Questions referred:
Under Article 178(1)(b) and (c) of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446, 1 in conjunction with Article 214(1) of the Union Customs Code, 2 is it possible to discharge the ‘free zone’ special procedure without having included in the electronic records system the master reference number (MRN) which identifies the customs declaration by which the goods are placed under the subsequent customs procedure?
Under Articles 214(1) and 215(1) of the Union Customs Code and Article 178(1)(b) and (c) of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446, is it possible for the holder of the ‘free zone’ special procedure to discharge that procedure relying solely on a note concerning the customs status of the goods made by a customs authority official on the transport document for the goods (CMR), without checking for itself the validity of the customs status of those goods?
If the answer to question 2 is negative, what level of verification in accordance with Articles 214(1) and 215(1) of the Union Customs Code and Article 178(1)(b) and (c) of Delegated Regulation 2015/2446 is sufficient in order to consider the ‘free zone’ special procedure to have been correctly discharged?
Was the holder of the ‘free zone’ special procedure entitled to have a legitimate expectation as a result of the confirmation by the customs authorities that the customs status of the goods had changed from ‘non-Union goods’ to ‘Union goods’, even though that confirmation did not indicate the reason for that change of status of the goods or any information which allowed that reason to be verified?
If the answer to question 4 is negative, may the fact that, in other proceedings brought before a national court, it was ruled, by final judgment, that, in accordance with the procedures laid down by the customs authorities, the holder of the customs procedure had not committed any infringement with regard to the ‘free zone’ customs procedure constitute a ground for exemption from the customs debt arising under Article 79(1)(a) and 3(a) of the Union Customs Code, in the light of the principle of res judicata laid down in national law and EU law?
Source: curia.europa.eu
