Customs Newsletter 02/2025
Repayment of import duties - duty of the customs authorities to carry out research on their own initiative
Overcharged amounts of import duties paid are generally only repaid (if at all) following corresponding applications. However, the customs authorities are also obliged to examine the conditions for repayment ex officio - i.e. without an application. This view was recently expressed by the Advocate General at the ECJ, who set out the conditions under which, in his opinion, the examination must be carried out ex officio. The forthcoming decision of the ECJ will have an impact on the scope of this obligation.