Customs declaration, judgment, excess of goods and European Court of justice judgment

The ECJ in this  judgment   (Fifth Chamber)  8 June 2023 C‑640/21 established that articles 173 [Amendment of a customs declaration] and 174 [Invalidation of a customs declaration] of Union Customs Code “UCC”, after both the lodgment of customs declaration and the release of goods, are not applicable when the declarant reports a quantity of goods in excess. In other words, if the quantity of imported goods is greater than that set out in the customs declaration, the declarant is required to make a new declaration in respect of that excess quantity. At their turn, the  national customs authorities are are led to apply national legislation providing for penalties in accordance with Article 42 UCC.

In the judgment it is stated that: “…Indeed, it the above mentioned judgement it is stated that: “…1.      Articles 173 and 174 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 they are not applicable when the declarant reports, after submitting his or her customs declaration and after release of the goods, that a quantity of goods in excess of that which was originally covered by that declaration should also have been covered by the declaration, where:

–        first, an application for amendment of a customs declaration, on the basis of the first of those provisions, cannot be allowed when it seeks to amend that declaration in order to render it applicable to a quantity of goods in excess of that set out therein and

–        secondly, an application for invalidation of a customs declaration, on the basis of the second of those provisions, cannot be allowed when that application was made after the goods were released, without, however, falling within the cases determined by the Commission under Article 175 of that code.

2. Regulation No 952/2013, and in particular Article 42, Article 139(1) and Article 158(1) thereof,

must be interpreted as meaning that where a declarant reports, after release of the goods, that the quantity of imported goods is greater than that set out in his or her customs declaration, he or she is required to make a new declaration in respect of that excess quantity. If, in the case of such a late declaration, the customs authorities are led to apply national legislation providing for penalties in accordance with Article 42 of that code, they must take into account, in making the legal classification of any infringement committed and in determining, where appropriate, the penalties, relating to non-compliance with the customs legislation, to be imposed, all the relevant information, including, if necessary, the good faith of the declarant, in order to ensure that those penalties are effective, proportionate and dissuasive…”