Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 June 2006 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d'appel de Poitiers, France) — Conseil général de la Vienne v Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects

(Case C-419/04) (1)

(Post-clearance recovery of import duties - Remission of import duties - Conditions - Article 871 of the regulation implementing the Community Customs Code - Scope of the obligation to submit the case to the Commission - Failure on the part of a person liable for payment acting in good faith to declare additional royalties which should have been incorporated in the customs value of imported goods)

(2006/C 190/05)

Language of the case: French

Referring court

Cour d'appel de Poitiers

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Conseil général de la Vienne

Respondent: Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Cour d'Appel de Poitiers (Court of Appeal, Poitiers, France) — Interpretation of Article 871 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) — Recovery of the amount of the customs debt — Obligatory nature of reference to the Commission in the event of doubt as to the scope of the criteria relating to the recovery or the remission of duties resulting from a customs debt

Operative part of the judgment

Article 871 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, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1677/98 of 29 July 1998, must be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of a recovery procedure or a procedure for remission of uncollected customs duties, the national customs authorities are not required to submit the case to the Commission for a decision where the doubts which they had had as regards the precise scope of the criteria laid down in Article 220(2)(b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code with regard to a particular case have disappeared, even after those authorities have expressed their intention to refer the matter to the Commission, or where the doubts relate to the subsequent entry in the accounts of customs duties which were not collected due to an omission on the part of an importer acting in good faith to declare royalties which should have been incorporated in the customs value of the imported goods.

(1)  OJ C 284, 20.11.2004.