs declaration might be crucial. What if, due to issues concerning customs IT systems, you are late and the quota is exhausted? Can you ask customs to invalidate the customs declaration and wait until the new tariff quota is opened?

Related content

Rising interest on duties: increasing costs of errors in customs declarations

Rising interest on duties: increasing costs of errors in customs declarations

Jurgita Bartninkienė
Jurgita Bartninkienė
04 Jun 2023

Those who pay their mortgages have become accustomed to paying higher interest rates. However, this applies not only to mortgages, but also to other interest and late payment charges that…

Procedures
Duties & taxes
Explainer
CJEU: claiming the wrong tariff quota does not justify double duties

CJEU: claiming the wrong tariff quota does not justify double duties

Editorial Board
Editorial Board
23 Jul 2026

What happens if an importer claims the wrong tariff quota? Can customs charge both safeguard and anti-dumping duties on the same shipment because of it? A seemingly minor procedural error…

Duties & taxes
News in focus
View glossary entry

Non-manipulation certificate: the proof of direct transport that protects your preference

16 Aug 2026

What a non-manipulation certificate is, the direct-transport rule behind it, who issues it, how the EU procedure works, and its new role for US imports.

Duties & taxes
View glossary entry

Tariff quotas: the volume limit that changes the duty

10 Aug 2026

What a tariff quota is, the preferential, autonomous and safeguard types, how they are managed, and how the steel quotas work - with a worked example.

Duties & taxes
View glossary entry

Anti-dumping duties: the extra duty on dumped imports

03 Aug 2026

What an anti-dumping duty is, how the EU sets it through an investigation, how it applies on top of the normal customs duty, and how circumvention is tackled - with…

Duties & taxes
Place of origin of import VAT obligation (temporary admission)

Place of origin of import VAT obligation (temporary admission)

Evelina Šliogerė
Evelina Šliogerė
29 May 2021

Place of origin of import VAT obligation - the final destination of the goods entering the territory of the Union or entering the economic circulation of the Union? This question…

Procedures
Duties & taxes
Case law