Customs Compliance & Risk Management
Overviews and comments
Ask a customs lawyer about what and why can go wrong
Lawyers are often called by importers and exporters when something goes wrong. A customs lawyer with many years of experience representing clients in disputes with customs and in the courts is an invaluable source of compliance knowledge. However, solving disputes in appeal procedures and subsequently in the courts is a long and costly process (and there is no success guarantee); therefore, be proactive, talk to a lawyer or a consultant beforehand about what and why can go wrong and take actions to prevent the issues.
Interpretation of Union law – potential sources of different treatment
“Rather than discussing the ways in which you can or must interpret Union law, I want to make you reflect on the different ways in which such legislation is formulated and thus creates a wider or smaller scope for administrations and national legislators, and may be the source of divergent treatment within the single market.” – with these words, Michael Lux opened the exchange of views on the topic "Interpretation of customs law: the most challenging aspects for business" at the 13th Authors’ Meeting. So which legal formulations lead to different treatments in the EU Member States?
What about customs trends in an economic downturn?
Obviously, customs could not stay aside from all the processes related to the economic downturn, being an important element in the global supply chain. Customs regulation can significantly affect the course and results of international trade in both directions: either to aggravate problems or to contribute to their solution. What customs trends can be identified today?
Digitalisation of customs processes and the strategy of the customs department
Overseeing the digitalisation of business processes is a particularly great challenge for executives responsible for customs and foreign trade - in addition to those presented by trade wars, Brexit and sanctions, which can change on a daily basis. The influence of digitalisation on production, purchasing, distribution and logistical processes relating to customs and foreign trade law demands serious change. At the same time, digitalisation offers the chance to develop efficient and future-proof solutions. But what is important to consider…?
‘Any person’ concept or What we learn from the UCC about who is responsible for what?
Legal responsibility is one of the reasons why people refrain from engaging in non-compliant actions or activities. No one wants to be fined, let alone jailed, including participants of the international supply chain. So, what does customs compliance mean for those involved in international trade? What rules should be followed?
Communication on tariff classification of goods - what is it?
After the publication of a certain communication in the EU Official Journal, Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decisions must be revoked if they no longer correspond to the interpretation of the customs nomenclature according to the specified international tariff measures. The latest communication was published at the end of October this year. Let's take a look at the current issues that are important for both business and customs. For example, how should household plastic clothes hangers be classified? Or what about digital smart pen classification?
Combined nomenclature 2023 – what is changing?
The Combined Nomenclature (CN) is updated annually and businesses should check for changes relating to imported or exported goods. The version of the CN to be applied in 2023 has already been published. Let's take a look at the more important changes, which are, in fact, not many - 42 new CN codes were introduced, 23 CN codes were abolished.
Interpretation of customs law and related challenges for businesses
‘Interpretation of customs law and related challenges for businesses’ was the topic discussed in the 13ᵗʰ Authors’ Meeting. Many interesting and important aspects around the topic were raised by the participants: the challenge of wording and even punctuation used; the importance of understanding the background of legal changes; interpreting law vs first understanding what product we have; the lack of legal clarity in defining responsibilities and liabilities; the need for more simplifications; and how the law shall evolve to help to achieve the vision of the worlds’ most effective border.
EU law
EU law news: October/November 2022
News in week 47: EU-Ukraine approximation of customs legislation; the WCO Symposia Series 'Visualising a greener HS to support environmentally sustainable trade'; updates of anti-dumping measures applicable to bicycles and ceramic tiles from China; and more news!
Country update
One car for me, another one for the state - import taxes in Israel
An excellent article published in CCRM about one year ago reviewed the main import taxes in Brazil, the EU and Ukraine and the means and basis of calculation. The article demonstrated that, in some cases, the import taxes exceed the value of the goods themselves, meaning that the taxes are more than 100%. I may comment that, in my view, the State of Israel is kind of a pioneer in this field. In several sectors, Israel imposes very high import taxes, especially on passenger cars, where the taxes exceed the value of a car.
Ukraine customs and trade news: October/November 2022
News at a glance: ban on export of fuel wood; cooperation Ukraine - UK, Ukraine - U.S.; anti-dumping and safeguard measures; new Customs tariff; Common transit comes into effect.
Voluntary disclosure of errors in the customs declaration in Argentina
Modern states are no longer mere tax collectors aiming to increase their coffers to only do construction work – in the best-case scenario – but also to become facilitators of the whole community’s well-being through sustainable, environment-friendly, inclusive, developing and equitable trade. Voluntary disclosure of errors in the customs declaration should be applied in practice as one of the facilitation measures. Currently, voluntary disclosure is possible in Argentina within 30 days after customs clearance; an extension to 60 days is expected soon.
Classification
Tariff classification toolkit
The areas requiring customs compliance are of a very technical nature. To get it right, a systematic approach is required. In this article, we present the ‘Tariff classification toolkit’, developed by the author. This is a generic version of a toolkit. It can be tailored to the requirements of any company by expanding them and making the requirements more specific.
Classification of the smartwatches is not so smart
Tariff classification is never simple. This is a complex process that has been always causing complications and misunderstandings. It may seem that persons over the years should have learned to avoid problems when classifying goods. However, in practice the further it goes, the more complicated it becomes. In this article, we offer to get acquainted with one such example that confirms this statement.
Trade with Brazil: the use of ‘attributes’ in classification of goods
Due to the need for more precise controls on foreign trade, the Brazilian government decided to adopt an additional methodology to performing the classification of goods in the HS/NCM, which is the use of 'attributes'. Each position in the HS/NCM can have several attributes, and the importer must indicate which one or which ones apply to the goods. This new import process aims to optimise customs inspection and increase the application of fines due to incorrect classification.