Uprava celni hodnoty ve vztahu k prevodnim cenam

Adjustment of customs value in relation to transfer prices

Following the CJEU's judgment in C-529/16 Hamamatsu, which dealt with the adjustment of customs value due to transfer pricing adjustments (TP adjustments) and sparked intense discussions across the EU on the subject, the case has now come to its (expected) conclusion on German soil. The conclusions of the German authorities are not surprising and in principle follow the above mentioned CJEU decision. The final decision will therefore certainly not contribute to greater legal certainty, but rather the opposite. Importers will now wait to see whether the European Commission will react to the developments in this area or whether another importer will succeed in obtaining a further opinion from the CJEU in its case. 

As a reminder, in the Hamamatsu case, the courts suggested that in a situation where, when importing goods purchased from a related party, it is not known in advance whether and how the invoice price of each import will subsequently change over a period of time (as a result of transfer price adjustments), there should be no subsequent change in the customs value (in this particular case, a reduction). Courts have also questioned the use of the so-called transaction method for the purpose of determining the customs value (which can cause significant complications for the importer, as discussed, inter alia, HERE).

If you are importing goods purchased from related parties for which you pay import duties and subsequently adjust the invoice prices, we recommend keeping an eye on developments in this area. In general, we recommend that you consider whether your customs valuation process complies with the customs rules, also in light of recent case law developments in this area (e.g. HERE and HERE).

For more information, please contact the authors of the article or the EY tax team with whom you regularly work.

Authors:

Jakub Kašuba

Nikola Kratochvílová