Customs duties

Plesner conducts customs-related cases, both administrative and before the courts, including the European Court of Justice. There has been a sizable increase in the number of cases on tariff classifications.

Customs regulations and customs tariffs

The customs regulations – and especially the customs tariff – are very important to businesses that import goods to the EU. The customs duties are collected by the individual EU countries, however they all go to the EU.

The customs regulations are laid down in EU regulations that are very comprehensive and complex. It is up to the European Court of Justice to interpret these regulations, and the Court's preliminary rulings are therefore decisive of the development of the law in this area.

Classification of tariff headings

The customs tariff determines the rate of duty to be imposed on the imported product. The customs tariff has headings covering everything from microchips to ships. Classifying each product under the correct heading is actually a legal matter.

Decisions in the customs area

The financial implications of the customs authorities' decisions are often quite far-reaching for the individual company. Nevertheless, businesses have been very reluctant to challenge the decisions of the authorities. However, they are now beginning to realise that the authorities are not infallible in the customs area, either.