Goods imported into the European Union (EU) for sale are subject to two different qualifications for customs and VAT purposes. A recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union highlighted this complexity. The case involved the importation of cigarettes with Ukrainian and Belarusian excise stamps from Poland to Germany, leading to a dispute over the place of importation for VAT purposes and the Member State responsible for import VAT. The German tax authorities claimed that both the customs debt and import VAT were due in Germany, but the CJEU disagreed, stating that national provisions cannot apply customs rules to determine the place of importation for VAT purposes.
Source Baker Tilly
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