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ECJ Customs C-230/20 (BTA Baltic Insurance Company ) – Decision – Guarantor of customs debt

Decision

1)       Article 195 of Regulation (EEC) n o  2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation (EC) n o  1186/2009 of the Council of 16 November 2009, relating to the establishment of the Community regime of customs exemptions, must be interpreted as meaning that the surety for a customs debt referred to in this article cannot be qualified as a “debtor” within the meaning of article 221, paragraph 3 of the Regulation n o  2913/92, as amended by Regulation n o  1186/2009, and therefore can not be applied the limitation period of three years from the birth of the customs debt under this provision.

2)       Article 232, paragraph 1 a) of Regulation No o  2913/92, as amended by Regulation n o  1186/2009, must be interpreted as meaning that the obligation of Member States under this provision, to make use of all the possibilities afforded to them by the provisions in force to obtain the payment of rights, applies not only to the debtor, but also to the surety, and that the latter can therefore be considered, by virtue of said Article 232 (1) (a), as the person against whom the forced execution is directed and who is subject to the rules of the Member State, including those relating to time limits, in matters of execution.

(3)       The rule arising from the principle of legal certainty according to which a reasonable limitation period must be observed must be interpreted as meaning that it applies to the action brought against the surety in order to ensure the recovery of a customs debt.

Source Curia

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