Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 May 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas – Lithuania) – ‘Tauritus’ UAB v Muitinės departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos finansų ministerijos

(Case C-782/23,  (1) Tauritus)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Customs union - Union Customs Code - Method for determining the customs value - Article 70 - Transaction value - Goods imported on the basis of a provisional purchase price - Definitive price dependent on various factors not known on the date of acceptance of the customs declaration)

(C/2025/3487)

Language of the case: Lithuanian

Referring court

Lietuvos vyriausiasis administracinis teismas

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: ‘Tauritus’ UAB

Defendant: Muitinės departamentas prie Lietuvos Respublikos finansų ministerijos

Intervening party: Kauno teritorinė muitinė

Operative part of the judgment

Article 70 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code

must be interpreted as meaning that, where, at the time when goods are imported into the customs territory of the European Union, only their provisional price, which appears on a pro forma invoice, is known, with the sales contract stipulating that their final price will subsequently be fixed by a final invoice on the basis of certain predetermined objective factors the value of which is beyond the control of the parties and unknown to them at the time of acceptance of the customs declaration, such as an average of the exchange rate of certain currencies or of the price of certain products in a given period, the customs value of those goods must be determined by applying the transaction value method provided for in that article, by using, as a general rule, the simplified customs declaration procedure provided for in Articles 166 and 167 of that regulation.

(1)  OJ C, C/2024/1546.