14.4.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 82/18

—

Set aside the judgment delivered on 30 November 2006 by the Court of First Instance (Third Chamber) in Case T-382/04;

—

Annul the decision of the European Commission of 17 June 2004 (REM 19/2002), in which the Commission held that remission of import duties was not justified in that particular case;

—

Order the Commission to pay the costs.

Breach of Article 239 of the Customs Code (1), in conjunction with Articles 899 to 909 inclusive of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (2) (‘the implementing regulation’) and inadequate reasoning of the Court's findings, or at least reasoning which cannot support those findings.

The test relating to the nature of the mistake, the appellant's professional experience and the degree of care which it exercised ought, when considered together, to lead to the conclusion that remission was inevitable. The Court of First Instance incorrectly based its judgment on the supposition that the legislation applicable in this case in regard to the classification of so-called rice paper in the tariff and statistical nomenclature and the common customs tariff under Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (3) was not complex. The appellant challenges the classification of unbaked rice paper as determined by the Court of First Instance, the Commission and the Netherlands customs authorities. The Court of First Instance, it submits, was wrong to conclude that Heuschen & Schrouff had extensive professional experience in the domain of imports and exports. In that connection the Court of First Instance incorrectly categorised Heuschen & Schrouff as being an experienced trader and thus as being well-versed in regard to import and export formalities. In the judgment under appeal, the Court of First Instance placed excessively high requirements with regard to the duty of care resting on Heuschen & Schrouff, even if it were an experienced trader. In addition, the Court of First Instance wrongly identified Heuschen & Schrouff with the direct representative which it had engaged.