7.7.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/6

(Case C-480/12) (<span class="super">1</span>)

((Community Customs Code - Scope of Articles 203 and 204(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 - External transit procedure - Customs debt incurred through non-fulfilment of an obligation - Belated presentation of the goods at the office of destination - Sixth VAT Directive - Article 10(3) - Link between the incurring of customs debt and the incurring of VAT debt - Concept of taxable transactions))

2014/C 212/06

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Minister van Financiën

Respondent: X BV

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands) — Interpretation of Articles 203 and 204 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ 1992 L 302, p. 1), of Articles 356(1) and 859(2)(c) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (OJ 1993 L 253, p. 1), and of Article 7 of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — Exceeding of the time-limit laid down by the office of departure for presenting goods at the office of destination, involving the conditional creation of a customs debt on imports and not the automatic creation thereof — Common system of value added tax — Taxable transactions — Concept of imports

Operative part of the judgment

1.Articles 203 and 204 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 648/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2005, read in conjunction with Article 859(2)(c) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 444/2002 of 11 March 2002, must be interpreted as meaning that merely exceeding the time-limit for presentation, set under Article 356(1) of Regulation No 2454/93, as amended by Regulation No 444/2002, does not lead to a customs debt being incurred for removal from customs supervision of the goods in question within the meaning of Article 203 of Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Regulation No 648/2005, but to a customs debt being incurred on the basis of Article 204 of that regulation and that it is not necessary, for a customs debt to be incurred under Article 204 of that regulation, that the interested parties supply to the customs authorities information on the reasons for exceeding the time-limit set under Article 356 of Regulation No 2454/93, as amended by Article No 444/2002, or on the location of the goods during the time which elapsed between that time-limit and the time at which they were actually presented at the customs office of destination.

2.The first paragraph of Article 7(3) of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, as amended by Council Directive 2004/66/EC of 26 April 2004 must be interpreted as meaning that value added tax is due where the goods in question are not covered by the arrangements provided for in that article, even where a customs debt is incurred exclusively on the basis of Article 204 of Regulation No 2913/92, as amended by Regulation No 648/2005.

Language of the case: Dutch.

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(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ C 26, 26.1.2013.