On May 8, 2025, the ECJ issued the AG Opinion in Joined Cases C‑72/24 & C‑73/24 (Keladis) – AG Opinion
- Facts of the Cases: The cases involve two individuals, HF and WI, who were implicated in undervaluation and smuggling of textile imports from Türkiye, leading to VAT recovery notices from Greek customs authorities based on the alleged use of significantly below-market customs values.
- Legal Questions: The Greek Administrative Court referred several questions to the Court of Justice, primarily concerning the legality of using statistical values for customs valuation, the compatibility of threshold prices with EU law, and the maximum permitted interval between the imports used for statistical analysis and the goods checked.
- Decision on Statistical Values: The Advocate General opined that while aggregated statistical data cannot be used as a primary method for determining customs value, they may be utilized under the fall-back method as an exceptional measure when other methods have failed.
- Justification for the Decision: The opinion emphasizes the need for a uniform approach to customs valuation to prevent fraud while also safeguarding the rights of economic operators. It states that statistical values may be acceptable if they are used transparently and allow operators to contest the customs value determined.
- Time Limit Rationale: The Advocate General concluded that a 90-day time limit for considering statistical data in relation to imports is applicable and can be flexibly implemented, ensuring that customs authorities can effectively establish customs debts without compromising the fairness owed to economic operators.
Source Curia
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