Part III. Temporary admission relief (ta)

Subject to certain conditions, authorised traders can claim relief from customs duty, CAP charges, anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty on a range of goods temporarily imported for use in the EU, provided the goods are re-exported outside the EU in the same state. Read about TA on the HMRC website- Opens in a new window.

2. Role play an interview between a curious and pessimistic-minded businessmen and a customs officer on types of duty reliefs. Find out some information about them and their application in Belarus.

   TEXT G. CUSTOMS DEBT

1. Read the article and be ready to discuss it.

The term "customs debt" means the obligation on a person to pay the amount of the import duties (customs debt on importation) or export duties (customs debt on exportation) which apply to specific goods under the Community provisions in force. Art. 20 clarifies that such duties are laid down in the Community Customs Tariff (CCT). A customs debt can therefore only be incurred in cases where the CCT lays down a duty for the goods concerned.

Normal case: acceptance of a declaration for release for free circulation.

Where no duty exemption applies, the customs debt is incurred at the time when the customs declaration requesting release for free circulation is accepted.

The person liable for payment of the customs debt is the declarant, and - in the event of indirect representation (i.e. someone acting on his own name but on behalf of another person - also the person represented.

Other cases:

a) Unlawful introduction into the customs territory

The customs debt is incurred at the time when the goods are unlawfully introduced.

The debtors are:

the person who introduced the goods,

the persons who knowingly either participated in this or acquired or held the goods.

b) Unlawful removal of goods subject to controls from customs supervision

The customs debt is incurred at the time when the goods are removed from customs supervision.

The debtors are:

the person who removed the goods from customs supervision,

the persons who knowingly either participated in this or acquired or held the goods,

and - where goods are placed in temporary storage or under a suspensive customs procedure or under the end-use provisions - the person responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from the storage or the use of the procedure, such as the principal under transit or the holder of an authorisation for inward processing or end-use relief.

c) Non fulfilment of an obligation

Where an obligation has not been fulfilled, the customs debt is incurred at the time the failure was committed or the omitted action should have taken place at the latest.

The debtor is the person who is required to fulfil the obligations or to comply with the conditions for placing the goods under the procedure.

d) Consumption, use or disappearance

In a control type of free zone or a free warehouse a customs debt on importation is incurred where non-Community or end-use goods are consumed, used or have disappeared. The customs debt is incurred at the time when the goods are consumed or first used unlawfully.

The debtor is the person who consumed or used the goods as well as any person knowingly participating. Where no such person can be determined, the last person known to the customs authorities to have been in possession of the goods is liable for payment of the customs debt.

Where several persons are liable for payment of one customs debt, they shall be jointly and severally liable for such debt.

Waiver from entry in the accounts

However, under certain conditions it is foreseen that the customs debt need not be entered in the accounts and therefore does not need to be recovered.

Under Article 220, the post-clearance entry of the import or export duties in the accounts is waived (non recovery) when four cumulative conditions are met:

the amount of duty was not entered in the accounts as a result of an error on the part of the customs authorities themselves;

this error could not reasonably have been detected by the person liable for payment;

the person liable for payment must have complied with all the provisions laid down by the legislation in force as regards the customs declaration;

the person liable for payment acted in good faith.

Repayment/remission

In case the customs debt has been communicated to the debtor, the amount of duties may be remitted or repaid under the following circumstances:

Under Article 236 CCC repayment or remission is granted in case the amount of duties was not legally owed or has been entered in the account contrary to Article 220 (2) CCC.

In accordance with Article 239 CCC, import duties or export duties may be repaid or remitted in special situations other than those referred to in Articles 236, 237 and 238 resulting from circumstances in which no deception or obvious negligence may be attributed to the person concerned.