- License fees paid by the plaintiff to a third-party licensor for the use of certain trademarks must be included in the customs value of imported goods. The Hamburg Fiscal Court ruled that such fees are a “condition of sale” under EU customs law if the buyer cannot acquire the goods without paying them, even if the licensor is independent from the seller. In this case, the contracts required the plaintiff to pay license fees and ensured that subcontractors delivered only to the plaintiff and met certain standards, creating a legal link between the imported goods and the obligation to pay the fees. Therefore, the license fees are to be added to the customs value.
Source: leitnerleitner.com
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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