Case C‑351/11

KGH Belgium NV

v

Belgische Staat

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Antwerpen)

‛Customs debt — Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties — Entry of duty in the accounts — Practical procedures’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 8 November 2012

1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — Examination of the compatibility of national law with Union law — Not included — Providing the referring court with guidance as to the interpretation of European Union law — Included

   (Art. 267 TFEU)

2. Own resources of the European Union — Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties — Requirement to enter in the accounts the amount of duty to be recovered, referred to in Article 217(1) of Regulation No 2913/92 — No obligation on the Member States to define the practical arrangements for implementation

   (Council Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Regulation No 82/97, Arts 217 and 221(1))

1.  See the text of the decision.

   (see para. 17)

2.  Article 217(2) of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation No 82/97, must be interpreted as meaning that, since that article does not lay down any practical arrangements for ‘entry in the accounts’ within the meaning of that provision, it leaves the Member States free to determine the practical arrangements for the taking into account of sums resulting from a customs debt, without there being any obligation on them to set out in their national legislation the arrangements for the implementation of such an entry. An entry in the accounts must be made in a way which ensures that the competent customs authorities enter the exact amount of the import duty or export duty resulting from a customs debt in the accounting records or on any other equivalent medium, so that, inter alia, the entry in the accounts of the amounts concerned may be established with certainty, including with regard to the person liable.

   Pursuant to Article 221(1) of the Customs Code, the communication of the amount of duty to be recovered must have been preceded by the entry in the accounts of that amount by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned and, if it has not been entered in the accounts in accordance with Article 217(1) of the Customs Code, that amount may not be recovered by those authorities, which however remain entitled to proceed with a new communication of that amount, in accordance with the conditions laid down by Article 221(1) of the Customs Code and the limitation rules in force at the time the customs debt was incurred.

   (see paras 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, operative part)

Case C‑351/11

KGH Belgium NV

v

Belgische Staat

(Reference for a preliminary ruling from the rechtbank van eerste aanleg te Antwerpen)

‛Customs debt — Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties — Entry of duty in the accounts — Practical procedures’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 8 November 2012

1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — Examination of the compatibility of national law with Union law — Not included — Providing the referring court with guidance as to the interpretation of European Union law — Included

   (Art. 267 TFEU)

2. Own resources of the European Union — Post-clearance recovery of import or export duties — Requirement to enter in the accounts the amount of duty to be recovered, referred to in Article 217(1) of Regulation No 2913/92 — No obligation on the Member States to define the practical arrangements for implementation

   (Council Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Regulation No 82/97, Arts 217 and 221(1))

1.  See the text of the decision.

   (see para. 17)

2.  Article 217(2) of Regulation No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation No 82/97, must be interpreted as meaning that, since that article does not lay down any practical arrangements for ‘entry in the accounts’ within the meaning of that provision, it leaves the Member States free to determine the practical arrangements for the taking into account of sums resulting from a customs debt, without there being any obligation on them to set out in their national legislation the arrangements for the implementation of such an entry. An entry in the accounts must be made in a way which ensures that the competent customs authorities enter the exact amount of the import duty or export duty resulting from a customs debt in the accounting records or on any other equivalent medium, so that, inter alia, the entry in the accounts of the amounts concerned may be established with certainty, including with regard to the person liable.

   Pursuant to Article 221(1) of the Customs Code, the communication of the amount of duty to be recovered must have been preceded by the entry in the accounts of that amount by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned and, if it has not been entered in the accounts in accordance with Article 217(1) of the Customs Code, that amount may not be recovered by those authorities, which however remain entitled to proceed with a new communication of that amount, in accordance with the conditions laid down by Article 221(1) of the Customs Code and the limitation rules in force at the time the customs debt was incurred.

   (see paras 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, operative part)