A charge having equivalent effect (CHEE) PDF

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This document provides: A charge having equivalent effect (CHEE), and The validity of charges for services rendered supported by 4 relevant cases.....

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A charge having equivalent effect (CHEE)

A duty, whatever it is called, and whatever its mode of application, may be considered a charge having equivalent effect to a customs duty, provided that it meets the following three criteria:

(a) it must be imposed unilaterally at the time of importation or subsequently;

(b) it must be imposed specifically upon a product imported from a member state to the exclusion of a similar national product; and

(c) it must result in an alteration of price and thus have the same effect as a customs duty on the free movement of products.

The validity of charges for services rendered

In a number of cases, the CJEU has developed rules on when charges can lawfully be made for services rendered.

Case 132/82 Commission v Belgium (Customs Warehouses)

The CJEU held that when payment of storage charges is demanded solely in connection with the completion of customs formalities, it cannot be regarded as consideration for services actually rendered to the importer.

Case 340/87 Commission v Italian Republic (Customs Posts)

The CJEU said that it had already held on several occasions that a charge imposed on goods by reason of the fact that they cross a frontier might not be a CHEE to a customs duty provided that it constituted a benefit specifically or individually conferred on the economic operator concerned of an amount proportional to that service. In this case, the Court held that the charge constituted a breach of the Treaty.

Case 170/88 Ford of Spain v Spanish State

The CJEU held that even if the contested charge were in fact remuneration for a service rendered to the importer, the amount charged could not be regarded as proportionate to the service. The Spanish government’s argument that, in some cases, the charge would be less than the cost of carrying out the inspections only served to confirm this argument. A charge calculated on the basis of the value of the goods could not correspond to the costs incurred by the customs authorities.

Case 46/76 Bauhuis v The Netherlands

The CJEU held that a fee for health inspections would be acceptable if required by a Community Regulation and covering the actual cost incurred only....