Court of Justice (Third Chamber) 19 October 2017, C-522/16 (A v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.)

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In a preliminary ruling arising from Dutch customs proceedings, the Court of Justice (Third Chamber) held that documents required under Article 3(2) of Regulation No 1484/95 constitute 'information required to draw up the customs declaration' within the meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 201(3) of the Community Customs Code (Regulation No 2913/92). The Court further held that a natural person who was closely and knowingly involved in designing an artificial structure of companies and commercial transactions to reduce import duties may be treated as a 'debtor' under Article 201(3), even if he did not personally supply the false information and even if he had obtained prior confirmation of lawfulness from customs experts. Additionally, the Court ruled that Article 221(4) of the Customs Code permits communication of customs duties to the debtor beyond the standard three-year limitation period where the customs debt results from acts liable to give rise to criminal court proceedings, notwithstanding that the debt was formally incurred through release for free circulation under Article 201(1).AI