The Indirect Customs Representative is not Jointly Liable for Import VAT

• The indirect customs representative is not jointly liable with the importer for the VAT due for customs clearance.
• The Court of Justice of Trieste has adopted the jurisprudential orientation of the Union judges and the recent direction of the Court of Cassation.
• Some judgments believed that the indirect representative should be jointly liable for the payment of import VAT, but this interpretation is not supported by the EU Customs Code.
• The EU legislation excludes VAT from the definition of customs obligation and import duties.
• The Court of Justice clarified that the indirect representative is not responsible for the payment of import VAT in the absence of national provisions designating them as the debtor.
• The importer is solely responsible for the payment of import VAT.
• The recent judgments of the Court of Cassation also support this interpretation.
• The Customs Agency is expected to intervene to resolve existing disputes and prevent new ones.

Source: eutekne.info

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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