Date lodged: 24 December 2020
Referring court: Commissione tributaria provinciale di Venezia (Italy)
Date of the decision to refer: 17 November 2020
Subject matter of the main proceedings
Actions brought by U.I. Srl against two tax assessments, issued by the defendant,
rectifying certain import declarations submitted by the applicant in its own name
and on behalf of two import companies and assessing the import VAT for which
the applicant is alleged to be jointly and severally liable.
Subject matter and legal basis of the reference for a preliminary ruling
Interpretation of Article 201 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November
2006 on the common system of value added tax and of Article 77(3) of Regulation
(EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October
2013 laying down the Union Customs Code.
Questions referred for a preliminary ruling
1. In providing that, ‘on importation, VAT shall be payable by any person or
persons designated or recognised as liable by the Member State of importation’, is
Article 201 of Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 to be interpreted as
meaning that the Member State of importation is required to issue a State
provision relating to import VAT (domestic-law tax: Court of Justice, Case
C-272/13 of 14 July 2013) that expressly identifies the persons liable to pay
import VAT?
2. Is Article 77(3) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of 9 October 2013 ([Union
Customs Code]), which concerns customs debts on import and which provides
that, ‘in the event of indirect representation, the person on whose behalf the
customs declaration is made shall also be a debtor’, to be interpreted as meaning
that the indirect representative is liable not only for customs duties, but also for
import VAT merely as a result of being a ‘declarant’ for customs purposes in its
own name?
Source: Curia
