Tax Appeals Commission determination 02TACD2021 regarding Customs & Excise, 2021

• Administrative Decision Number: 02TACD2021
• Year: 2021
• Date: 19 October 2015
• Respondent: REVENUE COMMISSIONERS

02TACD2021

APELLANT’S NAME REDACTED

Appellant

V

REVENUE COMMISSIONERS

Respondent

DETERMINATION

Introduction

1. This is an appeal against the refusal of the Respondent to refund the Inward Processing

(IP)“drawback claim” to the Appellant on the grounds that the periods from July 2011 to

June 2012 inclusive were outside the 3 year time limit for processing reclaims for duty

pursuant to Article 236 (2) paragraph 1 of COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12

October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (the Customs Code).

2. The Respondent also refused the Appellant’sIP“drawback”claim for the period October

2012 to December 2014 on the basis that the claim fell outside the 6 month period for

processing reclaims in accordance with Article 521 of COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC)

No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 (Implementing Regulation).

3. The total IP“drawback claim” denied by the Respondent amounted to €482,749.

4. The Appellant appealed the decision of the Respondent’s refusal to refund the

“drawback claim” to the Appeal Commissioners pursuant to Statutory Instrument No.

355/1995 - European Communities (Customs Appeals) Regulations, 1995, Regulation

5(2).

5. As such, this appeal is focused on the operation of the IP system by the Respondent

whereby the Appellant applied for a customs duty “drawback” refund claim in respect of

customs duty paid on the importation of goods from outside the European Community

and subsequently re-exported those good outside the European Community and the

time limits imposed by the Regulations and the extension of those time limits for the

making of such claims.

Material Findings of Fact

6. From the evidence, I have made the following material finds of fact:

2

a) The Appellant is a large multinational based in Location Redacted that makes

Activity Redacted. On 29thJune 2012, the Appellant made an application for the IP

“drawback”procedure, a process that allows an importer of goods coming from

outside the European Community to apply for recovery of the customs duty paid

where those goods are subsequently exported outside the European Community.

b) The application for the IP “drawback”procedure prompted a visit by a

Representative of the Respondent, a control officer for Customs and Excise of the

Respondent, to the Appellant on 25thJuly 2012. The purpose of the visit was to

establish the type of goods imported and subsequently exported outside the

European Community and an examination of the goods to ascertain the appropriate

product codes.

c) The Appellant’s application was approved by the Respondent but as the Appellant

sought to make retrospective claims, the IP “drawback”authorisation issued by the

Respondent on 8thOctober 2012, backdated to 29thJune 2011 and was valid to 29th

June2014.

d) A Representative of the Respondent went through the conditions in the document

entitled “General conditions to be observed by persons authorized to engage in

inward processing under the drawback system” toAppellant’s Employee, employed

by the Appellant as the financial controller, and after confirming his understanding,

Appellant’s Employee signed the document on19thOctober 2012 agreeing to

conform with all of the conditions specified therein. The relevant part of those

conditions are detailed below:

“GENERAL CONDITIONS TO BE OBSERVED BY PERSONS AUTHORISED TO ENGAGE IN

INWARD PROCESSING UNDER THE DRAWBACK SYSTEM

1. The Authorisation is issued by the Revenue Commissioners and may be revoked for non -

compliance with Community legislation governing Inward Processing.

2. …

3. The Authorisation does not relieve the importer from compliance with the law and regulations

for the time being in force relating to the importation, transhipment, exportation, warehousing

or entry for the free circulation of goods including the submission of Intrastat and/or VIES

declarations.